Having used Iblis and all the inhabitants of hell to exhibit the disadvantages of rejecting Allahs instructions, in this section Muhammad expands his list of prophets who were rejected by their people -- people who were subsequently punished severely.
First he mentions Noah ("Nuh"). Although in the Biblical account of Noah, no words of Noah are recorded until after the Flood, the text presents Noah stating the early credo of Islam! In v. 59, and in v. 65, and in v. 73, the same opening statement is attributed to Noah, to Hud, and to Salih. The clear thesis here is that Muhammad was just following in the footsteps, so to speak, of the prophets who had preceded him -- offering the same message and explaining their ministries in the same terms. Muhammad was not the first person to posit a discussion between Noah and his contemporaries; the same sort of discussion, in which Noah is derided, is described in the Talmud, in Tractate Sanhedrin 108 see www.come-and-hear.com/sanhedrin/sanhedrin_108.html . (More details about Noah are given in 11:25-48.)
Verse 65 mentions a prophet named Hud who prophesied to the people of Ad. (Notice how verses 65-67 flow in the same way as verses 59-61, btw). The people of Ad were said to have lived to the north of Mecca. At www.bible.ca/islam/library/Wherry/Commentary1/sect1.htm one may read a summary of the Arabian legends about Ad and the lost city of Iram, the citizens of which were said to be unusually tall, as verse 69 suggests. Ruins which fit the legends' description of Iram have been discovered; for a Muslim researchers description of these ruins, see www.perishednations.com/adandubar.html . Although some Muslims identify Hud as the Biblical character Heber (mentioned in Genesis 10:24-25 and 11:14-17), the people who discovered the Shabwah/Ubar ruins did so in part by studying a map by Ptolemy which posited a city along some caravan-trails, so the citys destruction seems to have post-dated Ptolemy (and was thus later than A.D. 100). Possibly Hud and Shelah came to be identified as Heber and Shelah because of the resemblance between "Shelah" (in Genesis 10:24) and "Salih. Probably the city of Iram met its end (in whatever way) several centuries, rather than millennia, before Muhammad.
As if to underline the point that Muhammad was acting just like previous prophets, Hud is depicted repeating (in verses 68-69) the gist of what was said by Noah (in verses 62-63). The retort of the people of Ad is the same retort offered to Muhammad by the people of Mecca.
In verse 71, Hud is depicted saying that the people of Ad have disputed with him "over names which you have named." This "naming of names" seems to refer to the use of the names of deities in oaths: the idols supposed to have been so venerated by the people of Ad were Sakia (provider of rain), Hafidha (patron of travelers), Razika (provider of food), and Salima (restorer of health). Notice that the last phrase in verse 71 ~ in the mouth of Hud here ~ appears at the end of 6:158 in Muhammads mouth. (More about Hud is said in 11:50-60; surah 11 is named after him.)
The story of Salih is contained in verses 73-79. Theres a rich background of tales told about Salih but it may be an open question whether they originated before or after Muhammad. The story of Salih -- which the text seems to presume the listeners were already familiar with (understandably, since Muhammad had mentioned Salih before, in surah 11) -- goes like this: Salih urged the people of Thamud to repent and turn to the one true God, but they responded by calling for a contest-of-deities at a festival: they would call on their gods to perform a miracle, and Salih would call on his. Their leader, Junda Ibn Amru, after calling on their deities with no results, specified what sign he wanted: he pointed to a boulder and told Salih that if the boulder gave birth to a pregnant she-camel, he would believe Salih. Salih asked his Lord to perform the requested sign, and lo, out of the rock came the she-camel, and she immediately gave birth. Junda Ibn Amru and a few others then accepted Salih as a true prophet but most of the people of Thamud refused to do so. The "clear sign" referred to in v. 73 is the sign of the she-camel coming forth from a boulder.
As the story continues, the disbelievers kill the she-camel and its offspring, and are punished with a terrible earthquake (as described in verses 77-78). Rodwell mentions his suspicion that a historical core beneath the story of Salih might have something to do with a prolonged war between the tribes of Banu Taghlib and Bani Bakr, which was initiated when Koleib, chief of the Taghlib tribe, killed a she-camel cherished by the Bakr tribe, in about A.D. 490.
The last phrase of v. 74, in Salihs mouth here, appears in Muhammads mouth in 7:56. The parallels between Salih and Muhammad continue to be posited in v. 75 interchange "Muhammad" in place of "Salih" and you have a picture of the scenario in Mecca and in v. 79, where Salihs I-have-done-my-part statement of resignation echoes Muhammad's feelings about the Meccans in the months right before he departed Mecca.
