7. Al-A'raaf

These were harsh words. But, the reply given by Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) carries an eloquent diction fit for a prophet. Here, he is leaving a trail for all carriers of da'wah, preachers and reformers, as a signpost of education and guidance. Here, he is not responding on the same wave length, not anger against anger, but trying to remove their doubts in the simplest possible words: قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ لَيْسَ بِي ضَلَالَةٌ وَلَـٰكِنِّي رَ‌سُولٌ مِّن رَّ‌بِّ الْعَالَمِينَ ﴿61﴾ أُبَلِّغُكُمْ رِ‌سَالَاتِ رَ‌بِّي وَأَنصَحُ لَكُمْ وَأَعْلَمُ مِنَ اللَّـهِ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ ﴿62﴾. (He said, "0 my people, there is no error in me, but I am a messenger from the Lord of the worlds. I convey to you the messages of my Lord and wish your betterment, and I know from Allah what you do not know). In other words, what Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) is telling his people was that their accusation that he has gone astray was not true. However, the fact remained that he was not bound by their ancestral customs rooted in ignorance like them. Instead of that, he was sent as a messenger from the Lord of all the worlds. Whatever he was telling them was under the guidance of his Lord. His sole mission was to convey the message of Allah Ta` ala to them which was in their interest and for their good. This was not for any benefit of Allah Ta` ala nor did it serve any personal interest of his own.' The expression: ` Lord of all the worlds' in this statement strikes decisively against believing in Shirk by associating others with the pristine Divinity of Allah Ta` ala. Once the spirit of this assertion is understood, no god or goddess of any denomination can stand valid as objects of worship. After that, he said that the doubts they had about the punishment of the Last Day were because of their lack of awareness - and, as for him, he was blessed with certitude in this matter by Allah Ta` ala.

After that comes the reply to the other doubt expressed by them. This has been stated clearly in Surah Al-Mu'minun: يَتَفَضَّلَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَلَوْ شَاءَ اللَّـهُ لَأَنزَلَ مَلَائِكَةً that is, the people of Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) came up with another doubt about the call given by him. They thought that he was only human, a man like them who ate, drank, slept and woke as they did. How could they take him as their leader? Had Allah wanted to send a message for them, he should have sent angels with it whose distinction and greatness would have impressed them. Now, what they saw here was no more than that there was someone from among their own race and community who wished to establish his superiority over them - 23:24.

These were harsh words. But, the reply given by Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) carries an eloquent diction fit for a prophet. Here, he is leaving a trail for all carriers of da'wah, preachers and reformers, as a signpost of education and guidance. Here, he is not responding on the same wave length, not anger against anger, but trying to remove their doubts in the simplest possible words: قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ لَيْسَ بِي ضَلَالَةٌ وَلَـٰكِنِّي رَ‌سُولٌ مِّن رَّ‌بِّ الْعَالَمِينَ ﴿61﴾ أُبَلِّغُكُمْ رِ‌سَالَاتِ رَ‌بِّي وَأَنصَحُ لَكُمْ وَأَعْلَمُ مِنَ اللَّـهِ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ ﴿62﴾. (He said, "0 my people, there is no error in me, but I am a messenger from the Lord of the worlds. I convey to you the messages of my Lord and wish your betterment, and I know from Allah what you do not know). In other words, what Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) is telling his people was that their accusation that he has gone astray was not true. However, the fact remained that he was not bound by their ancestral customs rooted in ignorance like them. Instead of that, he was sent as a messenger from the Lord of all the worlds. Whatever he was telling them was under the guidance of his Lord. His sole mission was to convey the message of Allah Ta` ala to them which was in their interest and for their good. This was not for any benefit of Allah Ta` ala nor did it serve any personal interest of his own.' The expression: ` Lord of all the worlds' in this statement strikes decisively against believing in Shirk by associating others with the pristine Divinity of Allah Ta` ala. Once the spirit of this assertion is understood, no god or goddess of any denomination can stand valid as objects of worship. After that, he said that the doubts they had about the punishment of the Last Day were because of their lack of awareness - and, as for him, he was blessed with certitude in this matter by Allah Ta` ala.

After that comes the reply to the other doubt expressed by them. This has been stated clearly in Surah Al-Mu'minun: يَتَفَضَّلَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَلَوْ شَاءَ اللَّـهُ لَأَنزَلَ مَلَائِكَةً that is, the people of Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) came up with another doubt about the call given by him. They thought that he was only human, a man like them who ate, drank, slept and woke as they did. How could they take him as their leader? Had Allah wanted to send a message for them, he should have sent angels with it whose distinction and greatness would have impressed them. Now, what they saw here was no more than that there was someone from among their own race and community who wished to establish his superiority over them - 23:24.

