Surah Hud ayat 61 Tafsir Quran 11:61

﴿۞ وَإِلَىٰ ثَمُودَ أَخَاهُمْ صَالِحًا ۚ قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ مَا لَكُم مِّنْ إِلَٰهٍ غَيْرُهُ ۖ هُوَ أَنشَأَكُم مِّنَ الْأَرْضِ وَاسْتَعْمَرَكُمْ فِيهَا فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ ثُمَّ تُوبُوا إِلَيْهِ ۚ إِنَّ رَبِّي قَرِيبٌ مُّجِيبٌ﴾
[ هود: 61]

11:61 And to Thamud [We sent] their brother Salih. He said, "O my people, worship Allah; you have no deity other than Him. He has produced you from the earth and settled you in it, so ask forgiveness of Him and then repent to Him. Indeed, my Lord is near and responsive."

And We sent to Thamūd their brother from the tribe Sālih. He said ‘O my people worship God! affirm His Oneness. You have no god other than He. He it is Who produced you Who began your creation from the earth by creating your father Adam from it and has given you to live therein He has made you inhabitants living therein; so ask forgiveness of Him from idolatry then turn return to Him repentant through acts of obedience. Truly my Lord is Near to His creation by virtue of His knowledge Responsive’ to those who ask of Him.

We sent also to the people of Thamud -The Thamudites- their brother the Messenger Saleh, who said to them: O my people worship Allah and adore Him with appropriate acts and rites; You have no Ilah but Him. He raised you from the earth and made it the world you live on. Therefore, invoke His forgiveness and in lowliest plight stand repentant to Him of the way you conduct yourselves in life. Allah, my Creator, is indeed in the immediate proximity of the whole and of all in all and He responds to invocation

The Story of Salih and the People of Thamud Allah, the Exalted, says, و ( And ) This is an introduction to that which is implied, "Verily, We sent." إِلَى ثَمُودَ ( to Thamud ) They were a group of people who were living in cities carved from the rocks, between Tabuk and Al-Madinah ( in Arabia ).
They lived after the people of `Ad, so Allah sent to them, أَخَاهُمْ صَـلِحاً ( their brother Salih. ) He ( Salih ) commanded them to worship Allah alone.
He said to them, هُوَ أَنشَأَكُمْ مِّنَ الاٌّرْضِ ( He brought you forth from the earth ) This means: `He began your creation from it ( the earth ).
From it He created your father, Adam.' وَاسْتَعْمَرَكُمْ فِيهَا ( and settled you therein, ) This means: `He made you prosperous in the earth.
You are settled in it and you treasure it.' فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ ( then ask forgiveness ) `This is in reference to your previous sins.
' ثُمَّ تُوبُواْ إِلَيْهِ ( and turn to Him in repentance. ) `This is in reference to the future.' إِنَّ رَبِّى قَرِيبٌ مُّجِيبٌ ( Certainly, my Lord is Near (to all by His knowledge ), Responsive.) This is similar to Allah's statement, وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ ( And when My servants ask you concerning Me, then (answer them ), I am indeed Near ( to them by My knowledge ).
I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me.) 2:186

(11:61) And to Thamud We sent their brother Sali'h. *66 He said: 'My people! Serve Allah; you have no god other than Him. He brought you into being out of the earth, and has made you dwell in it. *67 So ask Him to forgive you, and do turn towards Him in repentance. *68 Indeed My Lord is near, responsive to prayers . *69

And to Thamud [We sent] their brother meaning

*66).
For further information see Towards Understanding the Qur'an, vol.
Ill, al-A'raf, nn.
57-62, pp.
45-8.

*67).
This substantiates the fact that there is no god other than the One True God; and that He should be the sole object of worship and service.
Now, even those who associated others with God in His divinity acknowledged that it is Allah alone Who created them.
Using this obvious premise, Prophet Salih ( peace be on him ) sought to persuade people to affirm that God alone should be worshipped.
He emphasized that it is God alone Who had made them into human beings out of the lifeless materials from the earth, and had subsequently settled them on earth.
In view of this, who else than God could claim godhead? Likewise, who else could claim that he ought to be served and worshipped?
*68).
The Thamud had been guilty of worshipping others besides God.
They are now urged to seek God's forgiveness for this grave sin.

