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qāla yā-qawmi ʾa-rahṭī ʾaʿazzu ʿalaykum mina llāhi wa-ttakhadhtumūhu warāʾakum ẓihriyyan ʾinna rabbī bi-mā taʿmalūna muḥīṭun
He said, ‘O my people! Is my tribe more formidable in your sight than Allah, to whom you pay no regard? Indeed my Lord comprehends whatever you do.
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah Hud – Verse 92
92. “He said: ‘O my people! Is then my family more esteemed with you than Allah? And you cast Him behind your back, with neglect. Verily my Lord encompasses what you do’.”
We should not give priority to the rights of the people, or of groups, parties, or even of international law over Divine rights. We must stop excluding Allah’s role in the political and social domains and not let it be dominated by any other matter. According to the verse, these people refrained from doing harm to Shu‘ayb because of the fear of retaliation from his tribe. The verse says:
“He said: ‘O my people! Is then my family more esteemed with you than Allah?...”
Shu‘ayb’s response was why could they not accept his words simply for Allah’s sake? Given that Allah was infinitely more powerful than his tribe, they did not give any importance to Him at all ignoring Him and violating His commandments. It continues:
“…And you cast Him behind your back, with neglect...”
In fact they should stop thinking that Allah was not seeing what they did and did not hear what they said, for one can be sure, that the Lord is aware of all of our deeds. The verse concludes:
“…Verily my Lord encompasses what you do’.”