Surah Hud (Hud) 11 : 91

Overview (Verses 91 - 95)

When All Arguments Fail

“They said: ‘Shu`ayb, we cannot understand much of what you say. But we do see clearly how weak you are in our midst. Were it not for your family, we would have stoned you. You do not command a position of great respect among us.’” (Verse 91) The people of Madyan made it clear to Shu`ayb that they were fed up with him and with his message. They did not want to know anything about the truth he was presenting and did not care for anything which differed with their attitude to life or with their practices. Thus, in their view, only physical strength mattered. Plain truth was of no real significance, regardless of the strength of its argument, if it was not supported by physical power: “We do see clearly how weak you are in our midst. Were it not for your family, we would have stoned you.” What restrained them from doing so was the fact that they reckoned with the power of Shu`ayb’s clan and family who were supposed to come to his defence. They did not reckon with the power of God who would not leave His messenger to the mercy of His enemies. They rudely told Shu`ayb: “You do not command a position of great respect among us.” They had no respect for him as a noble person, nor for his own strength. They only had to consider what his clan might do if anything happened to him.

When people are devoid of proper faith, sound values and noble ideals, they care nothing for anything beyond their immediate interests or their material well-being. To them, any good cause or apparent truth has no sanctity whatsoever. They do not hesitate to assault the advocates of God’s cause if these have no apparent power to protect them.

Shu`ayb was angry with his people for their arrogance towards God. He made it clear that he did not derive his power from his clan or family. He confronted them with their misjudgement of the true powers which can influence things in the universe, and pointed out to them that their insolence would not benefit them with God, aware as He always is of people’s actions. Shu`ayb said his last word and parted ways with his people on the basis that there was no common ground of faith between them. He warned them against the suffering that befell all people who adopted their attitude and then left them to their destiny.

Said he: My people, do you hold my family in greater esteem than God? You have turned your backs on Him. My Lord encompasses [with His might] all that you do.’ (Verse 92)

Any group of people, strong and powerful as they may be, are, after all, human, subject to God’s power. Hence, they are weak. How can you then give such a group of human beings more importance than you give to God? How can you fear them more than you fear Him? “You have turned your backs on Him.” This is an image of physical rejection which heightens the enormity of their error. They turn their backs on God who has created them and who has given them all the goods they enjoy in this life. Their attitude is one of ingratitude and insolence as much as it is one of rejection of faith.

“My Lord encompasses [with His might] all that you do.” The Arabic expression used here gives an image of complete and perfect knowledge, as well as complete and overall power. Angry at his people’s impudence towards God, Shu`ayb takes the proper attitude of a true believer. He does not find any gratification or reassurance in the fact that his own family and clan enjoyed such respect and power that afforded him protection from possible assault. This is evidence of true faith. A true believer finds no real power or protection other than that given him by God. He is unhappy to have a community to protect him, which is held in awe by others, when God, his Lord, is not held in awe. The true loyalty of a person who submits himself to God is not to his clan or nation; it is to God and to his faith. This is the parting point between the Islamic concept of loyalties and the un-Islamic one.

Shu`ayb’s anger and his disavowal of any protection given him by anyone other than God prompt him to challenge his people and then disassociate himself from them totally. “Do what you will, my people, and so will I. You shall come to know who shall be visited by suffering that will cover him with ignominy, and who is a liar. Watch, then [for what is coming’, and I shall watch with you.” (Verse 93) He challenges them to do what they can, to go along their way to the end. He will work according to his method and programme. Time will tell who will suffer and who will prosper. The way he throws down his challenge and invites them to watch for the outcome tells of his absolute trust in God.

The curtains fall here to open up again when the issue is finally resolved. We see the people of Madyan prostrate, lifeless in their homes, after having been overtaken by a dreadful cry, similar to that which overwhelmed the Thamūd, Şāliĥ’s people. There is great similarity between what happened to both peoples. In both cases, their houses were no longer inhabited, as if they never lived there: “When Our judgement came to pass, by Our grace We saved Shu`ayb and those who shared his faith. The blast overtook the wrongdoers, and when morning came, they lay lifeless on the ground, in their very homes, as though they had never prospered there. Oh, away with the people of Madyan, even as the Thamūd have been done away with!” (Verses 94-95) Another black page of history was turned after God’s word came to pass against those who rejected His warnings.