Verses 85–93

Chapter 7: Al-Aʿrāf (Elevations) · Printed edition: Volume 15, from p. 283

وَ إِلى‏ مَدْيَنَ أَخاهُمْ شُعَيْباً قالَ يا قَوْمِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ ما لَكُمْ مِنْ إِلهٍ غَيْرُهُ قَدْ جاءَتْكُمْ بَيِّنَةٌ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ فَأَوْفُوا الْكَيْلَ وَ الْمِيزانَ وَ لا تَبْخَسُوا النَّاسَ أَشْياءَهُمْ وَ لا تُفْسِدُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ بَعْدَ إِصْلاحِها ذلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ ٨٥ وَ لا تَقْعُدُوا بِكُلِّ صِراطٍ تُوعِدُونَ وَ تَصُدُّونَ عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ مَنْ آمَنَ بِهِ وَ تَبْغُونَها عِوَجاً وَ اذْكُرُوا إِذْ كُنْتُمْ قَلِيلاً فَكَثَّرَكُمْ وَ انْظُرُوا كَيْفَ كانَ عاقِبَةُ الْمُفْسِدِينَ ٨٦ وَ إِنْ كانَ طائِفَةٌ مِنْكُمْ آمَنُوا بِالَّذِي أُرْسِلْتُ بِهِ وَ طائِفَةٌ لَمْ يُؤْمِنُوا فَاصْبِرُوا حَتَّى يَحْكُمَ اللَّهُ بَيْنَنا وَ هُوَ خَيْرُ الْحاكِمِينَ ٧٨ قالَ الْمَلَأُ الَّذِينَ اسْتَكْبَرُوا مِنْ قَوْمِهِ لَنُخْرِجَنَّكَ يا شُعَيْبُ وَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَكَ مِنْ قَرْيَتِنا أَوْ لَتَعُودُنَّ فِي مِلَّتِنا قالَ أَ وَ لَوْ كُنَّا كارِهِينَ ٨٨ قَدِ افْتَرَيْنا عَلَى اللَّهِ كَذِباً إِنْ عُدْنا فِي مِلَّتِكُمْ بَعْدَ إِذْ نَجَّانَا اللَّهُ مِنْها وَ ما يَكُونُ لَنا أَنْ نَعُودَ فِيها إِلاَّ أَنْ يَشاءَ اللَّهُ رَبُّنا وَسِعَ رَبُّنا كُلَّ شَيْ‏ءٍ عِلْماً عَلَى اللَّهِ تَوَكَّلْنا رَبَّنَا افْتَحْ بَيْنَنا وَ بَيْنَ قَوْمِنا بِالْحَقِّ وَ أَنْتَ خَيْرُ الْفاتِحِينَ ٨٩ وَ قالَ الْمَلَأُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْ قَوْمِهِ لَئِنِ اتَّبَعْتُمْ شُعَيْباً إِنَّكُمْ إِذاً لَخاسِرُونَ ٩٠ فَأَخَذَتْهُمُ الرَّجْفَةُ فَأَصْبَحُوا فِي دارِهِمْ جاثِمِينَ ٩١ الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا شُعَيْباً كَأَنْ لَمْ يَغْنَوْا فِيهَا الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا شُعَيْباً كانُوا هُمُ الْخاسِرِينَ ٩٢فَتَوَلَّى عَنْهُمْ وَ قالَ يا قَوْمِ لَقَدْ أَبْلَغْتُكُمْ رِسالاتِ رَبِّي وَ نَصَحْتُ لَكُمْ فَكَيْفَ آسى‏ عَلى‏ قَوْمٍ كافِرِينَ ٩٣