Here, the answer given was: أَوَعَجِبْتُمْ أَن جَاءَكُمْ ذِكْرٌ‌ مِّن رَّ‌بِّكُمْ عَلَىٰ رَ‌جُلٍ مِّنكُمْ لِيُنذِرَ‌كُمْ وَلِتَتَّقُوا وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْ‌حَمُونَ ﴿63﴾ (Do you wonder that an advice from your Lord has come to you through a man from among you, so that he may warn you and that you may fear Allah, and that you may be blessed with mercy?) [ that is, his warning may lead you to stop opposing him as a result of which you may be blessed with mercy ]

The substance of the argument is that the making of a human being a messenger of Allah is not a matter of surprise. First of all, Allah Ta` ala is the Absolute Master. Bestowing on someone the status of a prophet or messenger is His exclusive domain. It is He who does it at His will. No one is in a position to dare have it otherwise. In addition to that, a little deliberation will make it clear that the purpose of sending a prophet or messenger to guide human beings can only be achieved through a human being. This is a mission angels cannot perform.

The reason is that the purpose of prophethood is to bring people round to believe in and obey Allah Ta` ala and save them from harsh consequences of their opposition to His injunctions - and this can only be possible when a person from their own kind presents before them a model of the desired conduct and shows before them that it is quite possible to worship Allah and obey His injunctions even with the fulfillment of inherent human needs and desires. If this call was brought forth by angels and they were to put their model before people, it is obvious that people would have found it fairly convenient to say that an-gels are free of human desires, they are never hungry or thirsty, they never sleep, or get tired. How could they ever become like them? But, when one of their own kind, despite having common human characteristics and desires, walks amongst them as a perfect model of obedience to Divine injunctions, they would be left with no excuse.

It was to point out in this direction that it was said: لِيُنذِرَ‌كُمْ وَلِتَتَّقُوا (so that he may warn you and that you may fear Allah). In other words, it means that a person whose warning can make people have fear could only be the one who is of their kind and is an epitome of human traits like them. This is not an unusual doubt for the disbelievers of many communities who have questioned the propriety of having a human being as prophet or messenger. This is the answer given by the Qur'an to all such doubts. It is certainly regrettable that, despite so many clarifications of the Qur'an, there are people who would dare going to the limit of denying the ` humanness' of the Holy Prophet ﷺ . But, the problem with the ignorant among human beings is that they would not understand this reality and would simply refuse to accept the superiority of anyone from their own kind. This is why they would nurse hatred for their contemporary Awliya' (men of Allah) and ` Ulama' (highly trained and trustworthy religious scholars who practice what they teach) and look down upon them because of their contemporaneousness. This has always been the trademark of the ignorant.

When this paternal and well-wishing approach …

Commentary

A Brief History of ` Ad and Thamud

` Ad is the name of a person who is in the fifth generation after Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) and is among the progeny of his son Sam. Then, his progeny, and his people, came to be known by the name of ` Ad. In the Holy Qur'an, ` Ad also appears with the words: عَادَ اُولٰی ('Ad al-'ula: ` Ad, the First) and also: إِرَ‌مَ ذَاتِ الْعِمَادِ that is, of the city of Iram with lofty pillars; or tall like lofty pillars - 89:7) which tells us that the people of ` Ad are also known in association with the name of Iram, and that with ` Ad I, there is some ` Ad II as well. In this investigation, commentators and historians differ. The better known proposition is that Iram is the name of the grandfather of ` Ad. This ` Ad is among the children of 'Aus who was his son, and is known as ` Ad I. His second son, جَثو (Jathw) had a son. His name was Thamud. He is called ` Ad II. The outcome is that ` Ad and Thamud are both two branches of Iram. One of them is called ` Ad I and the other is known as Thamud or ` Ad II, and the word: اِرَم (Iram) is common to both ` Ad and Thamud.

