Part 73

put our trust. Our Lord! Judge between us and our peopl e in

truth . for You are the Best of thc/Oliheell," ) (SoOl'ali AI-A 'ra/

They demanded that th ose who had bel ieved in Shu' a ib 's

Message reI urn \0 their reli gion and so Shu 'a ib ~\ d isputed

w ith th em on behalf of hi s peop le, say ing, ( "Even though \w

hate it ! ) (Soorall AI-A 'rqf7:88) That is, these peop le (who

ha ve be lieved) wi ll not retu rn vo luntari ly to yo u; if they re turn ,

they wi ll onl y do so unde r comp ulsion and that is because

oncc th e joy of fa ith has pervaded the heart, none w ill be

d iscontented w ith it and none wi ll reject it, a nd no olle can

avoid that. Thi s is why he said , ( We shou ld have invent ed a

lie against A llah if we retu rned to you r reli gion. a fter A ll ah

ha s resc lled liS from it. And it is no\ for us to return to it un less

Allah , our Lo rd, should w ill. Our Lord comprehends alilhin gs

in Ili s Knowledge . In Allah (A lone) we put our trust ) (SoO/'ali

AI-A 'raf 7:89) Th at is, He is Sufficie nt for tiS, He is our

Protector and we takc refugee w ith Him in a ll of ou r affa irs.

Then he sought j ud gment from A ll ah aga in st his peop le and

asked his Lord to hasten the infliction of the punishment that

they deserved upon them, saying, ("Our Lord! Judge between

liS and our people in tmth, for You are the Best oftheJofiheen ."

) (Sooro" III-A 'raf7:89) That is, of those who give j udgment.

So he in voked Allah aga inst them - and Allah does not reject

the invoca tions of His Messenge rs when they seek help from

Him aga inst those who reject Hi m, disbelieve in Him and His

Messengers. and oppose them. But in spite of this, they remained

determined to persist in what they we re doing (Le. disbelief,

sins, ctc.). ( The chiefs of those who disbelieved among his

people said (to their people), "If you follow Shu'aib, be sure

then you will be the losers!" ) (SoO/'a" A/-A 'ro(7:90) All ah,

Most High, says, ( So the ea rthq uake seized them. and they lay

(dead), prostrate in their homcs, ) (Saara" A/-A 'raf7:78) All ah

me ntioned (earl ier) in SOOl'oli AI-A 'raJ that the earthquake

seized them (i.e. the people of Thamood); that is to say, the

earlh upon which they stood shook severely and caused their

souls to be taken out from their bodies, while the an imals in

their land became like sto ne and their (i.e. the people's) bodies

became corpses, without sOllls, un llloving and senseless. Allah

had combined upon th em a varie ty of punishmenIS, lesso ns and

affli ctions and this was because of thei r wicked characteristics.

Allah infl icted on them a severe earthquake, which stilled all

movement and a great Shollt ex tinguished their voices and He

sent a shadow or cloud upon them which emitted fire and sparks

from all sides and all dircctions. But I-Ie, Most High, infonned

us about them in every SOOl-ali in whi ch mention of thcm was

appropriate. And in the course of the narrative in Soorah Al-

A 'raJ, I-Ie mentioned that they spread fa lse stori es about the

Prop het of Allah ~ and his companions and threatened them

with exp ulsion from their town, if they did not return to their

fonner religion. Allah says, ( So the earthquake seized them,

Among file Grear EI'ellfs 327

and they lay (dead), prost rate in the ir homes, ) (SOOl'O" A/-

A 'raJ 7:78) A llah responded to the ir spread in g of fa lsehoods

(iljafJ with the ea rthquake (raj/air) (12) and th e ir intimidati on

(ik/wfilh) with te rror (klreeJall), ( 11) which was Illost appropria te

As f'or th e narrat ive in SOO1'ali Hood, He mention ed th aI Ihe

Shout seized them and they became li fe less in their homes,

Thi s was beca use th ey said 10 th e Proph et of A ll ah in ton es of

deris ion , mockery and belittl ement, ( Docs yo ur salah (prayer)

command that we leave olTwhat our fat hers ll sed to worship, or

that we leave 01T doing what we like wit h our property? Ve rily,

you are the fo rbearin g, ri ght -minded! ") (SoOl'ali Hood II :87)

