Tafsir of Hud 11:94-95

Surah Hud (11): Verses 94-95

Narration regarding the Punishment:

It is narrated by al-Kalbi from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) that Allah Almighty never punished two nations with the same punishment, except for the people of Shu'ayb and the people of Salih. As for the people of Salih, the Shout took them from below them, while the people of Shu'ayb were taken by it from above them.

Interpretation of "When Our Command Came":

The phrase "And when Our Command came" (وَلَمَّا جَاءَ أَمْرُنَا) can mean:

1. When the time appointed by Us for the angels to bring that Shout arrived.
2. Or, the Command refers to the punishment itself.

In either case, Allah informed that He saved Shu'ayb and those who believed with him by a Mercy from Him. There are two perspectives on this Mercy:

1. That Allah saved him purely out of His Mercy, indicating that everything that reaches a servant is only through the grace and Mercy of Allah.
2. That the Mercy intended here refers to faith, obedience, and all righteous deeds, which themselves were only achieved through Allah's guidance (Tawfīq).

Description of the Punishment:

Then Allah described the manner of that punishment: "And the wrongdoers were seized by the Shout" (وَأَخَذَتِ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا الصَّيْحَةُ).

The definite article (al-) in "the Shout" (الصَّيْحَةُ) refers to the previously known Shout (the one that afflicted the people of Salih), which was the shout of the Angel Jibril (Gabriel, peace be upon him).

The Result:

"So they became in their dwellings [as if] motionless" (فَأَصْبَحُوا فِى دِيَارِهِمْ جَاثِمِينَ).

• Jāthimūn means remaining fixed in their place, unable to move away from it. This implies that when Jibril (PBUH) shouted at them, the soul of every one of them departed right where they stood, dead.
• "As if they had never dwelt therein" (كَأَن لَّمْ يَغْنَوْا فِيهَا), meaning as if they had never resided in their dwellings alive, moving about and conducting their affairs.

The Curse:

Then Allah Almighty said: "Indeed, away with Madyan, just as Thamud were destroyed" (أَلَا بُعْدًا لِّمَدْيَنَ كَمَا بُعِدَتْ ثَمُودُ).

The meaning of Bu'd (destruction/being cast far away) has already been explained. Their situation was likened to that of Thamud because Allah afflicted them with a punishment similar to that which afflicted Thamud.

Surah Hud (11): Verses 96-98

"And certainly did We send Moses with Our signs and a clear authority," (وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا مُوسَىٰ بِآيَاتِنَا وَسُلْطَانٍ مُّبِينٍ)

"To Pharaoh and his chiefs, but they followed the command of Pharaoh, while the command of Pharaoh was not right guidance." (إِلَىٰ فِرْعَوْنَ وَمَلَئِهِ فَاتَّبَعُوا أَمْرَ فِرْعَوْنَ ۖ وَمَا أَمْرُ فِرْعَوْنَ بِرَشِيدٍ)

"He will precede his people on the Day of Resurrection and will lead them into the Fire; and wretched is the watering place to which they are led." (يَقْدُمُ قَوْمَهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فَأَوْرَدَهُمُ النَّارَ ۖ وَبِئْسَ الْوِرْدُ الْمَوْرُودُ)

"And they are followed in this [world] by a curse, and on the Day of Resurrection. Wretched is the gift bestowed." (وَأُتْبِعُوا فِى هَٰذِهِ لَعْنَةً وَيَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ ۚ بِئْسَ الرِّفْدُ الْمَرْفُودُ)