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Surah 11 · Makkah · 123 āyāt
Phase 04 · Ṭāʾif, al-Isrāʾ and the final Makkan years(c. 5–1 BH) — view in timelineHūdHūd (the prophet)
هود
Revealed 52nd, immediately after Yūnus. The Prophet ﷺ said: 'Hūd and its sisters have turned my hair grey' — a surah of destroyed nations, of a prophet whose own son drowned, and of the command that weighed heaviest: 'So remain steadfast as you have been commanded.' Between the ruins it plants three lifelines: seek forgiveness and He will grant you enjoyment, no creature moves but its provision is upon Allah, and good deeds erase bad ones.
Why it was revealed
The Prophet ﷺ was carrying rejection without protection, and the community faced the question every persecuted believer asks: how long, and what if we do not see victory? The surah answers with seven nations who were warned, refused, and ended.
Al-Tirmidhī records that Abū Bakr رضي الله عنه said: 'O Messenger of Allah, you have gone grey.' He ﷺ replied: 'Hūd, al-Wāqiʿah, al-Mursalāt, ʿAmma yatasāʾalūn and Idhā al-shamsu kuwwirat have turned my hair grey.' For āyah 114, Bukhārī and Muslim record the occasion of the man who kissed a woman and came to the Prophet ﷺ in remorse; the āyah on prayer erasing sins was revealed, and the Prophet ﷺ said it is for all his ummah.
Al-Tirmidhī 3297 (graded ḥasan; also al-Ṭabarānī); Bukhārī 526 and Muslim 2763 (occasion of 11:114)In the Prophet's ﷺ life
'Hūd has turned my hair grey'
Abū Bakr رضي الله عنه noticed the greying of the Prophet ﷺ, and he named this surah first among those that aged him — the weight of steadfastness and of nations destroyed.
Recalled in āyah 112
فَٱسْتَقِمْ كَمَآ أُمِرْتَ وَمَن تَابَ مَعَكَ وَلَا تَطْغَوْا۟ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ
So remain on a right course as you have been commanded, [you] and those who have turned back with you [to Allāh], and do not transgress. Indeed, He is Seeing of what you do.
Al-Tirmidhī 3297
Seek forgiveness, and provision follows
A Book whose āyāt are made firm then explained in detail, opening with: worship none but Allah, seek His forgiveness and turn to Him, and He will grant you good enjoyment for an appointed term. Then the guarantee that removes the excuse of fear: there is no creature on earth but that its provision is upon Allah.
۞ وَمَا مِن دَآبَّةٍ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ إِلَّا عَلَى ٱللَّهِ رِزْقُهَا وَيَعْلَمُ مُسْتَقَرَّهَا وَمُسْتَوْدَعَهَا ۚ كُلٌّ فِى كِتَـٰبٍ مُّبِينٍ
And there is no creature on earth but that upon Allāh is its provision, and He knows its place of dwelling and place of storage. All is in a clear register.
From the tafsīr
Istighfār is paired with tawbah: seeking pardon for the past and turning towards Allah for the future; the promised 'good enjoyment' includes ease in this life.
— Ibn Kathīr on 11:3
Provision being 'upon Allah' is a promise He obligated upon Himself as a favour, so anxiety about sustenance is misplaced effort.
— Al-Saʿdī on 11:6
Key takeaways
- Repentance is presented as an economic strategy, not only a spiritual one.
- Firmness and detail are both qualities of the revelation.
- Fear of poverty is answered by a guarantee, not by a lecture.
Reflect
What decision have you avoided out of fear for your provision?
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Question 1 of 2
What does Ibn Kathīr say istighfār is paired with in 11:3?
Question 2 of 2
What does al-Saʿdī say about provision being 'upon Allah'?
Nūḥ and the son who was not of his family
After centuries of daʿwah Nūḥ عليه السلام is told none of his people will believe beyond those who already have. As the waves rise he calls his son: embark with us, do not be with the disbelievers. The boy answers that he will climb a mountain. Nūḥ appeals to the promise about his family and is answered: he is not of your family; his deed was other than righteous — and he is warned not to ask about what he has no knowledge of.
قَالَ يَـٰنُوحُ إِنَّهُۥ لَيْسَ مِنْ أَهْلِكَ ۖ إِنَّهُۥ عَمَلٌ غَيْرُ صَـٰلِحٍ ۖ فَلَا تَسْـَٔلْنِ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِۦ عِلْمٌ ۖ إِنِّىٓ أَعِظُكَ أَن تَكُونَ مِنَ ٱلْجَـٰهِلِينَ
He said, "O Noah, indeed he is not of your family; indeed, he is [one whose] work was other than righteous, so ask Me not for that about which you have no knowledge. Indeed, I advise you, lest you be among the ignorant."
From the tafsīr
'He is not of your family' means not of the family entitled to salvation, because the tie that saves is faith, not lineage.
— Ibn Kathīr on 11:46
Nūḥ's response — 'I seek refuge in You from asking what I have no knowledge of' — is the model of correcting oneself immediately when shown the limit of one's knowledge.
— Al-Qurṭubī on 11:47
Key takeaways
- Blood does not transmit faith; the saving bond is belief.
- Even a prophet's request is corrected, and he accepts it at once.
- A long daʿwah with few followers is not a failed daʿwah.
Reflect
How do you respond when you are corrected — defence, or immediate return?
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What does al-Qurṭubī highlight in Nūḥ's reply in 11:47?
Question 2 of 2
What does 'he is not of your family' mean per Ibn Kathīr?
