Surah Al-A'raaf

Chapter 7 · Verse 79 · Revealed in Makkah

فَتَوَلَّىٰ عَنْهُمْ وَقَالَ يَٰقَوْمِ لَقَدْ أَبْلَغْتُكُمْ رِسَالَةَ رَبِّى وَنَصَحْتُ لَكُمْ وَلَٰكِن لَّا تُحِبُّونَ ٱلنَّٰصِحِينَ

And he turned away from them and said, "O my people, I had certainly conveyed to you the message of my Lord and advised you, but you do not like advisors."

Translation: Saheeh International

Listen to recitation

Mishary Rashid Alafasy

Reflection — Ibn Kathir

«يَا أَبَا جَهْلِ بْنَ هِشَامٍ يَا عُتْبَةَ بْنَ رَبِيعَةَ يَا شَيْبَةَ بْنَ رَبِيعَةَ وَيَا فُلَانَ بْنَ فُلَانٍ هَلْ وَجَدْتُمْ مَا وَعَدَ رَبُّكُمْ حَقًّا،؟ فَإِنِّي وَجَدْتُ مَا وَعَدَنِي رَبِّي حَقًّا»

(O Abu Jahl bin Hisham! O `Utbah bin Rabi`ah! O Shaybah bin Rabi`ah! Did you find what your Lord has promised you (of torment) to be true, for I found what my Lord promised me (of victory) to be true.) `Umar said to him, "O Allah's Messenger! Why do you speak to a people who have rotted" He said,

«وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ مَا أَنْتُمْ بِأَسْمَعَ لِمَا أَقُولُ مِنْهُمْ وَلَكِنْ لَا يُجِيبُون»

Reflection — Maarif ul Quran

Other verses of the Qur'an have also mentioned: فَأَخَذَتْهُمُ الصَّيْحَةُ (that is, a Cry or Sound seized them - 15:83). The word: الصَّيْحَةُ (As-Saihah) means a shrill cry or severe sound. From these two verses, we find out that two kinds of punishment had simultaneously converged on the people of Thamud, the earthquake from below and the ` Saihah' from above. The result was: أَصْبَحُوا فِي دَارِ‌هِمْ (and they were [ found dead ] in their homes, fallen on their knees - 77). The word: جَاثِمِين (jathimin) is a derivation from the verbal noun: Juthum, which means to be rendered senseless and motionless at one spot, or remain sitting (Al-Qamus). The sense is that everyone lay dead as and where one was. نَعُوذُ بِاللہِ مِن قَھرِہِ وَ عَذَابِہِ (We seek refuge with Allah from His Wrath and His Punishment).

Important parts of this story of the people of Thamud (علیہ السلام) have been mentioned in the different Surahs of the Qur'an itself. Some parts appear in Hadith narrations. There are some others which commentators have taken from Israelite narratives, but the proof of an event or its reality does not depend on them.

What does this verse bring up for you today?

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