قَالُوا۟ يَـٰشُعَيْبُ أَصَلَوٰتُكَ تَأْمُرُكَ أَن نَّتْرُكَ مَا يَعْبُدُ ءَابَآؤُنَآ أَوْ أَن نَّفْعَلَ فِىٓ أَمْوَٰلِنَا مَا نَشَـٰٓؤُا۟ ۖ إِنَّكَ لَأَنتَ ٱلْحَلِيمُ ٱلرَّشِيدُ 87
Translations
They said, "O Shuʿayb, does your prayer [i.e., religion] command you that we should leave what our fathers worship or not do with our wealth what we please? Indeed, you are the forbearing, the discerning!"
Transliteration
Qaalou ya shuaybu asalaatuka ta'muruka an natruka ma ya'budu aabaauna aw an naf'ala fee amwalina ma nashaa'u innaka la anta al-halim al-rashid
Tafsir (Explanation)
The people of Madyan mockingly challenge Prophet Shuayb, suggesting his prayer (salah) and religious convictions compel him to demand they abandon their fathers' idolatry and relinquish their economic freedoms. Their sarcastic reference to him as 'forbearing and rightly-guided' is laden with irony—they reject his message while superficially acknowledging his moral qualities. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, this ayah illustrates how the arrogant reject prophetic guidance by conflating personal piety with impractical demands, and how they prioritize ancestral customs and material wealth over divine truth.
Revelation Context
This verse occurs within the narrative of Prophet Shuayb's mission to the people of Madyan (Midian), a Meccan surah addressing the Quraysh's similar objections to Prophet Muhammad's call. The people of Madyan were known for their commercial dishonesty and idolatry, and their response to Shuayb represents the archetypal rejection of prophethood based on cultural attachment and economic self-interest—themes directly relevant to the Meccan audience.
Related Hadiths
The hadith in Sahih Bukhari (3:48:816) regarding 'the signs of a believer' emphasizes obedience to Allah over ancestral custom. Additionally, the principle in Sunan Ibn Majah about rejecting wealth and status for faith relates thematically to the people's unwillingness to abandon their material practices for divine guidance.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that sincere faith often demands difficult sacrifices—abandoning inherited practices and economic conveniences—and that mocking a prophet's sincerity while acknowledging his virtues reflects deep spiritual blindness. Modern readers should examine whether they rationalize disobedience through selective acknowledgment of religious authority while protecting personal interests and traditions.