The Light of the Holy Qur'an Interpretation of Sura Hud
Section 4 : the Fate of Those Who Disbelieved Noah Commentary : Verse 36
Noah directed to make an Ark - People of Noah scoff at Noah - The Deluge - Noah's people drowned - Noah and his companions in the Ark saved.
(36) وَ أُوحِيَ إِلى نُوحٍ أَنَّهُ لَنْ يُؤْمِنَ مِنْ قَوْمِكَ إِلاَّ مَنْ قَدْ آمَنَ فَلا تَبْتَئِسْ بِما كانُوا يَفْعَلُونَ
- " And it was revealed unto Noah: 'None of your people will believe except those who have already believed, so do not grieve as to what they used to do'. "
Commentary :
The previous holy verses thoroughly covered the stage of inviting the people to the religion on Divine unity and Noah's indefatigable propagation and dissemination of the Divine message which he accomplished using all the devices he had available. This verse deals with the second stage of the campaign; the final stage of the propagation phase.
Here, the second phase of the campaign has not been dealt with, it is the end of the propagation stage, and the second stage is the preparation for the Divine purge.
At first, we read that it was revealed to Noah that no one else except those who had already adhered to him would become believers. The verse says:
" And it was revealed unto Noah: 'None of your people will believe except those who have already believed, ..."
Reference is here made to the fact that alignments had already been made and finalized and no further call or reformation would have been useful, hence a state of readiness for the upheaval and the purge must be declared.
Towards the end of the verse, consoling Noah, the Qur'an implies that he should not despair at all despite whatever wrongful deeds they used to do. The verse says:
"... so do not grieve as to what they used to do'. "
In the meantime, one can infer from this verse that Allah made those aspects of the knowledge of the secrets of the Unseen that He had deemed necessary, accessible so that His prophet should know.
Commentary : Verse 37
(37) وَ اصْنَعِ الْفُلْكَ بِأَعْيُنِنا وَ وَحْيِنا وَ لا تُخاطِبْني فِي الَّذينَ ظَلَمُوا إِنَّهُمْ مُغْرَقُونَ
- " And make you the Ark under Our eyes, and as We reveal; and address Me not about those who are unjust; verily they shall be drowned. "
Commentary :
At any rate, this unruly and obstinate group must be punished with the kind of punishment that would remove their polluting existence from the entire world, thus liberating the faithful believers from their yoke.
At first, the Qur'an implies that Allah commanded Noah to build an Ark according to His order and in His presence. The verse says:
" And make you the Ark under Our eyes, and as We reveal; ..."
Towards the end of the verse, Noah is warned against any form of mediation on behalf of the oppressors. Saying to him that he should not ask for any amnesty or clemency for they are certainly condemned to chastisement and to be drowned as soon as they are convicted. The verse says:
"... and address Me not about those who are unjust; verily they shall be drowned. "
One can very easily infer from this sentence that taking up the act of mediation requires certain preconditions which, when they are lacking in someone, even Allah's prophet is not rightful to mediate on his behalf.
Commentary : Verse 38
(38) وَ يَصْنَعُ الْفُلْكَ وَ كُلَّما مَرَّ عَلَيْهِ مَلَأٌ مِنْ قَوْمِهِ سَخِرُوا مِنْهُ قالَ إِنْ تَسْخَرُوا مِنَّا فَإِنَّا نَسْخَرُ مِنْكُمْ كَما تَسْخَرُونَ
38." And he began making the Ark; and whenever the chiefs of his people passed by him they scoffed at him. He said:'If you scoff at us, we(too)shall surely scoff at you, as you scoff '."
Commentary :
Let us briefly discuss the situation of Noah's People. Instead of taking Noah's call seriously for a moment, and allowing some room for accepting the probability of the truth of his repeated calls which might have had their origins in Divine Providence and that the subject of punishment through storms might be serious, Noah's people went on mocking and ridiculing as is the case with all arrogant and vainglorious people, however he went on building the Ark. Whenever some of his people passed by him they would watch Noah and his companions struggle to prepare the timber, nails and other ship- building instruments, and they would laugh and ridicule them. The verse says:
" And he began making the Ark; and whenever the chiefs of his people passed by him they scoffed at him. ..."
