Tafsir of Al-Mu'minoon 23:31-41

Al-Mu'minun (The Believers): Verses 31–41

Know that this story is about Hud, peace be upon him, according to Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) and the majority of the exegetes. They support this by Allah Almighty recounting Hud's saying: {And remember when He made you successors after the people of Noah} (Al-A'raf: 69), and by the sequence of Hud's story immediately following Noah's story in Surahs Al-A'raf, Hud, and Ash-Shu'ara.

Some scholars suggest that the intended people here are Thamud (the people of Salih), because the people who rejected him were those destroyed by the Shout.

As for the manner of the call (Da'wah), it is as previously explained in the story of Noah, peace be upon him. Herein lie several questions:

First Question: The Preposition Used with Arsala (To Send)

The verb arsala (to send) typically takes the preposition ila (to), similar to its counterparts like wajh (face) and anfadh (execute), and ba'atha (to dispatch). Why, then, is it sometimes rendered with fi (in) in the Qur'an, as in {Thus We sent you into a community} and {And We did not send into a town} (Al-A'raf: 94), and sometimes with fi as in {So We sent among them a Messenger} (Al-Mu'minun: 32)—meaning among the people of 'Ad—while elsewhere it is said {And to 'Ad [We sent] their brother Hud} (Hud: 50)?

Answer: It is not that fi is used interchangeably with ila. Rather, the community or town is made the place of the sending. This meaning is also conveyed by the verb ba'atha in the verse: {And if We had willed, We would have sent into every town a warner} (Al-Furqan: 51).

Second Question: The Placement of Afala Tattaqun (Will you not fear God?)

Is it correct what some have said: that the phrase {Will you not fear God?} is not connected to the preceding statement, but was said to them only after they had rejected him and responded to his established proof? At that point, he said it to them, warning them about their current state: "Will you not fear God regarding the punishment I have warned you about?"

Answer: It is possible that it is connected to the initial speech. He saw them turning away from worshipping God and preoccupied with worshipping idols, so he called them to worship God and warned them of punishment due to their devotion to idols.

Know that Allah Almighty recounted the characteristics of those people and their speech.

Their Characteristics (Three of the Worst Attributes):

1. Disbelief in the Creator: This is meant by {They disbelieved}.
2. Denial of the Day of Resurrection: This is meant by {And they denied the meeting with the Hereafter}.
3. Immersion in the Love of the World and its Desires: This is meant by {And the chiefs who disbelieved from his people said}—meaning, "We have been favored," or "We are enjoying the blessings."

Regarding the Wording of Their Speech:

If one asks: Allah mentioned the speech of the people of 'Ad without the conjunction waw (and) in Surah Al-A'raf and Surah Hud (e.g., {The chiefs who disbelieved from his people said, "Indeed, we see you in foolishness"} (Al-A'raf: 66) and {They said, "You are not but a man like us"} (Hud: 27)), but here it is mentioned with the waw ({And the chiefs who disbelieved from his people said}). What is the difference?

Answer: The version without the waw implies a response to an assumed question: "What did his people say?" The answer would be: "So-and-so was said." The version with the waw indicates a conjunction, meaning that in this incident, both this true speech (the call of Hud) and that false speech (the response of the chiefs) occurred together.

Their Doubts (Two Main Points):

1. The Argument of Human Likeness: Their statement: {This is not but a man like you. He eats of what you eat and drinks of what you drink}. The explanation of this doubt has already passed in the previous story. The phrase {and drinks of what you drink} means "from your drink," or the object is omitted because it is implied by the preceding context, as in {And if you should obey a man like yourselves, indeed, you would then be losers}. They considered obeying the Messenger a loss, yet they did not consider worshipping idols a loss. That is, if you grant him obedience without receiving any benefit in return, that is the loss.
2. Denial of Resurrection and Prophethood: They cast doubt on the validity of resurrection and then questioned his prophethood because he brought such a claim.
   • Doubt on Resurrection: Their statement: {Does he promise you that when you have died and become dust and bones, that you will be brought forth again [to life]} for recompense? They did not stop there but coupled it with extreme incredulity: {Far-fetched! Far-fetched is what you are promised}. They reinforced this doubt by saying: {This is not but our worldly life; we die and we live}. By "we die and we live," they did not mean a single individual, but that some die and some live, and that there is no return or gathering. Therefore, they said: {And we will not be resurrected}.
   • Doubt on Prophethood: After establishing their doubt about resurrection, they built upon it the doubt regarding his prophethood, saying: "Since he brought this falsehood, he has {invented a lie about Allah}." Then, after establishing this doubt against his prophethood, they concluded: {And we will not believe him}, because the people were following their leaders.

