Al-A'raaf 7:92

"Those who denied Shuʿayb - it was as though they had never resided there. Those who denied Shuʿayb - it was they who were the losers."

لَئِنِ اتَّبَعْتُمْ شُعَيْبًا إِنَّكُمْ إِذاً لَّخَـسِرُونَ

("If you follow Shu`ayb, be sure then you will be the losers!") Allah answered them,

فَأَخَذَتْهُمُ الرَّجْفَةُ فَأَصْبَحُواْ فِي دَارِهِمْ جَـثِمِينَ

(So the earthquake seized them and they lay (dead), prostrate in their homes) Allah said that the earthquake shook them, as punishment for threatening to expel Shu`ayb and his followers. Allah mentioned their end again in Suah Hud,

وَلَمَّا جَآءَ أَمْرُنَا نَجَّيْنَا شُعَيْبًا وَالَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ مَعَهُ بِرَحْمَةٍ مِّنَّا وَأَخَذَتِ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُواْ الصَّيْحَةُ فَأَصْبَحُواْ فِى دِيَـرِهِمْ جَـثِمِينَ

(And when Our commandment came, We saved Shu`ayb and those who believed with him by a mercy from Us. And the Sayhah (loud cry) seized the wrongdoers, and they lay (dead) prostrate in their homes.) 11:94 This Ayah mentions the Sayhah (cry) that struck them after they mocked Shu`ayb, saying,

أَصَلَوَتُكَ تَأْمُرُكَ

(Does your Salah (prayer) command you...) so it was befitting to mention here the cry that made them silence. In Surat Ash-Shu`ara', Allah said,

فَكَذَّبُوهُ فَأَخَذَهُمْ عَذَابُ يَوْمِ الظُّلَّةِ إِنَّهُ كَانَ عَذَابَ يَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ

(But they belied him, so the torment of the Day of Shadow (a gloomy cloud) seized them. Indeed that was the torment of a Great Day) 26:189 because they challenged Shu`ayb,

فَأَسْقِطْ عَلَيْنَا كِسَفاً مِّنَ السَّمَآءِ

("So cause a piece of the heaven to fall on us, if you are of the truthful!") 26:187. Therefore, Allah stated that each of these forms of punishment struck them on the Day of the Shadow. First,

فَأَخَذَهُمْ عَذَابُ يَوْمِ الظُّلَّةِ

(So the torment of the Day of Shadow (a gloomy cloud) seized them) 26:189 when a gloomy cloud came over them (containing) fire, flames and a tremendous light. Next, a cry from the sky descended on them and a tremor shook them from beneath. Consequently, their souls were captured, their lives were taken and their bodies became idle,

فَأَصْبَحُواْ فِي دَارِهِمْ جَـثِمِينَ

(and they lay (dead), prostrate in their homes). Allah said next,

كَأَن لَّمْ يَغْنَوْاْ فِيهَآ

(They became as if they had never dwelt there) meaning, after the torment seized them, it looked as if they never dwelled in the land from which they wanted to expel their Messenger Shu`ayb and his followers. Here, Allah refuted their earlier statement,

الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُواْ شُعَيْبًا كَانُواْ هُمُ الْخَـسِرِينَ

(Those who belied Shu`ayb, they were the losers.)

Нечестивцев поразило сильнейшее землетрясение, и они пали замертво. Оповещая творения об их погибели, Всевышний Аллах сказал, что неверующие соплеменники Шуейба словно никогда не жили в своих домах, не забавлялись в своих дворах, не укрывались в тени деревьев, не веселились на берегах ручьев и не питались плодами деревьев. Наказание поразило их, и они покинули обитель забав, развлечений и удовольствий. Они отправились в вечную обитель печали, злосчастья и мучений. Они были единственными, кто потерпел убыток, и в День воскресения они лишатся не только своих семей, но и самих себя. Это будет настоящий убыток, и не правы были те, кто называл потерпевшими убыток последователей Шуейба.

In verse 92, the fate of the people of Sayyidna Shu'aib (علیہ السلام) has been cited as a lesson - which is the real purpose behind the description of this event. It was said: الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا شُعَيْبًا كَأَن لَّمْ يَغْنَوْا فِيهَا (Those who belied Shu'aib are as if they never dwelt there). One of the meanings of the word: غِنیٰ (ghina) is to live at some place in peace and comfort. At this place, this is the meaning intended. The sense of the sentence is that the homes where they lived in peace and comfort, turned so deserted after this punishment as if peace and comfort had never existed there. Then, it was said: الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا شُعَيْبًا كَانُوا هُمُ الْخَاسِرِ‌ينَ (Those who belied Shu'aib were themselves the losers). The hint given is that these were the people threatening to throw Sayyidna Shu'aib (علیہ السلام) and his believing companions out from their city, but, in the end, the loss hit none but them.

Other English translations

Tafsīr · classical commentary