The companions of Al-Aykah denied the Messengers. When Shu`ayb said to them:"Will you not have Taqwa! I am a trustworthy Messenger to you. So, have Taqwa of Allah, and obey me. No reward do I ask of you for it; my reward is only from the Lord of Al-`Alamin."The companions of Al-Aykah were the people of Madyan, according to the most correct view.The Prophet of Allah Shu`ayb was one of them, but it does not say here, their brother Shu`ayb, because they called themselves by a name denoting their deification of Al-Aykah, which was a tree which they used to worship; it was said that it was a group of trees which were tangled, like trees in a thicket. For this reason, when Allah said that the companions of Al-Aykah denied the Messengers, He did not say, "When their brother Shu`ayb said to them." Rather, He said