Part 70

morn ing and at ni ght; will you not then re n~c t ? ) (Sool'(lh As-

Sagilf 37: 13 7, 138)

Allah, Most High, says, ( So We brought ou t from there in

the Believers, But We found 1101 there any household of th e

Muslims exce pt olle (i,e, Loo t and his two da ughters), And

We have leli there a sign (i ,e_the place of the Dead Sea, we ll-

known in Palestine) ror those who fear the pai nful pun ishment )

(Saarah Adh-Dlulf'iyat 5 1:35-37), Tha t is, We left it as a lesson

and a wa rn ing for those who are afra id of the Pu nishment or

the Hereafter; who fear the Most Merciful unsee n and also fea r

the ti me when they will stand before their Lord (all the Day of

Resurrecti on); who restra in the ir souls from evil desires and

lus ts, he ld back from committing those dee-ds which Allah has

made unlawfu l, abandoned acts of disobedience and fcared to

resemble the people or Loot ~ , "Whoever im itates a people,

he is onc orthem," (4) as someone said (in A.I-Bahr lII-Taweel):

Though you may not be the peo ple of Loot themselves, still ,

the people of Loot arc not tha t difTerent from you,

(3) This is a weak Imdcel" narrated by At-Tinnidhi (3127), on the authority

or Abu Sa'ecd A I - Khlldri ~.

(oJ) This 'wt/eel" is Im_I'lIl/-sa"ee": it was narrated by Abu Dawood 0 11 the

aU lhority or 'Abdullah Ibn ' Umar -4;.,

Among Ihe Greal En!l1H 313

The di scernin g and inte lli ge nt pe rson, who fems hi s Lord

fulfills wha t All ah, the A lmi ghty, the A ll-Powerful hlls enj oined

upon hi m and he accepts that to wh ich the Messenger of A llah

has guided him , suc h as lawful sexual rela ti ons w ith wives and

slave-girls who possess belluty. He should bewllre of follow ing

every rebe llious devil , for then he wi ll merit pu ni shm en t and

he will be included in the Words or A llah, Most Hi gh: ( and

they arc not eve r fa r from the =alimooll (polythe ists, ev il-doers,

etc.) ) (Soora" Hood II :83)

3 14 Jlmmtg /he Grelll El'enls

Allah, Most Hi gh, says in 500rall A/-A 'raJ, a fter re lati ng the

story of the peopl e of Loot , ( And to (the people of) Madyan

(M idia n), (We sent) their brother Shu 'a ib. He sa id, "0, my

peop le ! Worsh ip All ah! You have no other ilah (god) but

I-lim (La illlha iIIaflah [none has the right to be worshipped

but All ah]). Veri ly, a clear proof (s ign) from your Lord has

co me unto you; so g ive fu ll mcasure and full we ight and wrong

not men in their things, and do not co mmit mi sch ief on the

earth after it has been set in order, that will be better for yo u,

if you arc Believers. And sit not on every road , th reatening,

and hinderin g fro m the Path of All ah those who be lieve in

Hi m and seek ing to make it crooked. And remember whcn you

were but fcw, and He mu ltiplied you. And see what was the

Among the Grc(l/ El'ellls 315

end of the mufsidoon (m isch ief-make rs, corrupt people, liars).

And if there is a party oryoll who believe in tha t with wh ich

I have been sent and a party who do not believe, be patient

until All ah judges between us, and li e is the Best of j udges."

The chiefs orlhase w ho were a n '! 3 nt among his people said.

" We shall certainly drive ) 0, Shu'aib and those who

have bel ieved with you fro m our [Own, or e lse you (all) shall

return to our reli gion." lie sai d, "Even though we hatc it ! We

shoul d have invented a lie against Allah if we ret urned to your

re ligion. afler Allah has rescued us from it. And it is not fo r

us to return to It un less A lla h, our Lord. should wi ll. OUT Lord

comprehends all things in His Knowledge. In Allah (A lone) we

put Oli T trust. Our Lord! Judge between us a nd our peop le in

truth . for You are the Best of those who give jUdgment." The

chiefs ofthase who disbe lieved among his people said (to their

peopl e). " If you fo llow Shu 'aib, be sure th en yo u wi ll be the

losers !" So the earthq uake seized them and they lay (dead).

prostrate in the ir homes. Those who belied Shu'aib became

as if they had never dwe ll there (in their homes). T hose who

belied Sh u'a ih, they were the losers. T hen he (S hu'aib) turned

fro m them and sa id, "0, my people! I have indeed conveyed

my Lord's Messages unto you and I haye given yOli good

advice. Then how can I sorrow for the disbelieving people's

He, Most Hi gh, says in Soorol1 Ash-Shu 'ora', aft er re lating

their story, ( The dwellers of AI-Aikoh (near Madyan) bel ied

the Messengers. W hen Shu'aib sa id to them. "Wi ll you nOI fea r

All ah (a nd obey I-lim ),? I a m a tru stworthy Messenger to YOll.