However, Noah pursued his goal with an extraordinary persistence whose origins lay in his faith, and paying no attention to what they said, he made rapid progress in his efforts. Day after day, the structure of the ship came closer and closer to completion. Noah would sometimes raise his head, and told them this short out expressive statement: "You ridicule us today, but we will surely do the same thing to you soon, the day when you are caught, lost and wandering in the storm, terrified, running in all directions with no shelter, crying in the midst of the waves, begging for mercy, the believers then and there will laugh at your negligence, and ignorance. " The verse says:
"... He said: 'If you scoff at us, we(too)shall surely scoff at you, as you scoff '. "
Commentary : Verse 39
(39) فَسَوْفَ تَعْلَمُونَ مَنْ يَأْتيهِ عَذابٌ يُخْزيهِ وَ يَحِلُّ عَلَيْهِ عَذابٌ مُقيمٌ
- " So you shall know soon to whom a Penalty(that)will confound him comes, and upon whom there shall fall a lasting Penalty. "
Commentary :
The meaning of the punishment which is modified by the term/ yuxzihi/ is the devastating worldly punishment, i. e. their being drowned which would humiliate and belittle them, whilst the meaning of the term/ 'a abun muqim/ is the punishment to be imposed on the Day of Resurrection. The verse says:
" So you shall know soon to whom a Penalty(that)will confound him comes, and upon whom there shall fall a lasting Penalty. "
In some Islamic narrations, one reads that forty years prior to the appearance of the storm, a type of disease had spread among the women of the People of Noah which had prevented them from giving birth to children. This event, in fact, marked the beginning of their punishment.
Noah's Ark:
Noah's Ark, undoubtedly, was not an ordinary ship and its manufacture in those days with the technology of the time was not easily accomplished. It was a large vessel which, in addition to the believers, accommodated pairs of an extremely wide variety of animals, it also carried a large amount of food supplies for the human passengers, as well as food for the animals which was unprecedented for that time. In particular, this ship had to be safely navigated through a sea that covered the entire world with mountain- sized waves and still remain intact. In their commentaries, some Qur'an commentators have expressed their admiration for the magnitude of the ship. Refer to the comments of Majma'- ul- Bayan for further information.
Commentary : Verse 40
(40) حَتَّى إِذا جاءَ أَمْرُنا وَ فارَ التَّنُّورُ قُلْنَا احْمِلْ فيها مِنْ كُلٍّ زَوْجَيْنِ اثْنَيْنِ وَ أَهْلَكَ إِلاَّ مَنْ سَبَقَ عَلَيْهِ الْقَوْلُ وَ مَنْ آمَنَ وَ ما آمَنَ مَعَهُ إِلاَّ قَليلٌ
- "(Thus it was)till, when Our Command came, and the oven gushed forth( water)! We said: "Embark therein, of each kind a pair, and your family(apart from your wife and a son)except for those him against whom the Word has already passed and whoever believed. But there believed not with him but a few. "
Commentary :
The Onset of the Flood:
In the previous verses, we noted how Noah and the true believers became occupied in building the Ark of Salvation and, while subjected to all kinds of difficulties and sarcasms of the arrogant unbelieving majority, they prepared themselves for the flood. Here, the Qur'an expounds upon the third highlight or the climax of the story which relates to the punishment inflicted upon this oppressive nation. First of all, it says that this situation continued until Allah's command was issued and the dawning of the divine punishment appeared, and waters of the earth gushed forth. The verse says:
"(Thus it was)till, when Our Command came, and the oven gushed forth(water)! ..."
Those people who were inattentive and unaware probably noticed the bubbling water in their wells, but, as usual, they did not heed these Divine warnings much less try to understand their meaning. They probably did not pay any attention to it at all to see if a cataclysm was about to occur, and maybe to at least entertain the possibility that Noah's warnings might be real.
At this time, the Command was issued to Noah that he should put a pair of each animal on the Ark so that they would not be exterminated in the flood. And that he, his family, except those for whom word had already had been marked for their punishment, and the believers should board the Ark of Salvation. However few were those who had believed in him. The verse says:
"... We said: "Embark therein, of each kind a pair, and your family(apart from your wife and a son)except for those him against whom the Word has already passed- and whoever believed. But there believed not with him but a few. "
This verse, on the one hand, refers to the wife of Noah and his son 'Kan'an', who, deviating from the path of belief and being in collaboration with the sinners, had broken off their relationship with Noah and were not entitled to embark on the Ark.
On the other hand, it refers to the limited success that Noah(a.s.)had had in persuading people to follow his way of life during his long years of continuous struggle that had resulted in getting only a small number of believers.
Commentary : Verse 41
(41) وَ قالَ ارْكَبُوا فيها بِسْمِ اللَّهِ مَجْراها وَ مُرْساها إِنَّ رَبِّي لَغَفُورٌ رَحيمٌ
- " And he(Noah)said: 'Embark in it! In Allah's Name shall be its sailing and its berthing. Verily my Lord is the Forgiving, the Merciful. '"
Commentary :
Noah assembled his relatives and companions quickly and as the time of the devastating storm and the striking Punishment approached, he ordered them to embark in the name of Allah and to remember Allah both when the Ark was in motion or standing still for He is the All Forgiving, the All Compassionate. The verse says:
" And he(Noah)said: 'Embark in it! In Allah's Name shall be its sailing and its berthing. Verily my Lord is the Forgiving, the Merciful. '"
Owing to His blessings, Allah had made these instruments available to you, His faithful servants, and because of His forgiveness, He may pardon your offences.