The Poets — Verse 156
26:156 · ash-Shu`ara`
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وَلَا تَمَسُّوهَا بِسُوۤءࣲ فَیَأۡخُذَكُمۡ عَذَابُ یَوۡمٍ عَظِیمࣲ ١٥٦
walā tamassūhā bisūin fayakhudhakum ʿadhābu yawmin ʿaẓīmi
The Poets / ash-Shu`ara` (26:156)
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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.
so do not harm her, or the punishment of a terrible day will befall you.’
walā tamassūhā bisūin fayakhudhakum ʿadhābu yawmin ʿaẓīmi
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Tafsir Commentary
The Response of Thamud, Their Demand for a Sign, and Their Punishment
Allah tells us how Thamud responded to their Prophet Salih, upon him be peace, when he called them to worship their Lord, may He be glorified.
قَالُواْ إِنَّمَآ أَنتَ مِنَ الْمُسَحَّرِينَ
(They said: "You are only of those bewitched!") Mujahid said, "They meant he was one affected by witchcraft." Then they said:
مَآ أَنتَ إِلاَّ بَشَرٌ مِّثْلُنَا
(You are but a human being like us.) meaning, `how can you receive Revelation when we do not' This is like the Ayah where they are described as saying:
أَءُلْقِىَ الذِّكْرُ عَلَيْهِ مِن بَيْنِنَا بَلْ هُوَ كَذَّابٌ أَشِرٌ - سَيَعْلَمُونَ غَداً مَّنِ الْكَذَّابُ الاٌّشِرُ
("Is it that the Reminder is sent to him alone from among us Nay, he is an insolent liar!" Tomorrow they will come to know who is the liar, the insolent one!) (54:26-27) Then they asked him for a sign to prove that what he brought to them from their Lord was the truth. A crowd of them gathered and demanded that he immediately bring forth from the rock a she-camel that was ten months pregnant, and they pointed to a certain rock in their midst. Allah's Prophet Salih made them promise that if he responded to their request, they would believe in him and follow him. So they agreed to that. The Prophet of Allah Salih, peace be upon him, stood and prayed, then he prayed to Allah to grant them their request. Then the rock to which they had pointed split open, revealing a she-camel that was ten months pregnant, excactly as they had requested. So some of them believed, but most of them disbelieved.
قَالَ هَـذِهِ نَاقَةٌ لَّهَا شِرْبٌ وَلَكُمْ شِرْبُ يَوْمٍ مَّعْلُومٍ
(He said: "Here is a she-camel: it has a right to drink (water), and you have a right to drink (water) (each) on a day, known.) meaning, `she will drink from your water one day, and on the next day you will drink from it.'
وَلاَ تَمَسُّوهَا بِسُوءٍ فَيَأْخُذَكُمْ عَذَابُ يَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ
(And touch her not with harm, lest the torment of a Great Day should seize you.) He warned them of the punishment of Allah if they should do her any harm. The she-camel stayed among them for a while, drinking the water, eating leaves and grazing, and they benefitted from her milk which they took in sufficient quantities for every one to drink his fill. After this had gone on for a long time, and the time for their destruction drew near, they conspired to kill her:
فَعَقَرُوهَا فَأَصْبَحُواْ نَـدِمِينَ فَأَخَذَهُمُ الْعَذَابُ
(But they killed her, and then they became regretful. So, the torment overtook them.) Their land was shaken by a strong earthquake, and there came to them an overwhelming Sayhah (shout) which took their hearts from their places. They were overtaken by events which they were not expecting, so they were left (dead), lying prostrate in their homes.
إِنَّ فِى ذَلِكَ لأَيَةً وَمَا كَانَ أَكْثَرُهُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ
وَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الرَّحِيمُ
(Verily, in this is indeed a sign, yet most of them are not believers. And verily your Lord, He is indeed the All-Mighty, the Most Merciful.)
And do not cause her any harm for then you shall be seized by the chastisement of an awful day’ awful because of the awfulness of the chastisement.
قال لهم صالح- وقد أتاهم بناقة أخرجها الله له من الصخرة-: هذه ناقة الله لها نصيب من الماء في يوم معلوم، ولكم نصيب منه في يوم آخر. ليس لكم أن تشربوا في اليوم الذي هو نصيبها، ولا هي تشرب في اليوم الذي هو نصيبكم، ولا تنالوها بشيء مما يسوءها كضَرْبٍ أو قتل أو نحو ذلك، فيهلككم الله بعذابِ يومٍ تعظم شدته؛ بسبب ما يقع فيه من الهول والشدة.
"ولا تمسوها بسوء فيأخذكم عذاب يوم عظيم" فحذرهم نقمة الله إن أصابوها بسوء فمكثت الناقة بين أظهرهم حينا من الدهر ترد الماء وتأكل الورق والمرعى وينتفعون بلبنها يحلبون منها ما يكفيهم شربا وريا فلما طال عليهم الأمد وحضر أشقاهم تمالؤا على قتلها وعقرها.
