The Light of the Holy Qur'an Interpretation of Sura Hud
Section 5 : the Ministry of Hud Commentary : Verse 50
The people had been exhorted by Hud, to believe in and serve none but Allah - They rejected Hud's admonition and thus they were destroyed.
(50) وَ إِلى عادٍ أَخاهُمْ هُوداً قالَ يا قَوْمِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ ما لَكُمْ مِنْ إِلهٍ غَيْرُهُ إِنْ أَنْتُمْ إِلاَّ مُفْتَرُونَ
- " And unto(the people of)'Ad(We sent)their brother Hud; he said: 'O my people! Worship Allah! You have no god other than He. You are only forgers(of calumnies)'. "
Commentary :
Hud(a.s.)succeeded Noah(a.s.)as a prophet. The story of this prophet of Allah is recorded in verses 56 to 27 of the Sura Al- A'raf.
At first, the Qur'an recounts:
" And unto(the people of)'Ad(We sent)their brother Hud; ...
" There is a point worth further clarification here. It provides us with the connotation, 'brother, ' in the case of Hud, which reflects the fact that Arabs refer to all the individuals of a tribe as 'brothers'. Another connotation signifies that the behavior of Hud had been very much like that of a brother in keeping with the other prophets' relationships with their fellow tribesmen. They did not behave as 'emirs', as commanders or as fathers with respect to their children, but they related just like brothers irrespective of every privilege and superiority.
Hud's first call was like that of all the other prophets, it was the call to monotheism and the negation of idol worship in all its respects. Hud called inviting them to worship Allah since there is no other worth worshipping except Him. The verse says:
"... he said: 'O my people! Worship Allah! You have no god other than He. ..."
He told them that in worshipping the idols and believing in them, they were wrong. They only attributed falsity to Allah and claimed that those idols were His partners. The verse continues saying:
"... You are only forgers(of calumnies)'. "
These idols should neither have been considered His partners nor could they have been sources of good or evil. They were of no use. No false accusation could have been more humiliating than considering such worthless things as significant!
Commentary : Verse 51
(51) يا قَوْمِ لا أَسْئَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ أَجْراً إِنْ أَجْرِيَ إِلاَّ عَلَى الَّذي فَطَرَني أَ فَلا تَعْقِلُونَ
- "(Hud said)'O' my people! I ask you no reward for it. My reward is only upon Him Who created me. Have you then no sense "
Commentary :
Hud(a.s.)declared to his people that he did not expect any compensation for his call from them. He did not demand any rewards from them so that they might think that his appeals and his supplications were for the acquisition of wealth and position or whatever else. It declares:
"(Hud said)'O' my people! I ask you no reward for it. My reward is only upon Him Who created me. Have you then no sense ?"
The only compensation and reward for me is from Him Who has created me.
He Who has bestowed upon me my soul and my body, and to Whom I owe everything; that is my Creator and it is He Who provides for my needs.
In principle, if I take any steps in the direction of your guidance and happiness, it is for the sake of being obedient to His commandments and therefore I expect Him to provide me with my sustenance, not you.
Commentary : Verse 52
(52) وَ يا قَوْمِ اسْتَغْفِرُوا رَبَّكُمْ ثُمَّ تُوبُوا إِلَيْهِ يُرْسِلِ السَّماءَ عَلَيْكُمْ مِدْراراً وَ يَزِدْكُمْ قُوَّةً إِلى قُوَّتِكُمْ وَ لا تَتَوَلَّوْا مُجْرِمينَ
- " And O my people! Ask forgiveness of your Lord, then turn unto Him repentant. He will send you the sky pouring abundant rain, increasing you strength unto your strength; and do not you turn back(from the Truth)as sinners. "
Commentary :
Eventually, to encourage them and utilize all possible means of awakening the truth seeking spirit of this misled people, he takes recourse to offering those material rewards that are conditional upon faith which Allah makes available to the faithful in this world; Hud said to his people to ask the Lord for forgiveness for having committed sins, thus repenting and returning to Him. The verse says:
" And O my people! Ask forgiveness of your Lord, then turn unto Him repentant. ..."
