The Noble Quran English Translation and Tafsir of Surah Noah
Ayah 5-20
71:5 He said, ‘O my Lord, I have called my people night and
day,
71:6 but my calling increased them nothing but flight.
71:7 And verily whenever I called them that you might forgive them, they put their fingers in their ears and cover themselves with their garments and persisted, and grew extremely arrogant.
71:8 And verily I called them openly.
71:9 Then, verily I spoke to them publicly and I spoke to them secretly.’
71:10 And I said, ‘Ask forgiveness from your Lord. Indeed, He is ever All-Forgiving.
71:11 He will send rain to you in abundance.
71:12 And He will give you more wealth and children and make for you gardens and rivers.
71:13 What is the matter with you that you do not fear the Greatness of Allah,
71:14 seeing that He has created you in stages?
71:15 Have you not considered how Allah has created seven heavens one upon another,
71:16 and He has made the moon therein a light and made the sun a lamp?
71:17 And Allah has caused you to grow from the earth in amazing growth.
71:18 Then He will return you into it and bring you forth for certain bringing forth.
71:19 And Allah has made the earth a wide expanse for you,
71:20 that you may go across wide paths therein.’
Relationship with the Previous Part
The previous part mentions that Allah sent Messenger Noah to his people to invite them to worship Him alone and obey His commands. Then, this part mentions that Messenger Noah complained to Allah, his Lord, and told Him that his people rejected his invitation though he did his best to persuade his people to follow the path of guidance. It also refers to some proofs confirming that Allah is the Creator of this universe and all that is in it.
Tafsir
71:5 He said, ‘O my Lord, I have called my people night and day,
71:6 but my calling increased them nothing but flight.
The ayah mentions the methods that Messenger Noah followed to invite his people to worship Allah alone and obey His commands. By giving a detailed description of the methods he followed, Prophet Noah demonstrated that he did his best to guide his people to the right path, but they turned deaf ears to his invitation.
Complaining to Allah, Messenger Noah said, ‘O my Lord! You know that I have exerted every effort to invite my people to worship You alone and obey Your commands. I have called them night and day without any slackness nor negligence. However, my invitation to follow the right path that pleases You has increased my people nothing but flight. They have turned away from the path of guidance and insisted on following the path of misguidance.
Mentioning that Prophet Noah invited his people night and day indicates that he exerted every effort and used every possible method to guide his people to the path of guidance. Moreover, mentioning that the invitation of Messenger Noah increased his people in flight indicates that they insisted on following the path of misguidance.
71:7 And verily whenever I called them that you might forgive them, they put their fingers in their ears and cover themselves with their garments and persisted, and grew extremely arrogant.
The ayah mentions another aspect that shows how vehemently the people of Prophet Noah rejected his invitation and hated even listening to his preaching.
Messenger Noah said, ‘O my Lord! Whenever I called my people to worship You alone and follow the path that pleases You, that You might forgive them their sins, they put their fingers in their ears lest they should hear my speech. They would also cover themselves with their garments so that they will not see me. They have persisted in following the path of misguidance and have grown extremely arrogant to accept the truth and follow the right path.’
The ayah eloquently portrays the great stubbornness of the people of Messenger Noah and their extreme denial of the truth. They preferred to act like the blind by preventing their eyes from seeing the caller to the truth and act like the deaf by preventing their ears from hearing the truth. Thus, they closed the doors of knowledge and insisted on blindly following the path of misguidance. The ayah also shows that they showed their Prophet, who invited them to follow the path of salvation, great hatred instead of appreciating his efforts and patience.
In sum, the people of Prophet Noah disobeyed their Prophet and Messenger Noah and insisted on following the path of misguidance.
71:8 And verily I called them openly.
71:9 Then, verily I spoke to them publicly and I spoke to them secretly.’
Though Messenger Noah [peace be upon him] faced strong opposition from his people, he kept on inviting them to worship Allah alone and follow the path of guidance using a variety of methods. He used every possible means that might help him to achieve his goal of guiding his people to the path that pleases Allah, Exalted be He.
