Tafsir of Surah Ash-Shu'ara' - Verse 118

His People's Threat, Nuh's Prayer against Them, and Their Destruction

Nuh stayed among his people for a long time, calling them to Allah night and day, in secret and openly. The more he repeated his call to them, the more determined were they to cling to their extreme disbelief and resist his call. In the end, they said:

لَئِنْ لَّمْ تَنْتَهِ ينُوحُ لَتَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْمُرْجُومِينَ

(If you cease not, O Nuh you will surely be among those stoned.) meaning, `if you do not stop calling us to your religion,'

لَتَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْمُرْجُومِينَ

(you will surely be among those stoned.) meaning, `we will stone you.' At that point, he prayed against them, and Allah responded to his prayer. Nuh said:

رَبِّ إِنَّ قَوْمِى كَذَّبُونِفَافْتَحْ بَيْنِى وَبَيْنَهُمْ فَتْحاً

(My Lord! Verily, my people have denied me. Therefore judge You between me and them.) This is like the Ayah:

فَدَعَا رَبَّهُ أَنُّى مَغْلُوبٌ فَانتَصِرْ

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

فَأَنجَيْنَـهُ وَمَن مَّعَهُ فِى الْفُلْكِ الْمَشْحُونِ - ثُمَّ أَغْرَقْنَا بَعْدُ الْبَـقِينَ

(And We saved him and those with him in the laden ship. Then We drowned the rest thereafter.) The "laden ship" is one that is filled with cargo and the couples, one pair from every species, that were carried in it. This Ayah means: `We saved Nuh and all of those who followed him, and We drowned those who disbelieved in him and went against his commands, all of them.'

إِنَّ فِى ذَلِكَ لأَيَةً وَمَا كَانَ أَكْثَرُهُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ وَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الرَّحِيمُ

(Verily, in this is indeed a sign, yet most of them are not believers. And verily your Lord, He is indeed the All-Mighty, the Most Merciful.)

كَذَّبَتْ عَادٌ الْمُرْسَلِينَ - إِذْ قَالَ لَهُمْ أَخُوهُمْ هُودٌ أَلاَ تَتَّقُونَ - إِنِّى لَكُمْ رَسُولٌ أَمِينٌ

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فَاتَّقُواْ اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُونِ

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وَمَآ أَسْأَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ أَجْرٍ إِنْ أَجْرِىَ إِلاَّ عَلَى رَبِّ الْعَـلَمِينَ

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أَتَبْنُونَ بِكُلِّ رِيعٍ ءَايَةً تَعْبَثُونَ

Nobility of a person depends on deeds and moral qualities and not on family or status

قَالُوا أَنُؤْمِنُ لَكَ وَاتَّبَعَكَ الْأَرْ‌ذَلُونَ ﴿111﴾ قَالَ وَمَا عِلْمِي بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ ﴿112﴾

They said, "Shall we believe in you while you are followed by the lowest people?" [ 111] He said, "I do not know about what they do. (26:111-112)

It is related in this verse that the disbelievers rejected the invitation of Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) to accept the faith on the plea that his followers were worthless poor people. So, how could they, the elite and noble, mix up with them? On this Nuh (علیہ السلام) replied that he did not know about their acts, thereby hinting that their understanding of nobility on the basis of family background, wealth, or status was wrong, and that the nobility or meanness and honour or disgrace is dependent on one's deeds and morals. Hence, it was their ignorance to put the label of sordidness on his followers, because they did not know about their deeds and disposition. Unless one knows fully well about the morals and deeds of others, it is not right to pass any judgment about them. (Qurtubi).

Noah strove for centuries so that his community could realize the truth, but they refused to accept it. The moral debasement of his people had reached its acme and the disbelievers now threatened Noah either to stop preaching or be stoned to death. Noah then prayed to God to judge decisively between him and the disbelievers. His prayer was answered. At God’s behest, Noah constructed a large boat, in which all his companions and the male and female counterparts of each animal species were accommodated. Thereafter, God sent a severe storm; water gushed out of the earth, and there was a heavy downpour of rain from the skies. All the living creatures, except those on the boat, were destroyed. This historical example is an embodiment of the fact that while true believers would remain protected, all others would face destruction.