وَإِلَىٰ مَدْيَنَ أَخَاهُمْ شُعَيْبًا ۗ قَالَ يَٰقَوْمِ ٱعْبُدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ مَا لَكُم مِّنْ إِلَٰهٍ غَيْرُهُۥ ۖ قَدْ جَآءَتْكُم بَيِّنَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ ۖ فَأَوْفُوا۟ ٱلْكَيْلَ وَٱلْمِيزَانَ وَلَا تَبْخَسُوا۟ ٱلنَّاسَ أَشْيَآءَهُمْ وَلَا تُفْسِدُوا۟ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ بَعْدَ إِصْلَٰحِهَا ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ
11:85; 29:37.
6:153; 11:86.
Important Words:
مدین (Midian) was Abraham’s son from Keturah (Gen. 25:1, 2). His descendants dwelt in the north of the Hijaz. Midian was also the name of a town near the Red Sea, opposite to Sinai on the Arabian shore. The town was so called because it was inhabited by the descendants of Midian. Some have referred to it as a sea-port on account of its proximity to the sea, being situated only at a distance of eight miles from it; others have spoken of it as an inland town.
شعیب (Shu‘aib) was the name of a non-Israelite Prophet who lived before Moses. He is generally looked upon as the father-in-law of Moses, though the Bible makes no mention of the name. According to the story of the Bible, the name of the father-in-law of Moses was Jethro, who is not spoken of as a Prophet. The Quran speaks of Moses as having been raised after Shu‘aib, so he could not be a contemporary (7:104). As Shu‘aib has been mentioned in this verse as the "brother" of Midian, the inference is inevitable that he was a descendant of Abraham, Midian being a son of the Patriarch by his bondmaid Keturah. For fuller discussion of Shu‘aib see 11:85.
The word اصلاح (being set in order) refers here to the coming down of Divine revelation and the advent of the Prophet Shu‘aib (see 7:57). According to the verse under comment, the most prominent evil of the Midian people was their unfair practice in measuring and weighing.
11:85; 29:37.
6:153; 11:86.
Midian was Abraham’s son from Keturah (Gen. 25: 1, 2). His descendants settled in the north of Hijaz. Midian was also the name of a town on the Red Sea, opposite to Sinai on the Arabian shore. The town was so called because it was inhabited by the descendants of Midian. Some have referred to it as a seaport on account of its proximity to the sea, being situated only at a distance of about eight miles from the Gulf of ‘Aqabah; others have spoken of it as an inland town. Midian had a large population of the descendants of Ishmael. Shu‘aib had some resemblance with the Holy Prophet in that both had to leave their original home for another town, Midian in the case of Shu‘aib and Medina in the case of the Holy Prophet.
Shu‘aib was the name of a non-Israelite Prophet who lived before Moses. He is generally looked upon as the father-in-law of Moses, though the Bible makes no mention of the name. According to the Bible, the name of the father-in-law of Moses was Jethro, who is not spoken of as a Prophet. The Qur’an speaks of Moses as having been raised after Shu‘aib, so he could not be his contemporary (7:104). As Shu‘aib has been mentioned in this verse as the "brother" of Midian, the inference is inevitable that he was a descendant of Abraham, Midian being a son of the Patriarch from his bondmaid, Keturah.