The Noble Quran English Translation and Tafsir of Surah Noah
Ayah 21-28
The Noble Quran English Translation and Tafsir of Surah Noah Ayah 21-28
Some of the Evil Statements and Deeds of the People of Messenger Noah
71:21 Noah said, ‘O my Lord! They have disobeyed me and followed one whose wealth and children have given him no increase but loss.’
71:22 And they have plotted a mighty plot.
71:23 And they said, ‘Do not leave your gods, and do not leave Wadd nor Sawa’, nor Yaghus, and Ya’uq and Nasr.’
71:24 And they already have misled many. And give the wrongdoers no increase but loss.’
71:25 Because of their sins, they were drowned, and then they were made to enter the Fire. Hence, they did not find helpers besides Allah.
71:26 And Noah said, ‘O my Lord! Leave not on the earth of the disbelievers even one.
71:27 Surely, if You leave them, they will mislead Your slaves and will beget none but wicked disbelievers.
71:28 O my Lord! Forgive me and my parents and whoever enters my house as a believer, and the believers, men and women, and give the wrongdoers no increase but loss.’
Relationship with the Previous Part
The previous part mentions some proofs demonstrating the Oneness of Allah, Exalted be He. Then, this part mentions that the people of Messenger Noah insisted on disobeying the commands of Allah and following the path of misguidance. It also mentions some of their evil statements and deeds, whose main subject is constant worship of false gods. In addition, it mentions their punishment in the life of this world and the Hereafter. Finally, surah Noah is concluded with the invocation of Messenger Noah, who asked Allah to forgive him, his parents, and the believers.
Tafsir
71:21 Noah said, ‘O my Lord! They have disobeyed me and followed one whose wealth and children have given him no increase but loss.’
After doing his best to advise his people and inviting them to follow the path of guidance for nine hundred and fifty years, Messenger Noah despaired of their belief in the Oneness of Allah.
Messenger Noah said, ‘O my Lord! My people have disobeyed my commands, disliked my companionship, and arrogantly insisted on following the path of misguidance. They have not only turned away from the truth, but they have also followed their leaders, who own great wealth and many children, which have given them no increase but loss and denial of the blessings that You have given them in the life of this world. In the Hereafter, their wealth and children will give them no increase but punishment and regret.’
71:22 And they have plotted a mighty plot.
Messenger Noah mentions another evil deed of his people. He said, ‘O my Lord! The leaders among my people used the blessings that You have given them to spread evil. They have not only provoked their followers to disobey my commands, but they have also plotted a mighty plot against the believers and me.’
Some aspects of the evil plot of the disbelievers are determining to abuse Messenger Noah and the believers, and deceiving the foolish among their people by telling them that they follow the right path and that Messenger Noah and the believers follow the wrong path.
71:23 And they said, ‘Do not leave your gods, and do not leave Wadd nor Sawa’, nor Yaghus, and Ya’uq and Nasr.’
The leaders among the disbelievers said to their followers, ‘Do not leave worshipping your gods, which your fathers used to worship, especially, these gods: Wadd, Sawa’, Yaghus, Ya’uq, and Nasr.’
Imam Muhammad Ibn Jarir at-Tabari said, ‘These were names of righteous people, who had followers. When those righteous men died, their followers, who used to take them as role models, said, ‘If we make idols that look like them, it would motivate us to worship Allah whenever we remember them.’ Thus, they made idols that look like them. When those people died, and another generation came, Satan said to them, ‘Your ancestors used to worship these idols and have rain by invoking them.’ Thus, they worshipped them.’
71:24 And they already have misled many. And give the wrongdoers no increase but loss.’
After losing hope that his people would follow the right path, Messenger Noah invoked his Lord and said,
‘O my Lord! My people disobeyed me and follow their arrogant leaders, who made a great plot against me. They said to their followers that they should keep on worshiping their false gods. By doing so, they have misled many people and made them follow the path of misguidance. O, my Lord! I ask You that You give the wrongdoers no increase but loss over their wrongdoing, as You have told me that no one would believe from my people except those who have already believed.’
It is clear that Messenger Noah made his invocation after he lost hope in his people and after Allah told him that no more people would believe.
71:25 Because of their sins, they were drowned, and then they were made to enter the Fire. Hence, they did not find helpers besides Allah.
This ayah mentions the reason for punishing the people of Messenger Noah severely.
Because of the grave sins that the people of Messenger Noah committed, they were drowned by the flood in the life of this world, and they would enter the Fire of Hell on the Day of Judgment wherein they would suffer severe punishment. They will find no helpers besides Allah to save them from the lasting terrible punishment of Hell. The gods that they used to worship besides Allah in the life of this world cannot protect them from the torment of Hell.
It is as if the ayah draws the attention of the disbelievers, who claim that their false gods will intercede for them with Allah on the Day of Judgment, and tells them that these false gods cannot benefit nor harm them and can never protect them against the punishment of Allah. Hence, they may wake up and amend their wrong way before it is too late. If they die as disbelievers nothing can protect them from the punishment of Allah.
