The Rock, Stoneland, Rock City — Verse 81
15:81 · al-Hijr
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وَءَاتَیۡنَـٰهُمۡ ءَایَـٰتِنَا فَكَانُوا۟ عَنۡهَا مُعۡرِضِینَ ٨١
waātaynāhum āyātinā fakānū ʿanhā muʿ'riḍīn
The Rock, Stoneland, Rock City / al-Hijr (15:81)
Connections 2 single-source 1 commentator
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No verses on this ayah are cited by 2 or more commentators using numeric S:A notation. All extracted references come from a single source's commentary.
Single-source mentions (2) cited by only one commentator
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Tafsir Ibn Kathir (abridged) 2 verses
Note: these connections are extracted from numeric S:A references inside the commentary text and are therefore biased toward mufassirun who use that notation. Prose-style references (e.g. "Surat al-Baqarah verse 30") will be added later, which should surface additional multi-source consensus.
We gave them Our signs, but they turned their backs
waātaynāhum āyātinā fakānū ʿanhā muʿ'riḍīn
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Tafsir Commentary
The Destruction of the Dwellers of Al-Hijr, Who are the People called Thamud
The Dwellers of the Al Hijr were the people of Thamud who rejected their Prophet, Salih. Whoever denies even one Messenger, then he has disbelieved in all of the Messengers, thus they are described as rejecting "the Messengers". Allah tells us that he (Salih) brought them signs to prove that what he was telling them was true, such as the she-camel which Allah created for them out of a solid rock in response to the supplication of Salih. This she-camel was grazing on their lands, and the people and the camel took water on alternate days that were well-known. When they rebelled and killed it, he said to them,
تَمَتَّعُواْ فِى دَارِكُمْ ثَلَـثَةَ أَيَّامٍ ذلِكَ وَعْدٌ غَيْرُ مَكْذُوبٍ
("Enjoy yourselves in your homes for three days. This is a promise which will not be belied.") 11:65 Allah said:
وَأَمَّا ثَمُودُ فَهَدَيْنَـهُمْ فَاسْتَحَبُّواْ الْعَمَى عَلَى الْهُدَى
(And as for Thamud, We showed them and made the path of truth clear but they preferred blindness to guidance.) 41:17 Allah tells us that,
وَكَانُواْ يَنْحِتُونَ مِنَ الْجِبَالِ بُيُوتًا ءَامِنِينَ
(And they used to hew out dwellings from the mountains, (feeling) secure. ) meaning, they were without fear and they had no real need for those houses; it was merely a form of extravagance and work without a purpose. This could be seen from their work in the houses in the Al-Hijr through which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ passed on his way to Tabuk. He covered his head and urged his camel to go faster, saying to his Companions:
«لَا تَدْخُلُوا بُيُوتَ الْقَوْمِ الْمُعَذَّبِينَ إِلَّا أَنْ تَكُونُوا بَاكِينَ، فَإِنَّ لَمْ تَبْكُوا فَتَبَاكُوا خَشْيَةَ أَنْ يُصِيبَكُمْ مَا أَصَابَهُم»
(Do not enter the dwellings of those who were punished unless you are weeping, and if you do not weep then make yourself weep out of fear that perhaps what struck them may also strike you.)
فَأَخَذَتْهُمُ الصَّيْحَةُ مُصْبِحِينَ
(But the Sayhah (torment - awful cry) overtook them in the early morning.) meaning in the morning of the fourth day.
فَمَآ أَغْنَى عَنْهُمْ مَّا كَانُواْ يَكْسِبُونَ
(And all that they used to earn availed them not.) meaning all of the benefits that they used to gain from their crops and fruits, and the water which they did not want to share with the she-camel that they killed so that it would not reduce their share of the water - all of that wealth would not protect them or help them when the command of their Lord came to pass.
وَمَا خَلَقْنَا السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَآ إِلاَّ بِالْحَقِّ وَإِنَّ السَّاعَةَ لآتِيَةٌ فَاصْفَحِ الصَّفْحَ الْجَمِيلَ
And We brought them Our signs by way of the she-camel of Sālih but they were averse to them refusing to reflect on them.
وآتينا قوم صالح آياتنا الدالة على صحة ما جاءهم به صالح من الحق، ومن جملتها الناقة، فلم يعتبروا بها، وكانوا عنها مبتعدين معرضين.
وذكر تعالى أنه آتاهم من الآيات ما يدلهم على صدق ما جاءهم به صالح كالناقة التي أخرجها الله لهم بدعاء صالح من صخرة صماء وكانت تسرج في بلادهم لها شرب ولهم شرب يوم معلوم فلما عتوا وعقروها قال لهم " تمتعوا في داركم ثلاثة أيام ذلك وعد غير مكذوب " وقال تعالى " وأما ثمود فهديناهم فاستحبوا العمى على الهدى ".
ثم بين - سبحانه - مظاهر هذا التكذيب لرسولهم - عليه السلام - فقال : ( وَآتَيْنَاهُمْ آيَاتِنَا فَكَانُواْ عَنْهَا مُعْرِضِينَ ) .أى : وأعطينا قوم صالح - عليه السلام - آياتنا الدالة على صدقه وعلى أنه رسول من عندنا ، والتى من بينها الناقة التى أخرجها الله - تعالى - لهم ببركة دعاء نبيهم ( فكانوا عنها ) أى عن هذه الآيات الدالة على وحدانيتنا وقدرتنا ( معرضين ) لا يلتفتون إليها ، ولا يفكرون فيها ، ولهذا عقروا الناقة ( وَعَتَوْاْ عَنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّهِمْ وَقَالُواْ يَاصَالِحُ ائتنا بِمَا تَعِدُنَآ إِن كُنتَ مِنَ المرسلين ) .
