Verses 141–159
These verses summarize the story of Ṣāliḥ and his people. He was one of the Arab prophets who is mentioned in the Qur’an after Hūd.
Commentary
كَذَّبَتْ ثَمُودُ الْمُرْسَلِينَ ١٤١ إِذْ قالَ لَهُمْ أَخُوهُمْ صالِحٌ أَ لا تَتَّقُونَ ١٤٢ إِنِّي لَكُمْ رَسُولٌ أَمِينٌ ١٤٣ فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَ أَطِيعُونِ ١٤٤ وَ ما أَسْئَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ أَجْرٍ إِنْ أَجْرِيَ إِلاَّ عَلى رَبِّ الْعالَمِينَ ١٤٥
(26:141-145) Thamūd rejected the messengers. When their brother Ṣāliḥ 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; my reward is only with the Lord of the worlds.
The meaning of these verses should be clear based on our previous discussions.
أَ تُتْرَكُونَ فِي ما هاهُنا آمِنِينَ ١٤٦
(26:146) Will you be left secure in what (mā) is here (hāhunā);
Apparently this is a rhetorical question which implies a negation. The particle mā is called mawṣūlah (meaning “what”), and it refers to the bounties that are elaborated later: In gardens and fountains… (). Hāhunā (meaning “here”) is used to refer to a place that is near and present, which in this case is the land of Thamūd. “Secure” is the condition (ḥāl) of those who are “left.”
The implied meaning is: You will not be left in these bounties that are surrounding you in this land of yours completely on your own, without being questioned about what you do, and secure from all accountability to God.
فِي جَنَّاتٍ وَ عُيُونٍ ١٤٧ وَ زُرُوعٍ وَ نَخْلٍ طَلْعُها هَضِيمٌ ١٤٨
(26:147-148) In gardens and fountains, And tilled fields and laden palm-trees (ṭalʿuhā haḍīm)?
This is an elaboration of “in what is here” (). Although gardens include palms, he mentioned palms separately because of their significance to them. Ṭalʿ in palms is equivalent to blossoms in other trees. Haḍīm has been defined as “overlapping and joined together.”
وَ تَنْحِتُونَ مِنَ الْجِبالِ بُيُوتاً فارِهِينَ ١٤٩
(26:149) And you hew houses out of the mountains exultingly (fārihīn);
Al-Rāghib says (summarized):
Farih is a ṣifah mushbbahah [a firm and stable attribute] that means ashir (exulting). In the verse, “And you hew houses out of the mountains fārihīn” (), fārihīn means “skillfully.” It has also been interpreted as “exultingly.”
Based on his preference [that is, fārihīn meaning “skillfully”] the verse is describing God’s bounties on them. Based on the other meaning [that is, fārihīn meaning “exultingly”] the verse is being critical of their exultation and extravagance. Either way, the verse continues the rhetorical question above.
فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَ أَطِيعُونِ ١٥٠
(26:150) Therefore guard against (the punishment of) Allah and obey me.
This is a conclusion of the previous criticism which implied a negative answer to the rhetorical questions above.
وَ لا تُطِيعُوا أَمْرَ الْمُسْرِفِينَ ١٥١ الَّذِينَ يُفْسِدُونَ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَ لا يُصْلِحُونَ١٥٢
(26:151-152) And do not obey the bidding (amr) of the extravagant, Who make mischief in the land and do not act aright.
Apparently amr (command, order, bid) here is the opposite of nahy (prohibition), because he is commanding them against obeying their amr. Some exegetes have accepted the possibility that amr here means shaʾn (affair, position, status, business). Based on this meaning, obeying their amr would mean being their followers and pursuing a course of action that they wanted the general population to take.
Either way, the extravagant are the chiefs and elite who lead the society. Here he is addressing the general public who followed the elite, because he had despaired of the chiefs and elites ever believing and following the truth.
It could also be this is a general address to everyone, where it would also include the elite, because they were following their forefathers and obeying their command [or affair], just as they told Ṣāliḥ: Do you (now) forbid us from worshipping what our fathers worshipped? (). Thus, they were all obeying the extravagant people, and that is why he prohibited them from doing so.
He then defines and interprets “the extravagant” (al-musrifīn)—that is, those who transgress the truth and exceed the balanced limits—by saying: Who make mischief in the land and do not act aright (). This indicates the real reason for his prohibition. The implied meaning is: Be wary of God and do not obey the bidding of the extravagant because they make mischief in the land and do not act properly; those who make mischief are not secure from God’s punishment, for He is Mighty and Vengeful.
Even though the universe is composed of parts that exhibit conflict and interference between them, there is a special congruence between its parts that brings about a desired result and effect. They are like the two pans of a scale that oppose one another when going up or down, yet they complement each other in determining the weight of what is being weighed, and that is the desired objective. The human world—which is a part of the universe—is also like that. This similarly applies to each individual: even though one has different organs and opposing faculties, they are created with a balance in their functions and activities, such that each faculty achieves its appointed share. One is also equipped with an intellect which distinguishes good and evil, and which gives every faculty its proper due.