Prophet Noah said, ‘O my Lord! I called my people to worship You alone openly. Then, I spoke to them publicly and I spoke to them secretly that they might accept to follow the right path.’
It is noticed that Messenger Noah went through three stages in his invitation to his people to worship Allah alone. First, he invited them secretly day and night, but they fled from him. Second, he invited them openly, but it was fruitless. Third, he combined the two methods, namely, invitation in secret and public, but this method also failed.
Messenger Muhammad [peace be upon him] followed a similar method to that of Messenger Noah when he invited the people of Makkah to worship Allah alone. The reaction of his people was similar to the reaction of the people of Messenger Noah [peace be upon him].
Sayyid Qutb wrote, ‘Messenger Noah [peace be upon him] continued carrying out his noble, sincere efforts to guide his people to the right path without seeking any personal interest nor benefit. He endured much rejection, arrogance, and ridicule for a thousand years minus fifty for the sake of this noble goal. However, the number of those who positively accepted his invitation hardly increased, and the degree of rejection and insistence on following the path of misguidance kept on increasing dramatically. At the end, Messenger Noah presented his account to his Lord, Who charged him with this noble obligation and that arduous task. He gave an account of his effort and the reaction he received though his Lord fully knew what happened, and he knew that his Lord fully knew what happened. However, it was simply a complaint of a weary heart at the end of the journey to the only One Who all Prophets, Messengers, and true believers ever complain… to Allah. Messenger Noah said, ‘71:5 He said, ‘O my Lord, I have called my people night and day, 71:6 but my calling increased them nothing but flight. 71:7 And verily whenever I called them that you might forgive them, they put their fingers in their ears and cover themselves with their garments and persisted, and grew extremely arrogant. 71:8 And verily I called them openly. 71:9 Then, verily I spoke to them publicly and I spoke to them secretly.’ 71:10 And I said, ‘Ask forgiveness from your Lord. Indeed, He is ever All-Forgiving. 71:11 He will send rain to you in abundance. 71:12 And He will give you more wealth and children and make for you gardens and rivers. 71:13 What is the matter with you that you do not fear the Greatness of Allah, 71:14 seeing that He has created you in stages? 71:15 Have you not considered how Allah has created seven heavens one upon another, 71:16 and He has made the moon therein a light and made the sun a lamp? 71:17 And Allah has caused you to grow from the earth in amazing growth. 71:18 Then He will return you into it and bring you forth for certain bringing forth. 71:19 And Allah has made the earth a wide expanse for you, 71:20 that you may go across wide paths therein.’ This was what Messenger Noah did and this was what he said. He represented to his Lord his final account at the end of the long journey. He portrayed his persistent effort. He said, ‘‘O my Lord, I have called my people night and day.’ He never bored, nor slackened, nor despaired before the rejection and insistence on refusal from his people. He said, ‘But my calling increased them nothing but flight.’ His people ran away from the caller to Allah, the Source of existence and life, the Source of blessings and bounties, and the Source of guidance and help. Messenger Noah did not ask for a wage for listening to his invitation nor tax for following the path of guidance. The running away was from the person who called them to Allah that He might forgive their sins and save them from the evil consequences of sinning, disobedience, and deviation. As the people of Messenger Muhammad could not physically run away from him when he boldly confronted his people, and there was a chance that his invitation would reach their ears, they hated hearing his voice and looking at him. They insisted on following the path of misguidance and were arrogant to respond positively to the sound of the truth and guidance. 71:7 And verily whenever I called them that you might forgive them, they put their fingers in their ears and cover themselves with their garments and persisted, and grew extremely arrogant. This portrays the insistence of the caller to the truth and doing his best to seize every opportunity to convey his message. Similarly, it portrays the insistence of the disbelievers to follow the path of misguidance, which highlights the stubborn and childish features of human beings. This clearly appears in putting the fingers in the ears and covering the heads and faces with garments. This description portrays the image of this complete childish stubbornness with words. Messenger Noah said, ‘They put their fingers in their ears.’ Their fingers could not enter their ears completely, but they put the tips of their fingers forcefully as if they wanted to make their whole fingers enter their ears to ensure that no sound would infiltrate into therein. Verily, it is a coarse image of insistence and stubbornness representing a primitive image of children in the form of adult human beings.’
