The Light of the Holy Qur'an Interpretation of Sura Hud

Commentary : Verse 30

(30) وَ يا قَوْمِ مَنْ يَنْصُرُني‏ مِنَ اللَّهِ إِنْ طَرَدْتُهُمْ أَ فَلا تَذَكَّرُونَ

  1. " And O my people! Who will help me against Allah if I drove them away Will you not then reflect ?"

Commentary :

The Qur'an further explains the situation in this verse, and from the tongue of the prophet to his people, it implies that if he cast out this group, who in this world can come to his assistance in that great Court of Justice ?The verse says:

" And O my people! Who will help me against Allah if I drove them away ? ..."

Driving out the righteous and faithful believers is no easy matter. They can bear witness against the prophet on the Day of Resurrection and no one will be able to defend him then, while, at the same time, the Divine punishment might also face him in this world. And contemplating this would lead to knowledge that whatever the prophet said was identical with the truth. The verse says:

"... Will you not then reflect ?"

Commentary : Verse 31

(31) وَ لا أَقُولُ لَكُمْ عِنْدي خَزائِنُ اللَّهِ وَ لا أَعْلَمُ الْغَيْبَ وَ لا أَقُولُ إِنِّي مَلَكٌ وَ لا أَقُولُ لِلَّذينَ تَزْدَري أَعْيُنُكُمْ لَنْ يُؤْتِيَهُمُ اللَّهُ خَيْراً اللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِما في‏ أَنْفُسِهِمْ إِنِّي إِذاً لَمِنَ الظَّالِمينَ

  1. "And I do not say to you(that)Allah's treasures are with me; nor do I know the Unseen, nor do I claim to be an angel; nor do I say, about those whom your eyes do despise,(that)Allah will never grant them any good. Allah is well aware of what is in their hearts;(for)verily then I should be of the unjust. "

Commentary :

‏Knowledge of Unseen, regarding anything and every condition, is absolutely with Allah. The Qur'an says: "And with Him are the keys of the Unseen. None but He knows them "(1) which means that the keys to the invisible world are in His Own authority. However, due to Divine Providence and according to the Divine Will, men of Allah will sometimes find windows opened up for them. The Qur'an in regard to this fact says: "These are of the tidings of the Unseen which We reveal unto you. "(2)

Therefore, Allah's prophets are knowledgeable about the invisible world as the Qur'an states: "The Knower of the Unseen! So He does not reveal His secrets to any, " "Except to him whom He chooses as an apostle "(3) . This verse means

(1) Sura Al- An'am, No. 6, verse 59

(2) Sura Hud, No. 11, verse 49 (3) Sura The Jinn, No. 72, verses 26, 27

that He is knowledgeable about the invisible world, and no one is aware of this knowledge of the invisible except those whom He has selected from among His prophets.

‏Not only the knowledge of the invisible world is His own prerogative but the power to perform extraordinary works also rests with Him, though Allah can and will bestow something of whatever aspect of His power which He deems worthy upon anyone He chooses and to the extent that He wishes. For example, it is mentioned in the Qur'an that death and life are in His Power: "Verily, it is He who makes one die and live".(1) However, the Qur'an also says that Had rat 'Isa(a. s.) made the dead live with His permission "I make the dead live with His permission. "(2)

Although Allah takes lives "Allah takes the souls "(3) yet angels take lives with His permission: "The angel of death shall cause you to die, "(4) And although He is the sole Creator of all, "Allah is the Creator of every thing "(5) , But Had rat 'Isa creates, however, with His permission: " and when you did make of clay a thing like the shape of a bird, by My leave, "(6)

Theological research has shown that no one individual existing among the jinn and mankind can have access to the science of the invisible world apart from a limited amount of it which depends upon their potentialities. This type of knowledge in relation to them is not a science of the invisible after it is bestowed on them although it might be so for others. On the other hand, Allah has made the prophets and the Imams

