Tafsir of Al-A'raf 7:65

"And to ‘Ad" refers to a hidden element conjoined to the earlier Arsalna (We sent), which is the governing verb for His saying: "their brother"—meaning: And We sent to ‘Ad their brother. It is also said that there is no ellipsis, and the entire phrase is conjoined to the preceding phrase, with the preceding verb acting as the agent. The stylistic structure was varied for the sake of the pronoun "their brother," for if it had been presented according to the pattern of the first, the pronoun would have referred to something that follows it in wording and rank.

‘Ad is originally the name of the tribe’s ancestor, then the tribe or the clan was named after him. Thus, it is permissible for it to be diptote or triptote, as Sibawayh mentioned. His saying: "Hud" is a substitute for "their brother" or an explanatory apposition. It is famous that it is an Arabic name, but the apparent stance of Sibawayh is that it is non-Arabic. This is supported by what is said, that he is the first of the Arabs to speak Arabic, and he is Hud ibn Shalikh ibn Arfakhshad ibn Sam ibn Nuh. Muhammad ibn Ishaq holds this view. Some of those who say this claim that Nuh was the cousin of the father of ‘Ad; others say he is the son of ‘Aws ibn Iram ibn Sam ibn Nuh; and others say he is the son of Abdullah ibn Rabah ibn al-Khulud ibn ‘Ad ibn ‘Aws ibn Iram ibn Sam ibn Nuh—upon him be peace.

The meaning of his being their brother is that he is one of them by lineage; this is the opinion of many genealogists. Those who do not hold this say the intent is that he is their associate and one of their number, as when one says, "O brother of the Arabs." The wisdom in a prophet being sent to a people from among themselves is that they are more capable of understanding his speech than the speech of another, and they are more aware of his state regarding his truthfulness, trustworthiness, and the nobility of his lineage.

"He said"—this is an explanatory incipience, as if it were said: "What did he say to them when he was sent to them?" So it was said: "He said..." The Fa (consecutive particle) was not brought here as it was in the story of Nuh, because Nuh was persistent in calling his people, never delaying the answer to their misconceptions for a single moment, whereas Hud—upon him be peace—did not reach that extent of intensity; thus, the immediate sequence appears in the speech of Nuh but does not appear here.

The author of al-Fara’id mentions, in differentiating between the two stories, that the story of Nuh is the commencement of discourse, so the question does not arise from the requirements of the context. As for the story of Hud, it was conjoined to the story of Nuh, so it might occur to the listener's mind: "Did Hud say what Nuh said, or did he say something else?" It was therefore a place where one might ask what he said to his people, so it was said: "He said..."

It is also said that separation was chosen here because of the desire for each of the sentences to be independent in its meaning, since the disbelief of these people was greater than the disbelief of the people of Nuh, in that they knew what Allah had done to the disbelievers yet persisted, whereas the people of Nuh did not know. The fact that they knew of this, which will appear later in the verses, points to this; though there is scrutiny regarding this.

"O my people, worship Allah"—worship Him alone, as indicated by His saying: "You have no god other than Him." For this is an incipience that serves as an explanation for the commanded worship and a justification for it, or for the command itself. It is as if it were said: "Devote worship to Him and do not associate anything with Him, as you have no god other than He." Ghayruhu was read with the three case vowels, like the one preceding it.

"Will you not then fear?"—a denial and an imputation of remoteness regarding their failure to fear the punishment of Allah after they knew what had befallen the people of Nuh. As the Shaykh al-Islam said: He addressed them with each of these, and sufficed with narrating each in its respective place instead of the other, just as He did not mention here what was mentioned there, such as his saying: "You are nothing but fabricators," and measure the rest of what they mentioned—or what was not mentioned—of the parts of the story, or even its counterparts in other stories, especially in dialogues taking place at different times.

Many have said: The reason it is said here "Will you not then fear?" and in the previous address of Nuh to his people "I fear for you the punishment of a great day," is because these people knew what had befallen others like them, whereas there was no prior precedent before the event of the people of Nuh. It is also said: Because these were closer to the truth and the acceptance of the call than the people of Nuh, and this [the former] is less severe in intimidation than "I fear for you," etc. This is guided by what has preceded along with His saying...