So it was appropriate thaI He mentioned here the Shout, which

was li ke a harsh rebuk e for engag ing in this wicked speec h

whi ch they addressed to thi s nobl e, fa ith fu l and e loq ue nt

Messenger and so there ca me 10 th em the Shout, whi ch, a long

wi th the earthquake, silenced them,

As f'or Alla h's Word s in SoO/'all Ash-Shu 'ora ', He me nti oned

that a puni shment se ized them on th e Day of Shadow, A nd that

was a respon se to th eir request and somet hing ap proxim ating

what they asked for, for they sa id , ( ';YOll arc only one or th ose

bew itched ! YOli are but a hu ma n be in g like us and , ve rily, wc

think th at you arc oll c ofthe liars! So cause a pi ece or th e ht!Jven

to fa ll on us, if you are of the tnlthful! " He said, " My Lord

is thc Bes t Knowe r o f wha t you do, " ) (Soorah Ash·S/l/I·aro·

A llah, Most Hi gh - Who is th e All-H ea ring, the All·Seeing

- says, ( But they be lied him, so the torment of the Day o f

(12) hjajand rajfah are bOlh from the salllc rOOI verb rajaja ,

( 13) Ikfwfttl, and Kheeftllt are bOlh from the same rool verb kfWftl,

328 Amollg the Great El'ellls

Shadow (a gloomy cloud) seized Ih em; indeed that was th e

plI ll ishme lll o r a G reat Day. ) (Saara" As"-S/Il/ 'ara '26: 189)

Then All ah mentioncd the sa mc crit icism regarding the

Companions of th e Aykal/ that He had made of the people of

Madyan, wh ich was that they used to cheat in their we igh ts

and measures and thi s proves tha t they were the one people,

who were destroyed by a vari ety of punishmcnts. Regarding

All ah 's Words: ( But th ey be licd him. so the torm ent o f the

Day o f Shad ow (a gloomy cl oud) seized thel11 , indeed that

was th e punishment of a Grea t Day) (SoOf'ail Ash-SIIlI 'ara '

26: 189). scho lars have sa id that th ey we re affli eted by an

intense heat and All ah sent aga inst them a fie rce wind, which

blew for seven days and neith er water nor shade, nor entering

tunnels avai led them aga inst it. They fl ed from their homes into

the cOllnt rys ide, where they were cove red by a cloud. They

ga th ered beneath it. in order to seek shade fro m it, but when

they had all gathered under it, Allah caused it 10 cnst sparks

and flames offire on them, while the earth shook beneath them

and the Shou t came to them frol11 the heaven and their sou ls

we re ex tracted from them and des troyed. ( So the earthquak e

se ized th em and they lay (dead). prostra te in their homes.

Those wh o belied Shu ' aib beca me as if they had never dwe lt

th ere (in their homes). Those who belied Shu 'aib, they were

the losers. ) (Saara" A/-A 'ra/7:9 1,92) So Allah saved Shu'aib

jfi9 and the be lievers who were with him , as I-Ie, Most High,

says, and He is II'" Most Tnlthfu l of Speakers, ( And when

Our Com ma ndment came, We saved Shu' aib il nd those who

believed with him by " Mercy rrom Us. ) (Saara l! Hood I I :94)

He, Mos t High, says, ( So th e earthquake se ized them and they

lay (d ead). prostrate in their homes. Those wh o belied Shu ' aib

beca me as if they had never dwe lt there (in th eir homes). Those

who belied Shu' aib, they were the losers. ) (SoOl-ali AI-A 'raj

AIIJ(JIIg 'he Crelll EI'elll,\ 329

7:9 1,92) This was in response to their sayi ng: ( " If you foHO\\'

Shu ' aib, be sure the n you will be th e losers," ) (So omh Al-

A 'ra/7: 90) . Then A ll ah, Mos t Hi gh, menti oned regarding Hi s

Proph ct ;' that he rcproac hed th em and rebuk ed the m, as

All ah, Most Hi gh, says, ( Theil he (S hu' aib) tu rned from thc m

and sa id, "0. my peop le ! I have indeed co nvcyed my Lord's

Messages unto you and I have g ive n you good advice. Then

how can I sorrow fo r the disbel iev in g peop le's (destructi on)'- '

) (5001'011 AI-A ''-0/7:93) Th at is, he turned away from their

placc after they had been dest royed, sayi ng, ( " I ha ve indeed

co nveyed to yo u the Message o f my Lord. and ha ve give n yo u

good ad vice." ) (Saarah AI-A 'ra/7:79). Th aI is, I have ful fi ll ed

what was incu mben t upon mc, by co nvey ing tOYOli the Message

in full and giving you the comp lete advice and I have striven

to gui de you to the ut most of my ab ili ty and wilh all of the

mea ns at my di sposal. But tha t has not benefi ted YOll, because

Allah does not gui de those who will full y go astray and they

have no ne to help them. So I do not regret w hat has befa ll en

you after all that , because yo u d id not accept th e advice and