Tafsir of Surah Al-Mu'minun - Verse 31

The Story of `Ad or Thamud

Allah tells us that after the people of Nuh, He created another nation. It was said that this was `Ad, because they were the successors of the people of Nuh. Or it was said that they were Thamud, because Allah says:

فَأَخَذَتْهُمُ الصَّيْحَةُ بِالْحَقِّ

(So, the Sayhah overtook them in truth.) Allah sent to them a Messenger from among themselves, and he called them to worship Allah Alone with no partner or associate, but they belied him, opposed him and refused to follow him because he was a human being like them, and they refused to follow a human Messenger. They did not believe in the meeting with Allah on the Day of Resurrection and they denied the idea of physical resurrection. They said:

أَيَعِدُكُمْ أَنَّكُمْ إِذَا مِتٌّمْ وَكُنتُمْ تُرَاباً وَعِظـماً أَنَّكُمْ مُّخْرَجُونَ - هَيْهَاتَ هَيْهَاتَ لِمَا تُوعَدُونَ

(Does he promise you that when you have died and have become dust and bones, you shall come out alive (resurrected) Far, very far is that which you are promised!) meaning, very unlikely.

إِنْ هُوَ إِلاَّ رَجُلٌ افتَرَى عَلَى اللَّهِ كَذِباً

(He is only a man who has invented a lie against Allah,) meaning, `in the Message he has brought to you, and his warnings and promise of resurrection.'

وَمَا نَحْنُ لَهُ بِمُؤْمِنِينَقَالَ رَبِّ انصُرْنِى بِمَا كَذَّبُونِ

(and we are not going to believe in him. He said: "O my Lord! Help me because they deny me.") meaning, the Messenger ﷺ prayed against his people and asked his Lord to help him against them. His Lord answered his prayer:

قَالَ عَمَّا قَلِيلٍ لَّيُصْبِحُنَّ نَـدِمِينَ

((Allah) said: "In a little while, they are sure to be regretful.") meaning, `for their opposition towards you and their stubborn rejection of the Message you brought to them.'

فَأَخَذَتْهُمُ الصَّيْحَةُ بِالْحَقِّ

(So, The Sayhah overtook them in truth,) meaning, they deserved that from Allah because of their disbelief and wrongdoing. The apparent meaning is that the Sayhah was combined with the furious cold wind,

تُدَمِّرُ كُلَّ شَىْءٍ بِأَمْرِ رَبِّهَا فَأْصْبَحُواْ لاَ يُرَى إِلاَّ مَسَـكِنُهُمْ

(Destroying everything by the command of its Lord! So they became such that nothing could be seen except their dwellings!) 46:25

فَجَعَلْنَـهُمْ غُثَآءً

(and We made them as rubbish of dead plants.) means, they are dead and destroyed, like the scum and rubbish left by a flood, i.e., something insignificant and useless that is of no benefit to anyone.

فَبُعْداً لِّلْقَوْمِ الظَّـلِمِينَ

(So, away with the people who are wrongdoers.) As Allah's statement:

وَمَا ظَلَمْنَـهُمْ وَلَـكِن كَانُواْ هُمُ الظَّـلِمِينَ

(We wronged them not, but they were the wrongdoers.) 43:76 means, who are wrongdoers because of their disbelief and stubborn opposition to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, so let those who hear this beware of disbelieving in their Messengers.

In the earlier verses the story of Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) was told who was sent to his people to guide them along the path of righteousness and the following verses contain a brief account of some other prophets without mentioning their names and the people for whose guidance they were sent. From certain references and allusions the commentators have concluded that the verses refer to Sayyidna Hud (علیہ السلام) or Sayyidna Salih (علیہ السلام) who were sent for the guidance of the tribes of 'Ad and Thamud respectively. In the present story both these tribes are reported to have perished as a result of صَیحَہ (Cry) from an unseen source, whereas in other verses it has been specifically mentioned that it was the tribe of Thamud which perished from صَیحَہ (Cry) and this had led some scholars to the view that the words قَرناً آخَرِینَ (another generation) refers to Thamud.

An alternative explanation is that the word صَیحَہ (Cry) has been used in the general sense of punishment from Allah in which case it would include the tribe of ` Ad also.

After being delivered in the Ark from the Great Flood, the generation of believers in Noah flourished, but again, with the passage of the centuries, they plunged into the same evils in which their predecessors had indulged. Here perhaps the community referred to is that which is known as the ‘Ad. These people had neglected and forgotton God and were preoccupied with serving entities other than God. Once again a prophet of God, in this case Hud, appeared among them and made them aware of the Truth. But, like their predecessors, the chiefs of the community ranged themselves against the prophet. These chiefs had assumed leadership of the people and were surrounded by plenty and prosperity. It is a common weakness of those who are fortunate enough to acquire wealth and power to presume that this is ample proof of their being on the path of Truth. This was also true of these chiefs. Their prosperity and power prevented them from thinking that they could be wrong. They observed that the Prophet was not surrounded by heaps of wealth, nor was he seated upon a throne of power. So they considered him to be a lowly person. Due to the importance they attached to worldly glamour, they failed to understand the spiritual mission of the Prophet.