Surah Al-A'raaf (7) — Ayah 85

(Ayah 85) ➊ {وَ اِلٰى مَدْيَنَ اَخَاهُمْ شُعَيْبًا:} The region of Madyan was located on the northwest of Hijaz and south of Palestine, on the shore of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba, and even today there is a place in this area famous by the same name. The lineage of Shu‘ayb (peace be upon him) has been stated by Imam Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) as follows: Shu‘ayb bin Mika’il bin Yashjar bin Madyan bin Ibrahim. (Al-Manar) However, there is no evidence for its authenticity. Shu‘ayb (peace be upon him) was called the brother of the people of Madyan because he was from that nation, and his tribe was very powerful, due to which their disbelievers were afraid to harm him. That is why they said: «وَ لَوْ لَا رَهْطُكَ لَرَجَمْنٰكَ» [ہود : ۹۱ ] “And if it were not for your family, we would surely have stoned you.” Shu‘ayb (peace be upon him) was also sent to the people of the thicket (Ashab al-Aykah), but there he was not called their brother. It is said: «كَذَّبَ اَصْحٰبُ لْـَٔيْكَةِ الْمُرْسَلِيْنَ(176) اِذْ قَالَ لَهُمْ شُعَيْبٌ اَلَا تَتَّقُوْنَ» [ الشعراء : ۱۷۶، ۱۷۷ ] “The people of the thicket denied the messengers, when Shu‘ayb said to them: Do you not fear?” Now, some people say that these are two names for the same nation and two types of punishment came upon them, one {’’عَذَابُ يَوْمِ الظُّلَّةِ ‘‘} (Ash-Shu‘ara: 189) and one {’’الرَّجْفَةُ ‘‘ } (Al-A‘raf: 91), and some say that these were two separate nations: the people of Madyan were punished with {’’الرَّجْفَةُ ‘‘} (earthquake), and the people of the thicket were punished with {’’يَوْمِ الظُّلَّةِ ‘‘}. (And Allah knows best)
➋ {قَالَ يٰقَوْمِ اعْبُدُوا اللّٰهَ ……: } The greatest crime of the people of Madyan was associating partners with Allah. Shu‘ayb (peace be upon him) first emphasized to them to refrain from this, and the first call of every prophet was this: «وَ مَاۤ اَرْسَلْنَا مِنْ قَبْلِكَ مِنْ رَّسُوْلٍ اِلَّا نُوْحِيْۤ اِلَيْهِ اَنَّهٗ لَاۤ اِلٰهَ اِلَّاۤ اَنَا فَاعْبُدُوْنِ » [ الأنبیاء : ۲۵ ] “And We did not send any messenger before you except that We revealed to him that there is no deity except Me, so worship Me.”
➌ { قَدْ جَآءَتْكُمْ بَيِّنَةٌ مِّنْ رَّبِّكُمْ:} That is, you have seen clear proof of my truthfulness, therefore it is necessary that you consider what I say to be true. Razi said that here {’’ بَيِّنَةٌ ‘‘} (clear proof) means miracle. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Every prophet was sent with a miracle so that people would believe in him, and what I have been given is revelation (Qur’an and Sunnah) which Allah has revealed to me, and I hope that on the Day of Resurrection my followers will be the most.” [ بخاری، فضائل القرآن، باب کیف نزل الوحی و أول ما أنزل : ۴۹۸۱۔ مسلم: ۱۵۲، عن أبی ہریرۃ رضی اللہ عنہ ] However, the miracle of Shu‘ayb (peace be upon him) is not mentioned in the Noble Qur’an. Zamakhshari writes that the staff which Musa (peace be upon him) had was given to him by Shu‘ayb (peace be upon him), and that was actually the miracle of Shu‘ayb (peace be upon him). (Kashshaf) But there is no evidence that the elder of Madyan with whom Musa (peace be upon him) stayed and whose son-in-law he became was Shu‘ayb (peace be upon him), nor is it correct to assume without evidence that any elder of Madyan mentioned must necessarily have been Allah’s messenger Shu‘ayb (peace be upon him). In the Noble Qur’an, not every prophet’s name is mentioned, nor every prophet’s miracle. It is sufficient that certainly Shu‘ayb (peace be upon him) came with a miracle; probing further yields nothing.
➍ {فَاَوْفُوا الْكَيْلَ ……:} From this it is known that, along with polytheism, another evil in this nation was that when receiving by measure they would take in excess, and when giving, they would decrease. If anyone protested against this excess, they would collectively insult and beat him, just as nowadays, generally, cart vendors unite against a customer in such situations. Therefore, Shu‘ayb (peace be upon him) advised them that measures and weights should always be fulfilled, and after the reformation in the world brought about by the efforts of the prophets and the righteous, do not spread corruption in it through polytheism, dishonesty, and the evils that arise with them, because through these two, the rights of Allah as well as those of people are violated.
➎ { اِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُّؤْمِنِيْنَ:} That is, if you believe in me and abandon polytheism and dishonesty, it will be better for you, because if you leave these things while remaining disbelievers, it will be of no benefit on the Day of Resurrection.

