26:177 Ash-Shu'araa (The Poets)

إِذْ قَالَ لَهُمْ شُعَيْبٌ أَلا تَتَّقُونَ الله تعالى, فتتركون ما يسخطه < 1-597 > ويغضبه, من الكفر والمعاصي.

إنما قال "إذ قال لهم شعيب" فقطع نسب الأخوة بينهم للمعنى الذي نسبوا إليه وإن كان أخاهم نسبا ومن الناس من لم يفطن لهذه النكتة فظن أن أصحاب الأيكة غير أهل مدين فزعم أن شعيبا عليه السلام بعثه الله إلى أمتين ومنهم من قال ثلاث أمم وقد روى إسحاق بن بشر الكاهلي - وهو ضعيف - حدثني ابن السدي عن أبيه وزكريا بن عمرو عن خصيف عن عكرمة قالا: ما بعث الله نبيا مرتين إلا شعيبا مرة إلى مدين فأخذهم الله بالصيحة ومرة إلى أصحاب الأيكة فأخذهم الله تعالى بعذاب يوم الظلة وروى أبو القاسم البغوي عن هدبة عن همام عن قتادة في قوله تعالى "وأصحاب الرس" قوم شعيب وقوله "وأصحاب الأيكة" قوم شعيب وقاله إسحاق بن بشر وقال غير جويبر أصحاب الأيكة ومدين هما واحد والله أعلم وقد روى الحافظ ابن عساكر في ترجمة شعيب من طريق محمد بن عثمان بن أبي شيبة عن أبيه عن معاوية بن هشام عن هشام بن سعيد عن سعيد بن أبي هلال عن ربيعة بن يوسف عن عبد الله بن عمرو قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم "إن قوم مدين وأصحاب الأيكة أمتان بعث الله إليهما شعيبا النبي عليه السلام" وهذا غريب وفي رفعه نظر والأشبه أن يكون موقوفا والصحيح أنهم أمة واحدة وصفوا في كل مقام بشيء ولهذا وعظ هؤلاء وأمرهم بوفاء المكيال والميزان كما في قصة مدين سواء بسواء فدل ذلك على أنهما أمة واحدة.

Shu`ayb and His Preaching to the Dwellers of Al-Aykah

The companions of Al-Aykah were the people of Madyan, according to the most correct view. The Prophet of Allah Shu`ayb was one of them, but it does not say here, their brother Shu`ayb, because they called themselves by a name denoting their deification of Al-Aykah, which was a tree which they used to worship; it was said that it was a group of trees which were tangled, like trees in a thicket. For this reason, when Allah said that the companions of Al-Aykah denied the Messengers, He did not say, "When their brother Shu`ayb said to them." Rather, He said:

إِذْ قَالَ لَهُمْ شُعَيْبٌ

(When Shu`ayb said to them) He is not described as belonging to them because of the meaning that was inherent in the name given to them even though he was their brother by blood. Some people did not notice this point, so they thought that the dwellers of Al-Aykah were different from the people of Madyan, and claimed that Shu`ayb was sent to two nations; some said that he was sent to three.

أَصْحَـبُ لْـَيْكَةِ

(The companions of Al-Aykah) were the people of Shu`ayb. This was the view of Ishaq bin Bishr. Someone besides Juwaybir said, "The dwellers of Al-Aykah and the people of Madyan are one and the same." And Allah knows best. Although there is another opinion that they were different nations with two identities, the correct view is that they were one nation, but they are described differently in different places. Shu`ayb preached to them and commanded them to be fair in their weights and measures, the same as is mentioned in the story of Madyan, which also indicates that they were the same nation.

أَوْفُواْ الْكَيْلَ وَلاَ تَكُونُواْ مِنَ الْمُخْسِرِينَ - وَزِنُواْ بِالْقِسْطَاسِ الْمُسْتَقِيمِ

وَلاَ تَبْخَسُواْ النَّاسَ أَشْيَآءهُمْ وَلاَ تَعْثَوْاْ فِى الاْرْضِ مُفْسِدِينَ-

when Shu‘ayb — He God does not say ‘their brother’ in this instance because he Shu‘ayb was not in terms of lineage one of them — said to them ‘Will you not fear God?

وَأَمْطَرْ‌نَا عَلَيْهِم مَّطَرً‌ا ۖ فَسَاءَ مَطَرُ‌ الْمُنذَرِ‌ينَ

and subjected them to a terrible rain. So evil was the rain of those who were warned. - 26:173

This verse has confirmed that if a man commits sodomy, he may be punished with throwing a wall on him or by throwing him down from a high place, as suggested by Hanafi scholars, because the people of Lut (علیہ السلام) were destroyed in a similar manner. Their township was lifted and thrown on the ground. (Shami Kitab Al-Hudud)