The Light of the Holy Qur'an Interpretation of Sura Hud

Commentary : Verse 55

  1. مِنْ دُونِهِ فَكيدُوني‏ جَميعاً ثُمَّ لا تُنْظِرُون
  1. " Besides Him,(I am quit of everything you worship), therefore, scheme (your worst)against me, all together, and give me no respite. "

Commentary :

Hud further goes on to say that not only they are unable to be of any use to you, but also you, with such a large population still lack the power to do anything even with the aid of those whom you worship other than Him.

So I dare all of you to unite and plan any kind of conspiracies you can against me, give me no chances, you cannot do anything against me. The verse says:

" Besides Him,(I am quit of everything you worship), therefore, scheme(your worst)against me, all together, and give me no respite. "

Commentary : Verse 56

(56) إِنِّي تَوَكَّلْتُ عَلَى اللَّهِ رَبِّي وَ رَبِّكُمْ ما مِنْ دَابَّةٍ إِلاَّ هُوَ آخِذٌ بِناصِيَتِها إِنَّ رَبِّي عَلى‏ صِراطٍ مُسْتَقيمٍ

  1. " Verily, I have put my trust in Allah, my Lord and your Lord!(For)there is no moving creature but He holds it(in His control)by its forelock.

Verily my Lord is on a Straight Path. "

Commentary :

By relying on Allah, one can stand up against the entire world, for Allah is in full command of everything and besides being All- Powerful, He is also Just. Therefore one must rely on him who, besides having power, is just, too; such as Allah, the prophet and immaculate Imams. The verse says:

" Verily, I have put my trust in Allah, my Lord and your Lord!(For)there is no moving creature but He holds it(in His control)by its forelock.

Verily my Lord is on a Straight Path. "

One can speak of Divine anger and the Divine system of justice being at work when the issue involved is the enmity and obstinacy of the idol worshippers, so that they may be transformed and become believers.

Commentary : Verse 57

(57) فَإِنْ تَوَلَّوْا فَقَدْ أَبْلَغْتُكُمْ ما أُرْسِلْتُ بِهِ إِلَيْكُمْ وَ يَسْتَخْلِفُ رَبِّي قَوْماً غَيْرَكُمْ وَ لا تَضُرُّونَهُ شَيْئاً إِنَّ رَبِّي عَلى‏ كُلِّ شَيْ‏ءٍ حَفيظٌ

  1. " But if you turn away(from my call), I have conveyed the Message with which I was sent to you and my Lord will make another People to succeed you, and you will not harm Him in the least. Verily my Lord is Guardian over everything. "

Commentary :

Eventually, Hud's last words to them are as that is they turn away from the Right Path, it is not he who will be at a loss as he has completed his mission which is conveying Allah's message. The verse says:

" But if you turn away(from my call), I have conveyed the Message with which I was sent to you ..."

He means that they should not think that if his call had not been well received it would be a defeat for him. No, he completed his mission, and thus he had been the successful.

Then he warns them of the Divine punishment as the idol worshippers were threatened, saying that if they do not heed Allah's call, the Lord will soon exterminate them, replacing them with another people, and He will not suffer any loss. The verse says:

"... and my Lord will make another People to succeed you, and you will not harm Him in the least. ..."

This is the law of creation, which is, if a nation is not eligible to receive Allah's blessings, it will be removed and will be replaced by another more deserving nation.

Also, they should beware, that Allah is the Guardian of everything and keeps a record of all accounts. He never misses a chance, He never forgets nor does He leave the prophets and His friends in the sea of oblivion. On the contrary, He is aware of everything and is in full command. The verse says:

"... Verily my Lord is Guardian over everything. "

Commentary : Verse 58

(58) وَ لَمَّا جاءَ أَمْرُنا نَجَّيْنا هُوداً وَ الَّذينَ آمَنُوا مَعَهُ بِرَحْمَةٍ مِنَّا وَ نَجَّيْناهُمْ مِنْ عَذابٍ غَليظٍ

  1. " And when Our decree came, We saved Hud and those who believed with him, by a Mercy from Us and delivered them from a harsh chastisement. "

Commentary :

Just as inflicting punishment takes place according to Allah's decree, being rescued from it also is in His hands and the prophets and their companions are exempt from Allah's penalty, because they obey His guidance. The verse says:

" And when Our decree came, We saved Hud and those who believed with him, by a Mercy from Us and delivered them from a harsh chastisement. "

Merely having faith in the prophets is not enough, following them and supporting them is also necessary.

