قَالُوا يَا شُعَيْبُ مَا نَفْقَهُ كَثِيرًا مِّمَّا تَقُولُ وَإِنَّا لَنَرَاكَ فِينَا ضَعِيفًا ۖ وَلَوْلَا رَهْطُكَ لَرَجَمْنَاكَ ۖ وَمَا أَنتَ عَلَيْنَا بِعَزِيزٍ (91)
(11:91) They said: 'O Shu'ayb! We do not understand much of what you say. *102 Indeed we see you weak in our midst. Were it not for your kinsmen, we would surely have stoned you for you have no strength to overpower us. *103
*102). When Shu'ayb's people stated that they did not understand much of what Shu'ayb said, they did not say so because Shu'ayb (peace be on him) spoke in some foreign language, or because he talked in an ambiguous or complicated manner. On the contrary, Shu'ayb's teaching was quite clear and simple and was conveyed to his people in a language they fully understood - their own. The difficulty in understanding Shu'ayb's teaching arose from the fact that his people had become simply too perverse to grasp it. It is always the case that when some people become fully seized by their prejudice, are overpowered by their lusts, or begin to move vehemently in one particular intellectual direction, they hardly have the patience to give ear to any idea which is different from their own. But even if they were to listen to any unfamiliar idea, it would only sound to them as gibberish, as something coming to them from some other planet.
*103). It should be borne in mind that exactly the same situation that had obtained in the past among the people of Shu'ayb also obtained in Makka at the time these verses were revealed. The Quraysh were seething with enmity towards Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) and wanted to put an end to his life in much the same way as Shu'ayb's people were inimical to him. The only reason which prevented the Quraysh from violently laying their hands on the Prophet (peace be on him) was that his clan, Hashim, stood firmly behind him.
Thus, the story of Shu'ayb in relation to his people was exactly the same as that of Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) in relation to the Quraysh. The story of Shu'ayb is narrated here precisely because of the obvious resemblance it bears to the predicament of Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him).
Soon we will also come across (see verse 93) a very instructive statement of Shu'ayb's in response to the harsh expression of hostility (see verse 91). The implication is quite clear. The same statement would be addressed by Muhammad (peace be on him) to his own unbelieving people.