Surah Al-A'raf, Ayah 71

Allah mentions the rebellion, defiance and stubbornness of Hud'speople, and their opposition to him, peace be upon him,

قَالُواْ أَجِئْتَنَا لِنَعْبُدَ اللَّهَ وَحْدَهُ

(They said: "You have come to us that we should worship Allah Alone") Later on, the disbelievers of Quraysh said,

وَإِذْ قَالُواْ اللَّهُمَّ إِن كَانَ هَـذَا هُوَ الْحَقَّ مِنْ عِندِكَ فَأَمْطِرْ عَلَيْنَا حِجَارَةً مِّنَ السَّمَآءِ أَوِ ائْتِنَا بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ

(And (remember) when they said: "O Allah! If this (the Qur'an) is indeed the truth (revealed) from You, then rain down stones on us from the sky or bring on us a painful torment.") Muhammad bin Ishaq said that the people of Hud used to worship several idols, such as Suda', Samud and Al-Haba'. This is why Hud, peace be upon him, said to them,

(4)-The sixth verse (70) contains the answer given by Sayyidna Hud (علیہ السلام) . He told them that, in view of their contumacy and lack of good sense, the wrath and punishment of Allah would have not remained far and may come sooner than they expect. So, this was a matter of waiting. Let them wait for it, so shall he do. It would be noticed that the provoking reply given by his people prompted Sayyidna Hud (علیہ السلام) to give a suitable answer which included the news that the punishment they were looking for was to come soon. But, he was a prophet. His paternal affection and the desire to do good to them forced him to say during the course of his reply that he regretted that his people had taken things without sense and life as objects of worship without having any proof from reason or revelation to support their position. Now they had become so staunch in their devotion to the false that they had started quarreling with him, a prophet of Allah.

The basis of the missionary call of the prophets has always been to remind man of the bounties conferred on him, and to warn him that if he did not remain grateful to God, he would have to suffer the scourge of God. Communal and material issues are never made the topics of their missionary discourses by prophets. They try their best to ensure that in the discussions between them and their addressees nothing but truths of real concern are taken up; their community should see them as preachers of the cause of the one God and the Hereafter and in no other form. ‘Remember the favours of God, so that you may prosper.’ This shows that the bounties of the Hereafter are merited only by one who has admitted God’s grace in the world. Paradise is the greatest expression of God’s grace and bountifulness. So, the Paradise of the Hereafter will be attained by one who has found and recognised God’s attribute of grace and magnanimity. This realisation is the real price of Paradise.