Shu'ayb (peace be upon him) was a prophet of Allah (﷾), sent to the people of Madyan. The Qur'an calls him one of their own brethren: he came from among them. His message had two parts that belong together. Worship Allah (﷾) alone, and be honest and fair in how you deal with people.
The Qur'an tells his story in several places, most fully in Surahs al-A'raf, Hud and al-Shu'ara'. This guide follows what it says. It is the story as Islam tells it.
At a glance
- He was sent to Madyan, a people he belonged to himself.
- He called them to worship Allah (﷾) alone, and to give just measure and fair weight.
- He asked for no reward. His reward, he said, was with the Lord of the Worlds.
- They threatened to drive him out, and said only his family stopped them from stoning him.
- He put his trust in Allah (﷾) and asked them to turn back to Him.
- Allah (﷾) saved Shu'ayb and the believers. Those who rejected him were seized by a mighty blast.
- His people
The people of Madyan have turned from Allah (﷾), and they give short measure and weight. Qur’an 11:84Qur’an 7:85
- The call
Shu'ayb calls them to worship Allah (﷾) alone, and to give just measure and weight. Qur’an 7:85Qur’an 29:36
- The threats
The leaders threaten to drive him and the believers out of the city. Qur’an 7:88Qur’an 11:91
- His answer
He puts his trust in Allah (﷾), asks them to seek forgiveness, and tells them to wait for Allah (﷾) to decide. Qur’an 7:87Qur’an 11:88Qur’an 11:90
- The end
Allah (﷾) saves Shu'ayb and the believers. The wrongdoers are seized by a mighty blast. Qur’an 11:94Qur’an 7:91
- Farewell
Shu'ayb leaves them, having conveyed Allah's (﷾) messages and given good counsel. Qur’an 7:93
The Qur'an gives no dates for Shu'ayb's life, so these are the stages of his story.
A brother sent to Madyan
Each time the Qur'an tells Shu'ayb's story, it gives the same picture. He is a messenger from among the people, calling them to one God (﷾) and to honest dealing. In Surah al-A'raf, his call begins: Qur’an 7:85–93Qur’an 11:84–95Qur’an 26:176–191Qur’an 29:36–37
O my people! worship Allah; Ye have no other god but Him. Now hath come unto you a clear (Sign) from your Lord! Give just measure and weight, nor withhold from the people the things that are their due; and do no mischief on the earth after it has been set in order: that will be best for you, if ye have Faith.
The first part is the message every prophet brought: worship Allah (﷾) alone. The second part was for the market. They were to give full measure and fair weight, and not to take from people what was due to them. Shu'ayb joined the two: honesty with people is part of faith in Allah (﷾). Qur’an 11:85Qur’an 26:181–183
He warned them against bullying, too. Some of them sat on every road, threatening those who believed and trying to turn them away from Allah's (﷾) path. He reminded them that Allah (﷾) had made them many, when they had been few. Qur’an 7:86
Like every prophet, he asked nothing for himself. In Surah al-Shu'ara', he speaks to the Companions of the Wood (more about them below). He tells them he is a messenger worthy of all trust, and says: Qur’an 26:176–178
No reward do I ask of you for it: my reward is only from the Lord of the Worlds.
Threats, and a steady answer
His people refused. They asked, in mockery, whether his prayer told him that they must give up what their fathers worshipped. They asked whether it told him they must stop doing as they liked with their own money. They said they did not understand much of what he said, and that if it were not for his family, they would have stoned him. Qur’an 11:87Qur’an 11:91
They also threatened him and the believers: leave our city, or come back to our ways. And they warned their own people that anyone who followed Shu'ayb would be ruined. Qur’an 7:88Qur’an 7:90
Shu'ayb did not answer threat with threat. He asked whether his family counted for more with them than Allah (﷾). He told them he would not do what he forbade them to do, and that he wanted only their good: Qur’an 11:92Qur’an 11:88
I only desire (your) betterment to the best of my power; and my success (in my task) can only come from Allah. In Him I trust, and unto Him I look.
To go back to their religion after Allah (﷾) had rescued the believers from it, he said, would be to invent a lie against Allah (﷾). The believers and the unbelievers should both wait patiently until Allah (﷾) decided between them. And he prayed: Qur’an 7:87Qur’an 7:89
decide Thou between us and our people in truth, for Thou art the best to decide.
