71- Surat Nooh

 

71- Surat Nooh

28 Verses Meccan (revealed in Mecca)

A'auzu Bellahi mena ash-shytani ar-rajim

I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan

Bismi Ellahi Ar-rhmani Ar-rahim

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Inna arsalna noohan ela qawmehi an anzir qawmaka men qabli an ya'teyahum azabun aleem (1).

Indeed, We sent Noah to His people that Warn your people before a painful punishment comes to them".

Qala ya-qawmi inni lakum nazeerun mubeen (2).

He said O My people! Indeed, I am to you a clear warner.

Ani e'budu Allaha wa ttaquhu wa ati'uon (3).

That worship Allah, and fear Him, and obey Me.

Yaghfir lakum men zunubekum wa you'khkherkum ela ajalin musamman inna ajala Allahi iza ja'a la you'akhkharuo laww kuntum ta'lamuon (4).

He will forgive for you your sins, and delay you to an appointed term, indeed, the term of Allah, when it comes, can not be delayed, if you know.

Qala Rabbi inni da'awtuo qawmi laylan wa nahara (5).

He said: My lord, indeed, I called My people night and day.

Falam yazed-hum dua'ee ela ferara (6). 

But My call increased them not except fleeing.

Wa inni kullama da'awtuhum le-taghfera lahum ja'aluo assabe'ahum fee azanehem wa estaghshaw thiyabahum wa assarruo wa estakbaruo estekbara (7).

And indeed, every time I called them that You may forgive them, they put their fingers in their ears, and wrapped their clothes around themselves, and persisted, and were arrogant, extreme arrogance.

Thumma inni da'awtuhum jehara (8).

Then I called them publicly.

Thumma inni a'alantuo lahum wa asrartuo lahum esrara (9).

Then indeed, I announced to them, and I confided to them secretly.

Fa qultuo estaghferuo rabbakum innahuo kana ghaffara (10).

Then I said Ask forgiveness of your Lord, indeed, He is Oft-Forgiving.

yourseli alsama'a alaykum medrara (11).

He will send down the sky upon you in abundance.

Wa you-mdedkum be-amwalin wa banena wa yaj'al lakum jannatin wa yaj'al lakum anhara (12).

And provide you with wealth and children, and make for you gardens, and make for you rivers.

Ma lakum la tarjuona lellahi waqara (13).

What is with you that you do not attribute the grandeur to Allah.

Wa qad khalaqakum atwara (14).

Whereas He has created you in stages.

Alam taraww kaiyfa khalaqa Allahu sab'a samawatin tebaqa (15).

Do not you see how Allah created seven heavens, layers?.

Wa ja'la alqamara feehinna nuran wa ja'la alshamsa seraja (16).

And made the moon a light therein, and made the sun a lamp?.

Wa Allahu anbatakum mena alardi nabata (17).

And Allah has make you to grow from the earth, a growth.

Thumma youedukum feeha wa youkhrijukum ekhraja (18).

Then He will return you to it, and bring you forth, new extraction.

Wa Allahu ja'la lakumu alarda besata (19).

And Allah made for you the earth an expanse.

Le-tasluku menha subulan fejaja (20).

That you may go therein a wide paths.

Qala Noohun Rabbi innahum assawni wa etaba'uo man lam yazid-hu maluhuo wa waladuhuo ella khasara (21). 

Noah said: My Lord indeed, they disobeyed Me, and followed he who his wealth and his children did not increase him except loss.

Wa makaruo makran kubbara (22).

And they planned a great plot.

Wa qaluo la tazarunna alihatakum wala tazarunna waddan wala suwa'an wala yaghutha wa ya'uqa wa nasra (23).

And said, do not leave your gods, and do not leave Wadd nor Suwa' nor Yaghuth and Ya'uq and Nasr.

Wa qad adallu katheeran wala tazedi alzalemeena ella dalala (24).

And indeed, they led many astray, and do not increase the wrongdoers except error.

Memma khate'atehim aughrequo fa-audkheluo naran fa-lam yajeduo lahum men duoni ellahi ansara (25).

Because of their sins, they were drowned, and then made to enter fire, so they did not found helpers besides Allah.

