Tafseer of The Poets · Ash-Shu'araa · 26:128
Do you construct on every elevation a sign, amusing yourselves,
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
Allāh, exalted be His mention, reports what Hūd said to his people: أَتَبْنُونَ بِكُلِّ رِيعٍ آيَةً تَعْبَثُونَ (Do you build on every elevated place a monument for amusement?). The word "rīʿ" (ريع) denotes every high and elevated place on the earth, or a road, or a valley. Bearing witness to this is the verse of Dhū al-Rummah:
طِرَاقُ الخَوَافِي مُشْرِفٌ فَوْقَ رِيعَةٍ نَدَى لَيْلِهِ فِي رِيشِهِ يَتَرَقْرَقُ
("With overlapping secondary feathers, towering above a height, the morning dew of his night shimmers in his plumage.")
And the verse of al-Aʿshā:
وَيهْمَاءُ قَفْرٍ تَجاوَزْتُهَا إِذَا خَبَّ فِي رِيعِهَا آلُهَا
("And a desolate, barren waste I traversed, when its mirage flickered across its heights.")
The word has two pronunciation variants: rīʿ and rayʿ, with a kasra and a fatḥa respectively on the rāʾ.
In accordance with what we have said about this, the exegetes spoke.
— Mention of who said this:
ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning his statement أَتَبْنُونَ بِكُلِّ رِيعٍ آيَةً تَعْبَثُونَ : he said: "On every elevated place."
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning his statement: بِكُلِّ رِيعٍ — he said: "A mountain pass (fajj)."
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning his statement: أَتَبْنُونَ بِكُلِّ رِيعٍ آيَةً — he said: "On every road."
Sulaymān ibn ʿUbayd Allāh al-Ghaylānī related to me, saying: Abū Qutayba related to us, saying: Muslim ibn Khālid related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Najīḥ related to us, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning his statement: أَتَبْنُونَ بِكُلِّ رِيعٍ — he said: "The rīʿ is a small mountain pass."
Yūnus related to me, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Ḥassān reported to us, on the authority of Muslim ibn Khālid, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid — identically.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, who said: ʿIkrima said concerning بِكُلِّ رِيعٍ : "A mountain pass and a valley." He said: and Mujāhid said concerning بِكُلِّ رِيعٍ : "Between two mountains."
He said: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning his statement أَتَبْنُونَ بِكُلِّ رِيعٍ : he said: "An elevated place and a lookout."
Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq reported to us, saying: Maʿmar reported to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning his statement بِكُلِّ رِيعٍ : he said: "On every road."
It was reported to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, who said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd reported to us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning his statement بِكُلِّ رِيعٍ : "On every road." And by his statement آيَةً he means: a structure, a marker.
We have explained in several places in this work that "āya" (sign) means the indicating and the distinguishing mark, with proofs that are superfluous to repeat here.
In accordance with what we have said about this, the exegetes spoke, though they differed in their choice of words in explaining it.
— Mention of who said this:
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning بِكُلِّ رِيعٍ آيَةً : he said: "The sign is a marker."
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning بِكُلِّ رِيعٍ آيَةً : he said: "Āya: a structure."
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid: آيَةً : "A structure."
ʿAlī ibn Sahl related to me, saying: Ḥajjāj related to us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning his statement بِكُلِّ رِيعٍ آيَةً : he said: "The structure of a bathhouse."
And his statement تَعْبَثُونَ : he said: "You play."
In accordance with what we have said about its explanation, the exegetes spoke.
— Mention of who said this:
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning تَعْبَثُونَ : he said: "You play."
It was reported to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, who said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd reported to us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning his statement تَعْبَثُونَ : he said: "You play."
And his statement وَتَتَّخِذُونَ مَصَانِعَ (and you take to yourselves strong structures): the exegetes differed concerning the meaning of "maṣāniʿ" (مصانع). Some of them said: they are lofty palaces.
