Verses 123–140
These verses refer to the story of Hūd and his people known as ʿĀd.
Commentary
كَذَّبَتْ عادٌ الْمُرْسَلِينَ ١٢٣
(26:123) ʿĀd rejected the messengers.
ʿĀd was an ancient Arab tribe living in the Aḥqāf (lit. “sand-dunes”) in the Arabian Peninsula. They had an advanced civilization, fertile lands and pleasant homes. However, they rebelled, denied God’s messengers, and were ungrateful for His blessings. Thus God destroyed them with a destructive wind, obliterated their buildings, and effaced their works.
It has been said that ʿĀd was the name of their forefather. Hence, their tribe was named after their forefather, just like when one says Tamīm, Bakr or Taghlib, meaning respectively Banū Tamīm, Banū Bakr and Banū Taghlib [where Banū means “the children of…”].
In the story of Noah above, we explained why it is said that his people denied the messengers [in plural] even though they apparently rejected only one of them.
إِذْ قالَ لَهُمْ أَخُوهُمْ هُودٌ أَ لا تَتَّقُونَ ١٢٤ إِنِّي لَكُمْ رَسُولٌ أَمِينٌ ١٢٥ فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَ أَطِيعُونِ ١٢٦ وَ ما أَسْئَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ أَجْرٍ إِنْ أَجْرِيَ إِلاَّ عَلى رَبِّ الْعالَمِينَ ١٢٧
(26:124-127) When their brother Hūd said to them: Will you not guard (against evil)? Surely I am a trustworthy messenger to you; Therefore guard against (the punishment of) Allah and obey me. And I do not ask you any reward for it; surely my reward is only with the Lord of the worlds.
The exposition of these verses was discussed under similar verses above in the story of Noah. One exegete has said:
The five stories in this chapter start by stating that the prophet was trustworthy and faithful, he did not ask any reward for his message, and he ordered the people to have taqwā (self-restraint, Godwariness) and to obey him. This common thread indicates that the foundation of messengership is to call the people to know God and abide by instructions that would take them closer to reward and would distance them from punishment. The prophets were unanimous on that despite their differences in some branches of religious law that varied with time and age. It also shows that all prophets were completely free from worldly greed and material incentives.
A similar point can be made about the ending of all of the seven stories in this chapter with “Most surely there is a sign in this, but most of them were not believers. And most surely your Lord is the Mighty, the Merciful” (, , , , , , 190-191). This thread shows that most nations and people are averse to God’s signs and communications, that God is Mighty in punishing them for their denial, and that He is Merciful in rescuing the believers by His mercy. We discussed this thread where we talked about the purpose of the chapter at the beginning.
أَ تَبْنُونَ بِكُلِّ رِيعٍ آيَةً تَعْبَثُونَ ١٢٨
(26:128) Do you build on every height (rīʿin) a monument (āyatan)? Vain is what you do (taʿbathūna, from ʿabath).
Rīʿ means “a land that has elevation.” Āyah means “sign.” ʿAbath is “a futile action.” Apparently they used to build buildings like monuments and towers on the heights and peaks of mountains in order to show off and take pride in them—not because of any need for doing so, but only in vain and out of their desires. Thus he [Prophet Hūd] blamed them for it.
The exegetes have suggested other meanings for the verse that are unwarranted by the text and inconsistent with the context, so we shall skip them.
وَ تَتَّخِذُونَ مَصانِعَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَخْلُدُونَ ١٢٩
(26:129) And you make strong fortresses (maṣāniʿa) that perhaps you may last forever?
Maṣāniʿ has been defined as “strong castles, solid fortresses, tall buildings.” It is the plural of maṣnaʿ.
…that perhaps you may last forever? This is an explanation for what was said before. That is: “You make these strong fortresses because you expect to live forever. Otherwise, if you did not hope for immortality, you would not have erected these buildings that would naturally outlive human beings.” Exegetes have suggested some other interpretations for this verse and its words which we shall disregard.
وَ إِذا بَطَشْتُمْ بَطَشْتُمْ جَبَّارِينَ ١٣٠
(26:130) And when you lay hands (on men) you lay hands (baṭashtum, from baṭsh) (like) tyrants (jabbārīn);
Majmaʿ al-bayān says:
Baṭsh is to “kill someone by the sword or hit someone with a whip.” Jabbār is “one who rises over others and is exalted in power.” It is a commendable attribute for God but a condemnable attribute for other than Him because it means that a servant has assumed himself to be elevated and supreme.
