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Learn › Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr The Complete Qurʾān Commentary › Lesson 11

Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr The Complete Qurʾān Commentary · Al-Miʾūn The Hundreds
Lesson 11

Sūrah Hūd

هود

123 verses, Makkī. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Hūd and its sisters have made my hair white." It contains the stories of seven prophets Nūḥ, Hūd, Ṣāliḥ, Ibrāhīm, Lūṭ, Shuʿayb, and Mūsā ﷺ each sent with the same message and each rejected. The command to stand firm comes at the climax.

Surah Overview

DetailInformationClassificationSignificance
SurahهودHūd"Made the Prophet's ﷺ hair white"
TypeMakkī123 versesJuzʾ 11–12
ProphetsNūḥ · Hūd · Ṣāliḥ · Ibrāhīm · Lūṭ · Shuʿayb · Mūsā ﷺ7 stories in sequenceCyclical pattern of prophecy and punishment
Key VerseIstakim Stand firm (11:112)Among the hardest commands on the Prophet ﷺCaused his hair to whiten

Key Themes from Ibn Kathīr

Stand firm as you have been commanded (11:112): Ibn Kathīr records that when this verse was revealed, the Prophet ﷺ said "Hūd and its sisters have made me old" because istiqāmah (steadfastness) is among the hardest commands: to remain consistently on the straight path without deviation in any direction.

Nūḥ's ﷺ son (11:42–43): "O my son, come aboard with us and be not with the disbelievers." His son replied: "I will take refuge on a mountain that will protect me from the water." Nūḥ said: "There is no protector today from the decree of Allah, except for whom He has mercy." The wave came between them. Ibn Kathīr: blood relation does not substitute for faith.

"It is He who created the heavens and earth in six days, and His Throne was upon water" (11:7): The creation before the current creation the Throne upon primordial water. Ibn Kathīr cites ḥadīth: the Prophet ﷺ said "Allah was, and nothing else was with Him."

فَاسْتَقِمْ كَمَا أُمِرْتَ وَمَن تَابَ مَعَكَ وَلَا تَطْغَوْا ۚ إِنَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ Fastaqim kamā umirta wa man tāba maʿaka wa lā taṭghaw · innahu bimā taʿmalūna baṣīr So stand firm as you have been commanded you and those who have repented with you and do not transgress. Indeed He is seeing of what you do. (11:112)
إِنَّ الْحَسَنَاتِ يُذْهِبْنَ السَّيِّئَاتِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ ذِكْرَىٰ لِلذَّاكِرِينَ Inna l-ḥasanāti yudhibna s-sayyiʾāt · dhālika dhikrā li-dh-dhākirīn Indeed, good deeds remove evil deeds. That is a reminder for those who remember. (11:114) The expiation of sins through righteous action.
  • The flood of Nūḥ ﷺ (11:40–44): When the oven (tannūr) overflowed, that was the sign to begin. The ark rested on Mount Jūdī identified by Ibn Kathīr as a mountain in the region of Jazīrah, northern Iraq/southern Turkey.
  • The she-camel of Ṣāliḥ ﷺ (11:64–65): The miracle given to Thamūd let her graze freely and drink from the water. They hamstrung her given three days to enjoy life, then the punishment came. Ibn Kathīr: the hamstringing was by one man, but the whole community was punished for their approval.
  • The guests of Ibrāhīm ﷺ (11:69–76): The angels came as guests he prepared a roasted calf. When they did not eat, he was alarmed. They revealed themselves as angels sent to destroy the people of Lūṭ ﷺ.
  • "Good deeds erase evil deeds" (11:114): Ibn Kathīr cites the ḥadīth of the man who kissed a woman then felt remorse the Prophet ﷺ recited this verse to him. Consistent small righteous acts erase the effects of small sins.
  • Do not incline to the wrongdoers (11:113): And do not incline toward those who do wrong lest the Fire touches you and you have no protectors other than Allah. Ibn Kathīr: even emotional or social inclination toward oppressors is condemned.

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