Tafsir of Surah Ash-Shu'ara' - Verse 176

Shu`ayb and His Preaching to the Dwellers of Al-Aykah

The companions of Al-Aykah were the people of Madyan, according to the most correct view. The Prophet of Allah Shu`ayb was one of them, but it does not say here, their brother Shu`ayb, because they called themselves by a name denoting their deification of Al-Aykah, which was a tree which they used to worship; it was said that it was a group of trees which were tangled, like trees in a thicket. For this reason, when Allah said that the companions of Al-Aykah denied the Messengers, He did not say, "When their brother Shu`ayb said to them." Rather, He said:

إِذْ قَالَ لَهُمْ شُعَيْبٌ

(When Shu`ayb said to them) He is not described as belonging to them because of the meaning that was inherent in the name given to them even though he was their brother by blood. Some people did not notice this point, so they thought that the dwellers of Al-Aykah were different from the people of Madyan, and claimed that Shu`ayb was sent to two nations; some said that he was sent to three.

أَصْحَـبُ لْـَيْكَةِ

(The companions of Al-Aykah) were the people of Shu`ayb. This was the view of Ishaq bin Bishr. Someone besides Juwaybir said, "The dwellers of Al-Aykah and the people of Madyan are one and the same." And Allah knows best. Although there is another opinion that they were different nations with two identities, the correct view is that they were one nation, but they are described differently in different places. Shu`ayb preached to them and commanded them to be fair in their weights and measures, the same as is mentioned in the story of Madyan, which also indicates that they were the same nation.

أَوْفُواْ الْكَيْلَ وَلاَ تَكُونُواْ مِنَ الْمُخْسِرِينَ - وَزِنُواْ بِالْقِسْطَاسِ الْمُسْتَقِيمِ

وَلاَ تَبْخَسُواْ النَّاسَ أَشْيَآءهُمْ وَلاَ تَعْثَوْاْ فِى الاْرْضِ مُفْسِدِينَ-

وَأَمْطَرْ‌نَا عَلَيْهِم مَّطَرً‌ا ۖ فَسَاءَ مَطَرُ‌ الْمُنذَرِ‌ينَ

and subjected them to a terrible rain. So evil was the rain of those who were warned. - 26:173

This verse has confirmed that if a man commits sodomy, he may be punished with throwing a wall on him or by throwing him down from a high place, as suggested by Hanafi scholars, because the people of Lut (علیہ السلام) were destroyed in a similar manner. Their township was lifted and thrown on the ground. (Shami Kitab Al-Hudud)

Shu‘ayb’s community was the progeny of Abraham. The central city of the area which they inhabited was Tabuk. The old name of Tabuk was Ayka, which literally means ‘the forest.’ That is why, in the Quran, it is called Ashab al-Ayka (the dwellers of the forest). The root cause of all moral and social evils is setting double standards. Just conduct for a man is to give others their rightful due, and take for himself what rightfully belongs to him. This is the Divine ‘balance’. When this is upset, disturbance occurs in collective social life. The secret of maintaining this balance is the fear of God. If the fear of God goes out of the heart, nothing can make a man keep his moral equilibrium. All the prophets who had appeared on behalf of God had told their addressee communities: ‘I am a trustworthy Messenger to you.’ This shows that a preacher should necessarily have the quality of trustworthiness. One aspect of this trustworthiness is that he should not raise any material or economic issue with his addressee community, so that there should never be any doubt about the selflessness of his purpose. This trustworthiness is so important that it should be fostered at any cost, even if the preacher of truth has, voluntarily, to forego his material rights for its sake.