Tafsir of Surah Nooh - Verse 25

مِّمَّا خَطِيئَـتِهِمْ

(Because of their sins) It also has been recited as; (خَطَايَاهُمْ) (their errors.)

أُغْرِقُواْ

(they were drowned,) meaning, for their numerous sins, rebellion, persistence in disbelief and opposition to their Messengers.

أُغْرِقُواْ فَأُدْخِلُواْ نَاراً

(they were drowned, then were made to enter the Fire.) meaning, they will be carried from the flood of the seas to the heat of the Fire.

فَلَمْ يَجِدُواْ لَهُمْ مِّن دُونِ اللَّهِ أَنصَاراً

(And they found none to help them instead of Allah.) meaning, they will have no helper, assistant, or savior who can rescue them from the punishment of Allah. This is similar to Allah's statement,

لاَ عَاصِمَ الْيَوْمَ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّهِ إِلاَّ مَن رَّحِمَ

(This day there is no savior from the decree of Allah except him on whom He has mercy.) (11:43)

وَقَالَ نُوحٌ رَّبِّ لاَ تَذَرْ عَلَى الاٌّرْضِ مِنَ الْكَـفِرِينَ دَيَّاراً

(And Nuh said: "My Lord! Leave not one of the disbelievers on the earth Dayyar!") meaning, do not leave a single one of them on the face of the earth, not even a lone individual. This is a method of speaking that gives emphasis to the negation. Ad-Dahhak said, "Dayyar means one." As-Suddi said, "Dayyar is the one who stays in the home." So Allah answered his supplication and He destroyed all of those on the face of the earth who were disbelievers. He (Allah) even destroyed Nuh's (biological) son from his own loins, who separated himself from his father (Nuh). He (Nuh's son) said,

سَآوِى إِلَى جَبَلٍ يَعْصِمُنِى مِنَ الْمَآءِ قَالَ لاَ عَاصِمَ الْيَوْمَ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّهِ إِلاَّ مَن رَّحِمَ وَحَالَ بَيْنَهُمَا الْمَوْجُ فَكَانَ مِنَ الْمُغْرَقِينَ

(I will betake myself to some mountain, it will save me from the water. Nuh said: "This day there is no savior from the decree of Allah except him on whom He has mercy." And waves came in between them, so he (the son) was among the drowned.) (11:43) Allah saved the people of the ship who believed with Nuh, and they were those whom Allah commanded Nuh to carry with him. Allah said,

إِنَّكَ إِن تَذَرْهُمْ يُضِلُّواْ عِبَادَكَ

(If You leave them, they will mislead Your servants,) meaning, `if You leave a single one of them they will lead your servants astray.' This refers to those whom He will create after them.

وَلاَ يَلِدُواْ إِلاَّ فَاجِراً كَفَّاراً

(and they will beget none but wicked disbelievers.) meaning, wicked in their deeds and disbelieving in their hearts. He (Nuh) said this due to what he knew about them since he remained among them for nine hundred and fifty years. Then he said,

رَّبِّ اغْفِرْ لِى وَلِوَلِدَىَّ وَلِمَن دَخَلَ بَيْتِىَ مُؤْمِناً

(My Lord! Forgive me, and my parents, and him who enters my home as a believer,) Ad-Dahhak said, "This means, my Masjid." However, there is no harm in understanding the Ayah according to its apparent meaning, which would be that he (Nuh) supplicated for every person who entered his house who was a believer. Then he said,

وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَـتِ

(and all the believing men and women.) He supplicated for all of the believing men and women, and that includes those of them who were living and those of them who were dead. For this reason, it is recommended to supplicate like this, in following the example of Nuh, and that which has been reported in the narrations and well-known, legislated supplications. Then, he said,

وَلاَ تَزِدِ الظَّـلِمِينَ إِلاَّ تَبَاراً

(And to the wrongdoers, grant You no increase but destruction!) As-Suddi said, "But destruction." Mujahid said, "But loss." This means in both this life and in the Hereafter.This is the end of the Tafsir of Surat Nuh. And all praise and thanks are due to Allah.

مِّمَّا خَطِيئَاتِهِمْ أُغْرِ‌قُوا فَأُدْخِلُوا نَارً‌ا فَلَمْ يَجِدُوا لَهُم مِّن دُونِ اللَّـهِ أَنصَارً‌ا (Because of their sins they were drowned, and then admitted into the Fire. So they found no helpers for them besides Allah…1:25). The 'sins' referred to here are unpardonable sins of 'kufr and shirk'. They were drowned in water and emerged in fire, an opposing punishment which is not impossible for Divine power. Obviously, the ‘Fire’ mentioned in the verse does not refer to the fire of Hell, but refers to the fire in the realm of ‘Barzakh’ (the existence between the worldly life and the life of the Hereafter). The Qur'an speaks of the fire in the realm of 'Barzakh'. It is evident that Sayyidna Nuh's (علیہ السلام) people will be punished in Hell-Fire in the Hereafter after resurrection and accounting for their deeds.

Qur’ an Confirms Punishment in the Grave

The verse under comment confirms that people will be punished in the realm of Barzakh, usually referring to the period of stay in the grave. This further proves that, since the evil-doers will be punished in the grave, the righteous believers will also be rewarded and blessed with favours. Authentic and successively transmitted ahadith report about the reward and punishment in the grave so abundantly and clearly that its reality cannot be denied or rejected. Therefore, there is a total agreement of the Ummah on this issue; and belief in it is the symbol of Ahl-us-Sunnah wal-Jami'ah.

Al-hamdulillah

The Commentary on

Surah Nuh

Ends here

It appears from Noah’s prayer that, in his own times, evil had reached its final limit. Misguided beliefs and thoughts had become so prevalent in society that any child born and brought up in this society would have gone astray. When this stage had been reached, Noah’s people were destined to face nothing less than destruction by Noah’s flood.