Tafseer of The Ant · An-Naml · 27:45
And We had certainly sent to Thamud their brother Salih, [saying], "Worship Allah," and at once they were two parties conflicting.
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.
Allah, exalted is His remembrance, says: وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا إِلَى ثَمُودَ أَخَاهُمْ صَالِحًا أَنِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ ('And We had sent to Thamūd their brother Ṣāliḥ: Worship Allah') — alone, having no associate with Him; set up no other as a god alongside Him. فَإِذَا هُمْ فَرِيقَانِ يَخْتَصِمُونَ ('and behold: they became two parties that quarrelled'): He says: when Ṣāliḥ had come to them calling them to Allah, his people of Thamūd, concerning that to which he called them, became two parties that quarrelled: a party that believed Ṣāliḥ and had faith in him, and a party that denied him and disbelieved in what he had brought.
In accordance with what we have said about this the exegetes spoke.
*Mention of those who said that:*
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 of them together — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the word of Allah فَرِيقَانِ يَخْتَصِمُونَ: he said: a believer and a disbeliever — their saying: Ṣāliḥ has been sent, and their saying: Ṣāliḥ has not been sent. And by His word يَخْتَصِمُونَ He means: they disagree.
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: فَإِذَا هُمْ فَرِيقَانِ يَخْتَصِمُونَ: he said: a believer and a disbeliever.
