۞ وَإِلَىٰ عَادٍ أَخَاهُمْ هُودًا ۗ قَالَ يَـٰقَوْمِ ٱعْبُدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ مَا لَكُم مِّنْ إِلَـٰهٍ غَيْرُهُۥٓ ۚ أَفَلَا تَتَّقُونَ 65
Translations
And to the ʿAad [We sent] their brother Hūd. He said, "O my people, worship Allāh; you have no deity other than Him. Then will you not fear Him?"
Transliteration
Wa-ilā 'ādinn akhāhum hūdan qāla yā qawmi 'budū Allāha mā lakum min ilāhin ghayruhu afalā tattaqūn
Tafsir (Explanation)
Allah sent the Prophet Hud to the people of 'Ad, calling them to worship Allah alone and warning them of His punishment. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari emphasize that Hud's message was identical to that of all messengers—pure monotheism (tawhīd)—and his plea 'afalā tattaqūn' (will you not fear Allah) served as both an invitation to obedience and a warning of divine consequences. This ayah establishes the universal pattern of prophethood: each messenger from the same lineage as his people calls his nation to abandon idolatry and fear God.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears within the Meccan section of Surah Al-A'raf that details stories of earlier nations and their prophets sent to call them to tawhīd. The context addresses the rejection the Prophet Muhammad faced from the Quraysh by showing how previous nations also rejected their messengers. The 'Ad people were known for their great strength and architectural prowess, yet their arrogance prevented them from accepting Hud's message.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet Muhammad said: 'The best supplication is the supplication on the Day of 'Arafah, and the best thing that I and the prophets before me have said is: There is nothing worthy of worship except Allah, alone, without partners' (Jami' at-Tirmidhi). This hadith reinforces the central message Hud conveyed to his people—the primacy of tawhīd.
Themes
Key Lesson
Every messenger sent by Allah came with the same core message: worship Allah alone and fear His judgment. In our modern context, this teaches us that spiritual truth is constant and universal—the call to abandon false gods (whether material idols or worldly pursuits) and turn to genuine devotion to the Divine remains eternally relevant to human guidance and salvation.