All the while, the door stayed open. He reminded them of the earlier peoples who had rejected their messengers. He told them not to let their quarrel with him cause them to sin in the same way. Then he invited them to turn back: Qur’an 11:89
ask forgiveness of your Lord, and turn unto Him (in repentance): For my Lord is indeed full of mercy and loving-kindness.
The end of Madyan
Shu'ayb had called them, warned them and given them time. In the end Allah's (﷾) decree came, and the Qur'an tells us who was saved:
When Our decree issued, We saved Shu'aib and those who believed with him, by (special) mercy from Ourselves
Those who had rejected him were seized by the mighty blast and an earthquake. By the morning they lay fallen in their homes, as if they had never lived and flourished there. For the Companions of the Wood, the Qur'an says the punishment of a day of overshadowing gloom seized them. Scholars differ on whether they were the same people as Madyan or a neighbouring people. The Qur'an gives no more detail. Qur’an 11:94Qur’an 11:95Qur’an 7:91Qur’an 29:37Qur’an 26:176Qur’an 26:189
Shu'ayb left them, and said: Qur’an 7:93
O my people! I did indeed convey to you the messages for which I was sent by my Lord: I gave you good counsel, but how shall I lament over a people who refuse to believe!
The Qur'an closes the story with a sign for everyone who reads it: Qur’an 26:190
Verily in that is a Sign: but most of them do not believe. And verily thy Lord is He, the Exalted in Might, Most Merciful.
How the Bible tells it differently
Shu'ayb is not clearly in the Bible. Midian, the Bible's form of the name Madyan, appears in several books of the Bible, among them Exodus, and the points of comparison are few. Muslims believe that Allah (﷾) revealed the Torah to Musa, and the Injil to Isa: the Gospel Jesus himself preached in his lifetime. The Injil is not the New Testament. The four New Testament Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, were written by others, decades after Jesus was raised up. None of them names its author: the names were attached later. And the Torah we have today is not exactly as it was revealed. So where the Bible tells a story just as the Qur'an does, we believe it. Where it differs from the Qur'an or contradicts it, we do not. Where the Qur'an says nothing, we neither believe it nor deny it, as the Prophet (ﷺ) taught. Here are the main differences, with the verses. Qur’an 5:48Qur’an 5:46Which of the four Gospels did Jesus preach from?Who wrote the Gospels?Sahih al-Bukhari 4485How should a Muslim read the Bible?
The name. The name Shu'ayb does not appear in the Bible, and the Bible does not tell of a prophet sent to Midian with this message. Exodus 2:15 (KJV)
Jethro. In Exodus, Moses flees Egypt and "dwelt in the land of Midian", where he marries a daughter of "the priest of Midian". Exodus calls this priest Jethro, and also Reuel. Some later writers identified Shu'ayb with this man, and scholars have differed about it. The Qur'an does not say so. It calls the man whom Musa met in Madyan only "a very old man", and never names him. Musa's own story is told in his guide. Exodus 2:16–21 (KJV)Exodus 3:1 (KJV)Qur’an 28:23Musa
Honest weights. The Bible teaches fair dealing too: "A false balance is abomination to the Lord: but a just weight is his delight." It is the same command the Qur'an gives to Madyan: "Give just measure and weight". Proverbs 11:1 (KJV)Deuteronomy 25:13–15 (KJV)Qur’an 7:85
What we can learn
Shu'ayb's message was about two relationships: with Allah (﷾), and with other people.
- Worship and honesty go together. Shu'ayb called his people to Allah (﷾) alone and, in the same breath, to give just measure and weight. Faith shows in how we deal with people. Qur’an 7:85
- Don't gain at other people's cost. Short measure and bullying on the roads were the way of Madyan. Shu'ayb told them to do no mischief in the land. Qur’an 7:86Qur’an 11:85
- Stay steady under pressure. They threatened to drive him out. He answered that he put his trust in Allah (﷾), and that his success could come only from Him. Qur’an 7:88Qur’an 7:89Qur’an 11:88
- Want good for the people you call. Shu'ayb asked for no reward. He wanted their betterment, to the best of his power, and he never stopped inviting them back. Qur’an 26:180Qur’an 11:88Qur’an 11:90
- Allah (﷾) saves those who trust Him. By His mercy He saved Shu'ayb and the believers, and nothing in Madyan could stop it. Qur’an 11:94
Allah (﷾) is "the Exalted in Might, Most Merciful", and Shu'ayb's call was mercy to the end: ask forgiveness of your Lord, and turn to Him. That call is open to everyone now. Qur’an 26:191Qur’an 11:90