Wa qala noohun Rabbi la tazar ala alardi mena alkafereena dayyara (26).

And Noah said My lord do not leave on the earth any inhabitant from among the disbelievers.

Innaka in tazarhum youdilluo ebadaka wala yaleduo ella fajeran kaffara (27).

Indeed, if You leave them, they will lead your servants astray, and they will not beget except a wicked, a sever disbeliever. 

Rabbi eghfir lee wa le-waledayya wa le-man dakhala baytiya mu'menan wa le-lmu'meneena wa almu'menati wala tazedi alzalemeena ella tabara (28).

My Lord forgive Me and My parents, and whoever enters My house a believer, and the believing men and the believing women, and do not increase the wrongdoers except destruction.

Simplified interpretation: 

 Surat Nooh comes as a story about Allah's Prophet Noah who remained among His people a thousand years minus fifty years as mentioned in Surat Alankaboot, and He kept calling them to worship Allah secretly and publicly, once by intimidation, once by encouragement, and once by the speech of reason, but they insisted on their disbelief, and refused to abandon their gods, therefore Allah had drowned them, and has prepared a painful torment awaits them in the hereafter.

 Allah Almighty commanded His Prophet Noah to call his people to worship Allah alone by intimidation of a painful torment that will fall upon them if they did not believe in Allah, where Allah says in the first four verses "Indeed, We sent Noah to His people that Warn your people before a painful punishment comes to them, He said O My people indeed, I am to you a clear warner, that worship Allah, and fear Him, and obey Me, He will forgive for you your sins, and delay you to an appointed term, indeed, the term of Allah, when it comes, can not be delayed, if you know", that was a threat from Allah to them that if they did not believe in Him and did not obey His Messenger, the punishment would hasten for them, and He would not delay them so that they could reach their ages that He had written for them. And He assures that the time of death whether it is naturally or through a torment will fall upon them can not bey delayed, and if they had knowledge they would know that. 

 Noah conveyed the Message of His Lord and warned them of a painful torment as He commanded Him, But He did not find any response from them, then He complained His people to Allah as mentioned in Ayat (5-9) "He said: My lord, indeed, I called My people night and day, but My call increased them not except fleeing, and indeed, every time I called them that You may forgive them, they put their fingers in their ears, and wrapped their clothes around themselves, and persisted, and were arrogant, extreme arrogance, then I called them publicly, then indeed, I announced to them, and I confided to them secretly". He did not abandon the call to faith in Allah day or night, secretly or openly, between him and them or among the people, but His call increased them not except fleeing from the truth, and every time He called them to seek Allah's forgiveness, they put their fingers in their ears, and wrapped their clothes around themselves lest they hear what He says, and they insisted on their disbelief, and they were arrogant and refused to submit to the truth.

 Also He call them by encouragement in the next three verses (10-12) "Then I said Ask forgiveness of your Lord, indeed, He is Oft-Forgiving, He will send down the sky upon you in abundance, and provide you with wealth and children, and make for you gardens, and make for you rivers". Where He commanded them to repent and to seek forgiveness for their disbelief, and if they do so, Allah will send down a successive rain from the sky which is the cause of abundant sustenance for them, Also He will give them money and children, and gardens in which all kind of fruits, and rivers which flowing between them.

 Then He called them by the speech of reason to show them the greatness and the power of Allah in the creation of the heavens, themselves, and the earth that they may reason and said in the next eight verses (13-20) "What is with you that you do not attribute the grandeur to Allah, whereas He has created you in stages, do not you see how Allah created seven heavens, layers, and made the moon a light therein, and made the sun a lamp?, and Allah has make you to grow from the earth, a growth, then He will return you to it, and bring you forth, new extraction, and Allah made for you the earth an expanse, that you may go therein a wide paths". He asked them, as a kind of denunciation, why they did not appraised and glorify Allah by the right of His greatness whereas He has created them in stages, that is, Allah has created man as mentioned in Surat Alqiyamah from a sperm of semen, then the sperm turns into a clinging blood in the woman's womb, then Allah formed and perfected it, and the soul breathed into it, then became a complete creature male or female. Also He reminded them of the greatness of Allah in creating seven heavens in layers one upon another, and made the moon a light therein at night, and He made the sun a lamp at day, and reminded them of the greatness of  Allah in creating themselves where He has make them to grow from the earth where Allah has created Adam from clay as mentioned in Surat Alsajdah Aya (7)"And began the creation of man from clay", and then He said to them that Allah will return them to the earth when they are buried in it after death, then Allah will bring them forth on the day of resurrection. Then He reminded them of the greatness of Allah in creating the earth where He made the earth an expanse for them to settle upon and walk in it whenever they wish from the wide paths.

