Surah Hud ayat 62 Tafsir Quran 11:62

﴿قَالُوا يَا صَالِحُ قَدْ كُنتَ فِينَا مَرْجُوًّا قَبْلَ هَٰذَا ۖ أَتَنْهَانَا أَن نَّعْبُدَ مَا يَعْبُدُ آبَاؤُنَا وَإِنَّنَا لَفِي شَكٍّ مِّمَّا تَدْعُونَا إِلَيْهِ مُرِيبٍ﴾
[ هود: 62]

11:62 They said, "O Salih, you were among us a man of promise before this. Do you forbid us to worship what our fathers worshipped? And indeed we are, about that to which you invite us, in disquieting doubt."

They said ‘O Sālih you had been one of promise among us that is to say we had hoped that you would become our chief before this that has issued from you. Do you forbid us to worship what our fathers worshipped? in the way of graven images? Truly we are in grave doubt doubt creating great uncertainty concerning that to which you are calling us’ in the way of affirming God’s Oneness.

But they said to him: O Saleh, you have been thus far the hope that sprang eternal in our breasts, but we seem to be staking our very future on some dark hope. Do you want us to renounce the system of faith and worship adopted by our fathers! Indeed we question the validity of what you induce us to do and we think it excites suspicion

The Conversation between Salih and the People of Thamud Allah, the Exalted, mentions what transpired in the discussion between Salih and his people.
Allah informs of their ignorance and obstinacy in their statement, قَدْ كُنتَ فِينَا مَرْجُوًّا قَبْلَ هَـذَا ( You have been among us as a figure of good hope till this! ) They were saying in this, "We had hope in your strong intellect before you began saying what you have said." أَتَنْهَانَآ أَن نَّعْبُدَ مَا يَعْبُدُ ءابَاؤُنَا ( Do you (now ) forbid us the worship of what our fathers have worshipped) "what those who were before us were upon." وَإِنَّنَا لَفِى شَكٍّ مِّمَّا تَدْعُونَآ إِلَيْهِ مُرِيبٍ ( But we are really in grave doubt as to that which you invite us. ) This alludes to the great amount of doubt that they had. قَالَ يقَوْمِ أَرَأَيْتُمْ إِن كُنتُ عَلَى بَيِّنَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّى ( He said: "O my people! Tell me, if I have a clear proof from my Lord..." ) `In reference to what He ( Allah ) has sent me with to you, I am upon conviction and sure evidence.' وَءَاتَـنِى مِنْهُ رَحْمَةً فَمَن يَنصُرُنِى مِنَ اللَّهِ إِنْ عَصَيْتُهُ ( and there has come to me a mercy from Him, who then can help me against Allah, if I were to disobey Him ) `and abandon calling you to the truth and the worship of Allah alone.
If I did so, you would not be able to bring me any benefit, nor increase me غَيْرَ تَخْسِيرٍ ( but in loss. )' This means loss and ruin.

(11:62) They said: 'O Salih! Until now you were one of those among us on whom we placed great hopes. *70 Now, would you forbid us to worship what our forefathers were wont to worship? *71 Indeed we are in disquieting doubt about what you are calling us to. *72

They said, "O Salih, you were among meaning

*70) The people of Salih ( peace be on him ) centred many expectations around him.
On account of his wisdom, intelligence, maturity, and dignified personality they expected Salih to rise to great heights.
They also believed that he would not only achieve personal greatness and prosperity, but would also assist his people in their bid to excel against other tribes and nations in terms of worldly benefits.
However, no sooner had Salih begun to teach his people that they are obligated to exclusively worship and serve the One True God and pay due heed to the Hereafter than they became altogether disenchanted with him.

It may be recalled that the predicament of the Makkan unbelievers was no different from that of the people of Salih ( peace be on him ).
The Makkans also recognized that Muhammad ( peace be on him ) was a person of outstanding qualities.
They were confident that he would grow into a very successful merchant and that they would also benefit from his trading acumen.
But then they found that the Prophet ( peace be on him ), contrary to their expectations, began to invite them to serve and worship the One True God.
He also began to urge ( hem to pay heed to the Next Life and to observe moral excellence.
They were instantly disappointed and became totally averse to him.
They even began to give vent to the idea that the Prophet (peace be on him ) who for so long had been a perfectly normal person, was now seized by some strange mental disease.
In their view it was because of this mental derailment that he had ruined his own life and also threw cold water on the hopes and expectations of his people.