The universe moves toward the objective that is desired from it under the system that governs it. The complete connection that is between the different parts of the universe outlines a specific path for every part of the universe so that it may pursue it without inclining right or left from its middle course, and without deviating from it due to lack or excess. Otherwise, an inclination or deviation would ruin the entire system. That would in turn prevent the achievement of the general objective of the universe, which would mean the failure of all parts. It thus follows that should any part contravene the path that has been drawn for it, the other parts will oppose it, for that deviation would ruin the entire system. If the other parts can mend it and bring it back to the balanced middle course, they will do so; otherwise they will destroy and efface it in order to maintain the well-being of the universe as a whole, so that it may continue properly.
The human being is part of this universe, and thus is no exception to this universal system. If people follow the guidance of their innate nature (fiṭrah), they will achieve their appointed felicity, but if they transgress the limits of their fiṭrah and make mischief in the land, then God will inflict famine, natural disasters and various forms of punishment upon them so that they may return to the right and constructive path. He says: Corruption has appeared in the land and the sea on account of what the hands of people have wrought, that He may make them taste a part of what they have done, so that they may return ().
If they still continue their mischief because it is rooted in their hearts, then God will destroy them with an exterminating punishment, and will clear the earth from the defilement of their mischief. He says: And if the people of the towns had believed and guarded (against evil), We would certainly have opened up for them blessings from the heaven and the earth, but they rejected it, so We overtook them for what they had earned (), And it would not have been beseeming to your Lord to have destroyed the towns tyrannously, while their people acted well (), and: That (as for) the earth, My righteous servants shall inherit it (). The reason for their inheritance of the earth is that if they are righteous, their actions will be appropriate; and appropriate actions will be in harmony with the general system of the universe. As a result, the earth will improve and become more appropriate for their life in it.
The above discussion shows two points: (1) The reality of the prophetic call is to improve human life on earth. He has narrated from Shuʿayb (Jethro): I desire nothing but reform so far as I am able (). (2) Ṣāliḥ’s apparently simple statement—And do not obey the bidding (amr) of the extravagant, who make mischief ()—is in fact based on a rational argument.
He specifically added “and do not act aright” after saying “Who make mischief in the land” (). Perhaps he did so to suggest that they are human beings with the same human nature (fiṭrah), and thus they are expected to act aright on the earth, but they have deviated from their nature and have substituted mischief for right action.
قالُوا إِنَّما أَنْتَ مِنَ الْمُسَحَّرِينَ ١٥٣
(26:153) They said: You are only of the bewitched (al-musaḥḥarīn).
A musaḥḥar is one who has been bewitched so many times that his intellect has been overcome. Some exegetes have said that saḥr means the part that is above the stomach, and musaḥḥar means one who has a belly. Therefore this expression is a metaphorical way of saying that you are a human being like us who eats and drinks, which is then emphasized by their following statement: You are naught but a mortal like ourselves (). Others have said that musaḥḥar is one who has a saḥr which means “lung.” Therefore what they meant was that you are a breathing mortal like ourselves.
ما أَنْتَ إِلاَّ بَشَرٌ مِثْلُنا فَأْتِ بِآيَةٍ إِنْ كُنْتَ مِنَ الصَّادِقِينَ ١٥٤ قالَ هذِهِ ناقَةٌ لَها شِرْبٌ وَ لَكُمْ شِرْبُ يَوْمٍ مَعْلُومٍ ١٥٥ وَ لا تَمَسُّوها بِسُوءٍ فَيَأْخُذَكُمْ عَذابُ يَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ ١٥٦
(26:154-156) You are naught but a mortal like ourselves; so bring a sign if you are one of the truthful. He said: This is a she-camel; she shall have her portion of water (shirb), and you have your portion of water at an appointed time; And do not touch her with evil, lest the punishment of a grievous day overtake you.
Shirb means “a share of water.” The rest is clear and the story was discussed in detail in Chapter 11 (Hūd).
فَعَقَرُوها فَأَصْبَحُوا نادِمِينَ ١٥٧
(26:157) But they hamstrung her, then regretted.
The act of hamstringing has been ascribed to all of them even though it was carried out by only one of them. This is because they were satisfied with his act. We read in Nahj al-balāghah [by Imam ʿAlī, a.s.]:
O people! Certainly what gathers people together is [their] satisfaction and dissatisfaction. One individual killed the camel of Thamūd, but God punished them all because they all joined him through their acquiescence. Thus God says: But they hamstrung her, then regretted ().
…then regretted: Perhaps their regret was only when they saw the signs of punishment. Otherwise, when they hamstrung the camel, they told him [Ṣāliḥ] in defiance and derision: O Ṣāliḥ! bring us what you threatened us with, if you are one of the messengers ().
فَأَخَذَهُمُ الْعَذابُ إِنَّ فِي ذلِكَ لَآيَةً وَ ما كانَ أَكْثَرُهُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ ١٥٨ وَ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الرَّحِيمُ ١٥٩
(26:158-159) So the punishment (al-ʿadhāb) overtook 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 article al- (lit. “the”) in al-ʿadhāb is definite. It means the promised punishment [which was mentioned and known from before]. That is what Ṣāliḥ had promised would befall them after three days, as mentioned in Chapter 11 (Hūd). The rest is clear.
See verses . (Trans.) ↩︎