سُوْرَةُ هُوْدٍ
Surah Hud (11) — Ayah 91
قَالُوا۟ يَـٰشُعَيْبُ مَا نَفْقَهُ كَثِيرًا مِّمَّا تَقُولُ وَإِنَّا لَنَرَىٰكَ فِينَا ضَعِيفًا ۖ وَلَوْلَا رَهْطُكَ لَرَجَمْنَـٰكَ ۖ وَمَآ أَنتَ عَلَيْنَا بِعَزِيزٍ ﴿91﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
They said: "O Shu‘aib! We do not understand much of what you say, and we see you weak (it is said that he was a blind man) among us. Were it not for your family, we should certainly have stoned you and you are not powerful against us."
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
قَالُوا۟
qālū
They said
يَـٰشُعَيْبُ
yāshuʿaybu
O Shuaib
مَا
mā
Not
نَفْقَهُ
nafqahu
we understand
كَثِيرًۭا
kathīran
much
مِّمَّا
mimmā
of what
تَقُولُ
taqūlu
you say
وَإِنَّا
wa-innā
and indeed, we
لَنَرَىٰكَ
lanarāka
surely [we] see you
فِينَا
fīnā
among us
ضَعِيفًۭا ۖ
ḍaʿīfan
weak
وَلَوْلَا
walawlā
And if not
رَهْطُكَ
rahṭuka
for your family
لَرَجَمْنَـٰكَ ۖ
larajamnāka
surely we would have stoned you
وَمَآ
wamā
and you are not
أَنتَ
anta
and you are not
عَلَيْنَا
ʿalaynā
against us
بِعَزِيزٍۢ
biʿazīzin
mighty
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.
91. They said, "O Shu‘ayb! We do not understand much of what you say, and indeed, we see you as weak among us. Were it not for your tribe, we would have surely stoned you, and you have no power over us."
[103]
For the One Who Consumes the Forbidden, Earning the Lawful Becomes Very Difficult:
That is, when you talk about truthfulness, uprightness, and honesty in business, people say: “If we do this, our entire business will suffer. The competition in the market is very tough; if we don’t do these things, what will we earn and what will we eat? So keep these advice to yourself. If we work with the kind of honesty you talk about, our whole business will shut down and won’t last even a day. We can’t understand what you’re saying.” And the reality is that when a person becomes accustomed to earning wealth through forbidden means, earning wealth through lawful means seems as difficult to him as climbing a high mountain. Here, a relevant incident comes to my mind about a milkman’s son who learned some religious knowledge. The boy was pious. One day he said to his father: “Father! Stop mixing water in the milk, and if needed, sell the milk at a higher price.” The father replied to his son in a harsh tone: “Get lost, you’re not even the son of a milkman.” From this brief incident, the entire mentality of a person who consumes the forbidden can be understood. This was exactly the mentality of the people of Shu‘ayb ؑ, who replied to their prophet in this way: “We do not understand what you are saying.”
[104]
The Threat to Sayyiduna Shu‘ayb ؑ:
We only respect you because of your community, who are of the same mind as us. If it were not for them, you are a weak man; with the way you have troubled us, we would have stoned you to death long ago. What do we consider you in comparison to ourselves?
[103]
For the One Who Consumes the Forbidden, Earning the Lawful Becomes Very Difficult:
That is, when you talk about truthfulness, uprightness, and honesty in business, people say: “If we do this, our entire business will suffer. The competition in the market is very tough; if we don’t do these things, what will we earn and what will we eat? So keep these advice to yourself. If we work with the kind of honesty you talk about, our whole business will shut down and won’t last even a day. We can’t understand what you’re saying.” And the reality is that when a person becomes accustomed to earning wealth through forbidden means, earning wealth through lawful means seems as difficult to him as climbing a high mountain. Here, a relevant incident comes to my mind about a milkman’s son who learned some religious knowledge. The boy was pious. One day he said to his father: “Father! Stop mixing water in the milk, and if needed, sell the milk at a higher price.” The father replied to his son in a harsh tone: “Get lost, you’re not even the son of a milkman.” From this brief incident, the entire mentality of a person who consumes the forbidden can be understood. This was exactly the mentality of the people of Shu‘ayb ؑ, who replied to their prophet in this way: “We do not understand what you are saying.”
[104]
The Threat to Sayyiduna Shu‘ayb ؑ:
We only respect you because of your community, who are of the same mind as us. If it were not for them, you are a weak man; with the way you have troubled us, we would have stoned you to death long ago. What do we consider you in comparison to ourselves?
