Tafsir of Surah Hood - Verse 62

The Conversation between Salih and the People of Thamud

Allah, the Exalted, mentions what transpired in the discussion between Salih and his people. Allah informs of their ignorance and obstinacy in their statement,

قَدْ كُنتَ فِينَا مَرْجُوًّا قَبْلَ هَـذَا

(You have been among us as a figure of good hope till this!) They were saying in this, "We had hope in your strong intellect before you began saying what you have said."

أَتَنْهَانَآ أَن نَّعْبُدَ مَا يَعْبُدُ ءابَاؤُنَا

(Do you (now) forbid us the worship of what our fathers have worshipped) "what those who were before us were upon."

وَإِنَّنَا لَفِى شَكٍّ مِّمَّا تَدْعُونَآ إِلَيْهِ مُرِيبٍ

(But we are really in grave doubt as to that which you invite us.) This alludes to the great amount of doubt that they had.

قَالَ يقَوْمِ أَرَأَيْتُمْ إِن كُنتُ عَلَى بَيِّنَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّى

(He said: "O my people! Tell me, if I have a clear proof from my Lord...") `In reference to what He (Allah) has sent me with to you, I am upon conviction and sure evidence.'

وَءَاتَـنِى مِنْهُ رَحْمَةً فَمَن يَنصُرُنِى مِنَ اللَّهِ إِنْ عَصَيْتُهُ

(and there has come to me a mercy from Him, who then can help me against Allah, if I were to disobey Him) `and abandon calling you to the truth and the worship of Allah alone. If I did so, you would not be able to bring me any benefit, nor increase me

غَيْرَ تَخْسِيرٍ

(but in loss.)' This means loss and ruin.

As part of this event, the people of Sayyidna Salih (علیہ السلام) have been reported to have said to him: قَدْ كُنتَ فِينَا مَرْ‌جُوًّا قَبْلَ هَـٰذَا ( O Salih, we had hopes in you before this - 62). It means that, before he claimed to be a prophet and started telling them to shun idol-worship, they had great hopes in him. They thought he would rise to be a great reformer and leader of their people. The reason is that Allah Ta` a1a nurtures and grooms his prophets from their childhood in a way that they become models of good morals and habits. Whoever looks at them, loves and respects them. This is what happened in the case of the Last Prophet ﷺ Before he declared that he has been sent as a prophet, the whole Arabia called him al-amin (the trustworthy one) and took him to be true and righteous. It was only when he announced his prophet-hood and prohibited idol-worship that everyone turned hostile to him.

The Prophet Salih the successor of Ad called upon his community to worship the one and only God. Indeed, this had been the aim of all the prophets in every age. But, Salih’s community did not accept his message. The reason for this was that he was talking of linking them directly to God, while they held that they were linked to their great and holy men in the name of God. Now, since Salih’s sole strength was the power of reasoning, his community was not impressed by the significance of what he had to say. The importance of the religion which Salih was urging them towards would have been clear if they had given due consideration to God’s revelation and signs. But the members of his community were willing to give due recognition only to that religion which had come down to them through the records and traditions of the leading lights of their community. The result was that the community, in spite of being overwhelmed by his arguments, were in a dilemma of doubt. Like all other prophets, as Salih grew up in his community he was recognised as one who was distinctive in personality and intelligence. It was hoped that, on growing up, he would prove to be a useful member of society. But, things took a different turn and he started criticising the religion prevalent at that time. Seeing this, his people were greatly disappointed in him. They said, ‘We were under the impression that you would be a pillar of our established religious system. On the contrary, we see that you are bent upon proving our religious system baseless.’ In every period God’s true missionaries had to face this sort of reaction on the part of their communities.