Surah Hud (11) — Ayah 61

(Ayah 61) ➊ { وَ اِلٰى ثَمُوْدَ اَخَاهُمْ صٰلِحًا :} The people of Thamud lived in the region of Hijr (with a kasrah on the letter Ha). This place stretched from Hijaz to Wadi al-Qura between Hijaz and Syria. Nowadays, this area is between Madinah and Tabuk, where the houses carved into the mountains by those people, in which they used to live, still exist, and this area is called Mada’in Salih. The tribe of Salih (peace be upon him) was an Arab tribe. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by here while going towards Tabuk (Syria). It is narrated from Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was in (the valley of) Hijr, so he said: [ لاَ تَدْخُلُوْا عَلٰی هٰؤُلاَءِ الْقَوْمِ الْمُعَذَّبِيْنَ أَصْحَابِ الْحِجْرِ إِلاَّ أَنْ تَكُوْنُوْا بَاكِيْنَ ، فَإِنْ لَّمْ تَكُوْنُوْا بَاكِيْنَ فَلاَ تَدْخُلُوْا عَلَيْهِمْ أَنْ يُّصِيْبَكُمْ مَا أَصَابَهُمْ ] “Do not enter upon the people who were punished, that is, the people of Hijr, except in a state that you are weeping. If you do not feel like weeping, then do not enter upon them, lest the same punishment that befell them should befall you.” [ مسند أحمد : 58/2، ح : ۵۲۲۴، و صححہ شعیب الأرنؤوط و الألبانی ] The story of the people of Thamud is also mentioned in Surah Al-A’raf, Ash-Shu’ara, An-Nahl, and Al-Qamar, etc. The meaning of {’’ اَخَاهُمْ صٰلِحًا ‘‘} is that he was a member of that tribe, therefore he was their well-wisher, understood their temperaments, and had lived among them for a long time.

➋ { قَالَ يٰقَوْمِ اعْبُدُوا اللّٰهَ …:} His call was also the same call to Tawheed (monotheism) that was the call of all the Prophets.

➌ The meaning of {هُوَ اَنْشَاَكُمْ مِّنَ الْاَرْضِ …: ’’ اِنْشَاءٌ‘‘ } is to create something new. {’’ اسْتَعْمَرَكُمْ ‘‘ ’’ عَمَرَ يَعْمُرُ ‘‘} means to settle a place; in Surah Ar-Rum it is said: «{ وَ عَمَرُوْهَاۤ اَكْثَرَ مِمَّا عَمَرُوْهَا }» [ الروم : ۹ ] “And they populated it more than they populated it.” {’’ أَعْمَرَ يُعْمِرُ ‘‘} in the If'aal form means to settle someone in a place. In {’’ اِسْتَعْمَرَ ‘‘ }, there are extra letters, meaning to settle someone well in a place. Salih (peace be upon him) with these words was giving them the proof of Allah’s oneness and that He alone is the true deity, that He alone created you from the earth, He alone made the earth, He alone produced everything you need from the earth, He settled you well on His earth, granted you the ability and intellect to carve mountains, granted you highly developed agriculture and its means, fertile land, and springs. See Surah Ash-Shu’ara (141 to 150). Whatever ingratitude and shirk you have committed with Him until now, seek forgiveness for it and bring faith in Him, and for the future, repent to Him from disbelief and shirk. Along with this, to give them hope that the door of Allah’s mercy is open, two attributes of the Lord Almighty were mentioned: that He is {’’قَرِيْبٌ ‘‘} and also {’’ مُجِيْبٌ ‘‘ }. Whoever calls upon Him does not need any intermediary. Whether he calls softly or loudly, alone or in a gathering, my Lord is both near and responsive. When no one else possesses these qualities except Him, then why worship anyone else?