Surah Araf ayat 85 Tafsir Quran 7:85

﴿وَإِلَىٰ مَدْيَنَ أَخَاهُمْ شُعَيْبًا ۗ قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ مَا لَكُم مِّنْ إِلَٰهٍ غَيْرُهُ ۖ قَدْ جَاءَتْكُم بَيِّنَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ ۖ فَأَوْفُوا الْكَيْلَ وَالْمِيزَانَ وَلَا تَبْخَسُوا النَّاسَ أَشْيَاءَهُمْ وَلَا تُفْسِدُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ بَعْدَ إِصْلَاحِهَا ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ﴾
[ الأعراف: 85]

7:85 And to [the people of] Madyan [We sent] their brother Shu'ayb. He said, "O my people, worship Allah; you have no deity other than Him. There has come to you clear evidence from your Lord. So fulfill the measure and weight and do not deprive people of their due and cause not corruption upon the earth after its reformation. That is better for you, if you should be believers.

And We sent to Midian their brother Shu‘ayb. He said ‘O my people worship God! You have no god other than Him. Verily there has come to you a clear proof a miracle from your Lord to prove my truthfulness. So give full measure and weight and do not defraud diminish the value of people’s goods and do not work corruption in the earth by way of unbelief and acts of disobedience after it has been set right through the sending of messengers thereto. That mentioned is better for you if you are believers if you are seekers of faith so hasten to it.

And to the people of Madyan (Midian), We sent their brother Shuaib, who said to them: O my people worship Allah and adore Him with appropriate acts and rites; you have no Ilah but Him. There has come to you a sign from Allah, your Creator, evincing both the truth of my mission and Allahs supremacy. Therefore, dispense the measure and the weight equitably to the full and do not scant peoples goods and chattels, chattels personal, chattels real nor chattels interest nor devalue what is valuable, nor create discord or make mischief on earth after it has been set in order. This is best for you if indeed your hearts have been impressed with the image of religious and spiritual virtues

Story of Shu`ayb, upon him be Peace, and the Land of Madyan Muhammad bin Ishaq said, "They ( the people of Madyan ) are the descendents of Madyan, son of Midyan, son of Ibrahim.
Shu`ayb was the son of Mikil bin Yashjur.
And in the Syrian language, his name was Yathrun ( Jethro )".
I ( Ibn Kathir ) say, Madyan was the name of the tribe and also a city that is close to Ma`an on route to the Hijaz ( from Ash-Sham ).
Allah said in another Ayah, وَلَمَّا وَرَدَ مَآءَ مَدْيَنَ وَجَدَ عَلَيْهِ أُمَّةً مِّنَ النَّاسِ يَسْقُونَ ( And when he arrived at the water (a well ) of Madyan he found there a group of men watering ( their flocks ).) 28:23 They are also the people of Al-Aykah ( the Woods ), as we will mention later on, Allah willing, and our trust is in Him. قَالَ يَاقَوْمِ اعْبُدُواْ اللَّهَ مَا لَكُمْ مِّنْ إِلَـهٍ غَيْرُهُ ( He said: "O my people! Worship Allah! You have no other God but Him" ) and this is the call of all Messengers, قَدْ جَآءَتْكُم بَيِّنَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ ( "Verily, a clear proof (sign ) from your Lord has come unto you;") meaning, `Allah has presented the proof and evidences of the truth of what I brought you.' He then advised them and commanded them to give full measure and full weight and not to wrong men in their dealings, meaning, to refrain from cheating people in buying and selling.
They used to treacherously avoid giving full weight and measure.
Allah said in other Ayat, وَيْلٌ لِّلْمُطَفِّفِينَ ( Woe to Al-Mutaffifin (those who give less in measure and weight )...) 83:1 until He said, لِرَبِّ الْعَـلَمِينَ ( before the Lord of all that exists ) 83:6.
These Ayat contain a stern warning and sure promise that we ask Allah to save us from.
Shu`ayb was called `Speaker of the Prophets', because of his eloquent words and eloquent advice, and Allah stated that Shu`ayb said:

(7:85) And to Midian *69 We sent forth their brother Shu'ayb He exhorted them: O my people! Serve Allah, you have no god but Him. Indeed a clear proof has come to you from your Lord. So give just weight and measure and diminish not to men their things ' *70 and make no mischief on the earth after it has been set in good order. *71 That is to your own good, if you truly believe . *72

And to [the people of] Madyan [We meaning

*69).
The territory of Madyan ( Midian ) lay to the north-west of Hijaz and south of Palestine on the coast of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba, and part of the territory stretched to the northern border of the Sinai Peninsula.
The Midianites and their towns were situated at the crossroads of the trade routes from Yemen through Makka and Yanbu' to Syria along the Red Sea coast, and from Iraq to Egypt.
Midian was, therefore, quite well known to the Arabs.
In fact it persisted in their memory long after its destruction for the Arab trade caravans en route to Syria and Egypt passed through territories which were full of the ruins of their monuments.

