Noah—peace be upon him—said: “And what knowledge have I of what they used to do? Their account rests only with my Lord, if only you understood.” That is, their deeds and their reckoning are with Allah. My duty is only to convey the message. As for you, leave them be. If what I have brought you is the truth, then submit to it, for each person is accountable for his own deeds.

“And I will not drive the believers away.” It is as though they—may Allah disgrace them—arrogantly and tyrannically demanded that he drive them away from his company before they would believe. He therefore said: “And I will not drive the believers away.” They did not deserve to be expelled and humiliated; rather, they deserved to be honored in word and deed, as Allah Almighty said: “When those who believe in Our signs come to you, say, ‘Peace be upon you. Your Lord has taken mercy upon Himself.’”

“I am only a clear warner.” That is, I am merely one who warns, conveys the message from Allah, and strives earnestly to counsel His servants. I have no control over the affair; all authority belongs to Allah alone.

⦗595⦘

Noah—peace be upon him—continued calling them by night and day, privately and openly, but they only grew more averse. “They said, ‘If you do not desist, O Noah’” from calling us to worship Allah alone, “‘you will surely be among those who are stoned.’” That is, we will kill you in the most brutal manner, stoning you as a dog is killed. Woe to them! How vile was their response! They responded in the worst manner to a sincere and trustworthy counselor who cared more for them than they cared for themselves. No wonder, then, that when their wrongdoing reached its limit and their disbelief intensified, their prophet invoked Allah against them with a supplication that engulfed them all. He said: “My Lord, do not leave upon the earth a single inhabitant from among the disbelievers,” and so on through the following verses.

Here, “He said, ‘My Lord, my people have denied me, so judge decisively between me and them’”—that is, destroy whichever of us is the transgressor. He knew that they were the transgressing wrongdoers. Hence he said: “‘And save me and the believers who are with me.’”

“So We saved him and those with him in the vessel”—that is, the ship—“laden” with people and animals.

“Then, afterward, We drowned”—that is, after saving Noah and the believers with him—“those who remained,” namely, all his people.

“Surely in that”—the deliverance of Noah and his followers and the destruction of those who denied him—“is a sign” demonstrating the truthfulness of Our messengers, the soundness of what they brought, and the falsity of the path followed by their enemies who denied them.

“And surely your Lord is indeed the Almighty,” who, by His might, vanquished His enemies and drowned them in the Flood, “the Most Merciful” toward His devoted servants, for He saved Noah and the believers who were with him.