Yours in Christ,
Waterrock
First he mentions Noah ("Nuh"). Although in the Biblical account of Noah, no words of Noah are recorded until after the Flood, the text presents Noah stating the early credo of Islam! In v. 59, and in v. 65, and in v. 73, the same opening statement is attributed to Noah, to Hud, and to Salih. The clear thesis here is that Muhammad was just following in the footsteps, so to speak, of the prophets who had preceded him -- offering the same message and explaining their ministries in the same terms. Muhammad was not the first person to posit a discussion between Noah and his contemporaries; the same sort of discussion, in which Noah is derided, is described in the Talmud, in Tractate Sanhedrin 108 see www.come-and-hear.com/sanhedrin/sanhedrin_108.html . (More details about Noah are given in 11:25-48.)
Verse 65 mentions a prophet named Hud who prophesied to the people of Ad. (Notice how verses 65-67 flow in the same way as verses 59-61, btw). The people of Ad were said to have lived to the north of Mecca. At www.bible.ca/islam/library/Wherry/Commentary1/sect1.htm one may read a summary of the Arabian legends about Ad and the lost city of Iram, the citizens of which were said to be unusually tall, as verse 69 suggests. Ruins which fit the legends' description of Iram have been discovered; for a Muslim researchers description of these ruins, see www.perishednations.com/adandubar.html . Although some Muslims identify Hud as the Biblical character Heber (mentioned in Genesis 10:24-25 and 11:14-17), the people who discovered the Shabwah/Ubar ruins did so in part by studying a map by Ptolemy which posited a city along some caravan-trails, so the citys destruction seems to have post-dated Ptolemy (and was thus later than A.D. 100). Possibly Hud and Shelah came to be identified as Heber and Shelah because of the resemblance between "Shelah" (in Genesis 10:24) and "Salih. Probably the city of Iram met its end (in whatever way) several centuries, rather than millennia, before Muhammad.
As if to underline the point that Muhammad was acting just like previous prophets, Hud is depicted repeating (in verses 68-69) the gist of what was said by Noah (in verses 62-63). The retort of the people of Ad is the same retort offered to Muhammad by the people of Mecca.
In verse 71, Hud is depicted saying that the people of Ad have disputed with him "over names which you have named." This "naming of names" seems to refer to the use of the names of deities in oaths: the idols supposed to have been so venerated by the people of Ad were Sakia (provider of rain), Hafidha (patron of travelers), Razika (provider of food), and Salima (restorer of health). Notice that the last phrase in verse 71 ~ in the mouth of Hud here ~ appears at the end of 6:158 in Muhammads mouth. (More about Hud is said in 11:50-60; surah 11 is named after him.)
The story of Salih is contained in verses 73-79. Theres a rich background of tales told about Salih but it may be an open question whether they originated before or after Muhammad. The story of Salih -- which the text seems to presume the listeners were already familiar with (understandably, since Muhammad had mentioned Salih before, in surah 11) -- goes like this: Salih urged the people of Thamud to repent and turn to the one true God, but they responded by calling for a contest-of-deities at a festival: they would call on their gods to perform a miracle, and Salih would call on his. Their leader, Junda Ibn Amru, after calling on their deities with no results, specified what sign he wanted: he pointed to a boulder and told Salih that if the boulder gave birth to a pregnant she-camel, he would believe Salih. Salih asked his Lord to perform the requested sign, and lo, out of the rock came the she-camel, and she immediately gave birth. Junda Ibn Amru and a few others then accepted Salih as a true prophet but most of the people of Thamud refused to do so. The "clear sign" referred to in v. 73 is the sign of the she-camel coming forth from a boulder.
As the story continues, the disbelievers kill the she-camel and its offspring, and are punished with a terrible earthquake (as described in verses 77-78). Rodwell mentions his suspicion that a historical core beneath the story of Salih might have something to do with a prolonged war between the tribes of Banu Taghlib and Bani Bakr, which was initiated when Koleib, chief of the Taghlib tribe, killed a she-camel cherished by the Bakr tribe, in about A.D. 490.
The last phrase of v. 74, in Salihs mouth here, appears in Muhammads mouth in 7:56. The parallels between Salih and Muhammad continue to be posited in v. 75 interchange "Muhammad" in place of "Salih" and you have a picture of the scenario in Mecca and in v. 79, where Salihs I-have-done-my-part statement of resignation echoes Muhammad's feelings about the Meccans in the months right before he departed Mecca.
Yours in Christ,
Waterrock
