Source: Ibn Kathir
Translation: Mohsin Khan
| Nuh and His People |
When Allah tells us about how most of the early people went astray from the path of salvation, He starts the detailed explanation of that with the story of Nuh and the rejection of his people. Only a few of Nuh's people believed in him, despite the long period of time he spent among them. He stayed among them for one thousand years less fifty, and after he stayed among them for so long and their disbelief became too much for him to bear -- for every time he called them, they turned away from him even more -- he prayed to his Lord saying, "I have been overcome, so help (me)!'' So Allah became angry because Nuh was angry with them.
He says:
He says:
(And indeed Nuh invoked Us, and We are the best of those who answer.)
(And We rescued him and his family from the great distress.) means, their disbelief and their insults.
(And, his progeny, them We made the survivors.) `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, "There was no one left apart from the offspring of Nuh, peace be upon him.''
Sa`id bin Abi `Arubah said, narrating from Qatadah concerning the Ayah,
(And, his progeny, them We made the survivors.) "All people descended from the offspring of Nuh, peace be upon him.''
At-Tirmidhi, Ibn Jarir and Ibn Abi Hatim narrated from Samurah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet said, concerning the Ayah, (And, his progeny, them We made the survivors): (Sam, Ham and Yafith.) Imam Ahmad recorded from Samurah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah said: (Sam was the father of the Arabs, Ham was the father of the Ethiopians and Yafith was the father of the Romans.)'' This was also recorded by At-Tirmidhi.
What is meant here by Romans is the original Romans, i.e., the Greeks who claimed descent from Ruma (Roma) the son of Liti, the son of Yunan, the son of Yafith, the son of Nuh, peace be upon him.
(And left for him among the later generations. ) Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "He is remembered in a good way.'' Mujahid said this means "An honorable mention by all the Prophets.'' Qatadah and As-Suddi said, "Allah caused him to be praised constantly by others.'' Ad-Dahhak said it means "Salam and praise.''
(Salam (peace!) be upon Nuh among all creatures!) This explains for us the extent of the honourable mention and praise, for he is greeted with peace by all groups and nations.
(Verily, thus We reward the good doers.) means, `This is how We reward those of Our servants who do deeds of obedience to Allah. We gave him an honourable mention so that after he died he is still remembered in a manner that befits his status.'
Then Allah says:
(Verily, he ﴿Nuh﴾ was one of Our believing servants.) meaning, one of the sincere believers in the Oneness of Allah, one of those who had a certain faith.
(Then We drowned the others. ) means, `We destroyed them, and there was no trace whatsoever left of them, and they are only known by this unfavourable description.'
| The Story of Ibrahim and His People |
`Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him:
(And verily, among those who followed his ways was Ibrahim.) means, he was one of the followers of his religion. Mujahid said, "He was following his path and his way.''
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(When he came to his Lord with a Salim heart.) Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "This means that he bore witness that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah.'' rIbn Abi Hatim recorded that `Awf said, "I said to Muhammad bin Sirin, `What is the Salim heart' He said, `One which knows that Allah is true and that the Hour will undoubtedly come to pass, and that Allah will resurrect those who are in the graves.''' Al-Hasan said, "One that is free from Shirk.'' `Urwah said, "One that is not cursed.''
(When he said to his father and to his people: "What is it that which you worship'') He denounced his people for their worship of idols and false gods,
Allah said:
(Is it a falsehood -- gods other than Allah -- that you desire Then what think you about the Lord of the all that exists) Qatadah said, "This means, `what do you think He will do with you when you meet Him, given that you worshipped others alongside Him''
So he said,
(Verily, I am sick.) meaning, weak.
Ibn Jarir narrated here a Hadith from Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, stating that the Messenger of Allah said: (Ibrahim (peace and blessings be upon him) did not lie except in three cases. Two were for the sake of Allah: (one is) when he said, (Verily, I am sick); and (the second) when he said, (Nay, this one, the biggest (his wife) of them (idols) did it.) and (the third) when he said concerning (his wife) Sarah, "She is my sister.'')
This Hadith is recorded in the books of the Sahih and Sunan with various chain of narrations. But this is not the kind of real lie for which a person is to be condemned -- Allah forbid! One calls it a lie for lack of a better word, because it is abstruse speech used for a legitimate religious purpose, and it was said that what was meant by the words,
(Verily, I am sick) was, `I am sick at heart of your worshipping idols instead of Allah.' Al-Hasan Al-Basri said, "The people of Ibrahim went out to their festival and they wanted to make him go out too. So he lay down on his back and said,
(Verily, I am sick.) and he started looking at the sky. When they had gone out, he turned to their gods and broke them.'' This was recorded by Ibn Abi Hatim.
Ibrahim, peace be upon him, said this to his people so that he could stay behind in the city when they went out for their festival. The time was approaching for them to go out to celebrate a festival of theirs, and he wanted to be alone with their gods so that he could break them, so he told them something that was true, for he was indeed sick of the implications of what they believed in.
(So they turned away from him and departed.) Qatadah said, "The Arabs say of one who thinks deeply that he is looking at the stars.'' What Qatadah meant is that he looked at the heavens thinking of a way to distract his people.
Allah said:
(So they turned away from him and departed.) meaning, he went to them after they had left, quickly and secretly.
(and said: "Will you not eat'') They had placed food before them as a sacrifice so that the food might be blessed.
When Ibrahim, peace be upon him, looked at the food that was before them,
he said:
(Will you not eat What is the matter with you that you speak not)
(Then he turned upon them, striking (them) with (his) right hand.) Al-Farra' said, "This means, he started to hit them with his right hand.'' Qatadah and Al-Jawhari said, "He turned to them, hitting them with his right hand.'' He struck them with his right hand because the right hand is stronger and more powerful. Then he left them broken to pieces, (all) except the biggest of them, that they might turn to it, as we have already seen in the Tafsir of Surat Al-Anbiya'.
(Then they came hastily towards him.) Mujahid and others said, "This means, they came rushing. The story is told in brief here; in Surat Al-Anbiya', it is told in more detail. When they returned, they did not know at first who had done this, until they investigated and found out that Ibrahim, peace be upon him, was the one who had done it.
When they came to rebuke him, he started rebuking and criticising them and said:
(Worship you that which you carve) meaning, `do you worship instead of Allah idols which you yourselves carve and fashion with your own hands'
(While Allah has created you and what you make!) This may mean, `Allah has created you and what you do;' or it may mean, `Allah has created you and what you make.' Both views are synonymous. The former is more apparent because of the report recorded by Al-Bukhari in the Book Af`al Al-`Ibad from Hudhayfah, attributed to the Prophet : (Allah has created every doer of deeds and what he does.) Thereupon he recited:
(While Allah has created you and what you make!) When the proof had been established against them, they resolved to seize him by force and they said:
(Build for him a building (i.e., furnace) and throw him into the blazing fire!) There happened what we have already discussed in our Tafsir of Surat Al-Anbiya', (21:68-70) and Allah saved him from the fire and caused him to prevail over them, making his proof supreme and supporting it.
Allah says:
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