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wa-yā-qawmi lā yajrimannakum shiqāqī ʾan yuṣībakum mithlu mā ʾaṣāba qawma nūḥin ʾaw qawma hūdin ʾaw qawma ṣāliḥin wa-mā qawmu lūṭin minkum bi-baʿīdin
O my people, do not let your defiance toward me lead you to be visited by the like of what was visited on the people of Noah, or the people of Hud, or the people of Salih, and the people of Lot are not distant from you.
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah Hud – Verse 89
89. “And O My people! Let not (your) breach with me cause you to sin, lest befalls you the like of what befell the people of Noah, or the people of Hud or the people of Salih; and the people of Lot are not far off from you.”
Shu‘ayb advises his opponents that they should not burn their bridges behind themselves, i.e., because of their hostility to one person they should not destroy the destiny and happiness of themselves and their society. They should stop thinking that the tragic stories of their ancestors were simplistic and parochial in nature. The histories of many people are similar and correspond with each other. We must note that Allah’s hands are always capable of meting out punishment. He can annihilate any nation anywhere regardless of what form they might take any time He wants.
Just as He drowned the people of Noah (as), swept away the people of Hud by storm, blasted the people of Salih (as) to extermination, and annihilated the tribe of Lot (as) by assailing them with stones and overturning the land with them. The verse says:
“And O My people! Let not (your) breach with me cause you to sin, lest befalls you the like of what befell the people of Noah, or the people of Hud or the people of Salih; and the people of Lot are not far off from you.”