Surah Hud (11) — Ayah 62

(Ayah 62) ➊ {قَالُوْا يٰصٰلِحُ قَدْ كُنْتَ …:} That is, we had great expectations from your intelligence and wisdom. Why wouldn’t we? Even before receiving prophethood, a prophet is, under Allah’s supervision, extremely trustworthy, truthful, chaste, dignified, forbearing, and adorned with all good qualities. But as soon as this person, whose good qualities were acknowledged by everyone, spoke against their desires and ignorant beliefs and customs, all their hopes were dashed, and that same wise person was now, in their eyes, considered devoid of intellect and understanding. And what was their proof for the correctness of disbelief and polytheism and for losing hope in Salih (peace be upon him)? Only this: that he forbids the worship of those whom our forefathers used to worship. The argument of all misguided nations has always been this blind following, because this affliction neither lets one listen to anyone, no matter how authentic, nor allows one to think and understand for oneself. See Surah Al-Mulk (10).

➋ {وَ اِنَّنَا لَفِيْ شَكٍّ مِّمَّا تَدْعُوْنَاۤ اِلَيْهِ مُرِيْبٍ :} “Doubt” is that state of mind in which a person cannot give preference to either of two things. {’’ مُرِيْبٍ ‘‘ ’’ أَرَابَ يُرِيْبُ إِرَابَةً ‘‘} (from {رَيْبٌ}, form IV) to make restless, to keep disturbed. {’’ مُرِيْبٍ ‘‘} one who keeps restless. Here, they have described their true state. The invitation of Salih (peace be upon him), based on evidence and proof, had stirred up turmoil in their hearts and minds, and although they did not accept it, this invitation had put them in a disturbing doubt about themselves. If it were not for the calamity of following their forefathers, these people would have, in a few moments, emerged from all kinds of doubt and restlessness and been blessed with the coolness and tranquility of faith and certainty. But see how great the folly was: they were neither content with polytheism nor did they have any rational or transmitted proof for it, yet still, due to ancestral imitation, they were not ready to leave polytheism and adopt the path of monotheism.

62. 1. That is, since a prophet is distinguished among his people for his character, conduct, trustworthiness, and honesty, the people have good expectations from him. In this regard, the people of Salih (علیہ السلام) also said this to him. But as soon as he called them to monotheism, this center of their hopes became a thorn in their eyes, and they expressed doubt about the religion to which Salih (علیہ السلام) was inviting them, that is, the religion of monotheism.

62. They said, "O Salih, before this you were a source of hope for us [73]. Do you forbid us from worshipping what our forefathers used to worship? And indeed, we are in grave doubt about that to which you are calling us, a doubt that has disturbed us [74]."

[73] That is, considering you intelligent, promising, and trustworthy, we had attached many expectations to you that you would bring honor to the name of your forefathers. But instead, you have rebelled against the religion of your forefathers. In fact, you are even preventing us from it, which means that we and our forefathers—all of us—were in the wrong.

[74]
The Reason for Confusion Among Disbelievers Due to the Prophet’s Call:

The call of the Prophets has a twofold effect on the individuals of their nation: those who believe in them develop inner peace and tranquility, and it is this inner peace that gives them the courage to endure the hardships from the opponents. For the deniers, however, this very call becomes a cause of confusion and inner turmoil. The reason is that the Prophet presents his call with arguments, and his own previous life is a great proof of this call. But the deniers have no argument except the imitation of their forefathers, and everyone knows how much weight this argument carries: some elder introduced a wrong custom, which was then passed down from generation to generation, and those who came later, out of fanaticism, dressed it in the garb of religion. Therefore, the confusion of such people gradually continues to increase. The second reason for this confusion is that if a person from a disbelieving household becomes Muslim, his relatives cause him distress and become hostile towards him. The one who embraces Islam, despite enduring their hardships, attains inner peace, but those who inflict hardship remain disturbed and deeply troubled. And since it is not just one person but several individuals who embrace Islam, a general atmosphere of anxiety and restlessness prevails in all the households of the disbelievers, which keeps inciting them to further aggression.