Another point worth noting about the people of Midian is that they were reckoned to be descendants of Midyan, a son of the Prophet Abraharn born of his third wife, Qatura.
According to a custom of the time, persons who attached themselves to a notable family were gradually counted as members of that family, as the descendants of that family's ancestor.
It is for this reason that a large majority of Arabs were called the descendants of Ismai'l.
Likewise those who embraced faith at the hands of Ya'qab's sons bore the general name 'the People of Israel'.
Now, since the inhabitants of Midian owed allegiance to Midyan, son of Abraham, they were referred to as the descendants of Midyan and their territory was called Midian.

In view of this it should not be thought that the Prophet Shu'ayb invited them, for the first time, to follow Divine Guidance.
At the time of the advent of Shu'ayb their state was no different from that of the Israelites at the time of the advent of Moses.
They too were originally a Muslim people who had subsequently moved far away from Islam.
For six to seven centuries they lived amongst a people who were steeped in polytheism and moral corruption, and this led to their contamination with polytheism and moral corruption.
Despite their deviation and corruption, however, they claimed to be the followers of the true faith, and were proud of their religious identification.

*70).
This shows that the people of Midian suffered from two major ailments - polytheism and dishonesty in business.
Shu'ayb devoted his efforts to purging them of those evils.

*71).
The import of this statement has been explained earlier in notes 44-5 above.
In his exhortations to his people, Shu'ayb emphasized that they should not allow the order of life, established by the previous Prophets on the foundations of true faith and sound morals, to be corrupted by false beliefs and moral depravity.

*72).
This clearly shows that the people concerned claimed to be believers, as we have already pointed out.
In fact, they were originally Muslims who had drifted away from Islam, who had become enmeshed in a range of evils.
They not only professed to be believers, but took great pride in being so.
( See n.
69 above - Ed.
) Shu'ayb made this fact the starting-point of his preaching.
He told them that if they indeed were believers they should live up to that fact; they should consider their salvation to lie in practising goodness and virtue, honesty and integrity; and they should distinguish between good and evil on the basis of the standards followed by righteous people rather than of those who believed neither in God nor in the Hereafter.

 

Story of Shu`ayb, upon him be Peace, and the Land of Madyan Muhammad bin Ishaq said, "They ( the people of Madyan ) are the descendents of Madyan, son of Midyan, son of Ibrahim.
Shu`ayb was the son of Mikil bin Yashjur.
And in the Syrian language, his name was Yathrun ( Jethro )".
I ( Ibn Kathir ) say, Madyan was the name of the tribe and also a city that is close to Ma`an on route to the Hijaz ( from Ash-Sham ).
Allah said in another Ayah, وَلَمَّا وَرَدَ مَآءَ مَدْيَنَ وَجَدَ عَلَيْهِ أُمَّةً مِّنَ النَّاسِ يَسْقُونَ ( And when he arrived at the water (a well ) of Madyan he found there a group of men watering ( their flocks ).) 28:23 They are also the people of Al-Aykah ( the Woods ), as we will mention later on, Allah willing, and our trust is in Him. قَالَ يَاقَوْمِ اعْبُدُواْ اللَّهَ مَا لَكُمْ مِّنْ إِلَـهٍ غَيْرُهُ ( He said: "O my people! Worship Allah! You have no other God but Him" ) and this is the call of all Messengers, قَدْ جَآءَتْكُم بَيِّنَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ ( "Verily, a clear proof (sign ) from your Lord has come unto you;") meaning, `Allah has presented the proof and evidences of the truth of what I brought you.' He then advised them and commanded them to give full measure and full weight and not to wrong men in their dealings, meaning, to refrain from cheating people in buying and selling.
They used to treacherously avoid giving full weight and measure.
Allah said in other Ayat, وَيْلٌ لِّلْمُطَفِّفِينَ ( Woe to Al-Mutaffifin (those who give less in measure and weight )...) 83:1 until He said, لِرَبِّ الْعَـلَمِينَ ( before the Lord of all that exists ) 83:6.
These Ayat contain a stern warning and sure promise that we ask Allah to save us from.
Shu`ayb was called `Speaker of the Prophets', because of his eloquent words and eloquent advice, and Allah stated that Shu`ayb said:

( And unto Midian ) and We sent to Midian ( their brother ) their prophet ( Shu’ayb. He said: O my people! Serve Allah ) profess Allah’s divine Oneness. ( Ye have no other God save Him ) save Him in whom I am enjoining you to believe. ( Lo! a clear proof ) an exposition ( hath come unto you from your Lord ) regarding Allah’s message; ( so give full measure and full weight and wrong not mankind in their goods, and work not confusion in the earth ) by committing transgressions and calling to other than Allah and by not giving full measure and full weight ( after the fair ordering thereof ) through acts of obedience, calling to Allah and giving full measure and scale. ( That ) the profession of Allah’s divine Oneness and giving full measure and weight ( will be better for you ) than that in which you are now, ( if ye are believers ) in what I say to you.

And to (the people of) Madyan (Midian), (We sent) their brother Shu'aib. He said: "O my people! Worship Allah! You have no other Ilah (God) but Him. [La ilaha ill-Allah (none has the right to be worshipped but Allah)]." Verily, a clear proof (sign) from your Lord has come unto you; so give full measure and full weight and wrong not men in their things, and do not mischief on the earth after it has been set in order, that will be better for you, if you are believers.

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