85. 1. Madyan was the name of the son or grandson of Ibrahim (peace be upon him), then the tribe based on his descendants was called Madyan, and the settlement in which they resided was also named Madyan. Thus, this term applies to both the tribe and the settlement. This settlement was near Ma'an on the route to Hijaz; in another place in the Quran, they are also called أَصْحَابُ الأيْكَةِ (the dwellers of the thicket). Shu'ayb (peace be upon him) was sent as a prophet to them (see the footnote of Ash-Shu'ara 176). Note: Every prophet is called the brother of his people, which means he is a member of the same nation and tribe; in some places, this is also expressed as a messenger from among them or from their own selves, and the meaning of all these is that the messenger and prophet is a human being from among humans, whom Allah Almighty chooses for the guidance of people and sends down His book and commands to him through revelation.

85. 2. After the call to monotheism, there was a great corruption of weighing and measuring in this nation; they were forbidden from this and instructed to give full measure and weight. This shortcoming is also very dangerous, indicating the moral decline and degradation of the nation in which it exists. It is the worst kind of betrayal to take full payment and give less in return. That is why, in Surah Al-Mutaffifin, the destruction of such people has been foretold.

85. And to the people of Midian [90], We sent their brother Shu‘ayb [91]. He said: "O my people! Worship Allah; you have no deity other than Him. A clear proof has come to you from your Lord. So give full measure and weight, and do not deprive people of their belongings. And do not cause corruption in the land after it has been set right. That is better for you, if you are truly believers."

[90]
The Center of Shu‘ayb’s (علیہ السلام) Preaching:

The region of Madyan was located in the northwest of Hijaz and the south of Palestine, on the shores of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba. The trade caravans that traveled from Yemen along the coast to Syria and Palestine, as well as those that traveled from Egypt for the same purpose, would pass through this area. In fact, the settlements of this nation were situated at the crossroads of these two trade routes. Therefore, this entire region became a commercial center, and the people of Madyan were descendants of Sayyiduna Ibrahim’s (علیہ السلام) son, Madyan. Because of this relation, they were called the people of Madyan, and their region was called Madyan or Midian. These people claimed to be followers of the religion of Ibrahim (علیہ السلام). However, with the passage of time, many doctrinal and moral diseases had developed among them. The greatest doctrinal corruption was shirk, which has been found among most nations, and the real cause of shirk is ignorance of the true knowledge of Allah. The second moral disease was that they engaged in all kinds of fraud in their commercial dealings: selling goods by lying, taking advantage of someone’s compulsion, giving less when selling and taking more when buying—in short, they committed every kind of dishonesty in trade. There are various tricks that can be used in giving by measure or weight so that the recipient does not even realize that he has received less than what was due, and vice versa. These are such well-known methods that our own nation is also well acquainted with them, and there is no need to explain them.

[91]
Cheating in Transactions:

These are the same Sayyiduna Shu‘ayb (علیہ السلام) who was the father-in-law of Sayyiduna Musa (علیہ السلام), and Sayyiduna Musa (علیہ السلام) remained under his training for ten years. He was the first prophet who was sent to the people of Madyan approximately six hundred years after the death of Sayyiduna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) (i.e., around 1500 BCE). Since these people considered themselves followers of the religion of Sayyiduna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام), Sayyiduna Shu‘ayb (علیہ السلام) addressed them with this in mind and said that clear proof, i.e., the scriptures or teachings of Sayyiduna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام), had already come to you, so how did you fall into shirk and why do you commit fraud in your commercial transactions? And by violating the rights of both Allah and His servants, you are causing corruption in the land?