*69).
This verse is aimed at removing a major misconception which had been prevalent among the polytheists.
This misconception is in fact one of the major reasons which prompted men to associate others with God in His divinity.
One of man's most persistent faults is that he has conceived God to be similar to those worldly rulers who immerse themselves in a life of ease and luxury in their grand palaces.
Such rulers are normally far removed from their subjects.
To all intents and purposes they are well beyond the direct access of their subjects.
The only way for their subjects to reach them is through the auspices of their favourite courtiers.
And even if a subject succeeds in conveying his pleadings through a courtier, these rulers are often too arrogant to directly respond to such pleadings.
This is one aspect of the function of a courtier - to communicate to a ruler the pleadings of his subjects, and also to communicate to the subjects the response of the ruler.

Since God was often conceived in the image of such worldly rulers many people fell prey to the false belief that God is well above the reach of ordinary human beings.
This belief spread further because many clever people found it quite profitable to propagate such a notion.
No wonder many people felt God could only be approached through powerful intermediaries and intercessors.
The only way that a person's prayer could reach God and be answered by Him was to approach Him through one of the holy men.
It was, therefore, considered necessary to grease the palm of the religious functionaries who supposedly enjoyed the privilege of conveying a man's offerings and prayers to the One on high.
This misconception gave birth to a pantheon of small and large deities and intercessors who are supposed to act as intermediaries between man and God.
This misconception has given rise to institutionalized priesthood, according to which no ritual, whether relating to birth or death, can be performed without the active participation of the priests.

Prophet Salih ( peace be on him ) strikes at the root of this ignorant system, and totally demolishes its intellectual infrastructure.
This he does by emphasizing two facts: that God is extremely close to His creatures and that He answers their prayers.
Thus he refutes many misconceptions about God: that He is far away, altogether withdrawn from human beings, and that He does not answer their prayers if they are to directly approach Him.
God, no doubt, is transcendent, and yet He is extremely close to every person.
Everyone will find Him just beside himself.
Everyone can whisper to Him the innermost desires of his heart.
Everyone can address his prayers to God both in public and in private, by verbally expressing those prayers or addressing them to Him without so much as uttering a single word.
Moreover, God answers the prayers of all His creatures directly.
The fact is that God's court with all its majesty is just around everyone's corner, so close to one's threshold, and always open to all.
How silly it is, therefore, for people to search for those intercessors who they think will help them approach God, ( See also Towards Understanding the Qur'an, vol.
I, al-Baqarah 2, n.
188. )
 

The Story of Salih and the People of Thamud Allah, the Exalted, says, و ( And ) This is an introduction to that which is implied, "Verily, We sent." إِلَى ثَمُودَ ( to Thamud ) They were a group of people who were living in cities carved from the rocks, between Tabuk and Al-Madinah ( in Arabia ).
They lived after the people of `Ad, so Allah sent to them, أَخَاهُمْ صَـلِحاً ( their brother Salih. ) He ( Salih ) commanded them to worship Allah alone.
He said to them, هُوَ أَنشَأَكُمْ مِّنَ الاٌّرْضِ ( He brought you forth from the earth ) This means: `He began your creation from it ( the earth ).
From it He created your father, Adam.' وَاسْتَعْمَرَكُمْ فِيهَا ( and settled you therein, ) This means: `He made you prosperous in the earth.
You are settled in it and you treasure it.' فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ ( then ask forgiveness ) `This is in reference to your previous sins.
' ثُمَّ تُوبُواْ إِلَيْهِ ( and turn to Him in repentance. ) `This is in reference to the future.' إِنَّ رَبِّى قَرِيبٌ مُّجِيبٌ ( Certainly, my Lord is Near (to all by His knowledge ), Responsive.) This is similar to Allah's statement, وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ ( And when My servants ask you concerning Me, then (answer them ), I am indeed Near ( to them by My knowledge ).
I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me.) 2:186

( And unto (the tribe of ) Thamud) and We sent to Thamud ( their brother ) their Prophet ( Salih. He said: O my people! Serve Allah ) declare the divine Oneness of Allah, ( You have no other God save Him ) you have no god except the One in Whom I command you to believe. ( He brought you forth from the earth ) He created you from Adam and Adam is from the earth ( and hath made you husband it ) He made you thrive in the earth and made its inhabitants thrive on it too. ( So ask forgiveness of Him ) confess His divine Oneness ( and turn unto Him repentant ) turn to Him by believing in His divine Oneness, repenting and being sincere to Him. ( Lo, my Lord is Nigh ) in His answer, ( Responsive ) to the one who declares His divine Oneness.

And to Thamud (people, We sent) their brother Salih (Saleh). He said: "O my people! Worship Allah, you have no other Ilah (God) but Him. He brought you forth from the earth and settled you therein, then ask forgiveness of Him and turn to Him in repentance. Certainly, my Lord is Near (to all by His Knowledge), Responsive."

Page 228 English transliteration