Surah al-Hijr (The Valley of Stone) 15 : 80
Translations
Pickthall
Yusuf Ali
Qur'an Dictionary
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Word | Arabic word | |
(15:80:1) |
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(15:80:2) kadhaba denied |
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(15:80:3) aṣḥābu (the) companions |
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(15:80:4) l-ḥij'ri (of) the Rocky Tract |
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(15:80:5) l-mur'salīna the Messengers |
Explanatory Note
3. Surah Overview
“This surah was revealed in Makkah, after the revelation of Surah 12, Joseph. The time was a very critical one, falling as it did between the ‘year of sorrow’ when the Prophet lost his wife Khadijah and his uncle Abu Talib and the year when the Prophet migrated to Madinah. The surah thus reflects the needs and requirements of this difficult period.” [Ref: Qutb, Fi Dhilal]
“It is clear from its topics and style that the period of its revelation is similar to that of Surah 14: Ibraheem (Abraham) as two things are quite prominent in its background. Firstly, it appears from the repeated warnings in this Surah that despite the fact that the Prophet had been propagating the Message for many years his people in general had not shown any inclination towards its acceptance, nay they had become more and more obdurate and stubborn in their antagonism, enmity and ridicule with the passage of time. Secondly by that time the Prophet had begun to feel a little tired of making strenuous efforts to eradicate disbelief and opposition of his people. That is why God has consoled and comforted him over and over again by way of encouragement..” [Ref: Mawdudi]
10. Wiki Forum
11. Tafsir Zone
Sayyid Qutb Overview (Verses 75 - 81) The Fate of Erring Communities The towns were ruined by a natural phenomenon which seems similar to that of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, which are sometimes accompanied by earth subsidence and a showering of stones. Sometimes complete villages and towns are so immersed. It is said that the Dead Sea was formed after this event, which witnessed the sinking of Sodom and Gomorrah, when the surface of the earth collapsed forming a lake that was later filled with water. We will not try to explain their particular punishment as an earthquake or a volcano, for our approach is based instead on complete faith that does not admit such explanations. We know for certain that all natural phenomena operate in accordance with a law that God has laid down for the universe. But no phenomenon or event occurs on the basis of inevitability. It occurs in fulfilment of God’s will, which applies particularly to that situation. There is no conflict between the operation of God’s law and the need for an act of God’s will for every event. We also know for certain that in some cases God, in His wisdom, accomplishes a particular will of His through a certain event, in order to serve a certain purpose. What destroyed Lot’s townships need not be an ordinary earthquake or volcano. God might have willed to inflict on them whatever scourge He might have chosen, at the time of His choice and by the method He determined. That is the approach to explain, on the basis of faith, all miraculous events that took place at the times of all prophets. Those towns were on a road regularly traversed between Arabia and Syria. They contain good lessons for those who wish to learn from the end that befell earlier communities which defied and rejected God’s messengers. But such lessons are of benefit only to those who are prepared to learn from them: “Surely in this there are messages for those who read the signs. Those [towns] stood on a road that is trodden still. In all this there is a sign for true believers.” (Verses 75-77) Thus the warning came true. The sending of the angels was a signal for God’s punishment which no one can prevent or avoid. The same applied to the communities of the Prophets Shu`ayb and Şāliĥ: “The dwellers of the wooded dales [of Madyan] were also wrongdoers, and so We punished them. Both these [communities] lived by an open highway, plain to see.” (Verses 78-79) The Qur’ān gives detailed accounts of the history of the Prophet Shu`ayb and his people in other sūrahs. Here we have only a reference to the injustice they were keen to perpetrate, and to their punishment. This comes as confirmation of God’s punishment. As indicated at the beginning of the sūrah, when the time appointed for any community lapses, their punishment is inevitable if they persist in their rejection of God’s messages. The city of Madyan and the wooded dales inhabited by Shu`ayb’s people were not far from Lot’s townships. The reference in the dual form, ‘both’, here may mean Madyan and the wooded lands, which were on a clearly marked road. Or it may mean the townships of Lot already mentioned and Shu`ayb’s city of Madyan. They may be grouped together as they lie on the same road between Hijaz in today’s Saudi Arabia and Syria. The doom that befalls cities and townships flourishing along a well traversed road provides a great reminder as it becomes a lesson to all that pass by. Life continues all around these towns which once flourished, but now lie in ruin. The people of al-Ĥijr are the community to whom the Prophet Şāliĥ was sent. Their land lies in between Hijaz and Syria. Its ruins are still seen today, because they used to build their dwellings in the mountains, cutting space for themselves there. Şāliĥ’s special miraculous sign was the she-camel who had an equal share of water to drink as the whole town with all its cattle. But the signs available in the universe are numerous, and so are God’s signs within ourselves. All of these are there for people to look upon and contemplate. God did not only give them the preternatural sign which Şāliĥ brought them, but instead they turned away from all God’s signs. No reasonable person was ready to contemplate them and reflect on the message they carried. |
Ibn Kathir (English)
Sayyid Qutb
Sha'rawi
Al Jalalain
Mawdudi
الطبري - جامع البيان
ابن كثير - تفسير القرآن العظيم
القرطبي - الجامع لأحكام
البغوي - معالم التنزيل
ابن أبي حاتم الرازي - تفسير القرآن
ابن عاشور - التحرير والتنوير
ابن القيم - تفسير ابن قيّم
السيوطي - الدر المنثور
الشنقيطي - أضواء البيان
ابن الجوزي - زاد المسير
الآلوسي - روح المعاني
ابن عطية - المحرر الوجيز
الرازي - مفاتيح الغيب
أبو السعود - إرشاد العقل السليم
الزمخشري - الكشاف
البقاعي - نظم الدرر
الهداية إلى بلوغ النهاية — مكي ابن أبي طالب
القاسمي - محاسن التأويل
الماوردي - النكت والعيون
السعدي - تيسير الكريم الرحمن
عبد الرحمن الثعالبي - الجواهر الحسان
السمرقندي - بحر العلوم
أبو إسحاق الثعلبي - الكشف والبيان
الشوكاني - فتح القدير
النيسابوري - التفسير البسيط
أبو حيان - البحر المحيط
البيضاوي - أنوار التنزيل
النسفي - مدارك التنزيل
ابن جُزَيّ - التسهيل لعلوم التنزيل
علي الواحدي النيسابوري - الوجيز
السيوطي - تفسير الجلالين
المختصر في التفسير — مركز تفسير
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