Quran Universe
26:177

إِذۡ قَالَ لَهُمۡ شُعَيۡبٌ أَلَا تَتَّقُونَ

Ith qala lahum shuAAaybun ala tattaqoona

When Shu'ayb said to them, "Will you not fear Allah?

Word by word
  1. إِذۡWhen
  2. قَالَsaid
  3. لَهُمۡto them
  4. شُعَيۡبٌShuaib
  5. أَلَاWill not
  6. تَتَّقُونَyou fear (Allah)
Ash-Shu'ara · 26:177Makkah

Shu'ayb spoke, but not called their brother.

A missing word that tells a story

The difference
Hud, Salih, Luttheir brother
Shu'aybjust Shu'ayb
because
their nametied to the tree they worshipped
Why no brother
he was not one of them
the name was the tree'she shared their blood, not that

Here the Quran says when Shu'ayb said to them, not their brother Shu'ayb. Ibn Kathir explains it is because their name denoted their worship of Al-Aykah. Shu'ayb was their brother by blood but had no share in that name.

You can belong to a family, a team, a culture, and still not share in what is wrong in it. Belonging does not mean taking the whole label.

If I belong to a group, I have to carry everything it stands for.

I can be loyal to my people without sharing in what they worship besides Allah.

Try this

Think of one thing your circle takes for granted that you do not agree with. Keep your distance from it, kindly.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (shared passage from 26:176)

The companions of Al-Aykah denied the Messengers (176)When Shu'ayb said to them: "Will you not have Taqwa? (177)"I am a trustworthy Messenger to you. (178)"So, have Taqwa of Allah, and obey me. (179)"No reward do I ask of you for it; my reward is only from the Lord of Al-'Alamin. (180)

Shu'ayb and His Preaching to the Dwellers of Al-Aykah

The companions of Al-Aykah were the people of Madyan, according to the most correct view. The Prophet of Allah Shu'ayb was one of them, but it does not say here, their brother Shu'ayb, because they called themselves by a name denoting their deification of Al-Aykah, which was a tree which they used to worship; it was said that it was a group of trees which were tangled, like trees in a thicket. For this reason, when Allah said that the companions of Al-Aykah denied the Messengers, He did not say, "When their brother Shu'ayb said to them." Rather, He said:

إِذْ قَالَ لَهُمْ شُعَيْبٌ

(When Shu'ayb said to them) He is not described as belonging to them because of the meaning that was inherent in the name given to them even though he was their brother by blood. Some people did not notice this point, so they thought that the dwellers of Al-Aykah were different from the people of Madyan, and claimed that Shu'ayb was sent to two nations; some said that he was sent to three.

أَصْحَابُ الْأَيْكَةِ

(The companions of Al-Aykah) were the people of Shu'ayb. This was the view of Ishaq bin Bishr. Someone besides Juwaybir said, "The dwellers of Al-Aykah and the people of Madyan are one and the same." And Allah knows best.

Although there is another opinion that they were different nations with two identities, the correct view is that they were one nation, but they are described differently in different places. Shu'ayb preached to them and commanded them to be fair in their weights and measures, the same as is mentioned in the story of Madyan, which also indicates that they were the same nation.