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According to some commentators (e.g., Tabari and Razi), the phrase innahu 'amal ghayr salih relates to Noah's prayer for his son, and constitutes a divine reproach - in which case it should be rendered as "verily, this [prayer] is unrighteous conduct [on thy part]". Others, however (e.g., Zamakhshari), reject this interpretation and relate the above phrase to the son, in the manner rendered by me. This, I believe, is more in tune with the statement, "he was not of thy family" - i.e., spiritually, inasmuch as he was of, or preferred to remain with, "those who deny the truth".
I.e., knowledge of the innermost reasons of God's decrees and of the ultimate destiny of any human being in the hereafter: for, the answers to this "why" and this "how" lie in the realm of things which are beyond the reach of human perception (al-ghayb).
I.e., "lest thou prove to be one of those ignorant who ask God that He change His decrees in response to their own desires" (Manar XII, 85 f.).
See n. 5135 above. Like all Prophets of Allah, Noah was kind-hearted, but he is told that there can be no compromise with evil. And Noah acknowledges the reproof. There was a wife of Noah, who was also an unbelieving woman (lxvi. 10), and she suffered the fate of Unbelievers.
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Noah, in his natural affection and respect for ties of relationship, was overcome with human weakness in wishing to reverse the Decree of Allah. It was not sin but ignorance. His ignorance was corrected by divine inspiration, and he immediately saw the full Truth, acknowledged his error, and asked for Allah's forgiveness and mercy. This is the standard set for us all.
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The term salam - here translated as "peace" - comprises the notions of both external and internal security from all that is evil. For a fuller explanation of the term, see surah {5}, note [29].
The above interpolation is based on the consensus of most of the classical commentators. The phrase "the people [or "generations"] from those who are with thee" points to generations as yet unborn; but since God's blessing extends to all believers, it eo ipso comprises the believers of Noah's generation as well; and since "those who deny the truth" (al-kafirun) are excluded from God's blessing, only the righteous from among the offspring of these early believers are promised a share in His grace (cf. a similar allusion, relating to Abraham's descendants, in 2:124 ): hence my interpolation of the words "as for the unrighteous that will spring from you" in the next sentence.
Cf. ii. 126.
Those who truly seek Allah's light and guidance and sincerely bend their will to His Will are freely admitted to Allah's grace. Notwithstanding any human weaknesses in them, they are advanced higher in the stage on account of their Faith, Trust, and Striving after Right. They are given Allah's Peace, which gives the soul true calmness and strength, and all the blessings that flow from spiritual life. This was given not only to Noah and his family but to all the righteous people who were saved with him. And their descendants were also promised those blessings on condition of righteousness. But some of them fell from grace, as we know in history. Allah's grace is not a social or family privilege. Each people and each individual must earnestly strive for it and earn it.
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See verse {35} above. Although the story of Noah had been vaguely known to the Arabs even before the advent of the Prophet Muhammad, they - and the Prophet with them - were entirely unaware of the details as narrated in the preceding Qur'anic account (Razi). The use of the plural at the beginning of this parenthetic passage ("These accounts") - in contrast with the singular form employed in a similar phrase occurring in 3:44 , 11:100 and 12:102 ("This account") - seems, in my opinion, to indicate that it refers not only to the preceding story of Noah but also to the subsequent stories of other prophets. In this connection it should be remembered - and it cannot be stressed too often - that "narrative" as such is never the purpose of the Qur'an. Whenever it relates the stories of earlier prophets, or alludes to ancient legends or to historical events that took place before the advent of Islam or during the lifetime of the Prophet, the aim is, invariably, a moral lesson; and since one and the same event, or even legend, has usually many facets revealing as many moral implications, the Qur'an reverts again and again to the same stories, but every time with a slight variation of stress on this or that aspect of the fundamental truths underlying the Qur'anic revelation as a whole.
Cf. n. 1528 to xi. 35. The sum of the whole matter is that the righteous, who work for Allah and their fellow-men, may be traduced, insulted, and persecuted. But they will be sustained by Allah's Mercy. They must go on working patiently, for the End will all be for them and their Cause.
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For particulars relating to the name Hud as well as the tribe of 'Ad, see surah {7}, note [48].
I.e., inventors of alleged deities that have no reality in themselves (cf. 7:71 , which also relates to the story of Hud). Regarding the term muftarun, see surah {7}, note [119].
Cf. the story of Hud the Messenger of the 'Ad People, in vii. 65-72. There the argument was how other Peoples treated thier prophets as the Makkans were treating Al-Mustafa. Here we see another point emphasized: the insolence of the 'Ad in obstinately adhering to false gods after the true God had been preached to them, Allah's grace to them, and finally Allah's justice in bringing them to book while the righteous were saved. The locality in which the 'Ad flourished is indicated in n. 1040 to vii. 65.
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Lit., "He will let loose the sky over you with abundance". The term sama' - lit., "sky" - is often used in classical Arabic as a metonym for "rain", and scarcity of rains is a characteristic of the desert country called Al-Ahqaf ("The Sand-Dunes"), the one-time habitat of the - since vanished - tribe of 'Ad. As would appear from 46:24 , the time to which the above passage alludes was a period of severe drought, and so it is possible that the "abundant blessings" here denote rains.
