Long ago, in the deserts of Yemen and the land of Saba, there lived a man named Abdullah, son of Abi Kilabah.
One day his she-camel wandered away, and Abdullah went out alone into the desert to search for her.He traveled for days beneath the burning sun, across empty lands where no people lived.
Then something unbelievable happened.
Out of the dust and silence, he saw a vast city rise before him.
It was surrounded by a mighty wall, and beyond the wall were palaces, towers, and shining pavilions that reached high into the sky.
Abdullah thought:
"Surely people must live here. I will ask them about my camel."
He rode toward the city.
But when he entered it…
There was no sound.No voices.No footsteps.
The city was completely empty.
Not a single living soul walked its streets.
With fear in his heart, Abdullah tied his camel outside and stepped inside the city alone.
He reached the great castle at the center of the city.
It had two gigantic gates, larger and taller than anything ever built by human hands.They were covered with jewels — red, green, yellow, and white — shining like stars.
Abdullah trembled as he entered.
Inside, he saw something that almost made him faint.
There were palaces and pavilions everywhere, built of pure gold and silver, decorated with rubies, emeralds, pearls, and precious stones.
The doors were made of jewels.The floors were covered with pearls as big as nuts.The ground itself was dusted with musk, ambergris, and saffron, filling the air with sweet perfume.
From the balconies he saw rivers flowing,trees heavy with fruit,and tall palm trees lining the streets.
Every building was made with one brick of gold and one brick of silver.
Abdullah whispered:
"This must be the Paradise promised in the next world."
He was terrified and amazed.
He gathered what he could carry — pearls, musk, and jewels — and fled the city.
He returned to Yemen and told everyone what he had seen.
News of Abdullah's discovery reached Mu'awiyah, the Caliph of the Muslims.
He ordered Abdullah to be brought before him.
When Abdullah repeated the story, the Caliph doubted it.
So Abdullah showed him the pearls and musk he had taken from the city.The pearls had turned yellow with age, but the scent of musk and saffron was still strong.
The Caliph was astonished.
He sent for Ka'ab al-Ahbar, a learned man.
"Do you know of a city built of gold and silver, with pillars of precious stones?" Mu'awiyah asked.
Ka'ab replied:
"Yes. This is Iram of the Pillars, built by Shaddad, son of 'Ad."
Ka'ab told its history:
Shaddad ruled the whole earth.He read about Paradise and wanted to build one on Earth.
He commanded all kings to bring him gold, silver, pearls, rubies, emeralds, and jewels.
For twenty years, all the wealth of the world was gathered.
Then he ordered his architects to build a city in a perfect plain — with rivers, trees, palaces, and pillars of gemstones.
It took three hundred years to complete.
Then he ordered a huge castle and a thousand pavilions, each with a thousand jewel-covered columns.
When it was done, Shaddad gathered his army and his people to move into his new Paradise.
But when they were only one day away, God sent a terrible heavenly blast.
It destroyed Shaddad and all his followers.
None of them ever saw Iram.
The road to it was erased forever.
Shaddad's son buried his father in a cave, placing him on a golden throne with robes of gold and jewels.
At his head was a tablet that read:
I am Shaddad, son of 'Ad,Lord of power and pride.When God warned me, I denied Him.So a heavenly cry destroyed us,and here I wait until Judgment Day.
Later, travelers found the tomb and stole some of its treasure.
Long after the fall of Shaddad and the destruction of his army, the story of Iram of the Pillars became a legend whispered across deserts and kingdoms.
But some men, driven by greed or curiosity, tried to find what remained of it.
One such tale was recorded by the learned Al-Saʿalibi.
He said that two men once entered a cave in a lonely region. At its upper end they saw stone steps going downward into the earth. With torches in their hands, they descended.
They came to a vast underground chamber:
one hundred cubits long
forty cubits wide
and one hundred cubits high
In the middle of it stood a throne of pure gold.
On it lay the body of a giant man — so large that he filled the throne from end to end.
He was covered in robes woven with gold and silver, and his body was adorned with priceless jewels.
At his head was a tablet of gold, engraved with writing.
The men took the tablet and as much gold and silver as they could carry, then fled the cave in fear.
Thus even after death, Shaddad's pride still tempted men.
The scholars say that Iram still exists, hidden from human eyes.
It has not fallen.It has not decayed.Its gold has not rusted.Its jewels have not dimmed.
But no one can find it again.
God erased the path to it, just as He erased the pride of the king who built it.
Iram stands as a sign to all mankind:
That no wealth,no power,no kingdom,no city —no matter how glorious —can escape the judgment of God.
And Abdullah son of Abi Kilabah remains the only man in history who is known to have seen it with his own eyes.
Not because he was powerful.Not because he was great.
But because God willed it.