Verse 179of 227

Shu`ayb and His Preaching to the Dwellers of Al-AykahThe 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.

Source: Tafsir Ibn Kathir — abridged excerpt