سُوْرَةُ النَّمْلِ
Surah An-Naml (27) — Ayah 48
وَكَانَ فِى ٱلْمَدِينَةِ تِسْعَةُ رَهْطٍ يُفْسِدُونَ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَلَا يُصْلِحُونَ ﴿48﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
And there were in the city nine men (from the sons of their chiefs), who made mischief in the land, and would not reform.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
وَكَانَ
wakāna
And were
فِى
fī
in
ٱلْمَدِينَةِ
l-madīnati
the city
تِسْعَةُ
tis'ʿatu
nine
رَهْطٍۢ
rahṭin
family heads
يُفْسِدُونَ
yuf'sidūna
they were spreading corruption
فِى
fī
in
ٱلْأَرْضِ
l-arḍi
the land
وَلَا
walā
and not
يُصْلِحُونَ
yuṣ'liḥūna
reforming
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim — Hafiz Abdus Salam Bin Muhammad Bhutvi
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim is a 4-volume Quran commentary by Hafiz Abdus Salam bin Muhammad Bhutvi, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar and Sheikh ul-Hadith from Pakistan. Based on over 45 years of teaching and research, this tafsir follows the methodology of Tafsir bil-Ma'thur — interpreting the Quran through authentic Hadith, statements of the Companions, and the understanding of the early generations (Salaf). It is distinguished by its complete avoidance of Israeliyyat (Judeo-Christian narratives) and unverified reports. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
(Ayah 48) {وَ كَانَ فِي الْمَدِيْنَةِ تِسْعَةُ رَهْطٍ …:} The well-known name of the city of the people of Thamud is {’’حجر ‘‘}. The name of Surah Al-Hijr is after this city. This city lies on the route from Makkah to Syria. In this city, there were nine (9) miscreants who used to spread corruption in the land, and it was not that they did a little bit of mischief and also did some good deeds, rather, it is stated that they did not do any good deeds at all. Among them, the most prominent was the accursed one who hamstrung the she-camel, and the other eight were his companions. The mention of this accursed one is in Surah Ash-Shams. Their names are mentioned in some narrations, but none of these narrations are established. Some people, because of this story, consider the number nine (9) to be unlucky, whereas the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade such superstition.
