Ash-Shu'araa (The Poets)

176. “The dwellers of the Forest belied the messengers.”

177. “When Shu‘ayb said to them: ‘Will you not fear (Allah)?”

178. “Verily I am unto you a trustworthy messenger.”

179. “Then be in awe of Allah and obey me.”

180. “And I do not ask you any recompense for it, my recompense is only from the Lord of the worlds.”

This is the seventh and the last story of the stories of the prophets mentioned in this Surah. This story is about prophet Shu‘ayb and his disobedient people. This great prophet lived in a land called Madyan¹ and ’Aykah² .

Verse 70 from Surah Al-Hijr indicates that ’Aykah had been located in the way of those people who used to go from Mecca and Medina toward Syria.

First the verse says:

“The dwellers of the Forest belied the messengers.”

They belied not only Shu‘ayb (as), the prophet who was divinely appointed for them but also all other prophets, because they said the same thing from the viewpoint of unity and call, or in principle, they had believed in no religion from among the Divine religions.

The Arabic word /’aykah/ originally means a place with condensed trees which usually called forest. The land which was near Madyan, because of having enough water and many trees, was named ‘’Aykah’. The frame of references shows that these people had a welfare life with abundant wealth, and perhaps it was for the same reason that they were in full pride and negligence.

Then, the Qur’an explains this concise meaning about those people, and says:

“When Shu‘ayb said to them: ‘Will you not fear Allah!?’”

In fact, the call of Shu‘ayb (as) began from the same point of ideology that other prophets (as) had begun. His call was an invitation to piety and being in the awe of Allah which the source of all programs of rectification, and ethical and social changes.

It is important to note that in this story the phrase ‘their brother’, which was used in the stories of Salih, Hud, Noah and Lut, has not been applied here.

This may be for the fact that Shu‘ayb was originally from Madyan and he was relative only with the people of that place, not with the people of ’Aykah.

That is why when in Surah Hud, No. 11, verse 84 the Qur’an refers to only Madyan, this phrase is used, where it says:

“And to (the people of) Madyan (We sent) their brother Shu‘ayb...”,

but since the concerning verse speaks about the People of ’Aykah and they had no relation with Shu‘ayb, then this phrase has not been mentioned.

Then he (as) added:

“Verily I am unto you a trustworthy messenger.” “Then be in awe of Allah and obey me.” “And I do not ask you any recompense for it, my recompense is only from the Lord of the worlds.”

These sentences are the same form of well-calculated sentences which other prophets announced at the beginning of their call.

They are invitation to piety, emphasizing on their background of trustworthiness among people, and saying that their godly call has only spiritual motive and they demand no material wage for it from any one. This was for the sake that the pretext seekers and cynical ones might not misuse it.