The implied meaning is: When you want to show intensity in action and fights you exceed in doing so, just as tyrants exceed in their cruelty.
The essence of the last three verses is: You are transgressors in terms of both appetite (shahwah) and anger (ghaḍab). You are not following a balanced path and have gone beyond the limits of servitude.
فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَ أَطِيعُونِ ١٣١
(26:131) So guard against (the punishment of) Allah and obey me.
This is his conclusion based on their transgression beyond the boundaries of servitude and their excess lust and anger. They should be wary and fearful of God; they should obey him [Hūd a.s.] when he commands them to let go of extravagance and arrogance.
وَ اتَّقُوا الَّذِي أَمَدَّكُمْ بِما تَعْلَمُونَ ١٣٢ أَمَدَّكُمْ بِأَنْعامٍ وَ بَنِينَ ١٣٣ وَ جَنَّاتٍ وَ عُيُونٍ ١٣٤
(26:132-134) And be careful of (your duty to) Him Who has given you an abundance (amaddakum, from madd) of what you know. He has given you an abundance of cattle and children. And gardens and fountains;
Al-Rāghib says (summarized):
The root meaning of madd is to “drag, extend, stretch.” It is used when one helps an army by providing support, or helps a person by giving him food. Usually it is used in the form imdād for desirable things, and in the form madd for undesirable things [that is, adding to one’s pleasure or displeasure]. He says: And We will aid them (amdadnāhum) with fruit and meats such as they desire (); And We will lengthen to him (namuddu lahu) the length (maddan) of the chastisement ().
And be careful of (your duty to) Him Who has given you an abundance: When a description is stated instead of a noun [in this case for God, swt] it hints that the stated description is an explanation and justification for what is being said. Here the meaning is: “Be careful of your duty to Him Who has given you abundant bounties because He has given you abundant bounties. Thus it is incumbent on you to thank Him by using His bounties properly without extravagance or arrogance. Otherwise, ungratefulness for His bounties will bring about His wrath and punishment.” He says: If you are grateful, I would certainly give you more, and if you are ungrateful, My chastisement is truly severe ().
He first mentioned bounties concisely as “an abundance of what you know” () and then elaborated on that by saying: He has given you an abundance of cattle and children. And gardens and fountains ().
…Who has given you an abundance of what you know. Here he adds another point. He is saying: “You know that these bounties are His aid and blessings, without any other partners in creating or bestowing them. Thus, He is the One—and not the idols—Whom you must fear and guard against through worship and gratitude.” Therefore, this expression involves an argument.
إِنِّي أَخافُ عَلَيْكُمْ عَذابَ يَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ ١٣٥
(26:135) Surely I fear for you the chastisement of a grievous day.
This is an explanation for his order to have taqwā. That is: “I command you to be wary and fear God out of gratitude because I fear for you the chastisement of a grievous day in case you are ungrateful and fail to give thanks.” Apparently the “grievous day” is the Day of Resurrection. Some exegetes have accepted the possibility that it may refer to the day when they were exterminated by divine punishment [in this world].
قالُوا سَواءٌ عَلَيْنا أَ وَعَظْتَ أَمْ لَمْ تَكُنْ مِنَ الْواعِظِينَ ١٣٦
(26:136) They said: It is the same to us whether you admonish or are not one of the admonishers.
Here they deny the effectiveness of his speech, and thus make him completely lose hope in them ever believing.
One exegete has noted that instead of saying, “or you do not admonish” they said, “or you are not one of the admonishers,” which means “not being an admonisher altogether to begin with.” This expression conveys emphasis and exaggeration [in their denial].
إِنْ هذا إِلاَّ خُلُقُ الْأَوَّلِينَ ١٣٧
(26:137) This is naught but a custom (khuluq) of the ancients;
The word here is khuluq or khulq. Al-Rāghib says:
Khalq and khulq have the same root—like shirb and shurb, or ṣarm and ṣirm—but khalq is specifically for shapes and forms that can be observed by sight, while khulq is specifically for faculties and traits that are observable by insight. He says: And most surely you conform (yourself) to sublime morality (khuluqin ʿaẓīm) (), and it has been recited: This is naught but a custom (khuluq) of the ancients ().
“This” (hādhā) refers to the message that Hūd had brought, which they called admonishment (waʿẓ) [in the last verse]. The implied meaning is: “This call to monotheism and admonishment that you have assumed is nothing but the custom of ancient people who followed myths and legends.” Hence, this is similar to their [the disbelievers’] claim: This is naught but the stories of the ancients (, , , ).