71:10 And I said, ‘Ask forgiveness from your Lord. Indeed, He is ever All-Forgiving.
Advising his people, Messenger Noah said to them, ‘O my people! Ask Allah to forgive your sins. Indeed, Allah is ever All-Forgiving to those who repent of their sins and seek His forgiveness.’
71:11 He will send rain to you in abundance.
71:12 And He will give you more wealth and children and make for you gardens and rivers.
Messenger Noah promised his people a great reward if they repented of worshipping other gods besides Allah and asked Allah to forgive their sins. He said, ‘O my people! If you repent of the great sin of worshipping other gods besides Allah and ask Him to forgive your sins, Allah will reward you immensely. Allah will cause rain to come down in abundance whereby you will benefit greatly. Your land will be fertile and produce many crops and products, which will lead to the spread of prosperity and happiness among you. Allah, the Generous, will also give you more wealth and a great number of children, which will provide you with strength and support. Moreover, Allah will make greeny and blooming gardens for you, which will produce delicious and tasty fruits and vegetables for you. Allah will make fresh rivers run in your land, which you will use for drinking and irrigating your crops.’
This indicates that seeking forgiveness from Allah and repenting of sins is one of the great causes of attaining sustenance and providing of rain. In addition, they lead to achieving success in the life of this world and the Hereafter by the bounty and generosity of Allah.
It was narrated that Umar Ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, set out for invoking Allah to make rain come down. He only asked Allah for forgiveness and then he returned to Al-Madinah. He was asked, O the commander of the believers! We have not seen you invoking Allah for rain. He said, ‘I have invoked Allah to make rain come down by using the stars of rain, which are resorted to when rain is sought. Then, he recited, [71:10 And I said, ‘Ask forgiveness from your Lord. Indeed, He is ever All-Forgiving. 71:11 He will send rain to you in abundance. 71:12 And He will give you more wealth and children and make for you gardens and rivers.]
Imam Fakar ad-Din ar-Razi said, ‘When the people of Prophet Noah rejected believing in his message for a long time, Allah prevented rain from coming down to their land and made their women barren. Thus, they went to Messenger Noah and spoke with him. He said to them, ‘Ask Allah to forgive your sin of worshipping other gods besides Him to make His blessings come to you. You should know that occupying oneself with performing righteous deeds leads to the opening of doors of blessings, which is understood from some points. First, disbelief in the Oneness of Allah causes destruction on earth, and belief in the Oneness of Allah leads to prosperity on earth. Second, many ayat in the Quran confirm this concept, among which the following ayah: 7:96 Had the people of the towns believed and been God-fearing, We would have opened for them blessings from heaven and earth. But they rejected the truth, so We seized them for what they used to earn. Third, Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, invoked Allah for rain only by asking Allah for forgiveness. When it was said to him that he did not invoke Allah for rain, he said, ‘I invoked Allah for rain by using the stars of rain, which are resorted to when rain is sought. A man complained to Al-Hasan Al-Basri about poverty, another man complained to him about drought, and a third man complained to him about the lack of offspring. Then, he commanded them all to seek forgiveness from Allah. It was said to him, ‘Some men came to you complaining about different needs, but you commanded them all to seek forgiveness from Allah. Then, Al-Hasan Al-Basri recited 71:10 And I said, ‘Ask forgiveness from your Lord. Indeed, He is ever All-Forgiving. 71:11 He will send rain to you in abundance….’
71:13 What is the matter with you that you do not fear the Greatness of Allah,
71:14 seeing that He has created you in stages?
Messenger Noah invited his people to worship Allah alone and obey His commands by using motivation and encouragement. He also warned them of the evil consequences of disbelieving in the Oneness of Allah and disobeying His commands. First, he told them that seeking forgiveness from Allah and obeying His commands would make them enjoy a prosperous life. In addition, he strongly reproached them for rejecting his invitation to follow the right path.
