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.
How the scholars use Ashab al-Rass.
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"after the Torah had been revealed except the town that was turned into apes. This indicates that every nation destroyed altogether was before Moses. Peace be upon him. Among these nations are the people of the well as Allah mentions in Surah Al-Furqan and Ad and Thamud and the people of the well and many generations between them and in Surah Kaaf before them the people of Noah and the people of the well and Thamud and Ad and Pharaoh and the brothers of Lot and the people of the thicket and the people of Tubba all had denied the messengers so my threat was justly fulfilled. These verses indicate"
— Ibn Kathir, Volume 1 — From Creation to Mūsā
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"companions of the trench mentioned in Surah Al-Buruj as those were after Jesus. Peace be upon him. Ibn Abbas said the people of the well were a village among the villages of Thamud. The historian Abu al-Qasim ibn Asakir mentioned that the people of the well were at Hudur and Allah sent them a prophet named Hanzalah ibn Safwan whom they denied and killed. Ad ibn Auf moved with his descendants from the well and settled in Al-Ahqaf and Allah destroyed the people of the well."
— Ibn Kathir, Volume 1 — From Creation to Mūsā
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"to their torment. Similarly, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, addressed the people of the well of Badr three nights after the battle. He stood upon them and said, O people of the well, have you found what your Lord promised to be true? For indeed I have found what my Lord promised me to be true. He criticized them for their actions against him, noting that others believed, gave refuge, and supported him. When Umar questioned speaking to decayed bodies, the Prophet replied, By the one in whose hand is my soul, you are not more hearing of what I say than they are, but they do not respond. It will be explained in its proper place,"
— Ibn Kathir, Volume 1 — From Creation to Mūsā
Appears in
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