Whether there were disbelieving nations contemporary to ‘Aad
24-1-2017 | IslamWeb
Question:
Assalaamu alaykum. I was wondering: does verse 23:31 mean that the people of ‘Aad were the only people on earth who committed Shirk (Associating partners with Allaah) after Noah but before Thamud and there was no other nation that was committing Shirk and whom a Messenger was sent too before ‘Aad or at the same time? Does this verse mean that? Or is it possible that there were other nations that were committing Shirk and that Messengers were sent to them before ‘Aad, but after Noah, or at the same time of ‘Aad? Does the verse mean that or not? May Allaah reward you.
Answer:
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
First of all, regarding the generation whom Allah referred to in the verse (which means): {Then We produced after them a generation of others.} [Quran 23:21], the scholars did not agree that what is meant by them is ‘Aad, the people of Hood (Hud), may Allah exalt his mention. Rather, some of them are of the view that what is meant by them is Thamud, the people of Saalih, may Allah exalt his mention, as Allah informed us that the people of Thamud were destroyed by the Shriek, whereas ‘Aad were not punished with the Shriek; rather, they were destroyed by the wind, and the people who were destroyed by the Shriek were Thamud, the people of Saalih, may Allah exalt his mention.
Ibn Katheer 
said about the interpretation of this verse, “Allah informs us that He created another generation after the people of Nooh (Noah); it was said that what is meant by them is ‘Aad, who came after them. It was also said that what is meant by them is Thamud, as Allah says (what means): {So the Shriek seized them in truth.} [Quran 23:41]”
A more explicit verse in indicating that the people of ‘Aad succeeded the people of Nooh, may Allah exalt his mention, is the verse in Soorah Al-A’raaf about Hood, may Allah exalt his mention, which says that he said to his people {And remember when He made you successors after the people of Nooh.} [Quran 7:69] As-Suddi said about the above verse, “Allah says that he exterminated the people of Nooh and made you successors after them.”
The author of At-Tahreer wat-Tanweer said, “What is meant is that they are the successors of the people of Nooh, because ‘Aad was the first nation that brought civilization after the Deluge, and the progeny of Nooh multiplied and spread over the earth in Armenia, Mosul, Iraq and Arabia, and they were many nations, or (it could mean that) ‘Aad was the greatest of those nations and the leading nation among them.”
Regarding the verse (which means): {And that He destroyed the first [people of] 'Aad.} [Quran 53:50], Al-Qaasimi said in Mahaasin At-Ta’weel, “It was called the first because it came first (preceded) in time…”
Al-Qurtubi said about the same verse, “It was called the 'first ‘Aad' because it was the first nation to be destroyed after Nooh, may Allah exalt his mention.”
Finally, the Quran did not state whether or not there was another nation that came at the same time as them. Indeed, there is no great benefit in investigating such a matter, and this does not lead to doing good deeds.
Allah knows best.