85. And to [the people of] Midian, Shuʿayb, their brother. He said, “O my people, worship Allah! You have no other god besides Him. There has certainly come to you a manifest proof from your Lord. So observe fully the measure and the balance, and do not cheat the people of their goods, and do not cause corruption on the earth after its restoration. That is better for you, if you are believers.
86. And do not lie in wait on every road threatening and barring from the way of Allah those who have faith in Him, seeking to make it crooked. And remember when you were few, and He multiplied you, and observe how was the fate of the agents of corruption.
87. If a group of you have believed in what I have been sent with, and a group have not believed, be patient until Allah judges between us, and He is the best of judges.”
88. The elite of his people who were arrogant said, “O Shuʿayb, we will surely expel you and the faithful who are with you from our town, or else you shall surely revert to our creed.” He said, “What! Even if we should be unwilling?!
89. We would be fabricating a lie against Allah should we revert to your creed after Allah has delivered us from it. It does not behoove us to return to it, unless Allah, our Lord, should will so. Our Lord embraces all things in [His] knowledge. In Allah we have put our trust.” “Our Lord! Decide justly between us and our people, and You are the best of deciders!”
90. The elite of his people who were faithless said, “If you follow Shuʿayb, you will indeed be losers.”
91. So the earthquake seized them, and they lay lifeless prostrate in their homes.
92. Those who impugned Shuʿayb became as if they had never lived there. Those who impugned Shuʿayb were themselves the losers.
93. So he abandoned them [to their fate] and said, “O my people! Certainly I communicated to you the messages of my Lord, and I was your well-wisher. So how should I grieve for a faithless lot?”

Commentary

وَ إِلى‏ مَدْيَنَ أَخاهُمْ شُعَيْباً قالَ يا قَوْمِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ ما لَكُمْ مِنْ إِلهٍ غَيْرُهُ قَدْ جاءَتْكُمْ بَيِّنَةٌ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ فَأَوْفُوا الْكَيْلَ وَ الْمِيزانَ وَ لا تَبْخَسُوا النَّاسَ أَشْياءَهُمْ وَ لا تُفْسِدُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ بَعْدَ إِصْلاحِها ذلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ ٨٥

(7:85) And to [the people of] Midian, Shuʿayb, their brother. He said, “O my people, worship Allah! You have no other god besides Him. There has certainly come to you a manifest proof from your Lord. So observe fully the measure and the balance, and do not cheat the people of their goods, and do not cause corruption on the earth after its restoration. That is better for you, if you are believers.

The conjunction “and” at the beginning of this verse connects the verse to the first story in this series, which was Noah’s story []. Shuʿayb (Jethro, Reuel) established his mission on monotheism, just like the other prophets that were mentioned before.

… There has certainly come to you a manifest proof from your Lord…: This sentence shows that Shuʿayb had a miracle to prove his messengership. However, the Qur’an does not tell us what his miracle was exactly. The Qur’an describes the punishment that befell his people, but a miraculous punishment which exterminates the disbelievers cannot be the miracle which proves the truth of one’s prophetic mission. Such a miracle would not be helpful to most of his people who were disbelievers, since it was a cause of their death. This is confirmed by the next part of the verse, which is mentioned as a conclusion, indicated by the letter fāʾ (so, therefore, then): So observe fully the measure and the balance. It suggests that this order was made consequent to his miracle. Obviously, his order to obey could only be before their death through divine intervention.

After commanding them to monotheism, which is the root of religion, Shuʿayb issued two further commands: (1) So observe fully the measure and the balance, and do not cheat the people of their goods. This shows that financial corruption and unjust transactions were common among them. (2) And do not cause corruption on the earth after its restoration. The earth is set right by God in two ways: (1) in the way He has created it naturally; (2) in the way He has created human conscience and intuition (fiṭrah), which motivates the people to maintain order on the earth so that they may enjoy a prosperous life.

“Causing corruption” is used without any qualification, which would include all forms of sin and wrong, whether against God or against other people. However, given its contradistinction with what is mentioned before and after, it would more specifically pertain to forms of corruption that cause insecurity with respect to the lives, dignity and possessions of the people on a social level. Some examples of such corruption are robbery, slander, unjust murder and banditry.

… That (dhālikum) is better for you, if you are believers: This sentence justifies the two commands of Shuʿayb as follows:

(1) The functioning and continuation of the human societies hinges on transactions between the people based on gains from trade. One needs to sell what one has excess of, and use that to purchase what one needs and lacks. This requires a sense of universal security with respect to financial transactions, without any misinformation about either the quality or quantity of the products. If one allows oneself to cheat others of their goods, it means that he permits that act from anyone, which results in the prevalence of cheating. However, if fraud, deception and cheating become prevalent in the society through all kinds of tricks and techniques, then there is no guarantee that one does not get poison instead of the cure, an inferior good instead of a quality good, a mixed product instead of a genuine one, or anything instead of anything for that matter. This will certainly have human and financial costs. So observe fully the measure and the balance, and do not cheat the people of their goods.

(2) If there is no sense of safety and security, the entire society will be crippled in all aspects, and all forms of activity and production will come to a halt. This results in the loss of crops, individuals and humanity. Thus: do not cause corruption on the earth after its restoration.

