Tafsir Ibn Kathir - 071 Nuh

8/9/2019 Tafsir Ibn Kathir - 071 Nuh

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Revealed in Makkah

ا ـا ا In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most

Merciful.

م إ إ أرس71:1 Verily, We sent Nuh to his people (saying):

ی نأ م م رأ نأأ با "Warn your people before there comes to them a

painful torment.''

م ی إ می ل 71:2 He said: "O my people! Verily, I am a plainWarner to you,''

أو او ا اوا نأن 71:3 "That you should worship Allah, and haveTaqwa of Him, and obey me,''



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م أ إ آیو ذ م ی 71:4 "He will forgive you of your sins and respiteyou to an appointed term.

ذإ ا أ نإن آ ی ء اVerily, the term of Allah when it comes, cannot be

delayed, if you but know.''

Nuh's Invitation to His People

Allah says,

م إ سرأ إ...

Verily, We sent Nuh to his people (saying):

Allah says concerning Nuh that He sent him to his peoplecommanding him to warn them of the punishment of

Allah before it befell them. He was to tell them that if they would repent and turn to Allah, then thepunishment would be lifted from them. Due to this Allahsays,

...أ با ی نأ م م ١أن أر

م ی إ م ی ل ٢

"Warn your people before there comes to them a painfultorment.''

He said: "O my people! Verily, I am a plain Warner toyou.''

meaning, clarity of the warning, making thematter apparent and clear.

او ا اوا نأ...



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That you should worship Allah, and have Taqwa of Him,

meaning, àbandon those things that He hasforbidden and avoid that which He has declared tobe sinful.'

...نأو ٣

and obey me,

Ìn that which I command you to do and thatwhich I forbid you from.'

ذ م ی ...

He will forgive you of your sins,

meaning, ìf you do what I command you to do and youbelieve in what I have been sent with to you, then Allahwill forgive you for your sins. '

...م أ إ آیو ...

and respite you to an appointed term.

meaning, `He will extend your life span andprotect you from the torment that He would havemade befall you if you did not stay away from Hisprohibitions.'

This Ayah is used as proof by those who say thatobedience (to Allah), righteousness andmaintaining the family ties truly increase the lifespan of a person.

This is like that which has been reported in theHadith,

ا ی ا

Maintaining the family ties increases the life span.

Concerning Allah's statement,

...ن آ ی ء اذإ ا أ نإ٤



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Verily, the term of Allah when it comes, cannot bedelayed, if you but know.

means, hasten to the obedience (of Allah) beforethe coming of His vengeance. For verily, if Hecommands that to happen, it cannot be repulsedor prevented. For He is the Great One Whocompels everything, and He is the AlmightyWhose might all of creation succumbs to.

ارو م تد إ بر ل 71:5 He said: O my Lord! Verily, I have called to my

people night and day,

ارا إ د هدی 71:6. But all my calling added nothing but to (their)flight.

آ إو ـأ ا د اسا ءاذ و71:7. And verily, every time I called unto them thatYou might forgive them, they thrust their fingersinto their ears, covered themselves up with theirgarments,

ارسا اوساو او أو and persisted, and magnified themselves in pride.

اـ د إ 71:8 Then verily, I called to them openly (aloud).



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اراسإ ترسأو إ أ71:9 Then verily, I proclaimed to them in public,and I have appealed to them in private.

ار نآ إ ر اوسا 71:10 I said (to them): Ask forgiveness from yourLord, verily, He is Oft-Forgiving;

ءا سی ارارم

71:11 He will send rain to you Midrar,

یو ـ یو و ویدآ ملارأ

71:12 And give you increase in wealth and children,and bestow on you gardens and bestow on yourivers.

ارو ن م 71:13 What is the matter with you, that you do nothope for any Waqar from Allah?

و أارا

71:14 While He has created you (in) Atwar(stages).

ا آ او أ تـس س 71:15 See you not how Allah has created the sevenheavens in tiers?



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اس ا و ار ا و 71:16 And has made the moon a light therein, andmade the sun a lamp?

م أ او ضرا 71:17 And Allah has brought you forth from the(dust of) earth,

اإ یو آی

71:18 Afterwards He will return you into it (theearth), and bring you forth.

ضرا او 71:19 And Allah has made for you the earth a wideexpanse.

س ا م71:20 That you may go about therein in broad

roads.

Nuh complains about his Encounter with His People

Allah tells about His servant and Messenger, Nuh, and that hecomplained to his Lord about the response he received from hispeople, and how he was patient with them for this long periodof time -- which was nine hundred and fifty years. Hecomplained due to his explaining and clarifying matters for themand his calling them to guidance and the straightest path. So

ل he (Nuh) said,

رب إ دت م ورا...٥



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O my Lord!

