قَالُوا۟ يَٰهُودُ مَا جِئْتَنَا بِبَيِّنَةٍ وَمَا نَحْنُ بِتَارِكِىٓ ءَالِهَتِنَا عَن قَوْلِكَ وَمَا نَحْنُ لَكَ بِمُؤْمِنِينَ · إِن نَّقُولُ إِلَّا ٱعْتَرَىٰكَ بَعْضُ ءَالِهَتِنَا بِسُوٓءٍ قَالَ إِنِّىٓ أُشْهِدُ ٱللَّهَ وَٱشْهَدُوٓا۟ أَنِّى بَرِىٓءٌ مِّمَّا تُشْرِكُونَ · مِن دُونِهِۦ فَكِيدُونِى جَمِيعًا ثُمَّ لَا تُنظِرُونِ
qālū yā Hūdu mā jiʾtanā bi-bayyinatin wa mā naḥnu bi-tārikī ālihatinā ʿan qawlika wa mā naḥnu laka bi-muʾminīn · in naqūlu illā'ʿtarāka baʿḍu ālihatinā bi-sūʾ, qāla innī ushhidu'llāha wa'shhadū annī barīʾun mimmā tushrikūn · min dūnihī fa-kīdūnī jamīʿan thumma lā tunẓirūn
"They said: 'Hūd! You have brought us no clear proof. We are not going to leave our gods at your word, nor are we going to believe you. · We only say that one of our gods has struck you with some harm.' He said: 'I call God to witness, and you bear witness too, that I am free of what you associate with Him · besides Him. So plot against me, all of you together, and give me no respite!'"
The fifty-third verse answers to the threefold negation of the twenty-seventh. I set the two verses side by side:
| Noah's people (27) | Hūd's people (53) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | mā narāka illā basharan mithlanā | mā jiʾtanā bi-bayyina |
| 2 | mā narāka'ttabaʿaka illā'l-arādhil | mā naḥnu bi-tārikī ālihatinā |
| 3 | mā narā lakum ʿalaynā min faḍl | mā naḥnu laka bi-muʾminīn |
Both peoples frame three negative sentences each. The difference: Noah's people were saying what they saw; Hūd's people are saying what they will not do.
As was tabulated above (11/17), bayyina occurs five times in the sūra, and four of them report that it is in the hands of the prophets or the believers. This is the one negative occurrence.
And what must be recorded is this: three verses after this one (56) Hūd will bring a proof — mā min dābbatin illā huwa ākhidhun bi-nāṣiyatihā.
The root ع-ر-و: to come upon a thing, to strike it suddenly. Iʿtarā (Form VIII) — to come upon someone, to fasten on him.
And the content of the accusation must be recorded: Hūd is not called "a liar"; he is called "struck".
This belongs to a family of accusations repeated in the Qurʾān — the charge of majnūn (possessed) was treated at al-Qalam 68/2, al-Ṣāffāt 37/36 and al-Ṭūr 52/29. I rely on that treatment.
The difference here must be recorded, and it is an observation about the word order: the accusation ascribes an act to their own gods. The people, that is, claim that their gods can do something. And Hūd's answer will land exactly there: "so plot against me, all of you together."
| Expression | Who witnesses |
|---|---|
| ushhidu'llāh | God — called to witness |
| wa'shhadū | The people — asked to bear witness |
I record this as an observation about the word order: Hūd makes the very side that denies him a witness to his own declaration. This is an address out of the ordinary.
The root ك-ي-د: a hidden plot, a covert plan. The root was treated at al-Ṭāriq 86/15-16 and al-Fīl 105/2.
And the structure of the sentence must be recorded: a prophet invites everyone who is against him, all at once and without limit of time.
The same pattern occurs elsewhere in the Qurʾān: thumma kīdūnī fa-lā tunẓirūn (al-Aʿrāf 7/195); fa-ajmiʿū amrakum wa shurakāʾakum (Yūnus 10/71). These are of the same family.