15. Surah Al Hijr
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَإِن
كَانَ أَصْحَابُ
الأَيْكَةِ
لَظَالِمِينَ ﴿٧٨﴾
15: 78. And the Companions of the Wood were also wrongdoers;
C2000. "Companions of the Wood": AshabulAykah. Perhaps Aykah is after all a proper noun, the name of a town or tract.
Who were the Companions of the Aykah?
They are mentioned four times in the Quran, viz., here, and in 26:176-191; 38:13; and 50:14.
The only passage in which any details are given is 26:176-191. There we are told that their Prophet was Shu'aib, and other details given correspond to those of the Madyan, to whom Shu'aib was sent as Prophet-,
see 7:85-93. In my notes to that passage I have discussed the question of Shu'aib and the Madyan people. It is reasonable to suppose that the Companions of the Wood were either the same as the Madyan, or a Group among them or in their neighbourhood.
فَانتَقَمْنَا
مِنْهُمْ وَإِنَّهُمَا
لَبِإِمَامٍ
مُّبِينٍ ﴿٧٩﴾
15: 79. So We exacted retribution from them.
They were both on an open highway, plain to see.
C2001. Both: i.e., The Cities of the Plain and the Companions of the Aykah.
Other versions:
15: 78 [al-Hijr, Mecca 54]
Asad …..were inveterate evildoers,
Yusuf Ali And the Companions of the Wood were also wrongdoers;
Pickthall And the dwellers in the wood indeed were evil-doers.
Yuksel The dwellers of the forest were wicked.
Transliteration Wa in ka_na asha_bul aikati laza_limin(a),
15: 79
Asad and so We inflicted Our retribution on them.
Yusuf Ali So We exacted retribution from them. They were both on an open highway plain to see.
Pickthall So We took vengeance on them; and lo! they both are on a high road plain to see.
Yuksel So, We sought revenge from them. They were both on an open plain.
Transliteration Fa-ntaqamna_ minhum, wa innahuma_ labi ima_mim mubin(in).
[Asad note 56: As is evident from 26:176 ff., the “dwellers of the wooded dales [al-aykah]” were the people of Madyan, who refused to pay heed to their prophet, Shuayb, and were thereupon destroyed, apparently by an earthquake and/or a volcanic eruption [cf. 7:85-93 and 11:84-95] ].
Asad note 58: I.e., the people of Lot and those of Shuayb who inhabited adjacent regions [see surah 7, note 67], and whose fate should be an example as plain to see as the highway which passes through the regions once inhabited by them]
[[ Ali’s note - 2000 "Companions of the Wood": As-hab ul Aikati. Perhaps Aika is after all a proper noun, the name of a town or tract. Who were the Companions of the Aika? They are mentioned four times in the Qur-an, viz., here, and in xxvi. 176-191; xxxviii. 13; and 1. 14. The only passage in which any details are given is xxvi. 176-191. There we are told that their Prophet was Shu'aib, and other details given correspond to those of the Madyan, to whom Shu'aib was sent as Prophet;, see vii. 85-93. In my notes to that passage I have discussed the question of Shu'aib and the Madyan people. It is reasonable to suppose that the Companions of the Wood were either the same as the Madyan, or a Group among them or in their neighborhood. (15.78)
2001 Both: i.e., The Cities of the Plain and the Companions of the Aika. (15.79) ]]
50. Surah Qaf [45 verses]
Mecca Period 34
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
كَذَّبَتْ
قَبْلَهُمْ
قَوْمُ نُوحٍ
وَأَصْحَابُ
الرَّسِّ وَثَمُودُ
﴿١٢﴾
50: 12. Before them was denied (the Hereafter) by
the people of Noah,
the Companions of the Rass,
the Thamud,
C4950. Just the names of the peoples of Arabian tradition who were punished for their sins are mentioned; their stories will be found elsewhere.
For the People of Noah, see 11:25-48 and other passages.
For the Companions of the Rass, see 25:38 and n. 3094;
وَعَادٌ
وَفِرْعَوْنُ
وَإِخْوَانُ
لُوطٍ
﴿١٣﴾
50: 13. The 'Ad,
Pharaoh,
the Brethren of Lut,
for the 'Ad and the Thamud, see 26:123-158, and other passages;
for Pharaoh and his People, see 2:49-50 and other passages;
for the Brethren of Lut, see 7:80-84, and other passages;
وَأَصْحَابُ
الْأَيْكَةِ
وَقَوْمُ تُبَّعٍ
...
50: 14. The companions of the Wood,
and the people of Tubba;
for the Companions of the Wood, see 15:78-79, and n. 2000;
and for the People of Tubba', see 44:37 and n. 4715.
... كُلٌّ كَذَّبَ الرُّسُلَ فَحَقَّ وَعِيدِ ﴿١٤﴾
each one (of them) rejected the messengers, and My warning was duly fulfilled (in them).
أَفَعَيِينَا
بِالْخَلْقِ
الْأَوَّلِ
بَلْ هُمْ فِي
لَبْسٍ مِّنْ
خَلْقٍ جَدِيدٍ
﴿١٥﴾
50: 15. Were We then weary with the first Creation, that they should be in confused doubt about a new Creation?
C4951. Cf. 46:33, and n. 4812.
Asad’s Version:
50:12 [Long] before those [who now deny resurrection) did Noah's people give the lie to this truth, and [so did] the folk of Ar-Rass, 6 and [the tribes of] Thamud
(50:13) and Ad, and Pharaoh, and Lot's brethren, 7
(50:14) and the dwellers of the wooded dales [of Madyan], and the people of Tubba': 8 they all gave the lie to the apostles - and thereupon that whereof I had warned [them] came true.
[[Asad’s notes - 6 See note 33 on 25:38.
7 The term "brethren" (ikhwan) is used here metonymically, denoting a group of people who share the same views or, alternatively, the same environment. Since the people referred to formed Lot's social environment (cf 7:83 or 11 : 77-83), they are described as his "brethren" although his moral concepts and inclinations were entirely different from theirs. ]]