Tafsir of Hud 11:87

"They said, 'O Shu'ayb...'"

Shu'ayb (peace be upon him) prayed frequently. Whenever his people saw him praying, they would wink at one another and laugh. By saying, "Does your prayer command you?", they intended mockery and derision.

While it is permissible for prayer to be a "commander" in a metaphorical sense—just as it is a "forbidder" in the verse, "Recite what has been revealed to you of the Book" (Al-Ankabut: 45)—and it is said that prayer commands one toward beauty and virtue, just as it invites and motivates toward them; they, however, framed their speech as a taunt. They made "prayer" the commander as a way of ridiculing his devotion.

They meant that the things he commanded—such as abandoning the worship of idols—were false and baseless. They implied that no rational mind or intelligent advisor would call him to such things; therefore, the only thing left to command him was the "delirium" and "whispering of Satan," which they considered his prayers to be—those prayers he persisted in day and night. In their view, this was a form of madness, akin to the nonsensical words and actions that obsess the insane and the possessed.

The meaning of "command you" is "command you to [the obligation of] leaving what our fathers worship." The added noun "obligation" is omitted because a person is not commanded to perform the actions of another. It is recited as salatuka (singular).

Ibn Abi 'Abla recited: "Or that you do with our wealth what you wish" (using the second-person address in both verbs). This refers to what he commanded them regarding the cessation of short-changing and cheating, and being content with a little that is lawful rather than a lot that is forbidden. It is also said he forbade them from clipping or shaving the edges of coins.

By saying, "Indeed, you are the forbearing, the rightly guided," they intended to attribute to him the height of foolishness and error. They inverted the terms to mock him, just as one mocks a miser who gives nothing by saying to him, "If Hatim [al-Ta'i] saw you, he would prostrate to you."

It is also said the meaning is: "You are the one described among your people as having forbearance and right guidance," implying that what he commanded did not align with his own state or the reputation he held.

"He said, 'O my people, have you considered: if I am upon clear evidence from my Lord and He has provided me with a good provision from Him? And I do not intend to differ from you in that which I forbid you. I intend only reform as much as I am able. And my success is not but through Allah. Upon Him I have relied, and to Him I return.'"