Ash-Shu'ara · Makki · ayah 139 of 227

Ash-Shu'ara 26:139

فَكَذَّبُوهُ فَأَهْلَكْنَـٰهُمْ ۗ إِنَّ فِى ذَٰلِكَ لَـَٔايَةً ۖ وَمَا كَانَ أَكْثَرُهُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ

“And they denied him, so We destroyed them. Indeed in that is a sign, but most of them were not to be believers.”

Saheeh International

Essence

The refrain first heard at 26:8 closes the story of ʿAd: the strongest people ever made, and still most of them did not believe.

A reflection

Twelve ayat of plea, two words of ending

This line was first met at 26:8, and its full treatment lives there. Here it closes the third story, and the proportions are worth noticing.

Hud's plea filled twelve ayat (26:124-135). ʿAd's replies took three more. Then the ending arrives in two words. Fa-kadhdhabūhu: so they denied him. Fa-ahlaknāhum: so We destroyed them.

The commentaries name the means from other surahs: a furious, freezing wind (69:6-7). But this surah does not linger on it. It spends its words on the invitation, the reminders, the patient answers. The destruction is told in a breath.

That is how the Quran weighs these stories. The long part is the mercy: a brother sent, gifts named, time given. The short part is the end. Read the proportions, and you see which part Allah wants you to dwell on.

The full entry has 2 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.