Messenger Noah said, ‘O my people! What the matter with you that you do not fear the Greatness of Allah? You know that Allah, Exalted be He, created you in stages. Your creation passed through different stages, namely, nutfah (gametes of male and female), alaqah (zygote and its subsequent development), and mudghah (the third stage of human prenatal development). Why do you not fear the Greatness of Allah as He can punish you severely?’
71:15 Have you not considered how Allah has created seven heavens one upon another,
71:16 and He has made the moon therein a light and made the sun a lamp?
71:17 And Allah has caused you to grow from the earth in amazing growth.
71:18 Then He will return you into it and bring you forth for certain bringing forth.
After motivating and warning his people, Messenger Noah [peace be upon him] drew his people's attention to reflecting on the miraculous universe around them. He highlighted some wonders of the universe that they could see around them.
Messenger Noah said, ‘O my people! Have you considered how Allah has created seven heavens one upon another? Allah has made the moon in heaven to give light to earth and He made the sun in heaven to brighten earth with its light. Have you considered how Allah has caused you to grow from the earth in amazing growth when created your father Adam from the dust? Your creation from the dust looks like a plant that grows gradually until it produces beneficial fruits. Allah will also cause you to return to earth after your death when you are buried in your graves. Then, He will bring you forth from your graves for reckoning on the Day of Judgment, which will certainly take place.’
71:19 And Allah has made the earth a wide expanse for you,
71:20 that you may go across wide paths therein.’
Messenger Noah concluded his exhortation to his people with drawing their attention to the blessing of the creation of the earth where they live.
Messenger Noah said, ‘O my people! Allah has created the earth for you and He had made it a wide expanse that you may live and travel on it comfortably and easily. Allah has made the earth wide that you may move across its wide paths to satisfy your needs.’
In sum, Messenger Noah used different methods to persuade his people of the truthfulness of his message of worshipping Allah alone. He invited them day and night, and secretly and publically. He told them that obeying the commands of Allah will make them have abundant wealth, children, gardens, and rivers. He rebuked them for not fearing the punishment of Allah and reminded them of the stages of their creation. Moreover, he drew their attention to the marvelous creation of the heavens, the earth, the sun, and the moon. He also reminded them of their origin, namely, creating their father Prophet Adam from the dust, and told them that they would return to earth after their death as they would be buried in their graves. Then, they would be brought out of their graves for reckoning on the Day of Judgment. Finally, Messenger Noah reminded his people of the blessing of creating the earth with its wide path so that they could comfortably on it. However, his people reached the greatest level of stupidity, ignorance, stubbornness, and haughtiness. They arrogantly rejected believing in the message of worshipping Allah alone and insisted on worshipping false gods besides Allah.
Learned Lessons from Surah Noah Ayah 5-20
• Messenger Noah continued inviting his people to believe in the Oneness of Allah for nine hundred and fifty years without any boredom or weariness. He invited his people day and night, secretly, and openly. However, they rejected believing in his message and insisted on following the path of misguidance.
• The people of Messenger Noah closed their ears with their fingers and closed their eyes with their garments lest they should hear or listen to the invitation of Messenger Noah to worship Allah alone. Their conduct indicates great arrogance, haughtiness, and ignorance.
• Messenger Noah followed three methods when inviting his people to worship Allah alone. First, he advised them secretly. Second, he invited them openly. Third, he invited them secretly and openly. He used all possible means to achieve his goal.
• Occupying oneself with obeying Allah leads to the increase and growth of the blessing and bounty. It causes rain to come down, increase of crops, fruits, children, growing of gardens and having rivers.
• Asking Allah for forgiveness is a means for removing affliction and hardship.
• Messenger Noah warned his people of the evil consequence of not fearing the punishment of Allah and the severe torment awaiting them if they insisted on following the path of misguidance.
• Messenger Noah established proofs of the existence and Oneness of Allah by drawing his people's attention to reflect on their creation from the dust and the vast universe with its wonderful creation.
