An introduction to Prophet Shuʕayb and a description of the wicked behavior of the people of Midyan, such as idolatry, cheating in weights and measures, and a love of robbery, which motivated Shuʕayb to preach to them.
The Story of Prophet Shuʕayb and the People of Midyan
Shuʕayb (Arabic: شعيب; Shuʕayb, Shuʕaib, Shuaib) (c. 1600 BCE - 1500 BCE)[1] was a prophet sent to the people of Midyan and Aykah according to Islamic tradition. He was raised as a prophet in the year 1550 BCE. His name is mentioned eleven times in the Qur'an and he died in Midyan.
In the Hebrew Bible or Christian Bible there is recorded a figure considered to be the same, namely Jethro or Yithro, a priest of Midyan who became the father-in-law of Musa.
Shuʕayb literally means "One Who Shows the Path of Truth." According to Islamic tradition, Shuʕayb strove to show the straight path to his people, namely the inhabitants of Midyan and Aykah.
According to Islamic history, Shuʕayb's lineage is as follows: Shuʕayb son of Mikhail son of Yashjur son of Midyan son of Ibrahim son of Azara son of Nahur son of Suraj son of Ra'u son of Falig son of ʿAbir son of Salih son of Arfakhshad son of Sam son of Nuh. Shuʕayb is traditionally considered to be Jethro and became the father-in-law of Musa in the Abrahamic faith, for Musa married his daughter named Zipporah (Safrawa). Zipporah later bore two sons for Musa. A son of Jethro, Hobab, later accompanied Musa to the land of Canaan. After the Israelites entered the land of Canaan, his descendants were given a portion of land and dwelt among the Israelites.
Prophet Shuʕayb is mentioned in the Qur'an seventeen times. Meanwhile, the story of Prophet Shuʕayb is mentioned in the Qur'an forty times, divided into:
Prophet Shuʕayb was descended from Luth, being the son of As. And As was the son of Luth. Prophet Shuʕayb was sent by Allah to reform the people of Midyan. These people no longer followed the teaching of prophet Luth. They turned away immediately after Luth died. They preferred to commit sins and corruption. They no longer worshipped Allah as prophet Luth had taught them. Their object of worship was idols.
Not only that, they had the habit of reducing the measure of weights. They would squeeze buyers in times of scarcity. At such times, when goods were cheap, they would buy as much as they could and store it in warehouses until the season of scarcity came. Then they would bring out all the goods and sell them at high prices.
The people of Midyan had no tolerance. They loved to trample on the rights of their brothers. They loved to rob and cause loss to one another.
Because of their nature, the inhabitants dared not sleep peacefully at night. The inhabitants dared not trade because they faced threats and persecution.
Seeing the evils in the surrounding areas, Prophet Shuʕayb did not remain silent. He began to call upon the people of Midyan to immediately abandon these practices. Prophet Shuʕayb felt concerned about the conduct of the people of Midyan.
The Story of Prophet Shuʕayb and the People of Midyan
The people of Midyan were inhabitants of the region of Midyan near Miʕan. The village was located between al-Sham and the Hijaz. They engaged in commerce. From a young age they were taught how to conduct successful trade. So it was not surprising that they lived peacefully and never experienced any loss whatsoever.
Nevertheless, the people of Midyan had bad behavior. For example, reducing the measure of weights. So the goods that people bought were not equal in measure. If goods sold weighed one kilo, the measure was not necessarily the same.
The people of Midyan in general disbelieved and did not worship Allah. They reasoned thus: according to them, Allah cannot be seen. They preferred to worship idols. In their houses there were many stone statues as their gods. They also set aside a special place for worship. This place was an open field where stone statues were placed. From time to time the people of Midyan would visit the statue in crowds.
Not only that, the people of Midyan were unwilling to work hard. They were lazy every day. Because of this, many of the people of Midyan became robbers, plunderers, and thieves. As a result, the city dwellers and caravans passing through their settlements had no peace.
The people of Midyan did not hesitate to oppress and kill their victims. If the goods they desired were not given to them. Because this continued, the believers could not sleep in peace. They worried about their wealth, fearing it would be robbed by some of the people of Midyan.
The people of Midyan no longer upheld the truth as had been taught by prophet Luth to their forefathers. They considered their elders who still worshipped Allah as foolish. By giving convincing reasons, they invited the elders to worship besides Allah. If these people refused to obey, then they would be tortured.
Because honesty was no longer among them, the result was mutual suspicion. Especially in trade, they would buy goods when they were still cheap and sell them back during times of scarcity at high prices. Certainly this was contrary to the teachings of Islam. Yet they never had the thought that one day that wealth would vanish.
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