Tafheem ul Quran

Surah 11 Hud, Ayat 50-60

وَاِلٰى عَادٍ اَخَاهُمۡ هُوۡدًا​ ؕ قَالَ يٰقَوۡمِ اعۡبُدُوا اللّٰهَ مَا لَـكُمۡ مِّنۡ اِلٰهٍ غَيۡرُهٗ​ ؕ اِنۡ اَنۡتُمۡ اِلَّا مُفۡتَرُوۡنَ‏ ﴿11:50﴾ يٰقَوۡمِ لَاۤ اَسۡـئَلُكُمۡ عَلَيۡهِ اَجۡرًا​ ؕ اِنۡ اَجۡرِىَ اِلَّا عَلَى الَّذِىۡ فَطَرَنِىۡ ؕ اَفَلَا تَعۡقِلُوۡنَ‏ ﴿11:51﴾ وَيٰقَوۡمِ اسۡتَغۡفِرُوۡا رَبَّكُمۡ ثُمَّ تُوۡبُوۡۤا اِلَيۡهِ يُرۡسِلِ السَّمَآءَ عَلَيۡكُمۡ مِّدۡرَارًا وَّيَزِدۡكُمۡ قُوَّةً اِلٰى قُوَّتِكُمۡ وَلَا تَتَوَلَّوۡا مُجۡرِمِيۡنَ‏ ﴿11:52﴾ قَالُوۡا يٰهُوۡدُ مَا جِئۡتَـنَا بِبَيِّنَةٍ وَّمَا نَحۡنُ بِتٰـرِكِىۡۤ اٰلِهَـتِنَا عَنۡ قَوۡلِكَ وَمَا نَحۡنُ لَـكَ بِمُؤۡمِنِيۡنَ‏ ﴿11:53﴾ اِنۡ نَّقُوۡلُ اِلَّا اعۡتَـرٰٮكَ بَعۡضُ اٰلِهَتِنَا بِسُوۡٓءٍ​ ؕ قَالَ اِنِّىۡۤ اُشۡهِدُ اللّٰهَ وَاشۡهَدُوۡۤا اَنِّىۡ بَرِىۡٓءٌ مِّمَّا تُشۡرِكُوۡنَ ۙ‏ ﴿11:54﴾ مِنۡ دُوۡنِهٖ​ فَكِيۡدُوۡنِىۡ جَمِيۡعًا ثُمَّ لَا تُنۡظِرُوۡنِ‏ ﴿11:55﴾ اِنِّىۡ تَوَكَّلۡتُ عَلَى اللّٰهِ رَبِّىۡ وَرَبِّكُمۡ ​ؕ مَا مِنۡ دَآبَّةٍ اِلَّا هُوَ اٰخِذٌ ۢ بِنَاصِيَتِهَا ؕ اِنَّ رَبِّىۡ عَلٰى صِرَاطٍ مُّسۡتَقِيۡمٍ‏  ﴿11:56﴾ فَاِنۡ تَوَلَّوۡا فَقَدۡ اَبۡلَغۡتُكُمۡ مَّاۤ اُرۡسِلۡتُ بِهٖۤ اِلَيۡكُمۡ​ ؕ وَيَسۡتَخۡلِفُ رَبِّىۡ قَوۡمًا غَيۡرَكُمۡۚ وَلَا تَضُرُّوۡنَهٗ شَيۡـئًا​ ؕ اِنَّ رَبِّىۡ عَلٰى كُلِّ شَىۡءٍ حَفِيۡظٌ‏ ﴿11:57﴾ وَ لَمَّا جَآءَ اَمۡرُنَا نَجَّيۡنَا هُوۡدًا وَّالَّذِيۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا مَعَهٗ بِرَحۡمَةٍ مِّنَّا ۚ وَ نَجَّيۡنٰهُمۡ مِّنۡ عَذَابٍ غَلِيۡظٍ‏ ﴿11:58﴾ وَتِلۡكَ عَادٌ​ جَحَدُوۡا بِاٰيٰتِ رَبِّهِمۡ وَعَصَوۡا رُسُلَهٗ وَاتَّبَعُوۡۤا اَمۡرَ كُلِّ جَبَّارٍ عَنِيۡدٍ‏ ﴿11:59﴾ وَاُتۡبِعُوۡا فِىۡ هٰذِهِ الدُّنۡيَا لَعۡنَةً وَّيَوۡمَ الۡقِيٰمَةِ​ؕ اَلَاۤ اِنَّ عَادًا كَفَرُوۡا رَبَّهُمۡ​ؕ اَلَا بُعۡدًا لِّعَادٍ قَوۡمِ هُوۡدٍ‏ ﴿11:60﴾

