Who are the people of the Ress?

Sources

• ✓ 25:38 · Al-Furqaan

  25:38 · Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall

  وَعَادًۭا وَثَمُودَا۟ وَأَصْحَٰبَ ٱلرَّسِّ وَقُرُونًۢا بَيْنَ ذَٰلِكَ كَثِيرًۭا

  And (the tribes of) A'ad and Thamud, and the dwellers in Ar-Rass, and many generations in between.

• ✓ Tafsir Ibn Kathir on 25:38

  Sunni

  Tafsir Ibn Kathir · 25:38

  Allah Almighty is warning those who rejected His Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), including the polytheists of his people and others who opposed him. He threatens them with severe and painful punishment as He did to the previous nations who denied their messengers. The commentary begins by mentioning Prophet Moses (peace be upon him), whom Allah sent with his brother Aaron as a prophet and helper. Pharaoh and his army rejected them, and Allah destroyed them, as stated in Surah Muhammad (47:10). Similarly, when the people of Noah (peace be upon him) rejected their messenger Noah, who preached to them for around a thousand years minus fifty, only a few believed with him. Because of their denial, Allah drowned all of them, leaving only the occupants of Noah’s Ark alive. This illustrates that rejecting any messenger means rejecting all messengers, as no difference exists between them in their truthfulness. Even if Allah had sent all messengers to a nation, the people would have rejected them all, hence the mention of Noah’s people who only received Noah as a messenger. The phrase “and made them a sign for mankind” means that these events are lessons for people to reflect upon. Allah saved Noah’s followers on the ark to remind future generations of His mercy and the consequences of disbelief. Just as Surah Al-Haqqah (69:11-12) mentions the ark as a reminder to those with understanding. Next, the commentary remarks that the stories of the ‘Ad and Thamud peoples have been previously related in various surahs, such as in Surah Al-A’raf, and do not require repetition here. Regarding “the people of Al-Rass,” Ibn Jurayj, citing Ibn Abbas, said they were inhabitants of a village among the Thamud. Other scholarly views include that they were the people of Falaj or from Yamamah. Another narration describes Al-Rass as a well in Azerbaijan where their prophet was drowned by his people and buried there. A hadith related from the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) recounts a story of a black slave who was the only believer among his people, who rejected their prophet and threw him into a well, covering it with a large stone. The slave would secretly bring food and water to the buried prophet. At one point, he fell asleep and was made to sleep seven years, then seven more, before awakening and selling his bundle of wood as usual. When the villagers saw this, they dug up the prophet, believed in him, and confirmed his truth. The prophet would ask about the slave’s whereabouts, but they did not know until the prophet passed away and then the slave awoke—he was said to be the first to enter Paradise on the Day of Judgment. Although this narration has some unusual aspects, Ibn Jarir states that those people cannot be the same as the people of Al-Rass mentioned in the Qur'an, because Allah said He destroyed them, but these people later believed after the prophet was raised, possibly due to later generations accepting the prophet after the previous ones were destroyed. Ibn Jarir prefers that “the people of Al-Rass” refers to the people of “the trench” mentioned in Surah Al-Buruj. Allah knows best. The phrase “and many generations between them” indicates there were many other nations between those destroyed that are not specified. Allah has made clear examples and evidence for humankind to understand, as He said to remove any excuse from them. “Every one of them We destroyed completely” refers to total destruction, as also mentioned in Surah Al-Isra (17:17). The term “generations” here means peoples or communities living in specific periods. Some interpret them as time spans, but most accurately it means contemporaneous groups: when one passes away, another arises, forming a new generation. The Prophet Muhammad said the best generations are his own, then those following him, then those following them. The mention of the town “that was rained upon with a terrible rain” is understood to indicate the people of Lot, specifically Sodom and Gomorrah, which Allah destroyed with a harsh punishment including a rain of stones. This is mentioned in various Qur'anic verses, such as in Surah Ash-Shu’ara (26:173) and Surah As-Saffat (37:137-138), highlighting this destruction’s permanence and its purpose as a clear warning. Hence, Allah asks “Did they not see it?” urging reflection on the fate of those who denied their messenger and disobeyed Allah’s commands. The statement “But they were not expecting resurrection” refers to the disbelievers who reject the message and thus do not reflect because they do not believe in a resurrection or accountability on the Day of Judgment.