Verily, I have called to my people night and day,

meaning, Ì did not abandon calling them nightand day, carrying out Your command and inobedience to You.'

ارا إ د هدی ٦

But all my calling added nothing but to (their) flight.

meaning, `the more I called them to come to thetruth, the more they fled from it and avoided it.'

د آ إو اذ أ ا اساو

...

And verily, every time I called unto them that You mightforgive them, they thrust their fingers into their ears,covered themselves up with their garments,

meaning, `they closed up their ears so that theycould not hear what I was calling them to.'

This is similar to what Allah said about thedisbelievers of the Quraysh.

ا او ناءا ا ـ ا او آ یا لو ن

And those who disbelieve say: "Listen not to thisQur'an, and make noise in the midst of its(recitation) that you may overcome.'' (41:26)

ااو covered themselves up with their garments,Ibn Jarir recorded from Ibn Àbbas that he said,

"They concealed themselves under falsepretences from him so that he would notrecognize them.''

Saìd bin Jubayr and As-Suddi both said,







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یو ت یو و لام آدیو ارأ ١٢

And give you increase in wealth and children, andbestow on you gardens and bestow on you rivers.

meaning, ìf you repent to Allah, seek Hisforgiveness and obey Him, He will increase yourprovisions for you and provide you with waterfrom the blessings of the sky. He will cause theblessings of the earth and crops to grow for you.He will increase your live stock animals for youand give you more wealth and children. Thismeans that He will give you more wealth, more

children and gardens with various types of fruits.He will cause rivers to flow among these gardens.'

This is the position of the invitation with encouragement.Then He made it balanced for them by usingintimidation. He said,

١٣م ن ورا

What is the matter with you, that you do not hope forany Waqar from Allah.

meaning, great majesty.

This has been said by Ibn Àbbas, Mujahid and Ad-Dahhak.

Ibn Àbbas said,

"That you all do not magnify Allah in the propermanner that He deserves to be magnified.

Meaning, you do not fear His punishment and Hisvengeance.''

١٤و أارا

While He has created you (in) Atwar (stages).



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It has been said that this means from a drop of sperm, then from a hanging clot, then from alump of flesh.

Ibn Àbbas, Ìkrimah, Qatadah, Yahya bin Rafi`,As-Suddi and Ibn Zayd, all said this.


تاوس ا س ١٥أ وا آ

See you not how Allah has created the seven heavens intiers?

meaning, one above another.

Can this be comprehended simply by hearing it onlyor is it of the matters that actually can be perceivedwith the senses which are known about themovements (of the heavenly bodies) and theeclipses. It is known that they (the scholars) havemany different opinions about these matters that wewill not discuss here. The only intent here is that

... تاوس س ا

اس ا و ار ا و ١٦

Allah has created the seven heavens in tiers and hasmade the moon a light therein, and made the sun alamp.

meaning, He made a distinction between them (thesun and moon) in reference to their lighting. He

made each one of them in a set manner with adistinct quality so that the night and day may beknown. They (the night and day) are known by therising and setting of the sun. He also determinedfixed stations and positions for the moon, and Hemade its light vary so that sometimes it increasesuntil it reaches a maximum, then it begins todecrease until it is completely veiled. This shows thepassing of months and years.

This is as Allah said,



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لزم رو ار او ء ا ىا ه إ ذ ا م باو ا د ا

نی م ـیا ی

It is He Who made the sun a shining thing andthe moon as a light and measured out for its

stages that you might know the number of yearsand the reckoning. Allah did not create this but intruth. He explains the Ayat in detail for peoplewho have knowledge. (10:5)


١٧أ م ارض وا

And Allah has brought you forth from the (dust of) earth.

This (Nabat) is a verbal noun (for emphasis) and itsusage here is most excellent.

آی ...

Afterwards He will return you into it (the earth),

meaning, when you die.

...اإ یو ١٨

And bring you forth.

meaning, on the Day of Judgement He will repeatyour creation just as He first originated you.

ضرا او ١٩ And Allah has made for you the earth a wide expanse.

meaning, He spread it out, leveled it, settled it,and stabilized it with firm and lofty mountains.

س م ا ٢٠

That you may go about therein in broad roads.



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meaning, He created it so that you may settle init and travel in it wherever you wish, from itsdifferent sides, areas and regions.

