Surah Shuara ayat 149 Tafsir Quran 26:149

﴿وَتَنْحِتُونَ مِنَ الْجِبَالِ بُيُوتًا فَارِهِينَ﴾
[ الشعراء: 149]

26:149 And you carve out of the mountains, homes, with skill.

And you hew dwellings out of the mountains arrogantly a variant reading of farihīna ‘arrogant’ has fārihīn ‘skilfully’.

And you skillfully carve the mountains into homes wherein you make abode

A Reminder to Them of their Circumstances and the Blessings They enjoyed Salih preached to them, warning them that the punishment of Allah could overtake them and reminding them of the blessings that Allah had bestowed upon them, by giving them ample provision and making them safe from all kinds of dangers, giving them gardens and flowing springs, and bringing forth for them crops and fruits. وَنَخْلٍ طَلْعُهَا هَضِيمٌ ( and date palms with soft clusters. ) Al-`Awfi narrated from Ibn `Abbas, "Ripe and rich." `Ali bin Abi Talhah narrated from Ibn `Abbas that this meant growing luxuriantly.
Isma`il bin Abi Khalid narrated from `Amr bin Abi `Amr -- who met the Companions -- from Ibn `Abbas that this means, "When it becomes ripe and soft." This was narrated by Ibn Abi Hatim, then he said: "And something similar was narrated from Abu Salih." وَتَنْحِتُونَ مِنَ الْجِبَالِ بُيُوتاً فَـرِهِينَ ( And you hew out in the mountains, houses with great skill. ) Ibn `Abbas and others said, "With great skill." According to another report from him: "They were greedy and extravagant." This was the view of Mujahid and another group.
There is no contradiction between the two views, because they built the houses which they carved in the mountains as a form of extravagant play, with no need for them as dwelling places.
They were highly skilled in the arts of masonry and stone-carving, as is well known to anyone who has seen their structures.
So, Salih said to them: فَاتَّقُواْ اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُونِ ( So, have Taqwa of Allah, and obey me. ) Pay attention to that which could benefit you in this world and the Hereafter; worshipping your Lord Who created you, who granted you provisions so that you could worship Him alone and glorify Him morning and evening. وَلاَ تُطِيعُواْ أَمْرَ الْمُسْرِفِينَ - الَّذِينَ يُفْسِدُونَ فِى الاٌّرْضِ وَلاَ يُصْلِحُونَ ( And follow not the command of the extravagant, who make mischief in the land, and reform not. ) meaning, their chiefs and leaders, who called them to Shirk, disbelief and opposition to the truth. قَالُواْ إِنَّمَآ أَنتَ مِنَ الْمُسَحَّرِينَ - مَآ أَنتَ إِلاَّ بَشَرٌ مِّثْلُنَا فَأْتِ بِـَايَةٍ إِن كُنتَ مِنَ الصَّـدِقِينَ - قَالَ هَـذِهِ نَاقَةٌ لَّهَا شِرْبٌ وَلَكُمْ شِرْبُ يَوْمٍ مَّعْلُومٍ - وَلاَ تَمَسُّوهَا بِسُوءٍ فَيَأْخُذَكُمْ عَذَابُ يَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ - فَعَقَرُوهَا فَأَصْبَحُواْ نَـدِمِينَ - فَأَخَذَهُمُ الْعَذَابُ إِنَّ فِى ذَلِكَ لأَيَةً وَمَا كَانَ أَكْثَرُهُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ

(26:149) You proudly carve out dwellings in the hills. *99

And you carve out of the mountains, meaning

*99) Just as the most prominent feature of the 'Ad civilization was that they built large edifices with high pillars, so the most prominent feature of the _Thamud civilization for which they were known among the ancient peoples was that they carved out dwellings in the hills.
That is why in Surah Fajr, the `Ad have been referred to as " ( people ) of the illars ", and the _Thamud as " those who hewed rocks in the valley ".
These people also built castles on the plains, the purpose and object of which was nothing but display of wealth and power and architectural skill as there was no real necessity for them.
These are, in fact, the ways of the perverted people: the poor among them do not have proper shelters, and the wealthy members not only have sufficient fine dwellings but over and above those they raise monuments for ostentation and display.

