Shuaib, Shoaib, Shuayb or Shuʿayb (, ; meaning: "who shows the right path") is an ancient

Midian Midian (; ; , ''Madiam''; Taymanitic: 𐪃𐪕𐪚𐪌 ''MDYN''; ''Mīḏyān'') is a geographical region in West Asia, located in northwestern Saudi Arabia. mentioned in the Tanakh and Quran. William G. Dever states that biblical Midian was ...

ite

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings ...

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

and the most revered prophet in the

Druze The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...

faith. Shuaib is sometimes identified with the Hebrew biblical Jethro,

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

's father-in-law. Shuaib is mentioned in the

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

11 times. He is believed to have lived after Ibrahim (

Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...

), and

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

believe that he was sent as a prophet to the Midianites, who are also known as the ''Aṣḥāb al-Aykah'' ("Companions of the Wood") for their worship of a large tree. To the Midianites, Shuaib proclaimed the " straight path", warning them to end their fraudulent ways. When the community did not repent,

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

destroyed the community. Alongside Hud, Salih, and

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

, Shuaib is understood by Muslims as one of the four

Arabian The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

prophets sent by God. It is said that he was known by Muslims as "the eloquent preacher amongst the prophets" because he was, according to tradition, granted talent and eloquence in his language. The Druze honor Shuaib as their principal prophet and hold an annual pilgrimage to Nabi Shu’ayb—a site in the

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

i Lower Galilee believed by Druze to be his tomb—from April 25 to 28, known as Ziyara.

Historical context

The area to which Shuʿayb was sent to is named ''Madyan'' in the Qur'an, known in English as

, which is frequently referred to in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Biblical Canaanites, they intermixed with them. It is said they were a wandering tribe, and that their principal territory at the time of

was the

Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai ( ; ; ; ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a land bridge between Asia and Afri ...

. The historical region of Midian roughly corresponds to what is now

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of Tabuk in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

. According to the

Book of Genesis The Book of Genesis (from Greek language, Greek ; ; ) is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its incipit, first word, (In the beginning (phrase), 'In the beginning'). Genesis purpor ...

, the Midianites were the descendants of

, a son of

and his wife

Keturah Keturah (, ''Qəṭūrā'', possibly meaning "incense"; ) was a wife (1917 Jewish Publication Society of America translation). "And Abraham took another wife, and her name was Keturah...." and a concubine (1917 Jewish Publication Society of A ...

: "Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah. And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah" ( Genesis 25:1–2,

King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version (AV), is an Early Modern English Bible translations, Early Modern English translation of the Christianity, Christian Bible for the Church of England, wh ...

). Midian can be considered as being part of the

Hejaz Hejaz is a Historical region, historical region of the Arabian Peninsula that includes the majority of the western region of Saudi Arabia, covering the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif and Al Bahah, Al-B ...

, which is significant for

as the region of their two holiest cities,

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

and

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

. File:Midian.png, A map of

, the area where Shuʿayb was sent to prophesy, in Islamic belief File:مدائن شعيب.jpg, Maghayir Shu'ayb in what is now

Tabuk Province Tabuk Province, also known as Tabuk Region ( '), is a province in Saudi Arabia, located along the northwestern coast of the country, facing Egypt across the Red Sea. It also borders Jordan to the north. History The history of Tabuk province ...

File:قلعة تبوك.jpg, The historical caste of Tabuk

Disputed identification with Jethro

Jethro is mentioned in the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

(Exodus 3:1) as the father-in-law of Moses. Although Shuaib is frequently identified with the Midianite priest Jethro, most modern scholars reject this identification. Classical commentators, such as

Ibn Kathir Abu al-Fida Isma'il ibn Umar ibn Kathir al-Dimashqi (; ), known simply as Ibn Kathir, was an Arab Islamic Exegesis, exegete, historian and scholar. An expert on (Quranic exegesis), (history) and (Islamic jurisprudence), he is considered a lea ...

, say Shuʿayb was a great-grandson of Abraham: Shuʿayb is believed to have been the son of Mikil, son of Midian, son of Abraham. That would render impossible the identification with Jethro, who lived at the time of Moses, purportedly hundreds of years after Abraham.

Narrative in the Quran

The Qur'an states that Shuaib was appointed by

to be a prophet to the people of Midian. The people of this land were said to be especially notorious for cheating others through dishonesty and for idolatry. Shuʿayb's prophecy mainly involved calling the Midianites to the correct path of God, and forbidding them to worship false gods. It is also said he told his people to stop being dishonest in their daily activities. Although he preached and prophesied for a sustained period of time, the majority of the people refused to listen to him. Shuayb, however, remained steadfast. He consistently preached powerfully against the wicked, telling them of the punishment that had befallen the sinful before them. Shuʿayb warned the people that their ignorance would lead to the destruction of Midian, giving historical examples of earlier prophets, including

Noah Noah (; , also Noach) appears as the last of the Antediluvian Patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5–9), the Quran and Baháʼí literature, ...

, Hud, Saleh and Lot, all of whose people had been destroyed by God. The people taunted Shuʿayb and told him that, were it not for the prestigious family he came from, he would surely have been stoned to death. Shuayb replied, "Is my family of more consideration with you than God?" When the Midianites refused to believe, they were destroyed by a mighty earthquake. The Qur'an, however, mentions that Shuʿayb, and his believing companions, were rescued from the thunderous punishment.

Parallels with other prophets

Shuayb's mission is often mentioned in the Qur'an with the mission of Noah, Hud, Saleh and Lot. Scholars have pointed out that these five

s 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, while his people were subsequently destroyed in a punishment. Scholars chronologically interpret the listing of the five prophets, so Shuʿayb was a descendant of Ibrahim and Nuh (

).Wheeler, ''A-Z of Prophets in Islam and Judaism'', ''Shuayb''

Claimed burial places of Shuayb

Wādī Shuʿayb, Jordan

One claimed tomb of Shuayb is found in

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

, () west of the town of Mahis, in an area called ''Wādī Shuʿayb'' (). File:Shoaib Shrine.jpg , One of the claimed shrines of Shuayb, which is in Wadi Shuʿayb,

, the

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

File:Nabi-shurayb.jpg , The shrine of Shuayb, as believed by the

and some

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

s, near Hittin in the

Galilee Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ). ''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...

Galilee, Israel

The Galilean Shrine of Shu'ayb: the

believe the tomb of Nabi Shu'ayb is located near Hittin, in the Lower Galilee. Each year, on the 25th of April, the Druze gather at the site to discuss community affairs.

Guriyeh, Iran

There is also a tomb in the southwest of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, in the village Guriyeh, Shushtar, which has been recorded as the tomb of Shuayb.Documents, Asare-Sabti
web.archive.org Retrieved 17 Nov 2018

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shuayb (Prophet) Prophets of the Quran Prophets in the Druze faith Midian Jethro (biblical figure)