… if you are believers: There are two possible interpretations for īmān (belief, faith) here: (2) If you believe and confirm what I say, you will enjoy the benefits of observing the measure and the balance, not cheating the people of their goods, and not causing corruption on the earth. (2) If you are believers in the truth, you will know that these commands are in your own best interest.

What we said so far assume that the demonstrative pronoun dhālikum (“that” in That is better for you) refers to the commands mentioned after observe fully the measure…, but does not refer to the first command of worshiping God alone. This is confirmed by theme and context of the verse. Moreover, in the above interpretations, īmān is meant in its literal sense, which is to trust, accept and confirm what one says. However, some exegetes have interpreted īmān in its technical religious sense [that is, belief in God, revelation and afterlife]. Thus they have offered the following two interpretations:

(1) The disbelievers will not really benefit from my commands because their disbelief will cause them eternal loss and wretchedness. This life is rather a realm of illusion and play, and, in this world, they only gain short-lived benefits which do not count as real good. But the abode of the Hereafter is indeed Life, had they known ().

(2) The demonstrative pronoun dhālikum (“that” in That is better for you) refers to everything mentioned previously in the verse, and, not in its literal sense.

Comments: (i) The first view is also based on the demonstrative pronoun dhālikum referring only to the commands mentioned after observe fully the measure… (ii) The second view is more like making something conditional on itself, because worshiping God implies belief in Him. It effectively means: “If you are believers, then it is better for you to worship God, to fully observe the measure and balance, and to not cause mischief on the earth.” (iii) Both of these views, offered by the exegetes, suffer from the following problem: The qualification, if you are believers, apparently means that they already have the quality of īmān (belief, faith). This is based on how the qualification is structured: in kuntum muʾminīn, where kuntum is the past tense of the verb kawn (to be), and muʾmin is an active participial noun (ism al-fāʿil). Their combination shows an agent who is firmly established in the quality of īmān. One would not use this expression to address a community that consists of both disbelievers and believers, the disobedient and the obedient. If what is meant here were īmān in its technical religious sense, then the verse should have said, “That is better for you if you believe (in āmantum, or in tuʾminū).” Therefore, we apparently have no choice but to interpret īmān in its literal sense [so that it would include religious disbelievers].

وَ لا تَقْعُدُوا بِكُلِّ صِراطٍ تُوعِدُونَ وَ تَصُدُّونَ عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ مَنْ آمَنَ بِهِ وَ تَبْغُونَها عِوَجاً وَ اذْكُرُوا إِذْ كُنْتُمْ قَلِيلاً فَكَثَّرَكُمْ وَ انْظُرُوا كَيْفَ كانَ عاقِبَةُ الْمُفْسِدِينَ ٨٦

(7:86) And do not lie in wait on every road threatening and barring from the way of Allah those who have faith in Him, seeking to make it crooked. And remember when you were few, and He multiplied you, and observe how was the fate of the agents of corruption.

Based on the theme and flow of the verse, threatening and barring function as a ḥāl (circumstantial qualifier, participial phrase), describing the condition of the subject implied by do not lie. Likewise, seeking function as a ḥāl, describing the condition of the subject of the verb barring.

This is the third specific message of Shuʿayb to his people. He ordered them to not interfere with the straight path, which is the same as God’s religion. This implicitly shows that his people used to stop the believers in their way and threaten them for believing in God, meeting Shuʿayb, listening to him, and practicing their religion with him. Those who were committed to polytheism wanted the believers to abandon their commitment to the religion of truth, and to stop pursuing the path of monotheism. They sought to bend God’s way—which is the way of our divine conscience and intuition (fiṭrah).

Overall, they employed all their means and strategies to cut off the way of faith. Shuʿayb prohibited them from this. He advised them to remember God’s blessings upon them, and to learn a lesson from what they knew of the previous nations and the unfortunate end of those who cause mischief on the earth.

… And remember when you were few, and He multiplied you, and observe how was the fate of the agents of corruption…: This statement is made with a tone of advice and admonition. It is a general statement that can complement all of the previous commands and prohibitions [in this verse and the last].