وقوله ( وَآتَيْنَاهُمْ آيَاتِنَا فَكَانُوا عَنْهَا مُعْرِضِينَ ) يقول: وأريناهم أدلتنا وحججنا على حقيقة ما بعثنا به إليهم رسولنا صالحا، فكانوا عن آياتنا التي آتيناهموها معرضين لا يعتبرون بها ولا يتعظون.
( وآتيناهم آياتنا ) يعني : الناقة وولدها والبئر ، فالآيات في الناقة خروجها من الصخرة ، وكبرها ، وقرب ولادها ، وغزارة لبنها ( فكانوا عنها معرضين )
وكذلك جمع الآيات في قوله : { آياتنا } مراد به الجنس ، وهي آية النّاقة ، أو أريد أنها آية تشتمل على آيات في كيفيّة خروجها من صخرة ، وحياتها ، ورعيها ، وشربها . وقد روي أنّها خرج معها فصيلها ، فهما آيتان .
{ وَآتَيْنَاهُمْ آيَاتِنَا } الدالة على صحة ما جاءهم به صالح من الحق التي من جملتها: تلك الناقة التي هي من آيات الله العظيمة. { فَكَانُوا عَنْهَا مُعْرِضِينَ } كبرا وتجبرا على الله
قوله تعالى : وآتيناهم آياتنا فكانوا عنها معرضين [ ص: 49 ] قوله تعالى : وآتيناهم آياتنا أي بآياتنا . كقوله : آتنا غداءنا أي بغدائنا . والمراد الناقة ، وكان فيها آيات جمة : خروجها من الصخرة ، ودنو نتاجها عند خروجها ، وعظمها حتى لم تشبهها ناقة ، وكثرة لبنها حتى تكفيهم جميعا . ويحتمل أنه كان لصالح آيات أخر سوى الناقة ، كالبئر وغيره .معرضين أي لم يعتبروا .
The people of the Wood, or al-Aykah, refers to the community of Shu‘ayb. The real name of this community was ‘Banu Madyan’ (the children of Madyan). These people were settled in the area presently known as Tabuk. The people of Hijr refers to the community of Thamud to whom Salih was sent as a prophet. This area was located to the north of Madinah. The arrogance of the people of al-Aykah not only made them polytheists but also pushed them into committing the worst moral crimes. When, in spite of Shu‘ayb’s admonition, they did not mend their ways, God commanded the earth. Thereafter, the earth which had been a cradle of comfort and luxury for them became a cradle of punishment. The community of Thamud were experts in the art of stone-carving. They had cut into the hills and had turned them into lovely dwellings. They thought that they had made complete provision for their safety. When they ignored the call of God, He gave a command and their magnificent dwellings turned into magnificent graves.
Commentary
Aikah means a dense forest. There are other views too. Some commentators say that there was a dense forest near Madyan, therefore, Aikah is actually the title of the people of Madyan. Others have said that the people of Aikah and the people of Madyan were two different people. It was after the destruction of one of them that Sayyidna Shu'ayb (علیہ السلام) was sent to the other.
In Tafsir Ruh al-Ma’ ani, the following marfu` hadith appears with reference to Ibn ` Asakir:
اِنَّ مَدیَنَ و اَصحَابَ الاَیکَۃِ اُمَّتَان بَعَثَ اللہُ تَعَالٰی اِلَیھِمَا شُعَیباً
Madyan and the people of Aikah are two peoples. Allah Ta` ala sent Shu'ayb to them.
And Al-Hijr is a valley situated in between Hijaz and Syria. It was inhabited by the people of Thamud.
A Brief Explanation
Described at the beginning of the Surah was the hostility of the disbelievers of Makkah against the Holy Prophet ﷺ which also carried words of comfort for him briefly. Now, at the end of the Surah, more words of comfort appear to mollify his concern about their grudge and hostility.
Here, he is being asked not to grieve over their hostile opposition because there is a day when all scores will be settled, and that is the day of Judgment, and it is bound to come as he has been told. Then, there is the fact that Allah did not create the heavens and the earth and whatever is there in between them but with truth and wisdom. The wise consid-eration behind this creation is that people should believe in the existence of the maker of the universe, attest to His Oneness and supremacy and obey His injunctions. Also present there is the consequence of not doing so, after the argument of Allah stands established, that the defaulter be punished. Since this promised punishment does not seem to come in full right here in this mortal world, it has to be somewhere else. For that, the time is fixed, the time of the Qiyamah, the Day of Judgment. And this Hour is sure to come. Everyone will be taken care of there.
This being the wise arrangement of things, let him not grieve. The better course for him is to overlook their wicked behaviour in a gracious manner, that is, neither pay attention to their behavior nor complain about it. The reason is that his Lord is great as Creator and great as the Master Knower as well. He knows his patience and fortitude and He knows the evil mechanizations of his enemies too. Therefore, He is to exact the full return from them of what they have been doing.
(And We gave them Our revelations) the camel as well as other things, (but they were averse to them) they denied them.