 The call by intimidation, the call by encouragement, and the call by the speech of reason did not work with them and they insisted on their disbelief, So "Noah said: My Lord indeed, they disobeyed Me, and followed he who his wealth and his children did not increase him except loss, and they planned a great plot, and said, do not leave your gods, and do not leave Wadd nor Suwa' nor Yaghuth and Ya'uq and Nasr" Ayat (21-23), where they followed whoever has a lot of money and children whom his wealth and his children did not increase him except loss, misguidance, and destruction in the Hereafter, and they planned a great plot to convince them that they are on the truth and guidance, and they said to their followers "do not leave your gods, and do not leave Wadd nor Suwa' nor Yaghuth and Ya'uq and Nasr".

 Ibn Abbas said that the idols which were worshiped by the people of Noah were worshiped by the Arab later on, as for the idol Wadd, it was worshiped by the tribe of Kalb at Daumat Aljandal, Suwa' was the idol of the tribe of Hudhail, Yaghuth was worshiped by the tribe of Murad and then by Bani Ghutaid at Aljurf near Saba', Ya'uq was the idol of Hamdan, and Nasr was the idol of Himyar, the branch of Dhi-Alkala'. The names of theses idols formerly belonged to some pious men of the people of Noah, and when they died Satan inspired their people to prepare and place idols at the places where they used to sit, and to call those idols by their names, the people did so, but the idols were not worshiped till those people has died and the origin of the idols had become obscure, whereupon people began worshiping them.

 Then the prophet Noah said in the next verse (24) "And indeed, they led many astray, and do not increase the wrongdoers except error" where many people have gone astray by worshipping theses idols that were created in the images of the pious people, therefore He supplicated Allah against His people for their rebellion, their disbelief, and their stubbornness, and He asked Allah not to increase the wrongdoers except in misguidance, and they to be further away from the path of the truth.

 So Allah says "Because of their sins, they were drowned, and then made to enter fire, so they did not found helpers besides Allah" Aya (25), that is, because of their sins, Allah drowned the wrongdoers of His people among whom was His son, and Allah saved Him and the believers as mentioned in Surat Hud Ayat (25-48), and Allah has prepared for them a painful torment in the hereafter, and this is similar to Aya (37) of Surat Alfurqan "And the people of Noah, when they denied the Messengers, We drowned them, and We made them for mankind a sign, and We have prepared for the wrongdoers a painful punishment", and they did not found helpers besides Allah to save them from that torment either in the worldly life or in the hereafter.

 The fate that faced Noah's people was in response to the supplication of their Prophet as mentioned in Aya (26) "And Noah said My lord do not leave on the earth any inhabitant from among the disbelievers", that is because He despaired of their acceptance of faith, and became certain that there is no good in them or in their offspring, and they will not beget except every wicked, a severe disbelieve whose heart is filled with disbelief and denial of Allah's signs and proofs, so he will deny the truth when it came to him, will disbelieve in Allah, will be ungrateful to Allah and will deny that He is the One who bestows His blessings upon him, and that is why He said in the next verse (27) "Indeed, if You leave them, they will lead your servants astray, and they will not beget except a wicked, a severe disbeliever".

 And then He asked forgiveness for Him, His parents, His companions, the believing men, and the believing women, and asked destruction and loss for the wrongdoers as mentioned in the last verse (28) "My Lord forgive Me and My parents, and whoever enters My house a believer, and the believing men and the believing women, and do not increase the wrongdoers except destruction".

   

No one Knows its interpretation except Allah