… And remember when you were few, and He multiplied you…: He ordered them to remember how they gradually increased in number through procreation. This is one of the greatest blessings of God upon humankind, because humans cannot live alone without a society. The human species is destined for a lofty stage of perfection and felicity that distinguishes it from all other animals and beings. Divine grace has given humans a special composition and has equipped them with a variety of faculties and instruments. However, their individual capacity does not allow them to utilize all of their assets to fulfill their wide range of needs. They need to join forces to meet their needs for food, drink, shelter, clothing, sex and so on. This collaboration spans the areas of thought, decision making, and action. Clearly, as a community grows in number, their collective power increases, and their intellectual, volitive and executive abilities will expand. This enables them to dig deeper, discern more subtle needs, and devise more advanced means for conquering the forces of nature in their interest.

This is certainly a great blessing from God that humanity continuously grows in population. This growth is an integral element of evolution of a species from deficiency toward perfection. A large nation with a great population is nowhere comparable to a small community that is vulnerable to enemies on all sides. In terms of knowledge, choice and power, great nations and tribes far outdo small groups that are dependent on others in various aspects of government, economy, military and so on.

As with the fate of the agents of corruption, one should reflect on the historical accounts of the tyrannical, proud and oppressive nations which instilled horror in the hearts, filled the souls with fear, destroyed the towns, plundered the cities, shed blood, massacred the people, enslaved the servants of God, and made the necks bow before them in subjugation. God gave them respite while they waxed proud and transgressed unjustly. When they reached the climax of their power and settled on the throne of domination, they fell for the deceptive adornments of this world, and were pulled toward carnal pleasures and passions. Thus they neglected the virtue of reason, and instead plunged into the diversions of this life. They assumed their desires to be their gods, and God led them astray despite their knowledge []. Hence, they were stripped of their power and influence, lost their bounties, and were dispersed like the children of Sabaʾ.

How many kaisers, pharaohs, chosroes, huangdis and others are buried in the scrolls of history? What remains of them is merely a name, and sometimes not even that. Their empires were wiped out, and their spheres of influence can only be found in some historical reports at most. It is a divine custom in the world of creation that human life would only persist if it is based on reason. If the bounds of reason are transgressed toward corruption, whether individually or collectively, then creation does not tolerate it. The forces at work in the universe will oppose such a movement, will crush it in their grind, and will reduce it to humiliation and misery.

وَ إِنْ كانَ طائِفَةٌ مِنْكُمْ آمَنُوا بِالَّذِي أُرْسِلْتُ بِهِ وَ طائِفَةٌ لَمْ يُؤْمِنُوا فَاصْبِرُوا حَتَّى يَحْكُمَ اللَّهُ بَيْنَنا وَ هُوَ خَيْرُ الْحاكِمِينَ ٧٨

(7:87) If a group of you have believed in what I have been sent with, and a group have not believed, be patient until Allah judges between us, and He is the best of judges.”

This is the fourth specific command of Shuʿayb to his people. He ordered them to patience in case they find a split between themselves in terms of belief and disbelief. Before this, he invited them all to believe in God and do good [as we saw in the previous verses]. But apparently he realized that this would not materialize, and there would be no escape from division. He felt that the arrogant elite among his people—those who used to threaten the people and bar them from God’s way—would venture to make mischief on the land and persecute the believers. This would undermine the fortitude of the believers, and make their hearts yield in the face of challenge. Thus he commanded all his people to be patient and wait for God’s judgment between them, for indeed He is the best of judges.

This advice is in the interest of everyone. It benefits the believers because they can continue to have a peaceful life, and not fall into confusion and uncertainty regarding their religion. It also benefits the disbelievers because they would not regret committing injustice unknowingly and taking impulsive measures without proper information. God’s decision would be the best arbiter between the two groups, because He does not hesitate to implement His judgment when it is its due time, nor does He wrong anyone in His judgment. Therefore, for the disbelievers [who did not believe Shuʿayb’s religious and legislative authority], be patient was an “advisory command” (al-amr al-irshādī); while for the belivers it was also an “authoritative command” (al-amr al-mawlawī). His instruction was to the advantage of them all.

قالَ الْمَلَأُ الَّذِينَ اسْتَكْبَرُوا مِنْ قَوْمِهِ لَنُخْرِجَنَّكَ يا شُعَيْبُ وَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَكَ مِنْ قَرْيَتِنا أَوْ لَتَعُودُنَّ فِي مِلَّتِنا قالَ أَ وَ لَوْ كُنَّا كارِهِينَ ٨٨

(7:88) The elite of his people who were arrogant said, “O Shuʿayb, we will surely expel you and the faithful who are with you from our town, or else you shall surely revert to our creed.” He said, “What! Even if we should be unwilling?!

