Tafsir of Surah Al-Mu'minun - Verse 30

Allah tells us that Nuh, peace be upon him, invoked his Lord to help him against his people,

as Allah mentions in another Ayah:

فَدَعَا رَبَّهُ أَنُّى مَغْلُوبٌ فَانتَصِرْ

(Then he invoked his Lord (saying): "I have been overcome, so help (me)!") 54:10. Here he says:

رَبِّ انصُرْنِى بِمَا كَذَّبُونِ

(O my Lord! Help me because they deny me.) At that point, Allah commanded him to build a boat and to make it strong and firm, and to carry therein of every kind two, i.e., a male and a female of every species of animals, plants and fruits etc. He was also to carry his family,

إِلاَّ مَن سَبَقَ عَلَيْهِ الْقَوْلُ مِنْهُمْ

(except those thereof against whom the Word has already gone forth.) meaning, those whom Allah had already decreed were to be destroyed. These were the members of his family who did not believe in him, such as his son and his wife. And Allah knows best.

وَلاَ تُخَـطِبْنِى فِى الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُواْ إِنَّهُمْ مُّغْرَقُونَ

(And address Me not in favor of those who have done wrong. Verily, they are to be drowned.) means, `when you witness the heavy rain falling, do not let yourself be overcome with compassion and pity for your people, or hope for more time for them so that they may believe, for I have decreed that they will be drowned and will die in their state of disbelief and wrongdoing.' The story has already been told in detail in Surah Hud, and there is no need to repeat it here.

فَإِذَا اسْتَوَيْتَ أَنتَ وَمَن مَّعَكَ عَلَى الْفُلْكِ فَقُلِ الْحَمْدُ للَّهِ الَّذِى نَجَّانَا مِنَ الْقَوْمِ الظَّـلِمِينَ

(And when you have embarked on the ship, you and whoever is with you, then say: `All the praise be to Allah, Who has saved us from the people who are wrongdoers.') This is like the Ayah:

وَالَّذِى خَلَقَ الأَزْوَجَ كُلَّهَا وَجَعَلَ لَكُمْ مِّنَ الْفُلْكِ وَالاٌّنْعَـمِ مَا تَرْكَبُونَ - لِتَسْتَوُواْ عَلَى ظُهُورِهِ ثُمَّ تَذْكُرُواْ نِعْمَةَ رَبِّكُمْ إِذَا اسْتَوَيْتُمْ عَلَيْهِ وَتَقُولُواْ سُبْحَـنَ الَّذِى سَخَّرَ لَنَا هَـذَا وَمَا كُنَّا لَهُ مُقْرِنِينَ - وَإِنَّآ إِلَى رَبِّنَا لَمُنقَلِبُونَ

(and has appointed for you ships and cattle on which you ride: In order that you may mount on their backs, and then may remember the favor of your Lord when you mount thereon, and say: "Glory to Him Who has subjected this to us, and we could never have it (by our efforts). And verily, to Our Lord we indeed are to return!") 43:12-14 So, certainly, Nuh adhered to what he was commanded, as Allah says elsewhere:

وَقَالَ ارْكَبُواْ فِيهَا بِسْمِ اللَّهِ مَجْرَاهَا وَمُرْسَاهَا

(And he said: "Embark therein: in the Name of Allah will be its (moving) course and its (resting) anchorage...")11:41 So Nuh mentioned Allah at the beginning of his journey and at the end, and Allah said:

وَقُل رَّبِّ أَنزِلْنِى مُنزَلاً مُّبَارَكاً وَأَنتَ خَيْرُ الْمُنزِلِينَ

(And say: `My Lord! Cause me to land at a blessed landing place, for You are the Best of those who bring to land.")

إِنَّ فِى ذلِكَ لأيَـتٍ

(Verily in this, there are indeed Ayat,) means in this event, which is the saving of the believers and the destruction of the disbelievers there are signs, i.e., clear evidence and proof that the Prophets speak the truth in the Message they bring from Allah, may He be exalted, and that Allah does what He wills, and He is able to do all things and knows all things.

وَإِن كُنَّا لَمُبْتَلِينَ

(for sure We are ever putting (men) to the test.) means, `We try Our servants by means of sending the Messengers.'

وَفَارَ‌ التَّنُّورُ‌ (And the oven gushes forth - 23:27). The word تَّنُّور‌ means oven which is used for making flat, round bread, and is also used in the sense of the whole earth. According to some people تَّنُّور‌ is a specific oven in the Kufah mosque, while others believe that it was somewhere in Syria. Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) was informed by Allah that when water began boiling forth from the تَّنُّور‌ (oven) that would be the sign of the coming of the Deluge (Mazhari). The story of Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) ، the Deluge and his Ark has been reported in some earlier Surahs (See Volume 4, p. 626 to 643).

In an environment fraught with idolatory, the few who had faith in Noah had that very day, in both the literal and the figurative sense, entered the Divine ark. When they boarded the wooden ship at the time of the storm, it marked the completion of the first stage of their decision. While they had intellectually saved themselves from evil, God saved them from the grim consequences of the Flood which would have been their fate, had they rejected the truth. A man of faith attributes his every success to the blessing of God. Therefore, with each success he thanks God. And the relief afforded from Noah’s flood was clearly an instance of God’s help. At this juncture, the words that spontaneously came out of a believer’s mouth have been recorded in this verse. He admits the grace of God bestowed upon him and solicits His further blessings in future, because he is sure that the present and future are both in the hands of God.