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qālū yā-shuʿaybu ʾa-ṣalātuka taʾmuruka ʾan natruka mā yaʿbudu ʾābāʾunā ʾaw ʾan nafʿala fī ʾamwālinā mā nashāʾu ʾinnaka la-ʾanta l-ḥalīmu r-rashīdu
They said, ‘O Shu‘ayb, does your worship require that we abandon what our fathers have been worshiping, or that we should not do with our wealth whatever we wish? You are indeed [a] gentle and sensible [person].’
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah Hud – Verse 87
87. “They said: ‘O Shu‘ayb! Does your prayer command you that we should leave off that our fathers worshipped, or we (should forsake to do) what we like with our property? Truly you are the forbearing, the right minded’.”
Now let us look at how this obstinate people reacted in face of this Divinely reformist voice. Those who idol-worshippers regarded their idols as symbols of their ancestral tradition and an emblem of their cultural identity, and who gained profit through fraudulent activity in their transactions, asked Shu‘ayb if it was his religion of prayer that ordered him to encourage them to abandon the worship of that which their fathers had worshipped, and interfere in their transactions to make them lose their freedom in dealing with their own property.
The verse says:
“They said: ‘O Shu‘ayb! Does your prayer command you that we should leave off that our fathers worshipped, or we (should forsake to do) what we like with our property?...”
The people of Shu‘ayb wrongly thought that no one should set the minimum limits for proprietors, rights, regarding domination in their properties, when in fact financial affairs should always be governed by correct criteria. Such criteria are clearly elucidated by the Divine prophets otherwise society would see a great degree of corruption. They wanted to know how could such a forbearing, patient and understanding man, have said such a thing. They said:
“…Truly you are the forbearing, the right minded’.”
Perhaps they thought that the particular movements and words of prayer would have had a negative effect on them, but if they truly meditated they would have found that prayer enlivens man’s sense of responsibility, virtue, abstinence, piety, and gratitude, and makes him remember Allah and His Court of Justice. For these reasons, man would be kept away from idol worship, blind obedience, short selling goods, and all types of fraud under the light of prayer.