All of this is from what Nuh informed them of concerning Allah's power and His greatness increating the heavens and the earth. Itdemonstrates the favor that He did for them bymaking both heavenly benefits and earthlybenefits. For He is the Creator and the SustainerWho made the heaven as a building and the earthas a bed, and He enlarged His provisions for Hiscreatures. Therefore, He is the One Who it isobligatory to worship, and accept as One God. Noone should be associated with Him as a partner,

because He has no equal, peer, rival, coequal,mate, son, minister or advisor, rather He is theMost High, the Most Great.

بر ح ل إ71:21 Nuh said: "My Lord! They have disobeyed me,

ار إ وو م دی م ااو and followed one whose wealth and children givehim no increase but loss.''

ارآ ام اومو 71:22 "And they have plotted a mighty plot.''

و اس و ادو نر و اء نر او او قیو ثی

71:23 "And they have said: `You shall not leaveyour gods, nor shall you leave Wadd, nor Suwa`,nor Yaghuth, and Yaùq and Nasr.' ''



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إ ـا د و اآ ا أ و 71:24 "And indeed they have led many astray. And(O Allah): `Grant no increase to the wrongdoers

save error.'''

Nuh complains to His Lord about His People's Response

Allah says that,

إ بر ح ل

Nuh said: "My Lord! They have disobeyed me,

Nuh turned to Allah to inform Allah - the All Knowingfrom Whom nothing escapes - that he presented theclear call, as mentioned previously, and thecomprehensive invitation in various ways. He calledthem sometimes by encouragement and sometimesby intimidating warnings. Yet, they disobeyed him,opposed him, denied him and followed the children of the world. They were those who were heedless of thecommand of Allah and they possessed delights of wealth and children. However, these things (worldlybenefits) were also for gradual punishment andtemporary respite, not for honor or blessing.

Thus, Allah says,

دی م ااو ار إ وو م ٢١

and followed one whose wealth and children give himno increase but loss.

The meaning of Allah's statement,

٢٢وموا ما آرا

And they have plotted a mighty plot.



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is that they plotted a deceptive plot for theirfollowers tricking them into believing that theywere following the truth and correct guidance.

This is like what they will say to them on the Dayof Judgement,

نأ وم ذإ راو ا م اداأ و Nay, but it was your plotting by night and day:when you ordered us to disbelieve in Allah andset up rivals to Him! (34:33)

For this reason He says here,

The Idols of the People of Nuh and what happened

to Him

م اومو ارآ ا

دا و سا و یث ویق وا وا رن و رن و٢٣

And they have plotted a mighty plot. And they have said:`You shall not leave your gods, nor shall you leaveWadd, nor Suwa`, nor Yaghuth, and Yaùq andNasr.'

These are the names of their idols which they used toworship besides Allah.

Al-Bukhari recorded from Ibn Àbbas that he said,

"The idols that were among the people of Nuh

wound up among the Arabs afterwards. Inreference to

- Wadd, it became the idol of the people of Kalb in the area of Dawmat Al-Jandal.

- Suwa` became the idol of the people of Hudhayl.

- Yaghuth became the idol of the people of Murad, then the people of Bani Ghutayf at



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Al-Juruf in the area of Saba' worshipped itafter them.

- Yaùq became the idol of the people of Hamdan.

- Nasr became the idol of the people of

Himyar for the family of Dhu Kala`.

These idols were all named after righteous menfrom the people of Nuh. Then when these mendied, Shaytan inspired his (Nuh's) people to erectstatues in honor of them at their gathering placeswhere they used to come and sit, and to namethese statues after these men (with their names).So they did this (as Shaytan suggested), but

these statues were not worshipped until afterthose people (the ones who built them) had diedand the knowledge was lost. Then, those statueswere later worshipped.''

This has also been similarly reported fromÌkrimah, Ad-Dahhak, Qatadah and Ibn Ishaq.

Ali bin Abi Talhah reported from Ibn Àbbas that he said,

"These are statues that were worshipped in thetime of Nuh.''

Ibn Jarir recorded from Muhammad bin Qays that he saidconcerning Yaghuth, Yaùq and Nasr,

"They were righteous people between the time of Adam and Nuh, and they had followers who usedto adhere to their guidance. Then, when theydied, their companions who used to follow themsaid,

Ìf we make images of them, it will increase ourdesire to perform worship when we rememberthem.'



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So they made images of them. Then, when thosepeople died and other people came after them,Iblis approached them and said,

`They (your predecessors) used to worship thesestatues and they were granted rain by theirworship of them.'

Thus, they (the latter people) worshipped them.''

The Supplication of Nuh against His People and for whoever

believed in Him

Allah then says,

... و أا آا And indeed they have led many astray.

meaning, by the idols that they took for worship,they mislead a large number of people. For verily,the worship of those idols continued throughoutmany generations until our times today, amongthe Arabs, the non-Arabs and all the groups of the Children of Adam.

