The People of ar-Rass

The people of ar-Rass are an ancient people briefly mentioned in the Quran, cited alongside the 'Ad and the Thamud among the nations that denied their prophets and were punished. The Quran does not detail their story.

The Quran mentions the people of ar-Rass twice, always in a list of peoples who called their prophets liars: with the people of Noah, the 'Ad, the Thamud and other nations.

The Quran does not recount their story in detail. 'Ar-Rass' designates, according to commentators, a well or spring; traditional accounts about them vary and remain uncertain. What the text retains is their place in the long chain of warned peoples who refused the message and suffered the consequences. Their sober mention is itself a warning.

The people of ar-Rass remind us that history is full of forgotten peoples who rejected the truth. Their discreet mention teaches humility: no one is immune from being forgotten, nor from being held to account.

وَعَادًا وَثَمُودَ وَأَصْحَابَ الرَّسِّ

Il en fut de même des ‘Ad, des Thamoud, des habitants d’Ar-Rass et de nombreux peuples intermédiaires

25:38

كَذَّبَتْ قَبْلَهُمْ قَوْمُ نُوحٍ وَأَصْحَابُ الرَّسِّ

Déjà, avant eux, le peuple de Noé, les habitants d’Ar-Rass et les Thamoud avaient crié au mensonge,

50:12