Surah Hud ayat 91 Tafsir Quran 11:91

﴿قَالُوا يَا شُعَيْبُ مَا نَفْقَهُ كَثِيرًا مِّمَّا تَقُولُ وَإِنَّا لَنَرَاكَ فِينَا ضَعِيفًا ۖ وَلَوْلَا رَهْطُكَ لَرَجَمْنَاكَ ۖ وَمَا أَنتَ عَلَيْنَا بِعَزِيزٍ﴾
[ هود: 91]

11:91 They said, "O Shu'ayb, we do not understand much of what you say, and indeed, we consider you among us as weak. And if not for your family, we would have stoned you [to death]; and you are not to us one respected."

They said in proclamation of their lack of concern ‘O Shu‘ayb we do not understand much of what you say. Truly we see you are weak abject among us and were it not for your clan we would have stoned you; for you are not too powerful too venerable for us’ to stone but it is your clan that is powerful.

Thus still they said to him: We can hardly, O Shuaib, grasp with the mind the comprehension you have of Allah, nor do we understand much of your discourse. In fact we do see that among us, you are but a man wanting in strength and not at all influential, and were it not for your family, we would have pelted you with stones and you are not very strong to prevail against us

The Response of Shu`ayb's People They said, يشُعَيْبُ مَا نَفْقَهُ ( O Shu`ayb! We do not understand ) This means that we do not comprehend. كَثِيراً ( much ) `most of what you say'.
Ath-Thawri said, "He ( Shu`ayb ) was called the orator of the Prophets." As-Suddi said, وَإِنَّا لَنَرَاكَ فِينَا ضَعِيفًا ( and we see you weak among us. ) "They meant, `You are only one person."' Abu Rawq said, "They meant, `You are despised, because your tribe is not upon your religion."' وَلَوْلاَ رَهْطُكَ لَرَجَمْنَـكَ ( Were it not for your family, you would have been stoned, ) This means, your people.
Were it not for their powerful position over the people of Madyan, they would have stoned him to death.
Some said that this means with rocks.
It has also been said that this means that they would have cursed and insulted him verbally. وَمَآ أَنتَ عَلَيْنَا بِعَزِيزٍ ( and you are not powerful against us. ) This means, "You have no position of power over us." Shu`ayb's Refutation of His People قَالَ يقَوْمِ أَرَهْطِى أَعَزُّ عَلَيْكُم مِّنَ اللَّهِ ( He said: "O my people! Is then my family of more weight with you than Allah" )( He says: You would leave me alone out of respect for my people but not out of respect for the greatness of the Lord, the Most Blessed and Exalted Does not your awe of Allah prevent you from harming His Prophet Indeed you have placed the fear of Allah, وَرَآءَكُمْ ظِهْرِيّاً ( behind your backs. ) This means that you have thrown it behind you.
You do not obey it, nor do you respect it. إِنَّ رَبِّى بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ مُحِيطٌ ( Verily, my Lord is surrounding all that you do. ) This means that He knows all of your actions and He will reward you according to them.

(11:91) They said: 'O Shu'ayb! We do not understand much of what you say. *102 Indeed we see you weak in our midst. Were it not for your kinsmen, we would surely have stoned you for you have no strength to overpower us. *103

They said, "O Shu'ayb, we do not meaning

*102).
When Shu'ayb's people stated that they did not understand much of what Shu'ayb said, they did not say so because Shu'ayb ( peace be on him ) spoke in some foreign language, or because he talked in an ambiguous or complicated manner.
On the contrary, Shu'ayb's teaching was quite clear and simple and was conveyed to his people in a language they fully understood - their own.
The difficulty in understanding Shu'ayb's teaching arose from the fact that his people had become simply too perverse to grasp it.
It is always the case that when some people become fully seized by their prejudice, are overpowered by their lusts, or begin to move vehemently in one particular intellectual direction, they hardly have the patience to give ear to any idea which is different from their own.
But even if they were to listen to any unfamiliar idea, it would only sound to them as gibberish, as something coming to them from some other planet.

*103).
It should be borne in mind that exactly the same situation that had obtained in the past among the people of Shu'ayb also obtained in Makka at the time these verses were revealed.
The Quraysh were seething with enmity towards Prophet Muhammad ( peace be on him ) and wanted to put an end to his life in much the same way as Shu'ayb's people were inimical to him.
The only reason which prevented the Quraysh from violently laying their hands on the Prophet ( peace be on him ) was that his clan, Hashim, stood firmly behind him.

Thus, the story of Shu'ayb in relation to his people was exactly the same as that of Prophet Muhammad ( peace be on him ) in relation to the Quraysh.
The story of Shu'ayb is narrated here precisely because of the obvious resemblance it bears to the predicament of Prophet Muhammad ( peace be on him ).

Soon we will also come across ( see verse 93 ) a very instructive statement of Shu'ayb's in response to the harsh expression of hostility ( see verse 91 ).
The implication is quite clear.
The same statement would be addressed by Muhammad ( peace be on him ) to his own unbelieving people.

 

The Response of Shu`ayb's People They said, يشُعَيْبُ مَا نَفْقَهُ ( O Shu`ayb! We do not understand ) This means that we do not comprehend. كَثِيراً ( much ) `most of what you say'.
Ath-Thawri said, "He ( Shu`ayb ) was called the orator of the Prophets." As-Suddi said, وَإِنَّا لَنَرَاكَ فِينَا ضَعِيفًا ( and we see you weak among us. ) "They meant, `You are only one person."' Abu Rawq said, "They meant, `You are despised, because your tribe is not upon your religion."' وَلَوْلاَ رَهْطُكَ لَرَجَمْنَـكَ ( Were it not for your family, you would have been stoned, ) This means, your people.
Were it not for their powerful position over the people of Madyan, they would have stoned him to death.
Some said that this means with rocks.
It has also been said that this means that they would have cursed and insulted him verbally. وَمَآ أَنتَ عَلَيْنَا بِعَزِيزٍ ( and you are not powerful against us. ) This means, "You have no position of power over us." Shu`ayb's Refutation of His People قَالَ يقَوْمِ أَرَهْطِى أَعَزُّ عَلَيْكُم مِّنَ اللَّهِ ( He said: "O my people! Is then my family of more weight with you than Allah" )( He says: You would leave me alone out of respect for my people but not out of respect for the greatness of the Lord, the Most Blessed and Exalted Does not your awe of Allah prevent you from harming His Prophet Indeed you have placed the fear of Allah, وَرَآءَكُمْ ظِهْرِيّاً ( behind your backs. ) This means that you have thrown it behind you.
You do not obey it, nor do you respect it. إِنَّ رَبِّى بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ مُحِيطٌ ( Verily, my Lord is surrounding all that you do. ) This means that He knows all of your actions and He will reward you according to them.

( They said: O Shu’ayb! We understand not much of that thou tellest ) of that you command us, ( and lo! we do behold you weak ) blind ( among us. But for your family ) your clan, ( we should have stoned thee ) killed you, ( for thou art not strong against us ) for you are not favoured at all among us.

They said: "O Shu'aib! We do not understand much of what you say, and we see you a weak (man, it is said that he was a blind man) among us. Were it not for your family, we should certainly have stoned you and you are not powerful against us."

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