Al-Khalil (Prophet Ibrahim) said in his supplication,

و أن او ما م اآ أ إ بر س ا

And keep me and my sons away fromworshipping idols. "O my Lord! They have indeed

led astray many among mankind...'') (14:35,36)Allah then says,

...إ ا د و ٢٤

Grant no increase to the wrongdoers save error.

This is a supplication from him (Nuh) against hispeople due to their rebellion, disbelief and

obstinacy.



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This is just as Musa supplicated against Firàwnand his chiefs in his statement,

امی دشاو مأ ا ر ا باا یوا

Our Lord!

Destroy their wealth, and harden their hearts, sothat they will not believe until they see the painfultorment. (10:88)

Verily, Allah responded to the supplication of bothof these Prophets concerning their people and Hedrowned their nations due to their rejection of

what he (that Prophet) had come with.

ار ا د ا أ ـ م 71:25 Because of their sins they were drowned,then were made to enter the Fire.

ارأ ا نود م اوی And they found none to help them instead of Allah.

ارید یـا م ضرا ر بر ح لو 71:26 And Nuh said: "My Lord! Leave not one of the

disbelievers on the earth Dayyar!''

ارآ ا إ او ی و كد ای هر نإ إ71:27 "If You leave them, they will mislead Yourservants, and they will beget none but wickeddisbelievers.''



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مم د و ىو ا بر ـماو مو

71:28. "My Lord! Forgive me, and my parents, and

him who enters my home as a believer, and all thebelieving men and women.

ار إ ـا د و And to the wrongdoers grant You no increase butdestruction!''

Allah says,

م ...

Because of their sins,

It also has been recited as; هی (their errors.)

...أا...

they were drowned,

meaning, for their numerous sins, rebellion,persistence in disbelief and opposition to theirMessengers.

...أا دا را...

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.

...م اوی نود ارأ ا٢٥

And they found none to help them instead of Allah.



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meaning, they will have no helper, assistant, orsavior who can rescue them from the punishmentof Allah.

This is similar to Allah's statement,

ر م إ ا مأ م ما

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

م ضرا ر بر ح لو ارید یا٢٦

And Nuh said:

"My Lord! Leave not one of the disbelievers on the earth

Dayyar!''

meaning, do not leave a single one of them onthe face of the earth, not even a lone individual.

This is a method of speaking that gives emphasisto the negation.

Ad-Dahhak said, "Dayyar means one.''

As-Suddi said, "Dayyar is the one who stays in thehome.''

So Allah answered his supplication and He destroyed allof those on the face of the earth who were disbelievers.He (Allah) even destroyed Nuh's (biological) son from hisown loins, who separated himself from his father (Nuh).

He (Nuh's son) said,

إ ا مأ م ما ل ءا م ی إ ىوس ج ا لو ر م ا م ن

I will betake myself to some mountain, it will save mefrom the water.

Nuh said: "This day there is no savior from the decree of Allah except him on whom He has mercy.''



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And waves came in between them, so he (the son) wasamong the drowned. (11:43)

Allah saved the people of the ship who believed withNuh, and they were those whom Allah commanded Nuhto carry with him.

Allah said,

كد ای هر نإ إ...

If You leave them, they will mislead Your servants,

meaning, ìf You leave a single one of them theywill lead your servants astray.'

This refers to those whom He will create afterthem.

٢٧و یوا إ ا آرا...

and they will beget none but wicked disbelievers.

meaning, wicked in their deeds and disbelievingin their hearts.

He (Nuh) said this due to what he knew aboutthem since he remained among them for ninehundred and fifty years.

Then he said,

مم د و ياو ا بر ...

My Lord!

Forgive me, and my parents, and him who enters myhome as a believer,

Ad-Dahhak said, "This means, my Masjid.''

However, there is no harm in understanding the Ayahaccording to its apparent meaning, which would be thathe (Nuh) supplicated for every person who entered his

house who was a believer.



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Then he said,

...تماو مو ...

and all the believing men and women.

He supplicated for all of the believing men and

women, and that includes those of them whowere living and those of them who were dead. Forthis reason, it is recommended to supplicate likethis, in following the example of Nuh, and thatwhich has been reported in the narrations andwell-known, legislated supplications.

Then, he said,

...ا د و ار إ ٢٨

And to the wrongdoers, grant You no increase butdestruction!

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 Surah Nuh. And all praise and

thanks are due to Allah.

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Tafsir Ibn Kathir - 071 Nuh