۞ وَإِلَىٰ عَادٍ أَخَاهُمْ هُودًا ۗ قَالَ يَـٰقَوْمِ ٱعْبُدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ مَا لَكُم مِّنْ إِلَـٰهٍ غَيْرُهُۥٓ ۚ أَفَلَا تَتَّقُونَ 65
Translations
And to the ʿAad [We sent] their brother Hūd. He said, "O my people, worship Allāh; you have no deity other than Him. Then will you not fear Him?"
Transliteration
Wa-ilā 'ādinn akhāhum hūdan qāla yā qawmi 'budū Allāha mā lakum min ilāhin ghayruhu afalā tattaqūn
Tafsir (Explanation)
Allah sent the Prophet Hud to the people of 'Ad, calling them to worship Allah alone and warning them of His punishment. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari emphasize that Hud's message was identical to that of all messengers—pure monotheism (tawhīd)—and his plea 'afalā tattaqūn' (will you not fear Allah) served as both an invitation to obedience and a warning of divine consequences. This ayah establishes the universal pattern of prophethood: each messenger from the same lineage as his people calls his nation to abandon idolatry and fear God.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears within the Meccan section of Surah Al-A'raf that details stories of earlier nations and their prophets sent to call them to tawhīd. The context addresses the rejection the Prophet Muhammad faced from the Quraysh by showing how previous nations also rejected their messengers. The 'Ad people were known for their great strength and architectural prowess, yet their arrogance prevented them from accepting Hud's message.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet Muhammad said: 'The best supplication is the supplication on the Day of 'Arafah, and the best thing that I and the prophets before me have said is: There is nothing worthy of worship except Allah, alone, without partners' (Jami' at-Tirmidhi). This hadith reinforces the central message Hud conveyed to his people—the primacy of tawhīd.
Themes
Key Lesson
Every messenger sent by Allah came with the same core message: worship Allah alone and fear His judgment. In our modern context, this teaches us that spiritual truth is constant and universal—the call to abandon false gods (whether material idols or worldly pursuits) and turn to genuine devotion to the Divine remains eternally relevant to human guidance and salvation.
Related Ayahs
قَالَ يَـٰمُوسَىٰٓ إِنِّى ٱصْطَفَيْتُكَ عَلَى ٱلنَّاسِ بِرِسَـٰلَـٰتِى وَبِكَلَـٰمِى فَخُذْ مَآ ءَاتَيْتُكَ وَكُن مِّنَ ٱلشَّـٰكِرِينَ
[Allāh] said, "O Moses, I have chosen you over the people with My messages and My words [to you]. So take what I have given you and be among the grateful."
قَالَ ٱدْخُلُوا۟ فِىٓ أُمَمٍ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِن قَبْلِكُم مِّنَ ٱلْجِنِّ وَٱلْإِنسِ فِى ٱلنَّارِ ۖ كُلَّمَا دَخَلَتْ أُمَّةٌ لَّعَنَتْ أُخْتَهَا ۖ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا ٱدَّارَكُوا۟ فِيهَا جَمِيعًا قَالَتْ أُخْرَىٰهُمْ لِأُولَىٰهُمْ رَبَّنَا هَـٰٓؤُلَآءِ أَضَلُّونَا فَـَٔاتِهِمْ عَذَابًا ضِعْفًا مِّنَ ٱلنَّارِ ۖ قَالَ لِكُلٍّ ضِعْفٌ وَلَـٰكِن لَّا تَعْلَمُونَ
[Allāh] will say, "Enter among nations which had passed on before you of jinn and mankind into the Fire." Every time a nation enters, it will curse its sister until, when they have all overtaken one another therein, the last of them will say about the first of them, "Our Lord, these had misled us, so give them a double punishment of the Fire." He will say, "For each is double, but you do not know."
وَإِذْ قِيلَ لَهُمُ ٱسْكُنُوا۟ هَـٰذِهِ ٱلْقَرْيَةَ وَكُلُوا۟ مِنْهَا حَيْثُ شِئْتُمْ وَقُولُوا۟ حِطَّةٌ وَٱدْخُلُوا۟ ٱلْبَابَ سُجَّدًا نَّغْفِرْ لَكُمْ خَطِيٓـَٔـٰتِكُمْ ۚ سَنَزِيدُ ٱلْمُحْسِنِينَ
And [mention, O Muḥammad], when it was said to them, "Dwell in this city [i.e., Jerusalem] and eat from it wherever you will and say, 'Relieve us of our burdens [i.e., sins],' and enter the gate bowing humbly; We will [then] forgive you your sins. We will increase the doers of good [in goodness and reward]."
قَالَ إِن كُنتَ جِئْتَ بِـَٔايَةٍ فَأْتِ بِهَآ إِن كُنتَ مِنَ ٱلصَّـٰدِقِينَ
[Pharaoh] said, "If you have come with a sign, then bring it forth, if you should be of the truthful."