In reading about Surah Yunus and Hud, I learned that these two chapters came down in the late Makkan period, before the hijrah (migration to Medina). Thus, these chapters were addressing the hardship the Prophet was going through at the time. And at the same time, they were preparing him for migration. Interestingly, Surah Hud is mostly compiled of the stories of previous prophets including Noah, Hud, Saleh, Ibrahim, Lut, Shuayb, and Musa. Many of these prophets had to leave their town in order to save their people from corruption. And all of these prophets went through hardship while preaching the message of God to their people. In hearing their stories, this gives Prophet Muhammad hope and comfort that he is not alone. He is on that same path with the same message of the oneness of God. What struck me the most were verses 31 and 93.
Noah told his people in verse 31:
وَلَا أَقُولُ لَكُمْ عِندِي خَزَائِنُ اللَّهِ وَلَا أَعْلَمُ الْغَيْبَ وَلَا أَقُولُ إِنِّي مَلَكٌ
"I tell you not that with me are the treasures of Allah, nor do I know what is hidden, nor claim I to be an angel...''
Towards the end of the Surah, Shuayb tells his people in verse 93:
وَيَا قَوْمِ اعْمَلُوا عَلَىٰ مَكَانَتِكُمْ إِنِّي عَامِلٌ
"And O my people! Do whatever you can: I will do (my part)..."
In reading these verses, they looked and sounded familiar to me. And indeed they were familiar. In Surah Alanaam, God commands the prophet to say these same 2 statements to his people! See below these verses from Surah Alanaam:
50:
قُل لَّا أَقُولُ لَكُمْ عِندِي خَزَائِنُ اللَّهِ وَلَا أَعْلَمُ الْغَيْبَ وَلَا أَقُولُ لَكُمْ إِنِّي مَلَكٌ
Say: "I tell you not that with me are the treasures of Allah, nor do I know what is hidden, nor do I tell you I am an angel...''
135:
قُلْ يَا قَوْمِ اعْمَلُوا عَلَىٰ مَكَانَتِكُمْ إِنِّي عَامِلٌ
Say: "O my people! Do whatever you can: I will do (my part)..."
What does using the same statements as previous prophets do to the Prophet? It provides him with empathy. They were in your same shoes and they had to go through what you are going through. And not only that, they said the same statements to their people as God is commanding you to say right now. It automatically puts him on their same team, their same message. Subhanallah how beautiful is that!