By doing so,(you will notice that)He will order the skies to provide you with enlivening rain in on a regular basis. The verse continues saying:
"... He will send you the sky pouring abundant rain, ..."
He will do all this so that your cultivated lands and your gardens would not fall into the grip of drought and would always remain green. Moreover because of your faith, virtue, abstinence from sin and returning to Him, your power would be increased. The verse says:
"... increasing you strength unto your strength; and do not you turn back(from the Truth)as sinners. "
Imam Hasan(a.s.)has been quoted as saying that he once went to Mu'awiyah. On his return, one of Mu'awiyah's gatemen told him that he had a great deal of wealth but he could not father a son. Then he asked the Imam to instruct him in a prayer so that He might enable him to have a child. The Imam(a.s.)answered: "Make repentance one of your primary goals. "
That man repented over and over again, sometimes repenting seven hundred times a day. Then Allah bestowed upon him a son. On hearing the news, Mu'awiyah asked the man why he had not asked the Imam as to why repentance carries such a tremendous influence. The next time he encountered the Imam, he thus made this query to which the Imam(a. s.) responded: "Have you not heard that Allah says in the story of Hud " and increasing strength upon your strength, ..."
The Qur'anic term/ quwwah/ has been interpreted as property(wealth), children, and energy. In the story of Noah, verse 21, the Qur'an implies that if you repent and apologize, He will add to your prestige with children and property.
One should not think that faith in Allah and focusing on Him signifies distancing oneself from wealth and property.
Were we to accept the faith, not only we would not lose anything, but also our wealth and property will be multiplied. If the Islamic state aspires towards economic expansion, it must seek a strategy for expanding the spiritual state of its society.
At any rate, turning away from the prophets and neglecting them is a grave sin.
Commentary : Verse 53
(53) قالُوا يا هُودُ ما جِئْتَنا بِبَيِّنَةٍ وَ ما نَحْنُ بِتارِكي آلِهَتِنا عَنْ قَوْلِكَ وَ ما نَحْنُ لَكَ بِمُؤْمِنينَ
- " They said: 'O Hud! You have brought us no clear proof, and we shall not abandon our gods for your word, nor are we believers in you! '"
Commentary :
Those who worship idols of stone and wood, and offer no solid reasons for their deeds, question the prophets whose way of life is to prove the truth of their claims by performing miracles and offering clear evidence. Disbelievers' main response was that they would not abandon their idols for the sake of Hud's words. They did not mention anything regarding lack of evidence as they were not after reasoning. They reiterated:
" They said: 'O Hud! You have brought us no clear proof, and we shall not abandon our gods for your word, nor are we believers in you! '"
The prophets met with fierce resistance from the idol worshippers in the first stage of their call, but they never neglected their duty in propagating Allah's message.
Commentary : Verse 54
(54) إِنْ نَقُولُ إِلاَّ اعْتَراكَ بَعْضُ آلِهَتِنا بِسُوءٍ قالَ إِنِّي أُشْهِدُ اللَّهَ وَ اشْهَدُوا أَنِّي بَريءٌ مِمَّا تُشْرِكُونَ
- " We say nothing but that some of our gods have smitten you with evil. He said: 'Verily I call Allah to witness and bear you(also)witness that I am quit of what you associate(with Allah). "
Commentary :
The Arabic term/ 'i'tira/ means protest and cursing. Ascribing insanity to the prophets, as well as to revolutionaries, and community reformists, who have risen up against superstition, is nothing new. On the contrary, declaring their distance from and abhorrence of idol- worshipping and idol worshippers has always been in keeping with the spirit of all the Divine prophets which itself provides us with an example confirming that one must stand decisively against superstition. The verse says:
" We say nothing but that some of our gods have smitten you with evil. He said: 'Verily I call Allah to witness and bear you(also)witness that I am quit of what you associate(with Allah). "
The resistance and challenging spirit of Hud(a.s.)provides the reason for his legitimacy and the decisiveness of his path. It exhibits the fact that prophets fear Allah only and are not frightened by any other power.