(59–64) “We certainly sent Noah to his people.” To the end of the account (1).
After Allah Most High had presented a substantial body of evidence for His oneness, He reinforced it by relating what occurred between the prophets who called to His oneness and the nations that denied it; how Allah supported those who affirmed His oneness and destroyed those who opposed them and refused to submit to them; and how the calls of all the messengers were united upon one religion ⦗293⦘ and one creed. He said concerning Noah—the first messenger: “We certainly sent Noah to his people,” calling them to worship Allah alone when they were worshipping idols. “He said” to them, “O my people, worship Allah”—Him alone—“you have no god other than Him,” for He is the Creator, the Provider, and the One who governs all affairs. Everything besides Him is created and governed and possesses no authority whatsoever. He then warned them that, if they did not obey him, they faced Allah’s punishment, saying: “I fear for you the punishment of a tremendous Day.” This reflected Noah’s sincere counsel and compassion for them, peace be upon him: he feared that they would suffer eternal punishment and everlasting misery. The same was true of his fellow messengers, whose compassion for creation was greater than that of fathers and mothers. When he addressed them in this manner, they gave him the vilest response.
“The elite among his people said”—meaning the wealthy leaders whom others followed and who characteristically showed arrogance toward the truth and refused to submit to the messengers—“We plainly see that you are in manifest error.” It was not enough for them—may Allah disgrace them—to refuse to submit to him; rather, they were too arrogant to do so, maligned him in the gravest terms, and accused him of error. Nor were they content merely to accuse him of error: they declared it to be manifest error, evident to everyone.
This was among the grossest forms of obstinate denial—a claim that could not deceive even the least intelligent person. In reality, this description applied to Noah’s people themselves. They had adopted idols that they had fashioned and carved with their own hands—lifeless objects that could neither hear nor see and could not benefit them in any way. Yet they elevated them to the status of the Originator of the heavens and devoted to them every kind of offering and act of worship within their power. Were it not that they possessed minds by which Allah’s proof was established against them, one would have judged even the insane to be better guided than they were. Indeed, the insane are better guided and more rational than they. Noah therefore replied gently and spoke tenderly to them, hoping that they might submit to him. He said: “O my people, there is no error in me”; that is, I am not astray in any matter or respect. Rather, I guide others and am myself rightly guided. Indeed, his guidance, peace be upon him, was of the same kind as that of his brethren, the messengers of firm resolve: the highest, most perfect, and most complete form of guidance—the guidance of complete and perfect messengership. Thus he said: “Rather, I am a messenger from the Lord of all worlds”; that is, my Lord, your Lord, and the Lord of all creation, who nurtures all creation through every form of care. One of the greatest manifestations of His care is His sending messengers to His servants to command them to perform righteous deeds, cultivate noble character, and hold sound beliefs, and to forbid them from their opposites. Thus he said: “I convey to you the messages of my Lord and offer you sincere counsel”; that is, my duty is to convey the message to you by explaining His oneness, His commands, and His prohibitions, with sincere concern and compassion for you. “And I know from Allah what you do not know.” Thus, if you have understanding, you must obey me and submit to my command.
“Do you wonder that a reminder has come to you from your Lord through a man from among yourselves?” That is, how can you be surprised by something at which there should be no surprise—namely, that a reminder, admonition, and sincere counsel has come to you through a man from among yourselves whose true character, truthfulness, and circumstances you know? This is an instance of Allah’s care for you, His kindness, and His beneficence, and it should be received with acceptance and gratitude. His words, “so that he may warn you, that you may fear Allah, and that you may receive mercy,” mean: so that he may warn you of the painful punishment, and so that you may adopt the means of salvation by observing reverent fear of Allah both outwardly and inwardly. Thereby Allah’s vast mercy would be granted to them and descend upon them.
Yet his appeal brought them no benefit and achieved no success. “They denied him, so We saved him and those with him in the Ark”—the ship that Allah commanded Noah, peace be upon him, to build. He revealed to him that he should take aboard two mates of every species of animal, as well as his family and those who believed with him. Noah took them aboard, and Allah saved them by means of it.
“And We drowned those who denied Our signs. They were indeed a blind people”—blind to guidance. They had beheld the truth, and Allah had shown them through Noah such clear signs as would cause people of understanding to believe. Yet they ridiculed him, mocked him, and disbelieved.