Tafheem ul Quran

Surah 54 Al-Qamar, Ayat 23-40

كَذَّبَتۡ ثَمُوۡدُ بِالنُّذُرِ‏ ﴿54:23﴾ فَقَالُـوۡۤا اَبَشَرًا مِّنَّا وَاحِدًا نَّتَّبِعُهٗۤ ۙ اِنَّاۤ اِذًا لَّفِىۡ ضَلٰلٍ وَّسُعُرٍ‏ ﴿54:24﴾ ءَاُلۡقِىَ الذِّكۡرُ عَلَيۡهِ مِنۡۢ بَيۡنِنَا بَلۡ هُوَ كَذَّابٌ اَشِرٌ‏ ﴿54:25﴾ سَيَعۡلَمُوۡنَ غَدًا مَّنِ الۡكَذَّابُ الۡاَشِرُ‏ ﴿54:26﴾ اِنَّا مُرۡسِلُوا النَّاقَةِ فِتۡنَةً لَّهُمۡ فَارۡتَقِبۡهُمۡ وَاصۡطَبِرۡ‏  ﴿54:27﴾ وَنَبِّئۡهُمۡ اَنَّ الۡمَآءَ قِسۡمَةٌ ۢ بَيۡنَهُمۡ​ۚ كُلُّ شِرۡبٍ مُّحۡتَضَرٌ‏  ﴿54:28﴾ فَنَادَوۡا صَاحِبَهُمۡ فَتَعَاطٰى فَعَقَرَ‏ ﴿54:29﴾ فَكَيۡفَ كَانَ عَذَابِىۡ وَنُذُرِ‏ ﴿54:30﴾ اِنَّاۤ اَرۡسَلۡنَا عَلَيۡهِمۡ صَيۡحَةً وَّاحِدَةً فَكَانُوۡا كَهَشِيۡمِ الۡمُحۡتَظِرِ‏  ﴿54:31﴾ وَلَقَدۡ يَسَّرۡنَا الۡقُرۡاٰنَ لِلذِّكۡرِ فَهَلۡ مِنۡ مُّدَّكِرٍ‏ ﴿54:32﴾ كَذَّبَتۡ قَوۡمُ لُوۡطٍ ۢ بِالنُّذُرِ‏ ﴿54:33﴾ اِنَّاۤ اَرۡسَلۡنَا عَلَيۡهِمۡ حَاصِبًا اِلَّاۤ اٰلَ لُوۡطٍ​ؕ نَّجَّيۡنٰهُمۡ بِسَحَرٍۙ‏ ﴿54:34﴾ نِّعۡمَةً مِّنۡ عِنۡدِنَا​ؕ كَذٰلِكَ نَجۡزِىۡ مَنۡ شَكَرَ‏ ﴿54:35﴾ وَلَقَدۡ اَنۡذَرَهُمۡ بَطۡشَتَـنَا فَتَمَارَوۡا بِالنُّذُرِ‏ ﴿54:36﴾ وَلَقَدۡ رَاوَدُوۡهُ عَنۡ ضَيۡفِهٖ فَطَمَسۡنَاۤ اَعۡيُنَهُمۡ فَذُوۡقُوۡا عَذَابِىۡ وَنُذُرِ‏ ﴿54:37﴾ وَلَقَدۡ صَبَّحَهُمۡ بُكۡرَةً عَذَابٌ مُّسۡتَقِرٌّ​ ۚ‏ ﴿54:38﴾ فَذُوۡقُوۡا عَذَابِىۡ وَنُذُرِ‏ ﴿54:39﴾ وَلَقَدۡ يَسَّرۡنَا الۡقُرۡاٰنَ لِلذِّكۡرِ فَهَلۡ مِنۡ مُّدَّكِرٍ‏ ﴿54:40﴾

