40. WHO ARE ASHAAB-UR-RAS
Literal meaning of the word ‘Ras’ is ‘old well’. Therefore, the literal meaning of ‘Ashaab-ur-Ras’ would be ‘the people of the well.’ In the Holy Quran, Allah has mentioned the destruction of a nation called ‘Ashaab-ur-Ras’ caused by their insolence and disobedience. Therefore, it is mentioned in Surah Al-Furqan:
And the ‘Aad and the Samood, and the people of the Well, and many generations between them. And We narrated examples to each one of them; and demolished all of them, after total destruction.
In Surah Qaaf, while mentioning the list of the mutilated nations, Allah says:
Before these, the people of Nuh had denied, and so did the dwellers of Ras and the Samood. And the ‘Aad, and Fir’awn, and the fellowmen of Loot. And the dwellers of the Woods, and the people of Tubba’; each one of them belied the Noble Prophets, so My promised punishment is proved (for them).
Who were ‘Ashaab-ur-Ras’? Where did they use to live? In this context, there are so many different opinions of the commentators of the Holy Quran that instead of reality getting clear to us, it has become muddled. However, after briefly mentioning some of these opinions, we will also mention our viewpoint in this regard.
First opinion
‘Allamah Ibn Jareer is of the opinion that one of the meaning of ‘Ras’ is ‘cave’. Hence Ashaab-ur-Ras is another name for Ashaab-ul- Ukhdood (the people of the pit).
Second opinion
Ibn ‘Asakir has endorsed the following opinion in his Tareekh that Ashaab-ur-Ras is the name of the people that existed centuries before the people of ‘Aad. The place where these people used to live, Allah sent a Prophet, Sayyiduna Hanzalah Bin Safwaanthere. But this insolent nation did not obey their Prophet and did not embrace the true faith at all. Instead, they killed their Prophet. As a punishment for their evil act, the whole nation was obliterated by the torment from Allah
Third opinion
The opinion of Ibn Abi Haatim is that there was a well near Azerbaijan. The people that lived near that well buried their Prophet alive in the well. That’s why these people are called ‘Ashaab-ur-Ras’.
Fourth opinion
Qatadah reports that in the area of ‘Yamamah’, there was a dwelling called ‘Falaj’. Ashaab-ur-Ras used to live there. This is the same nation that has also been referred as ‘Ashaab-ul-Qariyah’ in the Holy Quran. These people have been referred with different name.
Fifth opinion
Abu Bakr ‘Umar Naqqaash and Suhayli have reported that in the dwelling of Ashaab-ur-Ras, there was a big well. These people used to drink the water of that well and would also irrigate their fields from it. After going astray, these people killed their Prophet. As a punishment of this sin, the torment of Allah struck them and the whole nation was obliterated.
Sixth opinion
Muhammad Bin Ka’b Qarzi has reported that the Holy Prophet said:
‘The person to enter first in the Paradise will be a swarthy (black) slave’.
This is because Allah sent a Prophet in a nation and no one embraced faith unto him except a black slave. Then the people of the community put their Prophet into a well and sealed the well with a heavy stone so that no one could open it. But the black slave used to go to forest daily, cut and sell wood and buy food from his earnings. After reaching the well, he used to lift the stone and serve the food to the Prophet of Allah. After few days, Allah made him asleep for fourteen years. Meanwhile, the state of the hearts of the people changed. They took their Prophet out of the well, repented
sincerely and embraced faith unto him. After few days, the Prophet passed away.
When the black slave woke up after fourteen years, he thought that he slept for a few hours. He quickly cut wood and reached the city. But when he saw that the condition of the city has changed altogether, he enquired about it and ultimately he came to know the whole story. It was about the same slave that the Holy Prophet mentioned: The person to enter first in the Paradise will be a swarthy slave.
Seventh opinion
The famous historian, ‘Allamah Mas’oodi has reported that Ashaab-ur-Ras are among the progeny of Sayyiduna Isma’eel. These were two tribes, ‘Qaydmah’ and ‘Yaameen’ or ‘Ra’weel’. Both of these tribes lived in Yemen.
Eighth opinion
An Egyptian scholar Farajullah Zaki Kurdi has reported that the Word [ Ras] is an abbreviation of the name of the city [Aras] which was situated in the region of Qafqaaz. Allah sent a Prophet named Ibraheem Zardasht in that valley who invited the people towards the true religion but the people adopted insolent and rebellious attitude against him. Therefore, the torment of Allah obliterated those people.
These are the eight opinions about ‘Ashaab-ur-Ras’. All of these opinions remained under debate. Many people have analytically criticized them. However, I would not like to make my brief book lengthy by describing these criticisms.
To sum up, we can deduce from the Holy Quran that Ashaab-ur- Ras either existed during the intermediary era of Sayyiduna ‘Isa or they belonged to very old times. However, the Holy Quran has not mentioned anything about it and it is very hard and difficult to reach an authentic conclusion about these people in the light of aforementioned commentaries.
Source: (QURANIC WONDERS) by ‘ABDUL MUSTAFA A’ZAMI.
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