In two short ayat, the story of the insolent, disobedient ones ends, and remembering them is folded away from life before mentioning the innovation of Messenger Noah to destroy them. The context of the surah does not give details about the story of their drowning nor the story of the flood that swept them away. That is because the shadow that is intended to remain in this situation is the shadow of a swift assault that traverses the distance between the drowning and destruction by using very few words, which agrees with the style of the Quran that uses wonderful, rhythmic expressions and images.
71:26 And Noah said, ‘O my Lord! Leave not on the earth of the disbelievers even one.
71:27 Surely, if You leave them, they will mislead Your slaves and will beget none but wicked disbelievers.
71:28 O my Lord! Forgive me and my parents and whoever enters my house as a believer, and the believers, men and women, and give the wrongdoers no increase but loss.’
Surah Noah continues narrating the story of Messenger Noah and his people and mentions his invocation to his Lord.
Messenger Noah said, ‘O my Lord! Do not leave on the earth anyone of the disbelievers. Destroy them all with Your irresistible mighty, so that no one, who moves on earth, remains. If You leave them on earth, they will mislead Your slaves and incite them to worship other gods besides You and disobey Your commands. O, my Lord! If you leave any one of the disbelievers alive on earth, they will beget none but wicked disbelievers, who hate the truth and follow the path of misguidance. O, my Lord! Forgive my sins and forgive the sins of my parents, whoever enters my house as a believer, and the believers, men and women. O, my Lord! Give the wrongdoers no increase but loss and destruction.’
Qatada, may Allah be pleased with him, said, ‘ 71:26 And Noah said, ‘O my Lord! Leave not on the earth of the disbelievers even one. By Allah, Messenger Noah only invoked Allah to destroy the disbelievers after receiving a revelation from Allah that no more people from his people would believe. Thus, he invoked Allah to destroy them and leave no one moving earth among them. Then, he invoked Allah and said, ‘71:28 O my Lord! Forgive me and my parents and whoever enters my house as a believer, and the believers, men and women, and give the wrongdoers no increase but loss.’
Sayyid Qutb wrote, ‘Then, Messenger Noah continued his final innovation and his prayer to his Lord at the end of his journey. Noah’s heart was inspired that the earth needed cleansing that would purify its surface from the absolute, overwhelming evil that spread among his people. Sometimes, no remedy is beneficial, but cleaning the surface of the earth from all the wrongdoers because their existence would freeze the invitation to the worship of Allah for good and prevent it from reaching the hearts of people. This is the fact that Messenger Noah expressed when he invoked Allah to destroy the wrongdoers that no one of them would remain on earth. If they remained alive on the surface of the earth, they would mislead the slaves of Allah by forcing them to renounce their belief in the Oneness of Allah by the overpowering force or deceiving their hearts when they saw the great power of the wrongdoers without suffering any punishment from Allah. Moreover, the wrongdoers would create an environment wherein the disbelievers would bear and motivate the young generation to follow the path of misguidance by being negatively affected by the unfavorable environment created by the wrongdoers. Thus, there would be no chance for the young generation to see the light of faith since the misguided environment created by the wrongdoers would overwhelm them with its evil effect. Messenger Noah referred to this fact when mentioned that the disbelievers would beget none but wicked disbelievers, who would spread falsehood among the community and create customs, situations, systems, and traditions in which the young generation would be brought up as disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah. Therefore, Messenger Noah invoked Allah to destroy the disbelievers to clean the surface of the earth from such evil and eradicate all obstacles that only the strong and able Will of Allah could remove.’
Learned Lessons from Surah Noah Ayah 21-28
• It is permissible to complain to Allah, Exalted be He. Therefore, Messenger Noah complained to Allah and told Him that his people disobeyed him and rejected believing in the Oneness of Allah after inviting them for nine hundred and fifty-nine years, which indicates their stubbornness and insistence on following the path of misguidance.
• People usually imitate their leaders and elites. The people of Messenger Noah followed their leaders and elites, who were arrogant disbelievers. Their wealth and children gave them no increase but loss and destruction. Those leaders and elites did their best to turn people away from following the right path.
• The people of Messenger Noah insisted on disbelieving in the Oneness of Allah, stubbornness, rebellion, and worshipping false gods besides Allah. They urged one another to keep on worshipping their false gods, which were idols in the image of some righteous men, who died and generation after generation worshipped these idols besides Allah.
• Messenger Noah complained to Allah and told Him that the leaders and elites among his people made his people follow the path of misguidance. Therefore, he invoked Allah to destroy them after receiving a revelation from Allah that no more people would believe among his people.
• The people of Messenger Noah were punished severely because of their sins. They were drowned by the flood in the life of this world. They will enter Hell on the Day of Judgment and suffer its great torment.
• No one can help from the punishment of Allah. The false gods will never protect the disbelievers from the punishment of Allah.
• Messenger Noah invoked Allah to forgive him, his parents, the believers who entered his house, and the believers. He also invoked Allah to give the disbelievers no increase but loss and destruction.
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