(11:50) And to 'Ad We sent their brother Hud.54 He said: 'My people! Serve Allah: you have no god save Him. (In attributing partners to Allah) you have merely been fabricating lies.55 (11:51) My people! I seek no reward from you for my work. My reward lies only with Him Who created me. Do you not understand anything?56 (11:52) My people! Ask your Lord for forgiveness and turn to Him in repentance. He will shower abundant rains upon you from the heaven, and will add strength to your strength.57 Do not turn away as those given to guilt.' (11:53) They said: 'O Hud! You have not brought to us any clear evidence,58 and we are not going to forsake our gods merely because you say so. We are not going to believe you. (11:54) All we can say is that some god of ours has afflicted you with evil.59 .Hud said: 'Indeed I take Allah as my witness,60 and you too to be my witnesses that I have nothing to do61 with your associating with Allah (11:55) others than Him in His divinity. So conspire against me, all of you, and give me no respite.62 (11:56) I have put my trust in Allah, Who is my Lord and your Lord. There is no moving creature which He does not hold by its forelock. Surely, My Lord is on the straight path.63 (11:57) If you, then, turn away (from the truth), know that I have delivered the message with which I was sent to you. Now my Lord will set up another people in place of you and you shall in no way be able to harm Him.64 Surely my Lord keeps a watch over everything.' (11:58) And when Our com-mand came to pass, We delivered Hud, together with those who shared his faith, out of special mercy from Us. We delivered them from a woeful chastisement. (11:59) Such were 'Ad. They repudiated the signs of their Lord, disobeyed His Messengers,65 and followed the bidding of every tyrannical enemy of the truth. (11:60) They were pursued by a curse in this world, and so will they be on the Day of Judgement .Lo! 'Ad disbelieved in the Lord. Lo! ruined are 'Ad, the people of Hud.

Notes

54. Please keep in view (E.Ns 51-56 of Surah Al-Aaraf).

55. That is, you have forged falsehood about all the deities you worship beside Allah, for in fact they possess no powers and no qualities that might entitle them to Godhead. As they have absolutely nothing in them which might make them the objects of worship and service, you have put in them false hopes that they would fulfill your desires and needs.

56. This concise sentence contains a very strong argument: The fact that you are taking a superficial view of my Message and rejecting it without paying due and deep consideration to it is a clear proof that you are not using your common sense. Had you tried to understand the matter, you would have found much material for your consideration. You would have noticed that I have absolutely no personal interests: nay, I am suffering hardships, in conveying the message which cannot bring any benefit to me or to the members of my family. This is a conclusive proof that my faith has very sound bases which are strong enough to enable me to forsake all the worldly joys and comforts and encounter the enmity of the whole world by waging a war against the centuries old, established rites, customs and ways of life. Do these things not demand a deep and serious consideration? Why don’t you then use your common sense before rejecting the message outright?

57. This is the same thing that has been stated by the tounge of the Prophet (peace be upon him) in (Ayat 3). This is a clear proof that moral values count not only in the life of the Hereafter but also determine the rise and fall of nations in this world. This is because Allah rules over the world in accordance with moral principles and not on the basis of His physical laws alone. That is why Allah has declared in many places in the Quran that the fate of a community hangs on the message which He sends to it through His Prophet. If it accepts the message, He opens the gates of His favors and blessings for it, but if it rejects the message, then it is destroyed.

In short, this verse is an article of the moral law in accordance with which Allah deals with man. Conversely, the other article of the same principle of the law is that the community which, deluded by its worldly prosperity, begins to tread the paths of sin and iniquity is ultimately destroyed. But if, during its headlong race towards its doom, it realizes its erroneous behavior and gives up its disobedience and turns in repentance towards Allah, its evil fate is changed and the impending scourge is averted and it is given a further term of respite along with blessings and favors.

58. That is, you have not brought a clear sign as evidence to prove conclusively to us that you have been sent by Allah and that the message you are presenting before us is the truth.

59. That is, it appears that you had behaved rudely towards a god or goddess or saint: Consequently you have been smitten with madness and are being abused, dishonored and pelted with stones in the same streets in which you were respected and honored before this.

60. This was the refutation of their charge that he had not brought any clear evidence to them. It implied: You say that I have brought no evidence to prove that I have been sent by Allah who is a standing witness everywhere in His universe and giving evidence with the phenomena of nature to show that the truth I have stated before you is absolutely correct. This also proves conclusively that there is no sign of truth in what you falsely ascribe to your gods.

61. This is the answer of Prophet Houd (peace be upon him) to their assertion: We are not going to give up our gods at your word. (Ayat 53). His reply implied: Note it well that I, too, feel a strong disgust at the gods you have set up beside Allah.

62. This is his answer to their threat: “Some of our gods have smitten you with some evil” Compare this with (Surah Younus, Ayat 71).

63. That is, whatever my Lord does is always right and correct for all His ways are straight and just, and the judgments He passes are based entirely on truth and justice. Therefore you cannot come out successful in your conflict with me: for you have deviated from the right way and are committing wicked deeds, while I am on the right way.

64. This is his answer to their obdurate denial: “Nor will we believe in you.”

65. Though only one Messenger had come to them, he had presented the same message that had been presented by every Messenger in every age to every community. Therefore disobedience to one Messenger has been declared to be disobedience to all the Messengers.