(54:23) Thamud gave the lie to the warnings, (54:24) saying: “Are we to follow a single mortal,17 one from among ourselves? If we do that, we shall surely be in error and folly. (54:25) Was there none but he to whom the Reminder could be vouchsafed excluding all others? Nay; he is an insolent liar.”18 (54:26) (We told Our Messenger): “Tomorrow they shall know who is the insolent liar. (54:27) We shall send the she-camel as a trial for them; so watch their end with patience. (54:28) Let them know that the water should be divided between them and the she-camel, each availing their turn.”19 (54:29) Eventually, they summoned their companion, and he undertook the (outrageous) task and hamstrung the she-camel.20 (54:30) So how awesome were My chastisement and My warnings! (54:31) Behold, We sent a single Blast against them, and they became like the trampled twigs of a sheep pen-builder.21 (54:32) Surely We have made this Qur'an easy as a reminder. Is there, then, any who will take heed? (54:33) Lot's people also gave the lie to the warnings, (54:34) and behold, We let loose upon them a tempest which rained stones upon them, except upon Lot's household whom We rescued in the last hours of the night (54:35) as a favour from Us. Thus do We reward those who give thanks. (54:36) Surely Lot warned his people that We shall seize them (with Our chastisement), but they doubted the warnings. (54:37) Then they even solicited his guests from him, whereupon We blotted out their eyes, (telling them): “Now have a taste of My chastisement and My warnings.” 22 (54:38) Indeed an abiding chastisement came upon them in the morning. (54:39) So have a taste of My chastisement and My warnings. (54:40) Surely We have made this Qur'an easy as a reminder. Is there, then, any who will take heed?

Notes

17. In other words, there were three reasons for their refusal to obey and follow the Prophet Salih:

(1) He is a human being and not a super-human person so that we may regard him as superior to ourselves.

(2) He is a member of our own nation, he is in no way superior to us.

(3) He is a single man, one from among ourselves. He is not a prominent chief with a large following, or an army of soldiers. Or a host of attendants so that we may acknowledge his superiority. They wanted that a Prophet should either be a superman, or if he be a common man, he should not have been born in their own land and nation, but should have descended from above, or sent from another land, and if nothing else, he should at least have been a rich man, whose extraordinary splendor should make the people believe why Allah had selected him alone for the leadership of the nation. This same was the error of ignorance in which the disbelievers of Makkah were involved. They also refused to acknowledge the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) as a Prophet on the basis that he was a man who moved about in the streets like the common men, had been born among them only the other day and now was claiming that God had appointed him as a Prophet.

18. The word ashir of the original means a conceited, insolent person given to bragging of his own superiority over others.

19. This explains the verse: We are sending the she-camel as a trial for them. The trial was that suddenly a she-camel was produced before them and they were told that one day she would drink the water all by herself and the next day they would be allowed to have water for themselves and their cattle. On the day of her turn neither would any of them himself come to any of the springs and wells to take water nor bring his cattle for watering. This challenge was given on behalf of the person about whom they themselves admitted that he had no army and no hosts to support him.

20. These words by themselves indicate that the she-camel roamed at will in their settlements for a long period of time. No one could dare approach a source of water on the day of her turn. At last, they called out to a haughty chief of theirs who was well known for his courage and boldness, and urged him to put an end to her. Emboldened by the false encouragement, he took up the responsibility and killed the she-camel. This clearly means that the people were very frightened. They felt that she had extraordinary power, and so they dared not touch her with an evil intention. That is why the killing of a mere she-camel especially when the Prophet who had presented her, did not possess any army that could be a deterrent for them, amounted to undertaking a dangerous and difficult task. (For further details. see (E.N 58 of Surah Al-Aaraf) and (E.Ns 104. 105 of Surah Ash-Shuara).

21. The crushed and rotten bodies of the people of Thamud have been compared to the trampled and trodden twigs and pieces of bush lying around an enclosure for cattle.

22. The details of this story have been given in (Surah Houd, Ayats 77-83) and (Surah Al-Hijr, Ayats 61-74), a resume of which is as follows: When Allah decided to punish those people with a torment, He sent a few angels in the guise of handsome boys as guests in the house of the Prophet Lot (peace be upon him). When the people saw such handsome guests in Lot’s house, they rushed to it and demanded that they be handed over to them for the gratification of their lust. The Prophet Lot implored them to desist from their evil intention, but they did not listen and tried to enter his house to take hold of the guests forcibly. At this stage suddenly their eyes were blinded. Then the angels told Prophet Lot (peace be upon him) that he and his household should leave the city before dawn; then as soon as they had left a dreadful torment descended on the people. In the Bible also this event has been described. The words are: And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door. But the men (i.e. the angels) put forth their hand and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door. And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door. (Gen. 19: 9-11).