Ahmed elzahrani

Before going into the details of the story of the People of the Thicket, (As-hab Al-Aykah) we must first understand what the “thicket” is.

The tree of Al-Aykah (or Al-Ayk) refers to dense, intertwined, and thick trees. Historically and religiously, it refers to a region rich in water and trees where the People of the Thicket lived. They were the people of the Prophet Shuayb and lived between the Hejaz and Levant.

They were called the people of Madyan because they were attributed to the tribe of Madyan. The people of Madyan used to worship and glorify the thicket instead of Allah.

The people of Madyan were known to be tyrannical and arrogant. They were also famous for manipulating weights and measures and for cheating and deceiving others in buying and selling
. The People of the Thicket (Ashab Al-Aykah) were mentioned in several places in the Qur’an:
“And indeed, the companions of the Thicket were wrongdoers.”
(Surah Al-Hijr 15:78)
“The companions of the Thicket denied the messengers.”
(Surah Ash-Shu‘ara 26:176)
And [the tribe of] Thamud and the people of Lot and the companions of the thicket. Those are the companies.
(Surah Sad 38:13)
And the companions of the thicket and the people of Tubba’. All denied the messengers, so My threat was justly fulfilled.
“And the companions of the Thicket.”
(Surah Qaf 50:14)

Allah sent His Prophet Shu‘ayb (peace be upon him) to them to advise and warn them and to call them to believe in Allah alone. He told them to abandon the worship of the tree of the thicket and to fear Allah in their dealings, to give full measure and weight, and not to cheat people in their goods. However, they did not obey him and did not respond to his call. Instead, they threatened to harm him if he continued calling them to this message.

They not only refused to listen to Prophet Shu‘ayb, but they also mocked him and ridiculed his words and the words of Allah.

Allah says:
“among us. If not for your family, we would have stoned you, and you are not respected among us.”

The people of Shu‘ayb only increased in disbelief, immorality, and oppression against others. When the Prophet Shu‘ayb (peace be upon him) lost hope that his people would respond to him, he prayed to Allah to punish them for their disbelief and disobedience.

The punishment that was sent upon the People of the Thicket was the Day of the Shadow (Yawm al-Zullah). They challenged Prophet Shu‘ayb, saying: “Bring down upon us a punishment from the sky if you are truthful.” Prophet Shu‘ayb warned them, but they still refused to repent.

So Allah punished them. Severe heat struck them, and they fled from place to place seeking relief. This intense heat continued for seven consecutive days. Then a cloud appeared in the sky. Thinking it would give them shade from the heat, the people gathered beneath it. But Allah caused pieces of fire to fall from the cloud, burning and destroying them completely like a thunderbolt. This was because they denied Allah and rebelled against His Prophet Shu‘ayb (peace be upon him