Some of these Thamudic works exist even today, which I have seen in December, 1959.
( See pictures.
This place is situated between AI-Madinah and Tabuk, a few miles to the north of Al-'Ula (Wad-il-Qura of the Holy Prophet's time ) in Hejaz.
The local inhabitants call it AI-Hijr and Mada'in Salih even today.
AI-'Ula is still a green and fertile valley abounding in water springs and gardens, but AI-Hijr appears to be an abandoned place.
It has thin population, little greenery and a few wells one of which is said to be the one at which Prophet Salih's shecamel used to drink water.
This well is now dry and located within a deserted military post of the time of the Turks.
When we entered this territory and approached AI-'Ula, we found hills which seemed to have been shattered to pieces from top to bottom as if by a violent earthquake.
( See pictures on the opposite pages ).
We saw the same kind of hills while travelling to the east, from AI-`Ula to Khaibar, for about 50 miles, and towards the north inside Jordan, for about 30 to 40 miles.
This indicated that an area, stretching well over 300 to 400 miles in length and 100 miles in width, had been devastated by the terrible earthquake.

A few of the _Thamudic type monuments that we saw at AI-Hijr were also found at Madyan along the Gulf of 'Aqabah and at Petra in Jordan.
At Petra specially the Thamudic and Nabataean works stand side by side, and their styles and architectural designs are so different that anyone who examines them will find that they were neither built in the same age nor by the same nation.
( See pictures for contrast ).
Doughty, the British orientalist, in his attempt to prove the Qur'an as false, has claimed that the works found at Al-HIijr were not carved out by Thamud but by the Nabataeans.I am of the view that the art of carving houses out of the rocks started with the _Thamud, and thousands of years later, in the second and first centuries B.C., it was considerably developed by the Nabataeans and it reached perfection in the works of the caves of Ellora, which were carved out about 700 years after Petra.

 

A Reminder to Them of their Circumstances and the Blessings They enjoyed Salih preached to them, warning them that the punishment of Allah could overtake them and reminding them of the blessings that Allah had bestowed upon them, by giving them ample provision and making them safe from all kinds of dangers, giving them gardens and flowing springs, and bringing forth for them crops and fruits. وَنَخْلٍ طَلْعُهَا هَضِيمٌ ( and date palms with soft clusters. ) Al-`Awfi narrated from Ibn `Abbas, "Ripe and rich." `Ali bin Abi Talhah narrated from Ibn `Abbas that this meant growing luxuriantly.
Isma`il bin Abi Khalid narrated from `Amr bin Abi `Amr -- who met the Companions -- from Ibn `Abbas that this means, "When it becomes ripe and soft." This was narrated by Ibn Abi Hatim, then he said: "And something similar was narrated from Abu Salih." وَتَنْحِتُونَ مِنَ الْجِبَالِ بُيُوتاً فَـرِهِينَ ( And you hew out in the mountains, houses with great skill. ) Ibn `Abbas and others said, "With great skill." According to another report from him: "They were greedy and extravagant." This was the view of Mujahid and another group.
There is no contradiction between the two views, because they built the houses which they carved in the mountains as a form of extravagant play, with no need for them as dwelling places.
They were highly skilled in the arts of masonry and stone-carving, as is well known to anyone who has seen their structures.
So, Salih said to them: فَاتَّقُواْ اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُونِ ( So, have Taqwa of Allah, and obey me. ) Pay attention to that which could benefit you in this world and the Hereafter; worshipping your Lord Who created you, who granted you provisions so that you could worship Him alone and glorify Him morning and evening. وَلاَ تُطِيعُواْ أَمْرَ الْمُسْرِفِينَ - الَّذِينَ يُفْسِدُونَ فِى الاٌّرْضِ وَلاَ يُصْلِحُونَ ( And follow not the command of the extravagant, who make mischief in the land, and reform not. ) meaning, their chiefs and leaders, who called them to Shirk, disbelief and opposition to the truth. قَالُواْ إِنَّمَآ أَنتَ مِنَ الْمُسَحَّرِينَ - مَآ أَنتَ إِلاَّ بَشَرٌ مِّثْلُنَا فَأْتِ بِـَايَةٍ إِن كُنتَ مِنَ الصَّـدِقِينَ - قَالَ هَـذِهِ نَاقَةٌ لَّهَا شِرْبٌ وَلَكُمْ شِرْبُ يَوْمٍ مَّعْلُومٍ - وَلاَ تَمَسُّوهَا بِسُوءٍ فَيَأْخُذَكُمْ عَذَابُ يَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ - فَعَقَرُوهَا فَأَصْبَحُواْ نَـدِمِينَ - فَأَخَذَهُمُ الْعَذَابُ إِنَّ فِى ذَلِكَ لأَيَةً وَمَا كَانَ أَكْثَرُهُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ

( Though ye hew out dwellings in the mountain, being skilful? ) it is also said that this means: feeling proud of, and haughty about, your farms.

"And you carve houses out of mountains with great skill.

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