Al-A'raf: (70–72) They said, "Have you come to us..."

It is known that Prophet Hud (peace be upon him) called his people to monotheism and abandoning the worship of idols, using decisive proof.

He demonstrated that God's blessings upon them were numerous and great. Plain reason dictates that idols have no share in these blessings bestowed upon creation because they are inanimate objects, and the inanimate has absolutely no power over anything. Worship is clearly the ultimate form of veneration, and the ultimate veneration is only fitting for the One from whom the ultimate bestowal of favors originates. This proves that they must worship God and nothing else. God Almighty mentioned the enumeration of His favors to His servants precisely for this argument.

When Hud (PBUH) presented this certain proof, the people had no response other than clinging to the path of taqlīd (blind imitation).

They said:

{ They said: "Have you come to us that we should worship Allah alone and leave what our fathers used to worship?" }

Then they said:

{ "Then bring us what you threaten us with." }

This is because Hud (PBUH) had said:

{ "Worship Allah; you have no other god besides Him. Will you not fear?" } (Al-Mu'minun: 32)

His statement, "Will you not fear?" implies a threat and a warning of punishment. For this reason, they said:

{ "Then bring us what you threaten us with." }

They said this because they believed him to be a liar, as evidenced by their earlier statement:

{ "Indeed, we think you are one of the liars." } (Al-A'raf: 66)

Since they believed him to be a liar, they demanded:

{ "Then bring us what you threaten us with." }

The objective was that if the punishment did not arrive, it would become clear to the people that he was a liar. They said this because they assumed that the promised event could not be delayed, so they hastened him to that extent.

Then God Almighty recounted what Prophet Hud (PBUH) said in response to their words:

{ "It has already befallen you from your Lord a defilement and wrath." }

There are several issues concerning this statement:

This event that God informed about cannot be the actual punishment, as the punishment had not yet occurred at that time. Scholars have differed on its meaning.

Al-Qadi said that the apparent meaning supports our view (the Mu'tazila view), except that we say: God Almighty created the will (irādah) for it at that time, because after their disbelief and rejection, this will came into existence.

However, this view is false according to our doctrine. Rather, there are several interpretations for the verse:

1. Foretelling: God informed him at that time that the punishment would descend upon them. Since the notification occurred at that moment, Hud said:

   { "It has already befallen you from your Lord a defilement and wrath." }

2. Treating the Inevitable as Actual: The expected event, which must inevitably descend, is treated as if it has already happened. A parallel is when you tell someone who requested something from you, "It is done," meaning, "It will certainly be done." Similar to God's saying:

   { "The command of Allah has come." } (An-Nahl: 1), meaning, the command of Allah will come.

3. Eternal Will: We interpret the word "befallen" (waqa'a) as meaning "found" or "occurred." The meaning is: The will to inflict the punishment upon you occurred from eternity to eternity, because the word "occurred" does not imply newness after non-existence.

It is impossible for Al-Rijs to mean the punishment, because wrath (ghaḍab) is interpreted as punishment. If we interpreted Rijs as punishment, it would result in repetition.

Furthermore, Rijs is the opposite of purification (tazkiyah and taṭhīr). God says:

{ "And purify them thereby." } (At-Tawbah: 103) And regarding the description of the Ahl al-Bayt: { "And purify you with a thorough purification." } (Al-Ahzab: 33)

The intended purification here is purification from false beliefs and blameworthy actions. If this is the case, then Al-Rijs must refer to false beliefs and blameworthy actions.

If this is established, then His statement:

{ "It has already befallen you from your Lord a defilement..." }

Indicates that God specifically afflicted them with blameworthy beliefs and ugly characteristics. This implies that good and evil originate from God.

Al-Qaffal suggested that Al-Rijs could be the increase in disbelief due to the hardening of their hearts, like His saying:

{ "And it increases them only in revulsion." } (At-Tawbah: 125) Meaning: A hardening (Rīn) has befallen your hearts from God as a punishment for your familiarity with disbelief and your persistence in error.

We have already demonstrated that this verse indicates their disbelief is from God. If what Al-Qaffal meant was this, then he agrees with our established position. However, he strongly recoils from this doctrine, and most interpretations of verses indicating this doctrine suggest he does not hold this view. If his statement was meant to answer our previous explanation, it is weak because it does not negate the proof we mentioned. And God knows best.

The summary of the discussion on the verse is: When the people insisted on imitation and refusal to submit to proof, God increased them in disbelief—this is what is meant by:

{ "It has already befallen you from your Lord a defilement..." }

Then He singled them out for an increase in wrath, which is:

{ "...and wrath." }

Then He said:

{ "Do you dispute with me concerning names you have named—you and your fathers—for which Allah has sent down no authority?" }

This means questioning in the manner of denunciation. This is because they used to name the idols as "gods" (ālihah), even though the meaning of divinity was absent in them. They named one of them Al-'Uzzā, derived from might ('izz), yet God had granted it no might whatsoever. They named another Al-Lāt, which possessed none of the attributes of divinity.

His statement:

{ "...for which Allah has sent down no authority." }

Is an expression for the complete lack of proof and evidence in their doctrines. Then, (PBUH) gave them a renewed warning, saying:

{ "Then wait; indeed, I am with you among those who are waiting." }

This means: Wait for what will result from your worship of these idols; indeed, I am waiting with you for the outcome.

Then God Almighty informed about the consequence of this event:

{ "So We saved him and those who were with him by a mercy from Us..." }

Because they deserved mercy due to their faith.

{ "...and We cut off the roots of those who denied Our signs, which We had brought to them as a miracle for Hud." }

This means God sent down upon them the punishment of complete annihilation, which was the wind. God explained its manner in other places. "Cutting off the roots" (qaṭa'nā dābir) means complete extermination. This wording indicates that God left none of them remaining. The dābir of a thing is its end.

If it is asked: Since it is stated that they were deniers of God's signs, it is certain they were not believers. What is the benefit of then saying:

{ "...and they were not believers." }?

The answer is: It means they were deniers, and God knew that if they had lived longer, they would still not have believed. If God had known they would believe, He would have let them live.

7 < { And to Thamud [We sent] their brother Sālih. He said, "O my people, worship Allah; you have no other god besides Him. A clear proof has come to you from your Lord. This is the she-camel of Allah, a sign for you. So let her feed upon Allah's earth, and do not touch her with harm, lest a painful punishment seize you. * And remember when He made you successors after 'Ad and settled you in the land. You take for yourselves palaces in its plains and carve out mountains as houses. So remember the favors of Allah and do not commit evil on earth, spreading corruption." } > 7

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