The arrogant elite among his people did not accept Shuʿayb’s advice to be patient and wait for God’s decisive judgment. Instead, they began to threaten him and the believers that they would drive them out of their land unless they conformed to their religion and apostatized from monotheism.

They verbs that they used—we will surely expel you (la-nukhrijannaka) and you shall surely revert (la-taʿūdunna)—are stressed by the letter lām, which indicates a vow, and the stressed letter nūn, which indicates emphasis. This shows their firm determination to expatriate them. That is why upon hearing this threat, Shuʿayb turned to God and asked Him to sort out the matter.

… He said, “What! Even if we should be unwilling?!: Shuʿayb’s response is on behalf of himself and the believers among his people. He declared their reluctance to revert to polytheism, as clarified by what comes next. This means that if they were forced to choose one of the two options above, they would certainly not choose the option of reverting.

قَدِ افْتَرَيْنا عَلَى اللَّهِ كَذِباً إِنْ عُدْنا فِي مِلَّتِكُمْ بَعْدَ إِذْ نَجَّانَا اللَّهُ مِنْها وَ ما يَكُونُ لَنا أَنْ نَعُودَ فِيها إِلاَّ أَنْ يَشاءَ اللَّهُ رَبُّنا وَسِعَ رَبُّنا كُلَّ شَيْ‏ءٍ عِلْماً عَلَى اللَّهِ تَوَكَّلْنا رَبَّنَا افْتَحْ بَيْنَنا وَ بَيْنَ قَوْمِنا بِالْحَقِّ وَ أَنْتَ خَيْرُ الْفاتِحِينَ ٨٩

(7:89) We would be fabricating a lie against Allah should we revert to your creed after Allah has delivered us from it. It does not behoove us to return to it, unless Allah, our Lord, should will so. Our Lord embraces all things in [His] knowledge. In Allah we have put our trust.” “Our Lord! Decide justly between us and our people, and You are the best of deciders!”

Here Shuʿayb explains the reason for their reluctance, mentioned at the end of the last verse: What! Even if we should be unwilling?! (). They were unwilling to conform to the majority because that meant ascribing partners to God, which is a false allegation, not to mention the other false laws and statements that are ascribed to God in idolatry.

… should we revert to your creed after Allah has delivered us from it…: Some exegetes have said that this expression shows that Shuʿayb used to be a polytheist and worshiped idols before he was appointed a prophet. This is a very implausible argument, and a claim that is far from Shuʿayb’s sanctity. As we said above, here Shuʿayb is speaking on behalf of himself and the believers among his people. These believers were previously polytheists, until God saved them from polytheism and guided them to monotheism on the hand of Shuʿayb. Therefore, Allah has delivered us is an example of describing an entire group by what holds for the majority of its members.

The above answer is applicable if what is meant in the verse is outward deliverance of someone who is actually a polytheist and subscribes to idolatry. Another possibility is real deliverance, which includes exemption from all forms of error, both actual and hypothetical, whether before or after their occurrence. This sense of deliverance would apply to both Shuʿayb—who never associated anyone with God even for the blink of an eye—and his people—who were polytheists before they believed in Shuʿayb. They were all saved from polytheism by God, because if any soul is left to itself, it would be on the road to perdition. No one is in charge of any benefit or harm for oneself; any good that reaches anyone is from God.

… It does not behoove us to return to it, unless Allah, our Lord, should will so…: Here Shuʿayb adds to his previous reply by advancing to something that is a more decisive refusal. It is as if he says: “We are unwilling to revert to your creed because that would be forging a lie against God. Rather, that is impossible to occur!” “Unwillingness” implies that the act is possible, but difficult to do. Here, Shuʿayb raises the level by saying that what they demand is in fact impossible.

Saying that It does not behoove us to return to it is equivalent to saying, “We will never return to it whatsoever.” This implies that “we will never return under no conceivable circumstances, even if God wills.” Such an emphatic statement is against the courtesy and manners of God’s prophets, because it does not take into account God’s absolute authority. That is why Shuʿayb qualified his statement by incorporating God’s overriding decree: unless Allah, our Lord, should will so. It is possible for any human to err, in which case God may penalize the person by withholding His special attention from him and take away his faith. Therefore, it is always possible for anyone to fall into error and perish.

