Hud: (92-93) He said, "O my people..."

Know, O seeker of knowledge, that when the disbelievers threatened Shu'ayb (peace be upon him) with killing and harm, Allah the Exalted recounts what he said in this context, which consists of two types of speech:

Type One:

His saying: {He said, "O my people, is my clan more esteemed to you than Allah, and you have cast Him behind your backs as something discarded? Indeed, my Lord, of what you do, is encompassing.}

The meaning is that the people claimed they refrained from harming him out of respect for their clan. He replied: You claim you refrain from killing me out of honor for my clan, but Allah the Exalted is more deserving of having His command followed. It is as if he is saying: Your preservation of me out of regard for Allah's command is more fitting than your preservation of me out of regard for the right of my clan.

As for His saying: {and you have cast Him behind your backs as something discarded} (wa-ittakhadhtumūhu warā’akum ẓuhriyyā), the meaning is that you have forgotten Him and made Him like something thrown behind the back, disregarded. The author of Al-Kashshāf said: Al-ẓuhriyy is derived from al-ẓahr (the back), and the kasra (vowelization) is a change in derivation, similar to saying imsiyy (with a kasra on the hamza) when deriving from al-ams (yesterday). His saying: {Indeed, my Lord, of what you do, is encompassing} means that He is fully aware of your conditions, and nothing about them is hidden from Him.

Type Two:

His saying: {Say, "O my people, work according to your position; indeed, I am working.}

Al-Makānah (position/ability) is the state in which its possessor is firmly established for his action. The meaning is: Work while you are described with the utmost ability and power, and with everything within your capacity and strength to inflict harm upon me, for I too am working according to the power Allah the Exalted has granted me.

Then He said: {And you will know who comes to him a punishment that disgraces him, and who is the liar.}

Regarding this, there are two issues:

One might ask why He did not say, {Fa-sawfa ta'lamūn (Then you will know)} with the conjunction fā’ (then). The answer is that including the fā’ would make it a direct response to a presumed question. The implied thought is: When he said, {Say, "O my people, work according to your position; indeed, I am working"}, it is as if they asked, "What happens after that?" He replied: {Sawfa ta'lamūn (You will know)}. Thus, omitting the fā’ here is more complete in conveying terror and awe.

Then He said: {And wait; indeed, I am with you, waiting.}

The meaning is: Await the consequence; indeed, I am with you, raqīb (waiting/watching). Al-Raqīb can mean one who watches (rāqib), like ḍarīb (striker) and ṣarīm (cutter), or it can mean one who observes (murāqib), like ʿashīr (companion) and nadīm (intimate friend), or one who awaits (murtaqib), like faqīr (needy) and rafīʿ (exalted), meaning one who is in need and one who is elevated.

{And when Our command came, We saved Shu'ayb and those who believed with him, by Our mercy, and the cry seized those who wronged, so they became in their dwellings [dead] as if they had never lived therein. Unquestionably, remote was Madyan, just as Thamud was remote.}