سُوْرَةُ هُوْدٍ
Surah Hud (11) — Ayah 61
۞ وَإِلَىٰ ثَمُودَ أَخَاهُمْ صَـٰلِحًا ۚ قَالَ يَـٰقَوْمِ ٱعْبُدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ مَا لَكُم مِّنْ إِلَـٰهٍ غَيْرُهُۥ ۖ هُوَ أَنشَأَكُم مِّنَ ٱلْأَرْضِ وَٱسْتَعْمَرَكُمْ فِيهَا فَٱسْتَغْفِرُوهُ ثُمَّ تُوبُوٓا۟ إِلَيْهِ ۚ إِنَّ رَبِّى قَرِيبٌ مُّجِيبٌ ﴿61﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
And to Thamûd (people We sent) their brother Sâlih. He said: "O my people! Worship Allâh: you have no other ilâh (god) but Him. He brought you forth from the earth and settled you therein, then ask forgiveness of Him and turn to Him in repentance. Certainly, my Lord is Near (to all by His Knowledge), Responsive."
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
۞ وَإِلَىٰ
wa-ilā
And to
ثَمُودَ
thamūda
Thamud
أَخَاهُمْ
akhāhum
(We sent) their brother
صَـٰلِحًۭا ۚ
ṣāliḥan
Salih
قَالَ
qāla
He said
يَـٰقَوْمِ
yāqawmi
O my people
ٱعْبُدُوا۟
uʿ'budū
Worship
ٱللَّهَ
l-laha
Allah
مَا
mā
not
لَكُم
lakum
you have
مِّنْ
min
any
إِلَـٰهٍ
ilāhin
god
غَيْرُهُۥ ۖ
ghayruhu
other than Him
هُوَ
huwa
He
أَنشَأَكُم
ansha-akum
produced you
مِّنَ
mina
from
ٱلْأَرْضِ
l-arḍi
the earth
وَٱسْتَعْمَرَكُمْ
wa-is'taʿmarakum
and settled you
فِيهَا
fīhā
in it
فَٱسْتَغْفِرُوهُ
fa-is'taghfirūhu
So ask forgiveness of Him
ثُمَّ
thumma
then
تُوبُوٓا۟
tūbū
turn in repentance
إِلَيْهِ ۚ
ilayhi
to Him
إِنَّ
inna
Indeed
رَبِّى
rabbī
my Lord
قَرِيبٌۭ
qarībun
(is) near
مُّجِيبٌۭ
mujībun
All-Responsive
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
61. And to Thamud We sent their brother Salih. He said, “O my people! Worship Allah; you have no deity other than Him. He created you from the earth [70] and settled you in it. So seek His forgiveness and turn to Him in repentance [71]. Surely, my Lord is near, responsive (to prayers) [72].”
[70] That is, first He created Adam (peace be upon him) from clay, then He made all your necessities of life dependent on this earth, and arranged for your settlement upon it.
[71] That is, all these things have been done by Allah; tell me, which of these things have your deities done, whom you worship? If you accept Allah as the Creator and Sustainer, then you should turn only to Allah, obey only Him, and seek forgiveness for your sins only from Him, because you have been committing these acts of polytheism.
[72]
Allah Hears and Accepts Even the Prayers of Sinners:
The worldly and fame-seeking custodians of religion have firmly established this belief in the minds of common people that just as, to present a petition to a king, one needs the help of those close to the king, and only through them can one present requests to the king, and whatever reply the king gives can also be received through these people—so is the case with the Greatest King, Allah Almighty. Therefore, to present one's requests before Allah, it is necessary to seek the means of those close to Allah, and by these "close ones" they mean their own selves, false deities, or deceased saints, etc., of whom they are caretakers. This satanic belief is so misleading that countless forms of polytheism arise from this one belief. Allah Almighty has refuted this belief of the polytheists in just two words: firstly, that Allah is near to every person, He can hear everyone and does hear them; secondly, that He accepts the prayers of sinners just as He accepts those of the close ones, provided that the etiquette of supplication is observed. It should be clear that asking a pious person to pray to Allah on one's behalf does not fall under this and is established by Shariah. The corruption arises when the belief is held that Allah does not listen to or accept the words of sinners, and then those who are made intermediaries are given vows and offerings and honored in the same way as is due to Allah. According to the above meaning, in this sentence, "Near" and "Responsive" are two separate attributes of Allah Almighty, but some people have considered "Near" to be an attribute of "Responsive." In that case, the translation would be: "Indeed, my Lord is surely the One Who quickly accepts (prayers)."
[70] That is, first He created Adam (peace be upon him) from clay, then He made all your necessities of life dependent on this earth, and arranged for your settlement upon it.
[71] That is, all these things have been done by Allah; tell me, which of these things have your deities done, whom you worship? If you accept Allah as the Creator and Sustainer, then you should turn only to Allah, obey only Him, and seek forgiveness for your sins only from Him, because you have been committing these acts of polytheism.
[72]
Allah Hears and Accepts Even the Prayers of Sinners:
The worldly and fame-seeking custodians of religion have firmly established this belief in the minds of common people that just as, to present a petition to a king, one needs the help of those close to the king, and only through them can one present requests to the king, and whatever reply the king gives can also be received through these people—so is the case with the Greatest King, Allah Almighty. Therefore, to present one's requests before Allah, it is necessary to seek the means of those close to Allah, and by these "close ones" they mean their own selves, false deities, or deceased saints, etc., of whom they are caretakers. This satanic belief is so misleading that countless forms of polytheism arise from this one belief. Allah Almighty has refuted this belief of the polytheists in just two words: firstly, that Allah is near to every person, He can hear everyone and does hear them; secondly, that He accepts the prayers of sinners just as He accepts those of the close ones, provided that the etiquette of supplication is observed. It should be clear that asking a pious person to pray to Allah on one's behalf does not fall under this and is established by Shariah. The corruption arises when the belief is held that Allah does not listen to or accept the words of sinners, and then those who are made intermediaries are given vows and offerings and honored in the same way as is due to Allah. According to the above meaning, in this sentence, "Near" and "Responsive" are two separate attributes of Allah Almighty, but some people have considered "Near" to be an attribute of "Responsive." In that case, the translation would be: "Indeed, my Lord is surely the One Who quickly accepts (prayers)."
