كَذَّبَتْ عَادٌ ٱلْمُرْسَلِينَ 123
Translations
ʿAad denied the messengers
Transliteration
Kaddhabat 'Adun al-Mursalin
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah states that the people of 'Ad rejected and denied the messengers sent to them, specifically Prophet Hud. According to classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, this rejection was characterized by arrogance and disbelief despite the clear signs and warnings brought by the messengers. The ayah emphasizes the pattern of disbelief among those who turned away from divine guidance, serving as a historical lesson about the consequences of rejecting the prophets.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears within Surah Ash-Shu'ara, which is a Meccan chapter that recounts the stories of multiple prophets and the rejection they faced from their peoples. The surah establishes a thematic pattern of disbelief and divine punishment, with the 'Ad being one of several ancient nations mentioned to remind the Meccan disbelievers of similar consequences that befell those who rejected messengers.
Related Hadiths
The story of 'Ad and Prophet Hud is referenced in various hadiths regarding the punishment of nations that rejected messengers. See Surah Al-A'raf 7:65-72 and related commentary in Sahih Muslim regarding the destruction of the 'Ad people by the devastating wind.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches believers that rejecting divine guidance through the messengers leads to inevitable destruction and ruin, serving as a sobering reminder to accept the message of the Final Prophet Muhammad with faith and obedience rather than arrogance and denial.
Related Ayahs
أَلَمْ يَرَوْا۟ كَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا قَبْلَهُم مِّنَ ٱلْقُرُونِ أَنَّهُمْ إِلَيْهِمْ لَا يَرْجِعُونَ
Have they not considered how many generations We destroyed before them - that they to them will not return?
قَالَ ٱلْمَلَأُ مِن قَوْمِهِۦٓ إِنَّا لَنَرَىٰكَ فِى ضَلَـٰلٍ مُّبِينٍ
Said the eminent among his people, "Indeed, we see you in clear error."
وَكَذَٰلِكَ مَآ أَرْسَلْنَا مِن قَبْلِكَ فِى قَرْيَةٍ مِّن نَّذِيرٍ إِلَّا قَالَ مُتْرَفُوهَآ إِنَّا وَجَدْنَآ ءَابَآءَنَا عَلَىٰٓ أُمَّةٍ وَإِنَّا عَلَىٰٓ ءَاثَـٰرِهِم مُّقْتَدُونَ
And similarly, We did not send before you any warner into a city except that its affluent said, "Indeed, we found our fathers upon a religion, and we are, in their footsteps, following."
وَكَذَّبَ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ وَمَا بَلَغُوا۟ مِعْشَارَ مَآ ءَاتَيْنَـٰهُمْ فَكَذَّبُوا۟ رُسُلِى ۖ فَكَيْفَ كَانَ نَكِيرِ
And those before them denied, and they [i.e., the people of Makkah] have not attained a tenth of what We had given them. But they [i.e., the former peoples] denied My messengers, so how [terrible] was My reproach.