Surah Hud Notes (25-30)

( Source: Ibn Kathir )

The Story of Nuh and His Conversation with His People

 (25) And indeed We sent Nuh (Noah) to his people (and he said): "I have come to you as a plain warner."

Allah, the Exalted, informs about Prophet Nuh. He was the first Messenger whom Allah sent to the people of the earth who were polytheists involved in worshipping idols. Allah mentions that he (Nuh) said to his people,

(I have come to you as a plain warner.) meaning, to openly warn you against facing Allah's punishment if you continue worshipping other than Allah. 

 (26) "That you worship none but Allah, surely, I fear for you the torment of a painful Day."

Thus, Nuh said,

(That you worship none but Allah;) This can also be seen in his statement,

(surely, I fear for you the torment of a painful Day.) This means, "If you all continue doing this, then Allah will punish you with a severe punishment in the Hereafter.''

(27) The chiefs of the disbelievers among his people said: "We see you but a man like ourselves, nor do we see any follow you but the meanest among us and they (too) followed you without thinking. And we do not see in you any merit above us, in fact we think you are liars."

(The chiefs who disbelieved among his people said;) The word `chiefs' (Al-Mala'u) here means the leaders and the heads of the disbelievers. They said,

(We see you but a man like ourselves,) This means, "You are not an angel. You are only a human being, so how can revelation come to you over us We do not see anyone following you except the lowliest people among us, like the merchants, weavers and similar people. No people of nobility, or rulers among us follow you. These people who follow you are not known for their intelligence, wit, or sharp thinking. Rather, you merely invited them (to this Islam) and they responded to your call and followed you (ignorantly).''

(nor do we see any follow you but the meanest among us and they (too) followed you without thinking.) The statement, "without thinking,'' means that they merely followed the first thing that came to their minds. 

(And we do not see in you any merit above us, in fact we think you are liars.) In this they are saying, "We do not see that you ﴿and your followers﴾ have any virtuous status above us in your physical appearance, your character, your provisions, or your condition, since you accepted this (new) religion of yours.''

(in fact we think you are liars. ) This means, "We think you are lying about that which you are claiming for yourselves of righteousness, piety, worship and happiness in the abode of the Hereafter when you arrive there.'' This was the response of the disbelievers to Nuh and his followers. This is a proof of their ignorance and their deficiency in knowledge and intelligence. For verily, the truth is not to be rejected because of the lowly status of those who follow it. Verily, the truth is correct in itself, regardless of whether its followers are of low status, or nobility. Actually, the reality concerning which there is no doubt, is that the followers of the truth are the noble ones, even though they may be poor. On the other hand, those who reject the truth are the lowly wretches, even though they may be wealthy. Thus, we see that usually the weakest of people are the ones who follow the truth, while the nobility and high-class people usually are opposed to the truth. 

(And we do not see in you any merit above us,) They did not see this (the virtue of accepting Islam) because they were blind from the truth. They could not see, nor could they hear. Rather, they were wavering in their skepticism. They were wandering blindly in the darknesses of their ignorance. They, in reality, were the slanderers and liars, lowly and despicable. Therefore, in the Hereafter they will be the greatest losers.

The Response of Nuh

 

(28) He said: "O my people! Tell me, if I have a clear proof from my Lord, and a Mercy (Prophethood, etc.) has come to me from Him, but that (Mercy) has been obscured from your sight. Shall we compel you to accept it (Islamic Monotheism) when you have a strong hatred for it?

(Tell me, if I have a clear proof from my Lord,) Bayyinah means certainty, a clear matter, and truthful prophethood. That is the greatest mercy from Allah upon him (Nuh) and them (his people).

(but that (mercy) has been obscured from your sight.) "Obscured from your sight'' in this verse means, `it was hidden from you and you are not guided to it. Thus, you ﴿people﴾ did not know its importance so you hastily rejected and denied it.'

(Shall we compel you (to accept) it) This means, "Should we force you to accept it, while you actually detest it.''

 (29) "And O my people! I ask of you no wealth for it, my reward is from none but Allah. I am not going to drive away those who have believed. Surely, they are going to meet their Lord, but I see that you are a people that are ignorant.

(30) "And O my people! Who will help me against Allah, if I drove them away? Will you not then give a thought?

(I am not going to drive away those who have believed.) This alludes to the fact that they (the disbelievers) requested Nuh to disassociate himself from the believers, because they were averse to them and felt themselves too important to sit with them. This is similar to the request of disbelievers to the seal of the Messengers to disassociate himself from a group of the people who were considered weak in their social status. They wanted the Prophet to sit with them in a special gathering of the elite.

 Nuh says to his people, "I do not ask you for any wealth in return for my sincere advice to you.'' Wealth (Mal) here means, "payment that I take from you.'' Nuh means, "I am only seeking the reward from Allah, the Mighty and Sublime.''