Surah An-Naml (27) — Ayah 45

(Ayah 45) {وَ لَقَدْ اَرْسَلْنَاۤ اِلٰى ثَمُوْدَ اَخَاهُمْ صٰلِحًا …:} Its conjunction is with {’’ وَ لَقَدْ اٰتَيْنَا دَاوٗدَ وَ سُلَيْمٰنَ عِلْمًا ‘‘}, and this is the third story after the stories of Musa and Dawud & Sulaiman (peace be upon them). For its details, see Surah Al-A'raf (7:73–79), Hud (11:61–68), Ash-Shu'ara (26:141–159), Al-Qamar (54:23–32), and Ash-Shams (91:11–15). The Queen of Sheba and her people, despite their honor and sovereignty, accepted Islam at the invitation of Sulaiman (peace be upon him). Now the mention is of the people of Salih (peace be upon him), who, upon his being sent, split into two groups. One was the believers and Muslims, who were generally the "mustad'afeen" (the weak), and the other was the disbelievers and deniers, who were the "mustakbireen" (the arrogant ones). As soon as the two groups formed, a severe dispute began between them, as mentioned elsewhere: «{ قَالَ الْمَلَاُ الَّذِيْنَ اسْتَكْبَرُوْا مِنْ قَوْمِهٖ لِلَّذِيْنَ اسْتُضْعِفُوْا لِمَنْ اٰمَنَ مِنْهُمْ اَتَعْلَمُوْنَ اَنَّ صٰلِحًا مُّرْسَلٌ مِّنْ رَّبِّهٖ قَالُوْۤا اِنَّا بِمَاۤ اُرْسِلَ بِهٖ مُؤْمِنُوْنَ (75) قَالَ الَّذِيْنَ اسْتَكْبَرُوْۤا اِنَّا بِالَّذِيْۤ اٰمَنْتُمْ بِهٖ كٰفِرُوْنَ }» [ الأعراف : ۷۵، ۷۶ ] "The chiefs among his people who were arrogant said to those who were considered weak, among them those who believed, 'Do you know that Salih is sent by his Lord?' They said, 'Indeed, we believe in what he has been sent with.' Those who were arrogant said, 'Indeed, we disbelieve in that which you believe.'" The same situation arose in Makkah with the advent of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), that the people split into two groups, and this dispute continued until, by the grace of Allah, the entire Arabian Peninsula came under the domain of Islam, and the disbelievers either perished in humiliation or came under the shade of Islam's mercy. This story was exactly in accordance with the circumstances in which these verses were revealed.