78 Preface وَإِن كانَ أَصحابُ الأَيكَةِ لَظالِمينَYusuf AliAnd the Companions of the Wood1 were also wrong-doers;“Companions of the Wood”: Ashab al Aykah. Perhaps Aykah is after all a proper noun, the name of a town or tract. Who were the Companions of the Aykah? They are mentioned four times in the Qur-ān, viz., here, and in 26:176- 191; 38:13; and 50:14. The only passage in which any details are given is 26:176- 191. There we are told that their Prophet was Shu'ayb, and other details given correspond to those of the Madyan, to whom Shu'ayb was sent as Prophet: see 7:85-93. In my notes to that passage 1 have discussed the question of Shu'ayb and the Madyan people. It is reasonable to suppose that the Companions of the Wood were either the same as the Madyan, or a group among them or in their neighbourhood.