We must also take note that the main source of all blessings is He, but His anger, estrangement and outrage have their roots in our conduct.

Commentary : Verse 59

(59) وَ تِلْكَ عادٌ جَحَدُوا بِآياتِ رَبِّهِمْ وَ عَصَوْا رُسُلَهُ وَ اتَّبَعُوا أَمْرَ كُلِّ جَبَّارٍ عَنيدٍ

  1. " And this was(the people of)'Ad; they rejected the Signs of their Lord, and disobeyed His Messengers, and followed the command of every obstinate tyrant. "

Commentary :

He summarizes the sins of the 'Ad into three areas in this verse. First, He says the people of 'Ad denied the Signs of their Lord obstinately, denying every sign sent as evidence of the authenticity of their prophet. The verse says:

" And this was(the people of)'Ad; they rejected the Signs of their Lord, ..."

Secondly, they opposed the prophets, with a roguish behavior and in an unruly manner. The verse continues:

"... and disobeyed His Messengers, ..."

Thirdly, they abandoned Allah's decree and followed the order of any despot instead.

"... and followed the command of every obstinate tyrant. "

What a greater sin can be found that they abandoned faith, opposed their prophets and followed the obstinate tyrants.

The Arabic word/ jabbar/ is a term used to denote a person who furiously strikes, kills, and destroys and does not follow the rule of reason. And the term/ 'anid/ refers to someone who is extraordinarily hostile towards the truth and never acknowledges it. These two characteristics describe the profiles of despots and tyrants who, in every epoch, are noted for never lending their ears to the truth, and whenever they face an opponent they mercilessly torture and eradicate him.

Commentary : Verse 60

(60) وَ أُتْبِعُوا في‏ هذِهِ الدُّنْيا لَعْنَةً وَ يَوْمَ الْقِيامَةِ أَلا إِنَّ عاداً كَفَرُوا رَبَّهُمْ أَلا بُعْداً لِعادٍ قَوْمِ هُودٍ

  1. " And they were pursued by a curse in this world, and on the Day of Resurrection. Behold! the 'Ad disbelieved in their Lord: so away with 'Ad, the people of Hud. "

Commentary :

In this verse which ends the story of Hud and the tribe of 'Ad, the Qur'an explains the consequences of their evil acts and falsehood saying that they were damned and cursed in this world for their evil deeds and were made infamous with a notorious history after their death. The verse says:

" And they were pursued by a curse in this world, and on the Day of Resurrection. Behold! the 'Ad disbelieved in their Lord: ..."

It will be said on the Day of Resurrection: "Let it be known on the Day of Resurrection that the people of 'Ad refused to recognize their Lord and lost His favor upon them. " Although the term 'Ad is adequate for describing and introducing these people, the phrase "the people of Hud" has also been mentioned in the above verse which emphasizes and makes allusion to the fact that this group of people is the same one which annoyed their compassionate prophet so much and hence, distanced themselves from Allah's favor. The verse continues saying:

"... so away with 'Ad, the people of Hud. "

Verses number 05 to 06 of this Sura relate to the people of 'Ad. They were of the Arab race and resided in the Jazirat ul Arab or the Arabian Peninsula, but the name of this group of people is not mentioned in the present Torah. They were a people who enjoyed a high standard of living and lived in the magnificent towns according to the suras Al- Qamar, Al Haqqa, Al- A'raf, Al- Sajdah, and Ash- Shu'ara those people were tall, vigorous and had a unique civilization.

As far as their system of belief was concerned, they worshipped idols and followed tyrants. Hud invited them to worship the One and only God, and become monotheist. However, they did not submit and met their doom with Allah's anger which was manifested in the form of furious, burning storms. The people of 'Ad consisted of two groups; the first 'Ad and the second 'Ad. The latter used to live in Ahqaf(a region in the Hijaz)or in the Yemen until seven hundred B. C.