(1) Sura An- Najm, No. 53, verse 44

(2) Sura 'Al- i- 'Imran, No. 3, verse 49

(3) Sura Az- Zumar, No. 39, verse 22

(4) Sura As- Sajdah, No. 32, verse 11

(5) Sura Ar- Ra'd, No. 13, verse 16

(6) Sura Al- Ma'idah, No. 5, verse 110

‏knowledgeable about the invisible world and aware of the past and future. For example, the blessed Prophet(p.b.u.h.) had foretold the news of the 'Imamat' of twelve persons, the sufferings inflicted on them, the intentional disappearance of Had rat Mahdi(a.s.)and his reappearance, the events occurring during the last days, the establishment of his government, and the resurrection of the dead on the Day of Judgment, other similar matters have also been passed down to us from the other Imams(a.s.). Without doubt whatever has not been given to us in this respect is due to the lack of capacity on the part of the average man or has been withheld for reasons known only to Allah.(1)

At the end of the verse, the Qur'an goes back to the subject of oppressed believers, emphasizing that the prophet cannot say that those whom the disbelievers despise will not be rewarded by Allah. On the contrary, the blessings of this world and those of the next belong to the oppressed even though they are empty handed in this world.

It is the wrongdoers who in their infatuation with the world consider goodness to be confined to wealth, position, youth, and the like, demonstrating their lack of knowledge of the truth and its true meaning. Even if one assumes that the oppressors are right and that the oppressed are indeed wretches, still Allah is more aware than us of what is in their minds, for we know nothing about them except what is indicative of their good faith and sincerity, and thus we are obliged to accept them. I am only required to judge and relate with men based on their outward

(1) Refer to Bihar- ul- 'Anwar, vol. 35 p. 420, 'Usoul ul Kafi, vol. 1, p. 225 Yanabi' ul Mawaddah, vol. 1, p. 605; Kashf- ul Ghumma, vol. 3, p. 340, Safinat- ul- Bihar 'Uyoun Akhbar- ur- Rid a, vol. 2, p. 237; Kitab al S irat ul H aqq, vol. 3 p. 340, 'Uyoun- i- Akhbar- ur- Rid a, vol. 2, Nahjul Balaqah and H aqayiq by Ibn Shahr- 'Ashoub, and other books regarding the 'Knowledge of the Imams.

behavior, judging a man on the basis of his inward nature belongs to Allah alone, and if I act otherwise, I will certainly be among the oppressors. The verse says:

"And I do not say to you(that)Allah's treasures are with me; nor do I know the Unseen, nor do I claim to be an angel; nor do I say, about those whom your eyes do despise,(that)Allah will never grant them any good.Allah is well aware of what is in their hearts;(for)verily then I should be of the unjust."

Commentary : Verse 32

(32) قالُوا يا نُوحُ قَدْ جادَلْتَنا فَأَكْثَرْتَ جِدالَنا فَأْتِنا بِما تَعِدُنا إِنْ كُنْتَ مِنَ الصَّادِقينَ

  1. " They said: 'O' Noah! You have disputed with us and multiplied disputation with us. Bring us then what you have promised us(of divine punishment), if you are truthful. '"

Commentary :

‏Disputes are only valuable whenever they are honestly in pursuit of the truth and done in a respectful and polite manner; as the Qur'an says: " and argue with them in the best manner. "(1)

If the dispute is based on what is wrong, it is of no value, as the holy Qur'an says: " and they disputed by means of the falsehood in order to stamp out the truth thereby. "(2)

Thus, as the unbelievers did not have logic on their side and accepted no logical arguments, they sought to bring the debate to and end by telling him to bring unto them what he had promised. The verse says:

" They said: 'O' Noah! You have disputed with us and multiplied disputation with us. Bring us then what you have promised us(of divine punishment), if you are truthful. '"

Therefore Had rat Noah(a.s.)cursed them after they had made their declaration that they wanted him to send down their destruction.

