PEOPLE OF MIDIAN (NATION OF SHOAYB) Were Punished For Dishonesty.

Lessons From The Quran:

People of Midian/Madyan,

(Nation of Shoayb), Were

Punished For Dishonesty

“O Believers!

What's declared lawful

by Allah is best for you!”

– (al-Quran)

(M. Javed Naseem)

(Author at the tomb of Prophet Shoayb, at As-Salt, Jordan)

“And the Firmament has He raised high,

and He has set up the Balance (of Justice),

in order that you may not transgress (due)

balance. So establish weight with justice,

and fall not short in the balance!”

(al-Quran 55:7-9)

Despite all the teachings of the Prophets and the Holy Books, we find more and more people dishonest, unfair and unjust in the world, especially in developing countries or the so-called Third World. The people we call Kafireen (Europeans and North Americans) are more honest and just than people in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Why? Because in the Third World countries, the teachings of honesty, fairplay and justice are not embedded in the upbringing and education. Don't tell me it's poverty! The poverty has nothing to do with character-building. It is education and upbringing!

On the first day of Ramadan, in Casablanca Medina (Morocco) I had an argument with a vegetables vendor. His balance was faulty and way off. I bought one kilo of tomato and noticed the discrepancy. After I paid him, I gently pointed out that his balance was faulty. He denied. I told him to empty containers on both sides and weigh it. He did and it was way off/short. He shrugged his shoulders. I quoted him the verse of the Quran from Surah Ar-Rahman (55:9): 

وَاَقِيۡمُوا الۡوَزۡنَ بِالۡقِسۡطِ وَلَا تُخۡسِرُوا الۡمِيۡزَانَ‏

(“And establish weight in justice and do not

make deficient the balance!”)

He started disputing with me by saying that it was normal and not a problem. I pointed out towards heavens and left with a smile. I don't like to argue with the Jaahileen. I believe he was fasting, just like me. But he destroyed the spirit of Ramadan; he destroyed his Iman (Faith); he committed an act of injustice, dishonesty and even a crime (broke the law of the state). And all that for a tomato worth less than 10 cents? He still claimed to be a Muslim though!

Those were the business practices of the nation of Midian (Madyan) where Prophet Shoayb was sent to preach.

According to the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia (as per Religion.Wikia.org), Midian was a land bordered by the Arabah between Moab and Elat and by the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea (today's Jordan). Its East had no borders.

In Bible history, Midian was where Prophet Musa (Moses) spent the 40 years between the time that he fled Egypt after killing an Egyptian who had been beating an Israelite, and his return for leading the Israelites. During those years, he married Zipporah, the daughter of Jethro (Shoayb), the priest of Midian. Exodus 3:1 implies that God's appearance in the burning bush at Mount Horeb occurred in Midian. Today, the former territory of Midian is located in what is now a small area of north-western Saudi Arabia, southern Jordan, southern Palestine/Israel and the Sinai (Egypt).

Alternate Sites:

Yemen claims to have the town of Biblical Midian but that's not the right town. It's another 'Midian' which is thousands of kilometers away (out of the way) from the original Biblical route, in Yemen. Similarly, there is another Cave of the 7-Sleepers (Ass'hab al-Kahf) in Turkey too. Both claims are wrong if you observe the Biblical maps of the area and the route of the Exodus.

Midian spanned from Mount Horhab located at Elat (today's Jordanian area) at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba North to Moab sharing a border with Edom which runs up the Arabah through Petra to the Dead Sea.

The tomb of “Nabi Shoayb” is located in Wadi Shoayb, in the town of As-Salt, Jordan, about 30 km south of the capital city of Amman.

(Prophet Shoayb's tomb in the town of As-Salt, Jordan.)

Prophet Shoayb (Jethro or Yitro)

Prophet Shoayb (Shoaib) – Jethro in Bible; Yitro in Torah; also called Reuel – was the father-in-law of Prophet Musa (Moses). He was a shepherd and a well-known priest in Midian or Madyan, a town in the south of Jordan. He gave his daughter Zipporah (also called Rohaya) in marriage to Musa (Moses).

Note: Some say that Jethro was not Shoayb; he was another saint who preached in the same area but centuries after Shoayb’s era. Allah knows best.

Prophet Musa’s (Moses’s) Father-in-Law

Prophet Musa (Moses) was married to Prophet Shoayb’s daughter, Zipporah (or Rohaya), after Moses had fled Pharaoh’s Egypt, having killed an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew slave. Having fled to Midian, Moses intervened in a water-access dispute between Shoayb’s seven daughters and the local shepherds. Consequently, Shoayb invited Moses into his home and offered him hospitality. However, Moses remained conscious that he was a stranger in exile. He named his first son (Shoayb's grandson) “Gershom”, meaning "stranger there".
 

