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And to Midian (We sent) their brother Shu’ayb. He said, “O my people,
worship God, you have no other god than He. There has now come to you a
clear sign from your Lord. So fill up the measure and the balance, and
wrong not the people in their goods, and work not corruption in the
land, after it has been set in order. That is better for you if you are
believers. And lurk not on every road, threatening and barring from
God’s way those who believe in Him, desiring to make it crooked. And
remember when you were few and He multiplied you, and look how was the
end of the workers of corruption!
“And if there is a group of you who believes in the message I have been
sent with, and a group who believes not, then be patient till God judge
between us. He is the best of judges.”
The arrogant leaders of his people said, “We will surely drive you out,
O Shu’ayb, and those who believe with you, from our town, unless you
return into our creed.”
He said, “What, even though we detest it? We should have forged
against God a lie if we return into your creed, after God delivered us
from it. It is not for us to return into it, unless God our Lord so
will. Our Lord embraces everything in His knowledge. Upon God do we
rely. Our Lord, judge with the truth between us and our people; You are
the best of judges.”
The disbelieving leaders of his people said, “Now, if you follow Shu’ayb, surely in that case you will be losers.” (7:85-90)
In these verses, Shu’ayb is losing his patience and invoked God’s help.
Eventually the promised destruction came on a day the Qur’an calls the
“Day of Shadow.” The sudden manner in which they perished is called
the Cry as well as the earthquake.
But they cried lies to him, then there seized them the torment of the
Day of Shadow. Indeed it was the torment of a dreadful day. Surely in
that is a sign, yet most of them do not believe. Surely your Lord, He
is the August, the Compassionate. (26:189-191)
So the earthquake seized them, and morning found them in their
habitation fallen prostrate. Those who cried lies to Shu’ayb, as if
never they dwelt there. Those who cried lies to Shu’ayb, they were the
losers.
(7:91-92)
According to Ibn ‘Abbas (may God be pleased with him), God sent an
intense heat wave upon the people that caused them to choke. They tried
to shelter in their houses, but the heat was so intense they tried
escaping into the wilderness. Then, when a cloud hid the sun, they
gathered under its shade. Once a large number of them had gathered, a
fire was sent and destroyed them.[4] Yet from the Qur’anic description,
many of them perished in their houses. It is difficult to speculate on
the exact nature of the catastrophe that destroyed the Midianites, but
a volcanic eruption would fit the descriptions: an earthquake, intense
heat, a dark cloud, fire falling from the sky and people dying suddenly
in their houses. The disaster might have been similar to the
destruction of Pompeii in Italy that was caused by a sudden eruption of
Mount Vesuvius.
And when Our command came, We delivered Shu’ayb and those who believed
with him by a mercy from Us, and the evildoers were seized by the cry,
and morning found them in their habitations fallen prostrate, as if
they had never dwelt there: So away with Midian, even as Thamud was
done away. (11:94-95)
Shu’ayb and his followers were able to leave the area before it was
destroyed. On his way out, Shu’ayb turned around, and, taking one last
look at the town, tried to alleviate the grief he felt for his people.
So he turned his back on them and said, “O my people, I have delivered
to you the messages of my Lord and counseled you sincerely; how should
I grieve for a people of disbelievers.” (7:93) One narration maintains
that he and his followers then headed for Makkah where they eventually
died and were buried, but there is no authentic tradition to confirm
this.
The ruins of the town remained visible for a long time after along with
those of Sodom and the other towns where people had denied the
prophethood of Prophet Lut (may peace be upon him). “The people of the
Thicket were evildoers indeed, and We took vengeance upon them. The two
of them are upon a roadway manifest.” (15:78-79) The ruins subsequently
acted as signs for those who felt that their prosperity and strength
made it pointless to believe in God and to submit to His sacred law.
Not all Midianites perished in the cataclysm, but only the inhabitants
of the town and those in the immediate vicinity. The people reappeared
once again in the days of Prophet Musa and conflicts between them and
the Israelites have been recorded in the Hebrew Bible up until the days
of King David.
REFERENCES
1. Dr. Rushdi al-Badrawi, Qasas al-Anbiya wal-Tarikh.Vol. 3, pp. 639-641. Cairo, 1997
2. Al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak, 4071.
3. Ibid, 4072.
4. Ibid, 4074.
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