Shuʿayb referred to God not just with the proper noun Allah, but also added our Lord. This is what distinguishes monotheism from polytheism. The idolaters accepted Allah as their main deity on the top, but they believed in multiple lords that governed various aspects and parts of the creation, such as “the lord of sea,” “the lord of land” and so forth. However, according to monotheism, Allah is not only the sole deity, but also the sole lord. He is One Who rules as He wills and directs all our affairs.

… Our Lord embraces all things in [His] knowledge…: This sentence serves to explain why Shuʿayb made an exception. It is as if he is asked, “Why did you made an exception after your firm and unqualified statement?” So here he explains: “Because my Lord embraces all things in His knowledge, and I do not know what He knows except for whatever He teaches me. Perhaps He has willed something that I am ignorant of. Whether I like it or not, He might have willed that we would disobey Him in some respect and thus He makes us revert to your creed, even though we are reluctant about it today.” Perhaps this is why he then added: In Allah we have put our trust, because if one relies on God, God will suffice him and protect him from any evil that he fears.

At this point, what we have is that the polytheists declared their resolute decision to expatriate the believers unless they revert. In response, Shuʿayb declared their determination to certainly not revert to their creed. In this situation [of deadlock], he turned to his Lord and asked Him to sort things out.

… Our Lord! Decide (iftaḥ, from fatḥ) justly between us and our people, and You are the best of deciders: He made this prayer on behalf of himself and the believers. He asked God to make an “opening” (fatḥ) between them—including himself and his followers—and the polytheists among his people. “Making an opening” between two things means taking one away from the other, such that they are no longer in contact with one another. Therefore, what is meant by fatḥ here is a decisive final judgment that separates between the two groups. Such judgment entails the destruction of the wrongdoers or something to that effect. Shuʿayb referred to this figuratively by using the word fatḥ (opening, victory, separation), and did not specify who shall be saved and who shall perish, or who will win and who will lose. He knew that God will certainly be on his side, and that Indeed today disgrace and distress pursue the faithless [], but he expressed his prayer in a just and unbiased way. This shows his courtesy before God, because he deferred the matter to His decision. We read a similarly unbiased statement from him above, where he said to his people: be patient until Allah judges between us, and He is the best of judges ().

Khayr al-Ḥākimīn (the best of judges) and Khayr al-Fātiḥīn (the best of deciders) are two of the excellent names of God. We just discussed the meaning of fatḥ, and we also explained the meaning of ḥukm (judgment, rule, verdict). By God’s will, we will have an elaborate discussion on the excellent names of God in the same chapter, under the verse: To Allah belong the Best Names, so supplicate Him by them… ().

وَ قالَ الْمَلَأُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْ قَوْمِهِ لَئِنِ اتَّبَعْتُمْ شُعَيْباً إِنَّكُمْ إِذاً لَخاسِرُونَ ٩٠

(7:90) The elite of his people who were faithless said, “If you follow Shuʿayb, you will indeed be losers.”

“Following” here means “belief.” They said this as a warning to those who had believed in Shuʿayb or wanted to believe in him. This was an example of their “threatening and barring” which Shuʿayb prohibited them from: And do not lie in wait on every road threatening and barring from the way of Allah (). Among all their threats, this one is mentioned specifically because it is a prelude to what is stated later, after their destruction: Those who impugned Shuʿayb were themselves the losers ().

It is also possible that “following” (ittibāʿ) is meant in its literal and physical sense, which is “to walk behind someone and pursue the same path as another person.” The arrogant elite gave Shuʿayb and his companions two options: to either leave their land, or to revert to their creed. Then they heard his unwavering resolution that he will surely not revert to their creed, followed by prayers like: Our Lord! Decide justly between us and our people, and You are the best of deciders (). This assured them that Shuʿayb would certainly leave them and migrate to another place, and those who believe in him will likewise follow him and migrate. In this light they warned the believers: If you follow Shuʿayb, you will indeed be losers. They engaged in fearmongering to dissuade the believers from following Shuʿayb and migrating from the town, so that Shuʿayb may go by himself. After all, their real and primary enemy was Shuʿayb, and they opposed the believers because of him.

Either way, as we said, this verse is a prelude to a subsequent verse: Those who impugned Shuʿayb were themselves the losers ().

فَأَخَذَتْهُمُ الرَّجْفَةُ فَأَصْبَحُوا فِي دارِهِمْ جاثِمِينَ ٩١

(7:91) So the earthquake seized them, and they lay (aṣbaḥū) lifeless prostrate in their homes.