والمعنى : قال لهم صالح - عليه السلام - بعد أن طلبوا منه معجزة تدل على صدقه : هذه ناقة ( لَّهَا شِرْبٌ وَلَكُمْ شِرْبُ يَوْمٍ مَّعْلُومٍ ) أى : لها نصيب معين من الماء ، ولكم نصيب آخر منه ، وليس لكم أن تشربوا منه فى يوم شربها .وليس لها أن تشرب منه فى يوم شربكم ، واحذروا أن تمسوها بسوء - كضرب أو قتل - فيأخذكم عذاب يوم عظيم .
وقوله: ( وَلا تَمَسُّوهَا بِسُوءٍ ) يقول: لا تمسوها بما يؤذيها من عقر وقتل ونحو ذلك.وبنحو الذي قلنا في ذلك قال أهل التأويل.* ذكر من قال ذلك:حدثنا القاسم, قال: ثنا الحسين, قال: ثني حجاج, عن ابن جُرَيج, في قوله: ( وَلا تَمَسُّوهَا بِسُوءٍ ) لا تعقروها. وقوله: ( فَيَأْخُذَكُمْ عَذَابُ يَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ ) يقول: فيحل بكم من الله عذاب يوم عظيم عذابه.
"ولا تمسوها بسوء"، بعقر، "فيأخذكم عذاب يوم عظيم".
وَلَا تَمَسُّوهَا بِسُوءٍ فَيَأْخُذَكُمْ عَذَابُ يَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ (156 عذاب يوم عظيم } نظير الكلام على نظيره في قصة عاد ورسولهم .
وَلا تَمَسُّوهَا بِسُوءٍ بعقر أو غيره فَيَأْخُذَكُمْ عَذَابُ يَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ فخرجت واستمرت عندهم بتلك الحال فلم يؤمنوا واستمروا على طغيانهم
ولا تمسوها بسوء لا يجوز إظهار التضعيف هاهنا ; لأنهما حرفان متحركان من جنس واحد . فيأخذكم جواب النهي ، ولا يجوز حذف الفاء منه والجزم كما جاء في الأمر إلا شيئا روي عن الكسائي أنه يجيزه .
When a prophet arises in a community, that community is not necessarily atheistic or irreligious. It is, in fact, a religious community in the fullest sense, but, the religion of its members is the religion of their forefathers, and what the prophet presents is God’s religion. Those who consider the ways of their forefathers sacrosanct and stick to them, cannot understand the importance of other ways, even if those are presented by the prophet. To Salih’s community (i.e. the Thamud), deviation from their forefathers’ ways was so intolerable that they called Salih a madman. This struggle went on for a long time. Ultimately, they demanded that he show them a miracle. A miracle did appear, as commanded by God Almighty; it was both a miracle and the instrument of divine justice. It appeared in the form of a she-camel which had come into existence in other than the normal manner, i.e. in a miraculous way. Salih said that this was a she-camel of God. It would wander in their fields and gardens freely, and the water from the pond would be reserved for it exclusively on one day. The community tolerated the she-camel for a few days and then an arrogant man killed it. Soon thereafter the entire community was wiped out by a severe earthquake. The crime of killing the she-camel was committed by a single person of the community, but the Quran uses the plural saying, ‘They hamstrung her.’ The reason for this is that at the time of killing, the people of the community did not prevent the person concerned from doing the deed, nor did they condemn him afterwards. Everyone spoke in his support and opposed Salih. While the killer had personally committed the crime, the rest of the people were his accomplices in that crime in their hearts and with their tongues. Therefore, in the eyes of God, all of them stood guilty.
Commentary
وَتَنْحِتُونَ مِنَ الْجِبَالِ بُيُوتًا فَارِهِينَ ﴿149﴾And you hew out houses from the hills with pride. [ 149]
According to Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ ، the word فَارِهِينَ (Farihin) means arrogant and conceited people. But Abu Salih and Imam Raghib have taken this word to mean experts. Therefore, the meaning of the verse is that Allah Ta’ ala has favoured you by teaching such skills that you could make houses by cutting hills. The essence of all this is that you should remember the bounties of Allah Ta’ ala and should not make mischief and trouble on earth.
Useful vocations are Divine Graces provided they are not employed in bad things
This verse indicates that nice vocations are Allah's Graces, and to draw benefit from them is lawful. But if they are used for some sinful purpose or in an unlawful act, or if someone gets involved in them with unnecessary concentration, then it is not lawful to adopt them. An example of unnecessary construction of tall buildings and its contempt has just been mentioned in the previous verses.
(And touch her not with ill) do not hamstrung her (lest there come on you the retribution of an awful day.