Ashab al-Rass
Definition
Ashab al-rass — the People of the Well — are a destroyed community mentioned briefly alongside 'Ad and Thamud in the Quran (25:38) as another example of a civilization that rejected its prophet and was erased. Ibn Kathir reviews the various scholarly opinions about their identity: some say they were a people whose prophet was thrown into a well; others identify them with a specific Arabian tribe; others locate them in a different region entirely. He does not force a definitive conclusion, acknowledging the limits of the historical record. Their brief mention serves a compositional purpose in the Quran: the list of destroyed nations is long, and even the ones barely named carry the same warning as the ones narrated in full.
As understood in the classical tradition of Ibn Kathir and the scholars of his school.
Appears in
1 book in the library
Hear the term in context.
Every book above uses Ashab al-Rass the way the classical scholars meant it. Listen with the full Study Kit in the app.