Know that Allah Almighty did not answer these two doubts because of the obvious falsehood in them.

• As for the first doubt (human likeness), its weakness has already been explained.
• As for the second doubt (denial of resurrection), they found resurrection improbable. Resurrection is not improbable for two reasons:
  1. Since He is capable of all possibilities and knowledgeable of all information, He must be capable of gathering and resurrecting.
  2. If there were no recompense, the domination of the strong over the weak in this world would be injustice, which is unsuitable for the Wise, as established by Him in {Indeed, the Hour is coming; I will almost conceal it so that every soul may be recompensed for what it strives} (Taha: 15).

First Issue: Emphasis on Innakum

The use of {Indeed, you} (innakum) is for emphasis. The separation between the first inna and the second (implied in mukhrajun) by the prepositional phrase (when you have died and become dust and bones) is rhetorically pleasing. In the recitation of Ibn Mas'ud, it is: {And you were dust and bones, that you will be brought forth}.

Second Issue: Pronunciation of Hayhat

The word {Far-fetched} (hayhat) has been read with fath (a) and kasr (i), all with or without tanwin, and with sukūn (silence) as if stopping on it.

Third Issue: The Pronoun in In Hiya Illa Hayatuna

The pronoun hiya (it) in {This is not but our worldly life} is an unspecified pronoun whose meaning is only known by the explanation that follows it. Its origin is: "Life is not but our worldly life." Then, hiya was substituted for al-hayat because the predicate indicates it. Similar to the poet's saying:

The soul is what you carry, it bears [the burden].

The meaning is: There is no life except this life. Because the negating inna entered upon hiya, which signifies the genus (life), it negated it, balancing the la (not) that negates what follows it with a negation of genus.

When that Messenger despaired of acceptance from the elders and the common folk, he turned to his Lord, saying: {My Lord, support me because they denied me}, which has been previously explained.

Allah answered his plea, saying: {Soon they will be regretful} (Al-Mu'minun: 40).

The closest interpretation is that the signs of doom will become apparent to them, at which point regret and remorse will arise from them for failing to accept the truth. However, that time will be one of hopeless faith, and their remorse will not benefit them.

Allah clarified the destruction He sent upon them by saying: {So the Shout seized them with truth}.

Several interpretations are mentioned regarding the Shout:

1. Gabriel, peace be upon him, shouted at them with a mighty sound, causing them to die instantly.
2. The Shout was the earthquake, according to Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him).
3. The Shout is the torment and death itself, as it is said of one who dies: "He was called, and he answered." (According to Al-Hasan).
4. It was the consuming torment. A poet said:

   Time roared at the family of Barmak with a shout, They fell upon their faces due to its severity.

The first interpretation is the strongest because it is the literal meaning.

As for {with truth} (bil-haqq), it means He destroyed them justly, from the saying: "So-and-so judges with truth" if his judgments are just. Al-Mufaddal said: bil-haqq means that which cannot be repelled, like {And the agony of death will come in truth}.

As for {So We made them like foam} (ghutha’), ghutha’ is the debris carried by a flood—the rotten and blackened wood and twigs. Hence, Allah says: {and made it dark, broken debris}.

As for {So away with the wrongdoing people!}, there are two issues concerning it:

First Issue: The Source of Bu'dan (Away!)

The word {Away!} (bu'dan), along with suhqa (utter destruction) and damaran (ruin), are verbal nouns used in place of their corresponding verbs. They are among the verbal nouns whose verbs are not explicitly mentioned but are understood. The meaning of bu'dan is: "May they be destroyed." It is said: ba'ida bu'dan and bu'dan (with fath on the ayn), similar to rashida rashdan and rashadan (with fath on the shin). And Allah knows best.

Second Issue: The Meaning of Bu'dan

The word {Away!} is equivalent to a curse (la'n), which is expulsion from goodness. Allah Almighty mentioned this in a manner of contempt and humiliation for them. Since the torment has already befallen them, this indicates that the distance from bliss and reward that awaits them in the Hereafter is greater than what afflicted them in this world, serving as a lesson for those who come after them.

{Then We produced after them other generations. No nation precedes its term, nor do they delay it. Then We sent Our messengers in succession. Whenever a messenger came to a nation, they denied him. So We made them follow one another, and We made them tales. So away with the people who do not believe!}