Surah Ash-Shu'ara, Ayah 191

The Response of Shu`ayb's People, Their Disbelief in Him and the coming of the Punishment upon Them

Allah tells us how his people responded, and how it was like the response of Thamud to their Messenger -- for they were of like mind -- when they said:

إِنَّمَآ أَنتَ مِنَ الْمُسَحَّرِينَ

(You are only one of those bewitched!) meaning, `you are one of those who are affected by witchcraft.'

وَمَآ أَنتَ إِلاَّ بَشَرٌ مِّثْلُنَا وَإِن نَّظُنُّكَ لَمِنَ الْكَـذِبِينَ

(You are but a human being like us and verily, we think that you are one of the liars!) means, `we think you are deliberately lying to us in what you say, and Allah has not sent you to us.'

فَأَسْقِطْ عَلَيْنَا كِسَفاً مِّنَ السَّمَآءِ

(So cause a piece of the heaven to fall on us,) Ad-Dahhak said: "One side of the heavens." Qatadah said: "A piece of the heaven." As-Suddi said: "A punishment from heaven." This is like what the Quraysh said, as Allah tells us:

فَأَخَذَهُمْ عَذَابُ يَوْمِ الظُّلَّةِ

so they were seized by the torment of the Day of Canopy. - 26:189

عَذَابُ يَوْمِ الظُّلَّةِ (the Torment of the Canopy), mentioned in this verse refers to an incident, which is this: Allah Ta’ ala sent down such an extreme heat on a people that they could not find comfort either inside the houses or outside. Then He sent down a mass of dark cloud over a nearby forest, under which there was a cool breeze. As the entire people were distressed due to excessive heat, they ran to take shelter under the cloud. When all of them assembled under the cover of the cloud, it rained fire instead of water. Thus the whole nation was burnt to ashes. (Ruh al-Ma’ ani)

Shu‘ayb’s community had so much faith in the righteousness of their forefathers’ ways that the prophet’s sayings seemed perverse and absurd. They said that somebody might well have cast a magic spell on him to make him talk the way he did. They challenged Shu‘ayb to bring down the punishment of the skies, if what he said were true. They did this to deride Shu‘ayb, feeling that the punishment would certainly not descend because of him. The insolence of this community invited the direct wrath of God, as a vast cloud plunged them in gloom and a raging fire enveloped them, wiping out even the smallest trace of the community.