The verb aṣbaḥa is synonymous with ṣāra (to become, to turn out). It can also mean “to enter into the morning.” We explained the meaning of this verse under a similar verse in the story of Ṣāliḥ above [].

الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا شُعَيْباً كَأَنْ لَمْ يَغْنَوْا فِيهَا الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا شُعَيْباً كانُوا هُمُ الْخاسِرِينَ ٩٢

(7:92) Those who impugned Shuʿayb became as if (ka-an) they had never lived there (yaghnaw fīhā). Those who impugned Shuʿayb were themselves the losers.

Al-Rāghib says in al-Mufradāt:

When the verb ghaniya is used with the preposition fī (in) and a place as its object, it means “staying there for a long time, such that the person is sufficient and needless (ghanī) of anywhere else [to dwell in].” God says: as if they had never lived there (yaghnaw fīhā).

In this verse, ka-an is originally ka-anna, but the stress [on the letter nūn] is dropped because it is followed by a verbal sentence (fiʿliyyah).

Those who impugned Shuʿayb became as if they had never lived there…: The verse compares those who rejected Shuʿayb to a community who stay for only a short while in a place and then move on swiftly. Such a community have an easy time packing up and leaving, because they have no attachments to family, relatives, home, land and property. On the contrary, if one chooses a place as home, settles down, stays there for a long time, and develops attachments to various aspects of worldly life in that place, then leaving the place will be very difficult—almost impossible—for that person. This is even more true if we are talking about a community who has lived in a land for generations, and have invested in its development. Although Shuʿayb’s people had long-lasting roots in that land, they left their homes and everything they had there in the shortest span of time, as soon as the earthquake seized them. They fell down on their faces and knees, as they ended up dead in their town. They thought that Shuʿayb and his followers would be losers, but their speculation went wrong and instead came down on themselves, making them the losers. They plotted, and Allah also plotted, and Allah is the best of plotters [].

God depicts this failure and reversal of their expectation as follows: (1) First He narrates their claim that whoever follows Shuʿayb is a loser []. (2) Then He mentions the occurrence of the punishment without specifying who was seized by the earthquake, as He says: So the earthquake seized them (), instead of “So the earthquake seized the disbelievers.” (3) At last He states explicitly: Those who impugned Shuʿayb… (). Thus He clarifies that His judgment was in favor of Shuʿayb and his followers, and against those who rejected him among his people. So they were the losers who were caught in a plot.

فَتَوَلَّى عَنْهُمْ وَ قالَ يا قَوْمِ لَقَدْ أَبْلَغْتُكُمْ رِسالاتِ رَبِّي وَ نَصَحْتُ لَكُمْ فَكَيْفَ آسى‏ عَلى‏ قَوْمٍ كافِرِينَ ٩٣

(7:93) So he abandoned them [to their fate] and said, “O my people! Certainly I communicated to you the messages of my Lord, and I was your well-wisher. So how should I grieve (āsá) for a faithless lot?”

The verb āsá is derived from the noun asá, which means ḥuzn (grief, sorrow, sadness). The context suggests that Shuʿayb turned away from them and said this after the occurrence of the punishment and their death. Therefore, what he says here is meant as a lesson for others. The rest of the verse should be clear.

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1. This is the same as Kant’s principle of universalizability in ethics. (Trans.) ↩︎

2. In this case it means trusting Shuʿayb-or his message-as being truthful. (Trans.) ↩︎

3. In other words, this reduces to a tautology because the commands mentioned in the verse are necessary results of being a believer. (Trans.) ↩︎

4. If it were not an established quality, the verse should have used a verb instead of a noun. (Trans.) ↩︎

5. The meaning would be: “Do not lie in wait on every road while you threaten and bar from God’s way; and do not bar from His way while you seek to make it crooked.” (Trans.) ↩︎

6. This is an Arabic expression based on a story where the ten sons of the King Sabaʾ deserted their father in a battle. (Trans.) ↩︎

7. For the two types of command, see my footnote under verse above. (Trans.) ↩︎

8. See verses and . (Trans.) ↩︎

9. This was discussed above, briefly under verse , and more elaborately in the section entitled “Narrations about merging the deeds of good-doers and evil-doers.” Also see the author’s exposition of the verses and discussion of traditions under verses ; volume 10, pp. 178ff of the English translation. (Trans.) ↩︎