Asalaam
alaikum Warahmatulah Wabarakatuh.
Bonds of
Brotherhood
Bismillah.
In surah Shu’ara
(26:106), Allah ta’ala mentions the stories of many Prophets, and
He says:
إِذْ
قَالَ لَهُمْ أَخُوهُمْ
نُوحٌ
When
their brother Nuh (alayhi salaam) said to them [Shu'ara
26:106], and this format repeats for Saalih, Lut and Hud (alayhum
assalaam). Whenever a nation is mentioned, Allah says “
أَخُوهُمْ”
their brother
about the specific Prophet mentioned.
However,
when Allah ta’ala mentions Shu’ayb alayhi salaam, He says:
كَذَّبَ أَصْحَابُ الْأَيْكَةِ الْمُرْسَلِينَ
The companions of the thicket/forest/trees denied the messengers
إِذْ قَالَ لَهُمْ شُعَيْبٌ
When Shu’ayb (alayhi salaam) said to them.
(Shu'ara 26: 176-177)
Why see that the other Prophets receive the title; “their brother”, and Shu’ayb (alayhi salaam) does not. However, in another ayah/verse, Allah says about Shu'ayb;
وَإِلَىٰ
مَدْيَنَ أَخَاهُمْ
شُعَيْبًا
And to Madyan,
their brother Shu’ayb (al-A'raf 7:85).
Allah mentions Shu'ayb being their ‘their
brother’ in this ayah.
So why is Shu'ayb
mentioned as brother in one ayah and not in another?
To
understand this, we need to look at the city of Madyan itself. There
are two names of Madyan in the Qur’an:
The first one is Madyan and the second one is As-haabul Aykah (companions of the tree/forest). Aykah refers to a giant tree that they used to worship.
So, when it comes tolocation, the city is referred to as Madyan. When it comes to the people, the city is referred to as As-haabul Aykah.
How does Allah ta’ala refer to them in
Surah Shu’ara, where “their brother” is not mentioned? He
says:
كَذَّبَأَصْحَابُ
الْأَيْكَةِ الْمُرْسَلِينَ
As-haabul
Aykah denied the messengers.
(Shu'ara 26:176)
When Allah ta’ala mentions
the location(such as
7:85), He ta’ala says أَخَاهُمْ
their brother.
When it comes to their
religious identity,
Allah ta’ala does not say
“أَخَاهُمْ“
[their
brother].
When
it comes to the location,
Shu’ayb alayhi salaam is their brother. But
when it comes to the
religion, they are not
brothers even
though they have
the same blood line, the same
citizenship, the same identity and the same geographical
location.
The precision of the Qur’an, SubhanAllah!