Surah Hud (11) — Ayah 52

(Ayah 52) ➊ {وَ يٰقَوْمِ اسْتَغْفِرُوْا رَبَّكُمْ …: ’’ السَّمَآءَ ‘‘} Besides the sky, every elevated thing is also called {’’سَمَاءٌ‘‘}, because the meaning of {’’ سَمَا يَسْمُوْ‘‘ } is to be high. Here, by {’’ السَّمَآءَ ‘‘} is meant cloud or rain. {’’ مِدْرَارًا ‘‘} is the intensive form of {’’دَرٌّ‘‘ }, which means the flowing and abundance of milk, then it began to be used metaphorically for very heavy rain. {’’ دَرَّتِ السَّمَاءُ بِالْمَطَرِ دَرًّا، وَ تَدِرُّ دَرًّا ‘‘} means when rain pours down heavily from the sky. From these verses and from other places, for example, Al-Ahqaf (24), it is known that due to their pride and arrogance and denying their Messenger Hud (peace be upon him), rain was withheld from them for a long time, as a result of which, due to famine, dust began to blow everywhere, and despite their great physical stature and strength, weakness became apparent among all the people. So Hud (peace be upon him) explained to them that first of all, seek forgiveness for the shirk and disobedience you have committed against Allah Almighty. Many commentators have taken { ’’ اسْتَغْفِرُوْا رَبَّكُمْ ‘‘ } here to mean abandoning shirk and believing in the One Allah. {’’ ثُمَّ تُوْبُوْۤا اِلَيْهِ ‘‘} Then turn to Him, that is, make a firm resolve to abandon every disobedience to Him in the future and to fulfill every command, so as a result, Allah Almighty will send upon you such a cloud that will rain abundantly and will remove your weakness and grant you even more strength than before. It is understood that through seeking forgiveness and repentance, famine is removed and every kind of strength—physical, mental, and financial—is increased. For further benefits, see Surah Hud (3) and Surah Nuh (10 to 12).
➋ {وَ لَا تَتَوَلَّوْا مُجْرِمِيْنَ :} That is, do not turn away from my obedience, otherwise you will be declared criminals.
➌ Up to this point, Hud (peace be upon him) conveyed Allah Almighty’s message to his people, and in this brief address, he called them “O my people!” three times, so that perhaps, by the bond of kinship, he might reach their hearts. Because Hud (peace be upon him) was a member of the same tribe and could not possibly wish them ill.

52. 1 Hud (علیہ السلام) advised his people, that is, his nation, to repent and seek forgiveness, and mentioned two benefits that a nation who repents and seeks forgiveness attains. Just as the Noble Quran mentions these benefits in other places as well (see Surah Nuh 1:11), and the Prophet ﷺ also said: من لزم الاستغفار جعل اللہ لہ من کل ھم فرجا، ومن کل ضیق مخرجا ورزقہ من حیث لا یحتسب (Abu Dawood) "Whoever regularly seeks forgiveness, Allah makes for him a relief from every worry, and a way out from every tightness, and provides for him from where he does not even imagine."

52. 2 That is, do not turn away from the invitation I am giving you, and do not persist in your disbelief. If you do so, you will be presented before Allah as criminals and sinners.

52. And O my people! Seek forgiveness from your Lord, then turn to Him in repentance. He will send down upon you abundant rain [59] and will add strength to your strength. So do not turn away as criminals."

[59]
Abundance in Sustenance Through Repentance and Seeking Forgiveness:

The people of ‘Ad were greatly interested in agriculture, and farming was mostly their means of livelihood. They had been suffering from the calamity of drought for three years, and there had been no rain. To ward off this calamity, Hud ؑ advised them to repent from their sins and seek forgiveness, assuring them that if they sincerely turned to the One Allah and sought true forgiveness for their past sins, then surely Allah Almighty would send down rain from the sky and open the doors of sustenance for them, which would increase both their financial and physical strength, and a period of prosperity would prevail. The people, however, gave no response to this, but instead demanded a clear miracle.