۞ 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.
Related Ayahs
هَلْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلَّا تَأْوِيلَهُۥ ۚ يَوْمَ يَأْتِى تَأْوِيلُهُۥ يَقُولُ ٱلَّذِينَ نَسُوهُ مِن قَبْلُ قَدْ جَآءَتْ رُسُلُ رَبِّنَا بِٱلْحَقِّ فَهَل لَّنَا مِن شُفَعَآءَ فَيَشْفَعُوا۟ لَنَآ أَوْ نُرَدُّ فَنَعْمَلَ غَيْرَ ٱلَّذِى كُنَّا نَعْمَلُ ۚ قَدْ خَسِرُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَهُمْ وَضَلَّ عَنْهُم مَّا كَانُوا۟ يَفْتَرُونَ
Do they await except its result? The Day its result comes, those who had ignored it before will say, "The messengers of our Lord had come with the truth, so are there [now] any intercessors to intercede for us or could we be sent back to do other than what we used to do?" They will have lost themselves, and lost from them is what they used to invent.
وَلَمَّا رَجَعَ مُوسَىٰٓ إِلَىٰ قَوْمِهِۦ غَضْبَـٰنَ أَسِفًا قَالَ بِئْسَمَا خَلَفْتُمُونِى مِنۢ بَعْدِىٓ ۖ أَعَجِلْتُمْ أَمْرَ رَبِّكُمْ ۖ وَأَلْقَى ٱلْأَلْوَاحَ وَأَخَذَ بِرَأْسِ أَخِيهِ يَجُرُّهُۥٓ إِلَيْهِ ۚ قَالَ ٱبْنَ أُمَّ إِنَّ ٱلْقَوْمَ ٱسْتَضْعَفُونِى وَكَادُوا۟ يَقْتُلُونَنِى فَلَا تُشْمِتْ بِىَ ٱلْأَعْدَآءَ وَلَا تَجْعَلْنِى مَعَ ٱلْقَوْمِ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ
And when Moses returned to his people, angry and grieved, he said, "How wretched is that by which you have replaced me after [my departure]. Were you impatient over the matter of your Lord?" And he threw down the tablets and seized his brother by [the hair of] his head, pulling him toward him. [Aaron] said, "O son of my mother, indeed the people overpowered me and were about to kill me, so let not the enemies rejoice over me and do not place me among the wrongdoing people."
يَـٰبَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ إِمَّا يَأْتِيَنَّكُمْ رُسُلٌ مِّنكُمْ يَقُصُّونَ عَلَيْكُمْ ءَايَـٰتِى ۙ فَمَنِ ٱتَّقَىٰ وَأَصْلَحَ فَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ
O children of Adam, if there come to you messengers from among you relating to you My verses [i.e., scriptures and laws], then whoever fears Allāh and reforms - there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve.
قَالَ مُوسَىٰ لِقَوْمِهِ ٱسْتَعِينُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ وَٱصْبِرُوٓا۟ ۖ إِنَّ ٱلْأَرْضَ لِلَّهِ يُورِثُهَا مَن يَشَآءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِۦ ۖ وَٱلْعَـٰقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ
Said Moses to his people, "Seek help through Allāh and be patient. Indeed, the earth belongs to Allāh. He causes to inherit it whom He wills of His servants. And the [best] outcome is for the righteous."