Some commentators have said that at the time when the punishment overtook the people of ` Ad, a deputation of theirs was on a visit to Makkah al-Mu` zzamah, which remained safe from this punishment. It is known as the other ` Ad. (Bayan al-Qur'an)

Hud (علیہ السلام) is the name of a prophet. He is also in the fifth generation of Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) and is among the progeny of Sam. The genealogical tree of the people of ` Ad and Sayyidna Hud (علیہ السلام) converges on Sam in the fifth generation. Therefore, Sayyidna Hud (علیہ السلام) is a lineal brother to ` Ad. That is why it was said: اَخَاھُم ھُوداً (their brother Hid - 65)

The people of ` Ad had thirteen families. Their habitations were spread out from Oman to Hadramaut and Yaman. Their lands were fertile. Gardens were abundant. To live they constructed mansions and palaces. They were tall and heavily built. This is what the expression زَادَكُمْ فِي الْخَلْقِ بَسْطَةً (gave you increased strength in physique - 69) means. Allah Ta` ala had opened the doors of His blessing upon them. But, their crooked thinking made these very blessings a curse for them. They became so intoxicated with their power and grandeur that they started boasting: مَنْ أَشَدُّ مِنَّا قُوَّةً (Who is superior to us in strength?-41:15). How strange of them that they took no notice of their Lord and the Lord of the worlds bathed in whose blessings they all were and went on to sink themselves into the worship of idols carved out of rocks!

The Lineage of Sayyidna Hud (علیہ السلام) and Some Glimpses of the Background

These were the people for whose guidance Allah Ta` ala sent Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) as a prophet who was from their family. The famous authority on Arab genealogy, Abu al-Barak-at al-Jauni has written that the name of the son of Sayyidna Hud rx..ll., 1c is Ya’ rub ibn Qahtan who went to live in Yaman. Yamani people are his progeny. The Arabic language originated from him and it was this correspondence with 'Ya'rub' that the language was called Arabic and its speakers, the Arabs. (al-Bahr …

(2)-In the second verse (66), it was said: قَالَ الْمَلَأُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُ‌وا مِن قَوْمِهِ إِنَّا لَنَرَ‌اكَ فِي سَفَاهَةٍ وَإِنَّا لَنَظُنُّكَ مِنَ الْكَاذِبِينَ ﴿66﴾ (Said the chiefs of his people who disbelieved, "Indeed, We see you in foolishness, and we certainly believe you to be one of the liars." This stance taken in opposition here resembles the one taken by the people of Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) . The only difference is that of some words.

Its reply which appears in verses 67 and 68 is nearly the same as given by Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) - 61-63.

Its reply which appears in verses 67 and 68 is nearly the same as given by Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) - 61-63.

(3)-Once again, the objection of the people of ` Ad mentioned in the fifth verse (69) is the same as raised by the people of Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) before them - that is, how can we take a human being like us as our superior? Had it been an angel, maybe we would have done that.' In answer to this what the Qur'an has mentioned is the reply given by Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) to his people - where he had said that there was nothing to be surprised about the fact that a human being comes to people as the prophet or messenger of Allah to put His fear in their hearts, because it is a human being who can convince other human beings effectively.

After that they were reminded of the blessings Allah Ta` ala had bestowed upon them. It was said: وَاذْكُرُ‌وا إِذْ جَعَلَكُمْ خُلَفَاءَ مِن بَعْدِ قَوْمِ نُوحٍ وَزَادَكُمْ فِي الْخَلْقِ بَسْطَةً ۖ فَاذْكُرُ‌وا آلَاءَ اللَّـهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ (And remember when He made you successors after the people of Nuh and gave you increased strength in physique).

Remembering these blessings would have been for their own good, but wicked and intoxicated with power and wealth as they were, they paid no heed and gave a reply which was no different from what is generally given by people who have gone astray. They said that if Sayyidna Hud (علیہ السلام) was trying to wean them away from the faith of their ancestors and hoping that they would abandon their idols and come around to believing in just one God, then, this they would never be able to do. As for the warning of punishment he was giving to them, they would say: go ahead and bring it upon us, if you are telling the truth.

(4)-The sixth verse (70) contains the answer given by Sayyidna Hud (علیہ السلام) . He told them that, in view of their contumacy and lack of good sense, the wrath and punishment of Allah would have not remained far and may come sooner than they expect. So, this was a matter of waiting. Let them wait for it, so shall he do. It would be noticed that the provoking reply given by his people prompted Sayyidna Hud (علیہ السلام) to give a suitable answer which included the news that the punishment they were looking for was to come soon. But, he was a prophet. His paternal affection and the desire to do good to them forced him to say during the course of his reply that he regretted that his people had taken things without sense and life as objects of worship without having any proof from reason or revelation to support their position. Now they had become so staunch in their devotion to the false that they had started quarreling with him, a prophet of Allah.