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Hūd 11:50

By TheQuran.com research team (original site, 2020–21) · last edited 27 Mar 2021

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The verses

11:50
وَإِلَىٰ عَادٍ أَخَاهُمْ هُودًا ۚ قَالَ يَٰقَوْمِ ٱعْبُدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ مَا لَكُم مِّنْ إِلَٰهٍ غَيْرُهُۥٓ ۖ إِنْ أَنتُمْ إِلَّا مُفْتَرُونَ ٥٠
And unto (the tribe of) A'ad (We sent) their brother, Hud. He said: O my people! Serve Allah! Ye have no other Allah save Him. Lo! ye do but invent. — Marmaduke Pickthall
11:51
يَٰقَوْمِ لَآ أَسْـَٔلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ أَجْرًا ۖ إِنْ أَجْرِىَ إِلَّا عَلَى ٱلَّذِى فَطَرَنِىٓ ۚ أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ ٥١
O my people! I ask of you no reward for it. Lo! my reward is the concern only of Him Who made me. Have ye then no sense? — Marmaduke Pickthall
11:52
وَيَٰقَوْمِ ٱسْتَغْفِرُوا۟ رَبَّكُمْ ثُمَّ تُوبُوٓا۟ إِلَيْهِ يُرْسِلِ ٱلسَّمَآءَ عَلَيْكُم مِّدْرَارًا وَيَزِدْكُمْ قُوَّةً إِلَىٰ قُوَّتِكُمْ وَلَا تَتَوَلَّوْا۟ مُجْرِمِينَ ٥٢
And, O my people! Ask forgiveness of your Lord, then turn unto Him repentant; He will cause the sky to rain abundance on you and will add unto you strength to your strength. Turn not away, guilty! — Marmaduke Pickthall
11:53
قَالُوا۟ يَٰهُودُ مَا جِئْتَنَا بِبَيِّنَةٍ وَمَا نَحْنُ بِتَارِكِىٓ ءَالِهَتِنَا عَن قَوْلِكَ وَمَا نَحْنُ لَكَ بِمُؤْمِنِينَ ٥٣
They said: O Hud! Thou hast brought us no clear proof and we are not going to forsake our gods on thy (mere) saying, and we are not believers in thee. — Marmaduke Pickthall
11:54
إِن نَّقُولُ إِلَّا ٱعْتَرَىٰكَ بَعْضُ ءَالِهَتِنَا بِسُوٓءٍ ۗ قَالَ إِنِّىٓ أُشْهِدُ ٱللَّهَ وَٱشْهَدُوٓا۟ أَنِّى بَرِىٓءٌ مِّمَّا تُشْرِكُونَ ٥٤
We say naught save that one of our gods hath possessed thee in an evil way. He said: I call Allah to witness, and do ye (too) bear witness, that I am innocent of (all) that ye ascribe as partners (to Allah) — Marmaduke Pickthall
11:55
مِن دُونِهِۦ ۖ فَكِيدُونِى جَمِيعًا ثُمَّ لَا تُنظِرُونِ ٥٥
Beside Him. So (try to) circumvent me, all of you, give me no respite. — Marmaduke Pickthall
11:56
إِنِّى تَوَكَّلْتُ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ رَبِّى وَرَبِّكُم ۚ مَّا مِن دَآبَّةٍ إِلَّا هُوَ ءَاخِذٌۢ بِنَاصِيَتِهَآ ۚ إِنَّ رَبِّى عَلَىٰ صِرَٰطٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ ٥٦
Lo! I have put my trust in Allah, my Lord and your Lord. Not an animal but He doth grasp it by the forelock! Lo! my Lord is on a straight path. — Marmaduke Pickthall
11:57
فَإِن تَوَلَّوْا۟ فَقَدْ أَبْلَغْتُكُم مَّآ أُرْسِلْتُ بِهِۦٓ إِلَيْكُمْ ۚ وَيَسْتَخْلِفُ رَبِّى قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ وَلَا تَضُرُّونَهُۥ شَيْـًٔا ۚ إِنَّ رَبِّى عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ حَفِيظٌ ٥٧
And if ye turn away, still I have conveyed unto you that wherewith I was sent unto you, and my Lord will set in place of you a folk other than you. Ye cannot injure Him at all. Lo! my Lord is Guardian over all things. — Marmaduke Pickthall
11:58
وَلَمَّا جَآءَ أَمْرُنَا نَجَّيْنَا هُودًا وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ مَعَهُۥ بِرَحْمَةٍ مِّنَّا وَنَجَّيْنَٰهُم مِّنْ عَذَابٍ غَلِيظٍ ٥٨
And when Our commandment came to pass We saved Hud and those who believed with him by a mercy from Us; We saved them from a harsh doom. — Marmaduke Pickthall
11:59
وَتِلْكَ عَادٌ ۖ جَحَدُوا۟ بِـَٔايَٰتِ رَبِّهِمْ وَعَصَوْا۟ رُسُلَهُۥ وَٱتَّبَعُوٓا۟ أَمْرَ كُلِّ جَبَّارٍ عَنِيدٍ ٥٩
And such were A'ad. They denied the revelations of their Lord and flouted His messengers and followed the command of every froward potentate. — Marmaduke Pickthall