(1) Sura An- Nahl, No. 16, verse 125

(2) Sura Ghafir, No. 40, verse 5

Commentary : Verse 33

(33) قالَ إِنَّما يَأْتيكُمْ بِهِ اللَّهُ إِنْ شاءَ وَ ما أَنْتُمْ بِمُعْجِزينَ

  1. " He said: 'Verily Allah will bring it to you, if He wills, and you will not be able to frustrate(it). '"

Commentary :

Noah replies that the realization of the punishment for their heedlessness and obstinacy is not up to him but it is dependent upon the Will of Allah. He himself is only a messenger and a sincere servant of the Almighty.

They should beware, however, that when the command for the punishment is issued they cannot escape His power for they are at His mercy and they will not be able to take refuge anywhere. The verse says:

" He said: 'Verily Allah will bring it to you, if He wills, and you will not be able to frustrate(it). '"

Commentary : Verse 34

(34) وَ لا يَنْفَعُكُمْ نُصْحي‏ إِنْ أَرَدْتُ أَنْ أَنْصَحَ لَكُمْ إِنْ كانَ اللَّهُ يُريدُ أَنْ يُغْوِيَكُمْ هُوَ رَبُّكُمْ وَ إِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ

  1. " And my advice will not profit you, should I intend to give you advice, if Allah wills to lead you astray. He is your Lord and unto Him you will be returned. "

Commentary :

Noah said that his advice would have been of no use to them even though he sincerely wished to counsel them.

The punishment and retribution of the evildoers is up to Allah, and prophets are nothing but agents for conveying the Divine message and admonishing the people.

There is no way for man to resist or escape Divine justice and punishment, for Allah's Will overcomes all other wills. Even if one is not punished in this world, Allah will deal with him on the Day of Resurrection, and then he will see the final result of his deeds.

However, the Arabic word/ nush/ refers to the saying or deed by which sincere reformation is achieved, and the Arabic word/ qayy/ is called to that kind of ignorance which has its roots in corrupt and evil convictions. The difference between/ 'id lal/ and/ 'iqwa/ is that the doer of the former knows the destination but he has lost the way, while with respect to/ 'iqwa/ the aim and intention are both unknown. Attributing the actions of/ 'id lal/ and/ 'iqwa/ to Allah is in the way of punishing those who are misled because of the obstinacy and corruption of their character. It does not mean that from the beginning and without prior premise Allah goes on leading one astray.

Commentary : Verse 35

(35) أَمْ يَقُولُونَ افْتَراهُ قُلْ إِنِ افْتَرَيْتُهُ فَعَلَيَّ إِجْرامي‏ وَ أَنَا بَري‏ءٌ مِمَّا تُجْرِمُونَ

  1. "Or they say: 'He has forged it. ' Say: 'If I have forged it, upon me is my sin, and I am quit of the sins you commit'. "

Commentary :

Some of the unbelievers among the Quraysh claimed that these stories of the prophets had been fabricated by the Prophet himself(p.b.u.h.) which he then attributed to Allah. The Almighty instructs him to tell them that if he had fabricated them, it would be he alone who would suffer the consequences and they would not be held responsible, but the converse is also true with respect to their transgressions, that he is just as free of responsibility for their sins and offences. His duty is only to convey the message and nothing else, whether or not they accepted or rejected it. The verse says:

" Or they say: 'He has forged it. ' Say: 'If I have forged it, upon me is my sin, and I am quit of the sins you commit'. "

Apparently because of the Qur'anic word/ qul/, which means 'say', and owing to the news about the unbelievers of Mecca and the Prophet of Islam, the verse relates to the Apostle of Islam(p.b.u.h.) . Anyway, he who commits an act will only be held responsible and it is no one else's fault. The Prophet(p.b.u.h.) will not be involved in their sins either. The fact that they did not accept the faith and attributed false accusations to the Qur'an, calling the Prophet a liar, all together resulted in grievous consequences while on his part, he had performed his mission in admonishing and conveying the message to them.

The Arabic term/ 'ijram/ and/ jurm/ mean the picking of unripe fruits and which thereafter have been referred to whatever indecent behavior or offence or sin.