Stand firm as you were commanded
The heaviest command in the Qurʾān according to many of the salaf: fastaqim kamā umirta — remain upright exactly as commanded, you and those who turned back with you, and do not transgress. Then: do not incline towards the wrongdoers or the Fire will touch you. Then the relief: establish prayer at the two ends of the day and in the hours of the night — indeed good deeds remove bad deeds. And be patient, for Allah does not waste the reward of those who do good.
فَٱسْتَقِمْ كَمَآ أُمِرْتَ وَمَن تَابَ مَعَكَ وَلَا تَطْغَوْا۟ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ
So remain on a right course as you have been commanded, [you] and those who have turned back with you [to Allāh], and do not transgress. Indeed, He is Seeing of what you do.
وَأَقِمِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ طَرَفَىِ ٱلنَّهَارِ وَزُلَفًا مِّنَ ٱلَّيْلِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱلْحَسَنَـٰتِ يُذْهِبْنَ ٱلسَّيِّـَٔاتِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ ذِكْرَىٰ لِلذَّٰكِرِينَ
And establish prayer at the two ends of the day and at the approach of the night. Indeed, good deeds do away with misdeeds. That is a reminder for those who remember.
From the tafsīr
The Prophet ﷺ named Sūrat Hūd among the surahs that turned his hair grey; the salaf connect this weight with the command of āyah 112.
— Al-Tirmidhī 3297
The āyah was revealed for a man who confessed a sin, and the Prophet ﷺ affirmed it applies to the whole ummah: the prayers erase what lies between them.
— Ibn Kathīr on 11:114
'Do not incline towards the wrongdoers' forbids even the slight leaning of approval or reliance, let alone assisting them in their wrong.
— Al-Saʿdī on 11:113
Key takeaways
- Istiqāmah means neither excess nor negligence — the middle line, held daily.
- Small inclinations towards injustice are legislated against, not just participation.
- Prayer is the maintenance system that keeps the upright person upright.
Reflect
Where in your week does uprightness slip — and which prayer could anchor it?
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Question 1 of 2
What did the Prophet ﷺ say about Sūrat Hūd?
Question 2 of 2
What is the scope of 11:114 according to Ibn Kathīr?
Why the ruins are recited to you
The surah names its own method: these are accounts of the towns We relate to you — some still standing, some harvested. Allah would not destroy towns unjustly while their people were reformers. And the closing line explains everything before it: all that We relate to you of the news of the messengers is so that We may make firm your heart with it.
وَكُلًّا نَّقُصُّ عَلَيْكَ مِنْ أَنۢبَآءِ ٱلرُّسُلِ مَا نُثَبِّتُ بِهِۦ فُؤَادَكَ ۚ وَجَآءَكَ فِى هَـٰذِهِ ٱلْحَقُّ وَمَوْعِظَةٌ وَذِكْرَىٰ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
And each [story] We relate to you from the news of the messengers is that by which We make firm your heart. And there has come to you, in this, the truth and an instruction and a reminder for the believers.
From the tafsīr
The stories are recited to steady the heart of the Prophet ﷺ and of the believers, to give them precedent, patience and certainty of outcome.
— Ibn Kathīr on 11:120
Communities are not destroyed for wrong belief alone while their people maintain justice between themselves; destruction follows when injustice becomes their norm.
— Al-Qurṭubī on 11:117
Key takeaways
- Qurʾānic history is therapy for the heart, not archive material.
- Societal collapse in the Qurʾān is tied to entrenched injustice.
- Reading about earlier believers is a designed source of steadfastness.
Reflect
Which prophet's story steadies you most when you feel outnumbered?
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What reason does 11:120 give for narrating the messengers' stories?
Question 2 of 2
What does 11:117 tie the destruction of towns to?
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Roots from this surah
Learn the three-letter root and you unlock every word built from it — across the whole Qur'an, not just this surah.
ق و م
āyāt 112, 114to stand, to be upright, to establish
- ٱسْتَقِمْremain upright
- أَقِمِestablish
- مُسْتَقِيمstraight
ر ز ق
āyāt 6provision granted, not earned outright
- رِزْقprovision
- رَازِقprovider
- يَرْزُقُHe provides
ث ب ت
āyāt 120to be firm, to hold in place
- نُثَبِّتُWe make firm
- ثَابِتfirm
- تَثْبِيتstrengthening
غ ف ر
āyāt 3, 90to cover over a fault and pardon it
- ٱسْتَغْفِرُوا۟seek forgiveness
- غَفُورmost forgiving
- مَغْفِرَةforgiveness
و ف ق
āyāt 88to grant success and alignment
- تَوْفِيقgranted success
- وِفَاقagreement
- مُوَفَّقone granted success
ح س ن
āyāt 114beauty and excellence in action
- حَسَنَاتgood deeds
- إِحْسَانexcellence
- مُحْسِنone who excels
Carry this with you
- Ask forgiveness first; ease in provision is promised behind it.
- No creature crawls on earth without its sustenance already assigned.
- Faith, not blood, decides who is saved.
- Correct yourself the moment you are shown you spoke beyond your knowledge.
- Uprightness is a daily line to hold, not a peak to reach once.
- Even leaning towards wrongdoers is legislated against.
- Your five prayers are the erasing mechanism between them.
- The stories of the messengers exist to make your heart firm.
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Hūd · Stand firm as you were commanded
What did the Prophet ﷺ say about Sūrat Hūd?
Arabic (Uthmānī script) and the Ṣaḥīḥ International translation are fetched live from the Quran.com API (v4), sourced from the King Fahd Complex muṣḥaf — api.quran.com API docs · Translation: Ṣaḥīḥ International · Integrity & testing protocol