The issue

Islamic commentators mention that Hūd is the son of ‘Abd Allah Ibn Rabāh Ibn al-Julūd Ibn ‘Ād Ibn ‘Aws Ibn Irm Ibn Sam Ibn Noah. They also state that Hūd was sent as a messenger to ‘Ād, a pagan tribe in the region of Hadramout in Yemen. The commentators also state that Hūd journeyed to Mecca with those who believed in him, where they stayed until they died.

There is no origin in historical sources for the story of Hūd. His name is not mentioned in the genealogy of Noah and his descendants, who are listed in detail in the Old Testament (Gen. 10-11). It is possible that the author of the Qur’ān included popular oral traditions in the Qur’ānic text. The only mention of Hūd is found in the jāhilīya (pre-Islamic time, according to Muslims) oral literature where Yazīd Ibn Sa‘d states in his poem: “Indeed the god of Hūd is my god / On Allah [lies] the reliance and the hope”.

Arabic text of this item

ذكر بعض المفسرين أن هودًا هو هود بن عبد الله بن رباح بن الجلود بن عاد بن عوص بن إرم بن سام بن نوح. وأخبرونا أيضًا أن هودًا بُعث رسولاً إلى عاد. وكانت عاد قبيلة وثنية في نواحي حضرموت في اليمن. ثم يقولون إن هودًا رحل إلى مكة بمن آمن معه، فمكثوا فيها حتى ماتوا.

لا نجد تأصيلاً في المصادر التاريخية. ولا يُذكر اسم هود في سلسلة نسب أحفاد نوح التي وردت بالتفصيل في سفر التكوين. ويبدو أن ناظم القرآن قد أدخل روايات شفهية شعبية فيه، إذْ ورد اسم هود في الأدب الشفهي الجاهلي، كمثل ما قاله يزيد بن سعد:

وإنّ إلـه هــود هــو إلهـي على الله التّوكل والـرّجـاء

Sources cited

  1. al-Qurţubī 9: 263; Abū Haīyān 4: 326.
  2. Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr 6: 329;
  3. Abū Haīyān 4: 326.
  4. J. ‘Alī 6: 284.
  5. Gen 10,11.
  6. Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr 6: 329; al-Qurţubī 9: 263.
  7. Abū Ģaīyān 4: 326.
  8. 59. J. ‘Alī 6: 284.
  9. Gen 10, 11.
  1. القرطبي، تفسير 9: 263.
  2. أبو حيان، تفسير البحر المحيط 4: 326.
  3. ابن كثير، تفسير 6: 329.
  4. سفر التكوين 10 و11.
  5. جواد علي، المفصل 6: 284.

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