Another possibility is that “this” refers to their polytheism and worship of idols besides God, following the footsteps their ancient fathers. That would be like their statement: We found our fathers doing so ().
Some exegetes have suggested the following interpretation as a possibility: “This creation (khalq) of ours is just like the creation of the ancients; we live and die just as they died, and there will be no resurrection, reckoning or punishment.” However, this interpretation is improbable given the context.
وَ ما نَحْنُ بِمُعَذَّبِينَ ١٣٨ فَكَذَّبُوهُ فَأَهْلَكْناهُمْ إِنَّ فِي ذلِكَ لَآيَةً وَ ما كانَ أَكْثَرُهُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ ١٣٩ وَ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الرَّحِيمُ ١٤٠
(26:138) And we are not going to be punished.
This is their denial of the hereafter, assuming that the “grievous day” () in Hūd’s speech was a reference to the Day of Resurrection.
فَكَذَّبُوهُ فَأَهْلَكْناهُمْ إِنَّ فِي ذلِكَ لَآيَةً وَ ما كانَ أَكْثَرُهُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ ١٣٩ وَ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الرَّحِيمُ ١٤٠
(26:139-140) So they rejected him; then We destroyed them. Most surely there is a sign in this, but most of them were not believers. And most surely your Lord is the Mighty, the Merciful.
The meaning is clear based on our previous exposition.
Examining Narrations
- Imam al-Bāqir said: Noah told his people, Indeed God will appoint a prophet named Hūd. He will call his people to God but they will reject him, so God will destroy them with the wind. Whoever amongst you sees him should believe in him and follow him, for indeed God will rescue him from the punishment of the wind.
Noah ordered his son Shem (Sām) to renew their allegiance to this will every year and make that day a feast when they would renew their allegiance to Hūd’s messengership and await the time when he would rise. When God appointed Hūd, they looked at what they had in terms of knowledge, faith, inherited teachings, God’s Greatest Name and what remained of prophetic knowledge. They found that Hūd was indeed a prophet and that their father Noah had given the good news of his coming. Therefore they believed in him, attested to his messengership, and followed him. As a result God saved them from the punishment of the wind. This is what God says: And to ʿĀd (We sent) their brother Hūd (), and: ʿĀd rejected the messengers when their brother Hūd said to them: Will you not guard (against evil)? ().
- Majmaʿ al-bayān says: “A monument in vain” (āyatan taʿbathūna; ) refers to what you do not need for your residence, but you build only in vain, sport and as a distraction. Therefore, it is as if he is saying that building what you do not need is equivalent to acting in vain. This is narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ.
This is confirmed by a narration on the authority of Anas b. Mālik: Once the Messenger of God went out [in the city, or out of the city] and saw a dome. “What is this?” he asked. His Companions replied, “This belongs to one of the Anṣār.” The Prophet remained there until the owner came and said salaam, but the Prophet turned his face away from him. This was repeated until the man realized that the Prophet had done so intentionally because he was displeased with him.
He complained to his friends about it and said, “By God I do not like the Messenger of God’s treatment [of me], yet I do not know if some news has come about me or if I have done something wrong.” They told him, “God’s Messenger came out, saw your dome and asked, ‘Whose is this?’ and we told him about it.” So the man went to his dome and leveled it to the ground.
Then the Messenger of God came out another day and did not see the dome. He said, “What happened to the dome that was here?” They said, “Its owner complained to us about your aversion to him. We told him about it, so he tore it down.”
Then the Prophet said, “Everything that is built will be a burden on its owner on the Day of Resurrection—except for that which is absolutely necessary.”
- Concerning verse (And when you lay hands (on men) you lay hands (like) tyrants) Tafsīr al-Qummī says: It means: you wrongfully kill people out of anger.
The shared beginning is not mentioned in the stories of Moses and Abraham but the shared ending is. That is why the shared beginning has appeared five times, as opposed to seven shared endings. (Trans.) ↩︎
This is a very useful principle in studying the Qur’an. For example, when the Qur’an says, “God does not guide the wrongdoers” (in numerous verses), it means that He does not guide them because of their wrongdoing. (Trans.) ↩︎
Kamāl al-dīn and Rawḍat al-kāfī, with its chain of narration, on the authority of Abū Ḥamzah. ↩︎