Moses is said to have worked as a shepherd for Shoayb for 40 years before returning to Egypt to lead the Hebrews to Canaan (now in Israeli territory), the "promised land.” Prophet Shoayb (Jethro) is mentioned in the Bible in Exodus.

Shoayb, Moses' non-Hebrew father-in-law, is a central figure, particularly in the rites and pilgrimages, of the Druze religion. Jethro is revered as the chief prophet in the Druze religion. They believe he was a "hidden" and "true prophet" who communicated directly with God and then passed on that knowledge to Moses, whom they describe as a "recognized" and “revealed” prophet.

(Wadi Shoayb -- Valley of Shoayb -- near As-Salt, Jordan.)

Shoayb's mission is often mentioned in the Quran with the mission of Noah, Hud, Saleh and Lot. Scholars have pointed out that these five Prophets exemplify the early prophetic missions: The prophet would be sent to his community; the community would pay no attention to his warning and would instead threaten him with punishment; after years of preaching, God would ask him to leave his community and his people would be subsequently destroyed in a punishment. Scholars interpret the listing of the five prophets to be chronological, with Noah being the only prophet in the list who preached before the Great Flood. He was also a descendant of Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham).

Shoayb was selected by Allah as his messenger for the people living in the region of Midian (Madyan), south Jordan. They lived in an area surrounded by thick forests. Their general occupation was trading – buying and selling. But they were not very honest people. They often lied to each other and cheated in their trade. They were like merchants from Hell. They opposed Shoayb’s teachings and kicked him out of town.

After many years of preaching, when Prophet Shoayb and his followers left the township, there came the commandment of Allah to pass. One night a big blast struck the inhabitants of Madyan and by next morning they were lying there, under the debris of their houses, lifeless, as if they had never lived. Allah narrated their account in the Holy Quran:

“So the earthquake seized them,

and morning found them prostrate

in their dwelling-place. Those who

denied Shoaib became as though

they had not dwelt there. Those who

denied Shoaib, they were the losers.”

(al-Quran 7:91-92)

Shoayb's Story In Surah Hud (Houd)

Prophet Shoayb was sent to the people of Midian (or Madyan) who passed after the nation of Thamud that had settled in the southern Jordan. They built castles in the planes and carved houses in the mountains. Prophet Shoayb's story is narrated in Surah Hud/Houd and Surah al-A'raf. Here's the narration from Surah Hud (Houd):

“To the Madyan People (We sent) Shoayb, one of their own brethren. 

He said: "O my people! worship Allah! You have no other god but Him. 

And give not short measure or weight. I see you in prosperity, but I fear 

for you the penalty of a day that will compass (you) all round.

And O my people! Give just measure and weight, nor withhold from 

the people the things that are their due; commit not evil in the land 

with intent to do mischief!

That which is left you by Allah is best for you, if you (but) believed! 

But I am not set over you to keep watch!"

They said: "O Shoayb! Does your (religion of) prayer command you 

that we leave off the worship which our fathers practiced, or that we 

leave off doing what we like with our property? Truly, you are the one 

that forbears with faults and is right-minded!"

He said: "O my people! See you whether I have a Clear (Sign) from 

my Lord, and He has given me sustenance (pure and) good as from 

Himself? I wish not, in opposition to you, to do that which I forbid 

you to do. 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. And O my people! Let not my dissent (from you) 

cause you to sin, lest you suffer a fate similar to that of the people of 

Noah or of Hud or of Salih, nor are the people of Lut far off from you!

But ask forgiveness of your Lord, and turn unto Him (in repentance)! 

For my Lord is indeed full of mercy and loving-kindness."

They said: "O Shoayb! Much of what you say, we do not understand! 

In fact among us we see that you have no strength! Were it not for 

your family, we should certainly have stoned you; for you have 

among us no great position!"

He said: "O my people! Is then my family of more consideration 

with you than Allah? For you cast Him away behind your backs 

(with contempt). But verily my Lord encompasses on all sides all 

that you do! And O my people! Do whatever ye can! I will do 

(my part). Soon will you know who it is on whom descends the 

penalty of ignominy; and who is a liar! And watch you, 

for I too am watching with you!"

“When Our decree issued, We saved Shoayb and those who 

believed with him, by (special) mercy from Ourselves. But the 

(mighty) blast did seize the wrong-doers, and they lay prostrate 

in their homes by the morning, as if they had never dwelt and 

flourished there! Ah! Behold! How the Madyan were removed 

(from sight) as were removed the Thamud!"

– (al-Quran 11:84-95)

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