*71).
This was the main reason which the unbelievers advanced to support their view, the rationale they offered for the worship of the deities in which they believed.
The simple reason was, as stated here and elsewhere in the Qur'an, that their ancestors had also worshipped them! This brings into sharp relief the fundamental difference between the rationale offered by Islam and that offered by jahiliyah.
Salih ( peace be on him ) had said that none but God deserves to be worshipped.
He argued that since God had created human beings and had enabled them to settle on earth, they, therefore, ought to worship Him.
The unbelievers responded by saying that their deities also deserved to be worshipped, indeed had been worshipped by their ancestors and so they could not just forsake them.
In other words, they proclaimed their commitment to follow in the footsteps of their ancestors even if those ancestors had been altogether ignorant and stupid.

*72).
The Qur'an does not specify the 'disquieting doubt' to which the unbelievers were subjected.
The reason for this is that although all of them had doubts, the doubt entertained by each was different.
It may even be said that whenever people are asked to accept the truth, all those who believe in one kind of falsehood or the other feel disturbed.
The complacent faith which they had before they became acquainted with the truth is simply gone, and a 'disquieting doubt' creeps in and begins to agitate them.
Although each of them may feel this differently, an amount of disquiet is nevertheless common to all unbelievers.

Before the unbelievers were invited to the truth, they may never have felt the need to critically examine their position.
But after the call to the truth has been made such an attitude can no longer persist.
This is so because the trenchant criticism of jahiliyah made by the Prophet of the day together with his weighty arguments in support of his teachings is bound to have its effect.
Moreover, his lofty morals, his firmness, his forbearance, his grace and dignity, his straightforward and honest ways, and his wisdom and sagacity create a certain respect for him even among his staunchest enemies.
Not only that but the people concerned cannot help but notice that the best elements in the society of the day are continually drawn to the call of the truth.
They also observe that as a result of embracing the truth the lives of these people are perceptibly transformed.
Taken together, all these factors agitate the minds of those who wish to cling to and even promote the old jahiliyah even after the truth has been made known to them.

 

The Conversation between Salih and the People of Thamud Allah, the Exalted, mentions what transpired in the discussion between Salih and his people.
Allah informs of their ignorance and obstinacy in their statement, قَدْ كُنتَ فِينَا مَرْجُوًّا قَبْلَ هَـذَا ( You have been among us as a figure of good hope till this! ) They were saying in this, "We had hope in your strong intellect before you began saying what you have said." أَتَنْهَانَآ أَن نَّعْبُدَ مَا يَعْبُدُ ءابَاؤُنَا ( Do you (now ) forbid us the worship of what our fathers have worshipped) "what those who were before us were upon." وَإِنَّنَا لَفِى شَكٍّ مِّمَّا تَدْعُونَآ إِلَيْهِ مُرِيبٍ ( But we are really in grave doubt as to that which you invite us. ) This alludes to the great amount of doubt that they had. قَالَ يقَوْمِ أَرَأَيْتُمْ إِن كُنتُ عَلَى بَيِّنَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّى ( He said: "O my people! Tell me, if I have a clear proof from my Lord..." ) `In reference to what He ( Allah ) has sent me with to you, I am upon conviction and sure evidence.' وَءَاتَـنِى مِنْهُ رَحْمَةً فَمَن يَنصُرُنِى مِنَ اللَّهِ إِنْ عَصَيْتُهُ ( and there has come to me a mercy from Him, who then can help me against Allah, if I were to disobey Him ) `and abandon calling you to the truth and the worship of Allah alone.
If I did so, you would not be able to bring me any benefit, nor increase me غَيْرَ تَخْسِيرٍ ( but in loss. )' This means loss and ruin.

( They said: O Salih! Thou hast been among us hitherto ) i.e. before you called us to follow other than the religion of our forefathers ( as that wherein our hope was placed ) we had hope in you. ( Dost thou ask us not to worship what our fathers worshipped ) of idols? ( Lo! we verily are in grave doubt concerning that to which thou callest us ) i.e. your religion.

They said: "O Salih (Saleh)! You have been among us as a figure of good hope (and we wished for you to be our chief), till this [new thing which you have brought; that we leave our gods and worship your God (Allah) Alone]! Do you (now) forbid us the worship of what our fathers have worshipped? But we are really in grave doubt as to that which you invite us to (monotheism)."

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