So fear A llah. keep your duty to I lim, and obey mc. No rewa rd

do I ask of you for it (my Mcss<!ge of Islamic Monotheism).

my reward is on ly from the Lord of the 'A/ameen. Give full

measure, a nd cause no loss (to ot hers). And we igh with a true

31 6 A lll ong Ih l! Grear En!llls

and straight balance. And ddi':lud not peoplt:' by reduc ing their

things, nor do e vil, mak ing corruptio n and mi sc hi e f in the lan(1.

And fea r I lim Who created YOLl and the generat ion s of the mc n

of old." They sa id, " You arc only on c ofth osc bcw it ched! You

arc bu t a hu man be ing likc us and veri ly. we think that you

are one of the li ars! So cau se a pi ece of the hea ve n to fnll on

LI S. if you are o f th e tru thful! " He said. "~ I y Lo rd is th e Best

Knowe r of wha t you do ." But they be lied him, so the tOllnent

of the day oCshadow (a g loo my cl oud) ~e ize d Ih em, indecd

that was Ih e tonnelll oCa Great Day, Veri ly. in Ihis is indced a

sign, yc t most oft hcm are not bel ievers. And veril y! Yo ur Lord.

!-I e is indeed the A lmight y, the Most Me rc iful ) (SoO/'ah Ash·

The peop le of Madyan wcre Arab people and they dwe ll ed

in the ci ty of Madyan , whic h was in the land of Mu ' an , on the

border of Ash-Sham, nea r to the rcg ion o f I-lijaz, and not far

from the lake of' Ihe peopl e of Loot ~ - and they li ved not

long aftcr thc m, Madyan was a tribe a fter whom the c ity was

named . They wcre from the tribe o f Madyan , son of Madyaan ,

son of Ibrahce m A/-KI/CI/ee/ ~~ and Shu'aib ~ was the ir

Prophe t; he was the son or Meckce l Ibn Yashjan (Jokshan),

accord ing to Ibn Ishaq. He said , " In the Syriac language he

was ca ll cd Bathroon." Bu t th ere is some doubt about thi s. It

was also said that he was Shu ' nib Ibn Yas hjan Ibn Lawai (Lev i)

Ibn Ya 'qoob (Jacob). It was al so sa id that he was Shu 'ai b Ibn

Thuwaib Ibn 'A bqa Ibn Madyan Ibn Ibrah ec m (Ibrahee m).

And it was sa id that hc was Shu ' aib Ib n 'S aifoor Ibn ' Abqa Ibn

Tltabi t Ibn Madyall Ibn Ibrahccll1. Ot he r ge neal ogies ha ve a lso

In the Iwdeelll of Abu Oharr ~, whie h is in the Selheel! of

Ibn I-li bba n, in the Chaptcr on Prophe ts a nd Messe ngers, the

Allum!! liJt' Greal HI'l'lIh 3 17

Prophet :lIS sa id, "A bu Dharr, four (of the Prophets) were from

the Arabs: I-load, Sa leh, Shu 'a ib and your Proph el." (~l Some of

the Sa/aJ re ferred to Shu' aib :-Ml as the "O rator of the Prophets",

due to hi s eloquence, grandeur of speec h and powerful rheto ri c,

when ca lling upon hi s people to be lieve in hi s Message.

It is reported on the authority of' Abdullah Ibn ' Abbas ~ that

he said: Whe ncve r the Messenger o f Al lah !11 mcntio ned Shu 'n ib

~ , he wou ld say, "That was the Orator of th e Prophcts." (6)

The people of Madyan were disbel ieve rs, w ho pracliced

highway robbery; Ihey used to terrori ze wayfa rers a nd they

worshipped A/-A ikalJ, whi ch means a tree surrounded by tangled

woods. They wcre the wo rst o f peop le in their dealings with

others, giving short we ight and measure, while demanding more

than their due fro m ot he rs. So A ll ah sent to th em a man fro l11

among them and thaI was Ih e Messenger of"A ll ah , S hu ' a i b ~ ;

he ca lled on them 10 worship Allah, Alone, withou l ascribi ng

partners to Him and he forbad e them from e ngag ing in the

aforementioned s inful pmct ices, such as chea ting the peop le

out of their right s and te rrorizin g them when th ey were on thc

road. Some o f them be lieved, but most ofth cm di sbe lieved and

so All ah inflicted on them a severe punishmenl. And He is the

lVali (Helper, Supporter, Protector, etc.), Worthy of all Pra ise.