The beautiful metaphor about the skies coming down with rain has been obscured unnecessarily in most translations. The country of the 'Ad was an arid country, and rain was the greatest blessing they could receive. We can imagine this being said in a time of famine, when the people performed all sorts of superstitious rites and invocations instead of turning to the true God in faith and repentance. Further, when we remember that there were, in this tract in ancient times, dams like that at Maarib, for the storage of rain water, the effect is still further heightened in pointing to Allah's care and mercy in His dealing with men.
Adding strength to strength may refer to increase of population, as some Commentators think. While other parts of Arabia were sparsely populated, the irrigated lands of the 'Ad supported a comparatively dense population and added to their natural strength in the arts of peace and war. But the term used is perfectly general. They were a powerful people in their time. If they obeyed Allah and followed the law of righteousness, they would be still more powerful, for "righteousness exalteth a nation."
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The argument of the Unbelievers is practically this: "We are not convinced by you: we don't want to be convinced: we think you are a liar,-or perhaps a fool!" (See next verse).
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I.e., with madness.
Or: "that, verily, I am guiltless of your ascribing a share in [God's] divinity (mimma tushrikun)...", etc. - thus rejecting the sardonic suggestion of his compatriots that one of their imaginary deities might have stricken him with madness.
See n. 1548 above. Continuing their argument, the Unbelievers make a show of making all charitable allowances for Hud, but in reality cut him to the quick by bringing in their false gods. "To be quite polite," said they, "we will not say that you are exactly a liar! Perhaps you have been touched with imbecility! Ah yes! You rail against what you call our false gods! Some of them have paid you out, and made you a fool! Ha! ha!" This mockery is even worse than their other false accusations. For it sets up false gods against the One True God, even in dealing with Hud. So Hud replies, with spirit and indignation: "At least keep Allah's name out of your futile talk! You know as well as I do, that I worship the One True God! You pretend that your false gods can smite a true Prophet of Allah! I accept the challenge. Scheme and plot against me as you may, all of you-you and your gods! See if you have any power! I ask for no quarter from you! My trust is in Allah!"
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Cf. a very similar challenge in the last sentence of 7:195 .
Cf. vii. 195 and n. 1168.
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I.e., there is no living being over which He has not complete control and which is not entirely dependent on Him (cf. verse {6} of this surah). When describing a person's humility and subjection to another person, the ancient Arabs used to say, "The forelock of so-and-so is in the hand of so-and-so". See in this connection {96:15-16}, where this idiomatic expression occurs for the first time in the chronological order of Qur'anic revelation.
Lit., "my Sustainer is on a straight way" - implying that He governs all that exists in accordance with a system of truth and justice in the ultimate, absolute sense of these terms, never allowing the conscious evildoer to escape the consequence of his deeds, and never letting righteousness go unrewarded, either in this world or in the hereafter (since it is only in the combination of these two phases that human life can be considered in its entirety).
lit., there is no moving creature that He does not hold by its forelock.
lit., my Lord is on the Straight Path.
Grasp of the fore-lock; an Arabic idiom, referring to a horse's fore-lock. The man who grasps it has complete power over the horse, and for the horse the fore-lock is as it were the crown of his beauty, the sum of his power of self-assertion. So Allah's power over all creatures is unlimited and no one can withstand His decree. Cf. xcvi. 15- 16.
That is, the standard of all virtue and righteousness is in the Will of Allah, the Universal Will that controls all things in goodness and justice. You are on a crooked Path. Allah's Path is a straight Path.
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Lit., "to succeed you".
Hud was dealing with a people of pride and obstinate rebellion. He tells them that their conduct will only recoil on themselves. It can do no harm to Allah or in any way frustrate the beneficent Plan of Allah. He will only put some other people in their place to carry out His Plan. That Plan is referred to in the next sentence as "care and watch" over all his Creation.
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For the story of the destruction of the tribe of 'Ad through violent storm-winds, see 54:19 and, more particularly, {69:6-8}.
I.e., the suffering which was yet to befall the rest of the tribe of 'Ad. My addition, between brackets, of the words "in the life to come" is based on the interpretation advanced by Tabari, Zamakhshari and Razi, according to whom the first mention of the saving of Hud and his followers refers to the destruction of the people of 'Ad in this world, and the second, to the latters' chastisement in the hereafter.
A few just men might suffer for the iniquities of the many. But Allah's Plan is perfect and eventually saves His own people by special Grace, if they have Faith and Trust in Him.
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An allusion to "the great ones among them, who refused to acknowledge the truth" ( 7:66 ). Regarding the above interpretation of the term jabbar, see note [58] on 26:130 .
Instead of following the beneficent Lord who cherished them, they followed every rebel against Allah's Law, if he only obtained a little power to dazzle them.
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For my rendering of the term la'nah as "[God's] rejection", see note [37] above.
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