وَإِلَىٰ عَادٍ أَخَاهُمْ هُودًا قَالَ يَٰقَوْمِ ٱعْبُدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ مَا لَكُم مِّنْ إِلَٰهٍ غَيْرُهُۥٓ إِنْ أَنتُمْ إِلَّا مُفْتَرُونَ · يَٰقَوْمِ لَآ أَسْـَٔلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ أَجْرًا إِنْ أَجْرِىَ إِلَّا عَلَى ٱلَّذِى فَطَرَنِىٓ أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ · وَيَٰقَوْمِ ٱسْتَغْفِرُوا۟ رَبَّكُمْ ثُمَّ تُوبُوٓا۟ إِلَيْهِ يُرْسِلِ ٱلسَّمَآءَ عَلَيْكُم مِّدْرَارًا وَيَزِدْكُمْ قُوَّةً إِلَىٰ قُوَّتِكُمْ وَلَا تَتَوَلَّوْا۟ مُجْرِمِينَ
wa ilā ʿĀdin akhāhum Hūdā, qāla yā qawmi'ʿbudū'llāha mā lakum min ilāhin ghayruh, in antum illā muftarūn · yā qawmi lā asʾalukum ʿalayhi ajran, in ajriya illā ʿalā'lladhī faṭaranī, a-fa-lā taʿqilūn · wa yā qawmi'staghfirū rabbakum thumma tūbū ilayhi yursili'l-samāʾa ʿalaykum midrāran wa yazidkum quwwatan ilā quwwatikum wa lā tatawallaw mujrimīn
"And to ʿĀd [We sent] their brother Hūd. He said: 'My people! Serve God; you have no god but Him. You are only inventing. · My people! I ask you no payment for this; my payment is due only from the One who brought me into being. Will you not use your minds? · My people! Ask forgiveness of your Lord, then turn back to Him, and He will send the sky upon you in abundant rain and add strength to your strength. And do not turn away as criminals.'"
The Noah narrative had opened with wa laqad arsalnā. The narratives of Hūd, Ṣāliḥ and Shuʿayb open with a different pattern:
| Narrative | Opening | akhāhum |
|---|---|---|
| Noah (25) | wa laqad arsalnā Nūḥan ilā qawmih | absent |
| Hūd (50) | wa ilā ʿĀdin akhāhum Hūdā | present |
| Ṣāliḥ (61) | wa ilā Thamūda akhāhum Ṣāliḥā | present |
| Shuʿayb (84) | wa ilā Madyana akhāhum Shuʿaybā | present |
| Abraham (69) | wa laqad jāʾat rusulunā Ibrāhīma bi'l-bushrā | absent |
| Moses (96) | wa laqad arsalnā Mūsā bi-āyātinā | absent |
Three narratives open with the same pattern, and in all three the verb is elided (arsalnā is supplied). This is a structure that can be verified from the text.
And the sense of the word akhūhum was treated at al-Shuʿarāʾ 26/106, and I rely on that treatment: "akh here reports not brotherhood by lineage but membership of the people. In Arabic one of a community is called 'their brother' with reference to that community."
And a datum recorded in al-Shuʿarāʾ holds here too: in al-Shuʿarāʾ the people Shuʿayb addressed were named by a place (aṣḥābu'l-Ayka) and akhūhum had dropped out. In Hūd, by contrast, those addressed are Madyan — again a place name; but here akhāhum is present.
This is a countable difference between the two sūras and must be recorded. In the classical sources it is disputed whether Madyan and al-Ayka are the same people or different ones; I do not impose a preference.
This sentence occurs three times in the sūra, word for word, in the mouths of three different prophets: 50 (Hūd), 61 (Ṣāliḥ), 84 (Shuʿayb). This was tabulated in the section on the backbone.
| Part | Its work |
|---|---|
| uʿbudū'llāh | The command |
| mā lakum min ilāhin ghayruh | The ground — negation + the redundant min: absolute negation |
In Arabic the min in the structure mā lakum min ilāhin is a redundant particle and generalises the negation: "you have no god whatsoever." This is a grammatical note.
| Verse | Who says it to whom |
|---|---|
| 13 | The addressees → the Prophet: iftarāh |
| 18 | The verse → the wrongdoers: iftarā ʿalā'llāhi kadhibā |
| 21 | The verse → the wrongdoers: mā kānū yaftarūn |
| 35 | The addressees → the Prophet: iftarāh |
| 50 | Hūd → his people: in antum illā muftarūn |
Five occurrences, two directions. The charge is mutual: each side accuses the other of inventing. This is an overlap that can be verified from the text.
The sentence about payment was illā ʿalā'llāh with Noah (29); here it is illā ʿalā'lladhī faṭaranī — "from the One who brought me into being".
The root ف-ط-ر: to split, to open for the first time. The root was the name of Fāṭir and was worked out there. I rely on that treatment. In summary: faṭr is to bring a thing into being for the first time, with no model; the concrete core of the word is a splitting open.
And the placing of the attribution here is worth recording, and I give it as an observation about the word order: in saying "my payment is due from God", the sentence names God by the attribute of creating. Payment, that is, is asked of the one who gave the work.
| Verse | The promise |
|---|---|
| 3 | yumattiʿkum matāʿan ḥasanan ilā ajalin musammā — general |
| 52 | yursili'l-samāʾa midrārā wa yazidkum quwwatan ilā quwwatikum — two concrete items |
The root د-ر-ر: to flow abundantly (it is used of milk flowing). Midrār — an intensive form: falling in abundance.
And al-samāʾ here means "rain" — in Arabic the sky, being the place rain comes from, is used figuratively for rain. This is a note about the language.
And the construction quwwatan ilā quwwatikum must be recorded: an existing strength is conceded, and an addition to it is promised.
I record this as an observation: the strength of the people of ʿĀd is mentioned elsewhere in the Qurʾān (al-Fajr 89/8; the monuments and strongholds at al-Shuʿarāʾ 26/128-130; man ashaddu minnā quwwa at Fuṣṣilat 41/15). The verse does not deny that strength; it says it can be increased.
A limit, per the method (Method): no rule such as "those who believe will gain political or economic power" is to be drawn from this. The wording of the verse is a promise spoken to a particular people inside a particular call.