Surah Araf ayat 59 Tafsir Quran 7:59

﴿لَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا نُوحًا إِلَىٰ قَوْمِهِ فَقَالَ يَا قَوْمِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ مَا لَكُم مِّنْ إِلَٰهٍ غَيْرُهُ إِنِّي أَخَافُ عَلَيْكُمْ عَذَابَ يَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ﴾
[ الأعراف: 59]

7:59 We had certainly sent Noah to his people, and he said, "O my people, worship Allah; you have no deity other than Him. Indeed, I fear for you the punishment of a tremendous Day.

Verily laqad is the response to an oath that has been omitted We sent Noah to his people and he said ‘O my people worship God! You have no god other than Him read ghayrihi as an adjective of ilāh ‘god’ or ghayruhu as a substitution in its place sc. instead of min ilāhin ‘any god’. Truly I fear for you if you worship other than Him the chastisement of an Awful Day’ that is the Day of Resurrection.

We send Nuh to his people to prevail upon them to recognize Allah. He said: O my people worship Allah and adore Him with appropriate acts and rites; you have no Ilah but Him! I fear for you an immense. punishment on a Momentous Day

The Story of Nuh and His People After Allah mentioned the story of Adam in the beginning of this Surah, He started mentioning the stories of the Prophets, the first then the latter of them.
Allah mentioned the story of Nuh, because he was the first Messenger Allah sent to the people of the earth after Adam.
His name was Nuh bin Lamak bin Matushalakh bin Khanukh.
And Khanukh was, as they claim, the Prophet Idris.
And Idris was the first person to write letters using pen, and he was the son of Barad bin Mahlil, bin Qanin bin Yanish bin Shith bin Adam, upon them all be peace.
This lineage is mentioned by Muhammad bin Ishaq and other Imams who document lineage.
`Abdullah bin `Abbas and several other scholars of Tafsir said that the first idol worship began when some righteous people died and their people built places of worship over their graves.
They made images of them so that they could remember their righteousness and devotion, and thus, imitate them.
When time passed, they made statues of them and later on worshipped these idols, naming them after the righteous people: Wadd, Suwa`, Yaghuth, Ya`uq and Nasr.
After this practice became popular, Allah sent Nuh as a Messenger, all thanks are due to Him.
Nuh commanded his people to worship Allah alone without partners, saying, يَـقَوْمِ اعْبُدُواْ اللَّهَ مَا لَكُم مِّنْ إِلَـهٍ غَيْرُهُ إِنِّى أَخَافُ عَلَيْكُمْ عَذَابَ يَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ ( "O my people! Worship Allah! You have no other god but Him.
Certainly, I fear for you the torment of a Great Day!" ) the torment of the Day of Resurrection, if you meet Allah while associating others with Him. قَالَ الْمَلأ مِن قَوْمِهِ ( The leaders of his people said ) meaning, the general public, chiefs, commanders and great ones of his people said, إِنَّا لَنَرَاكَ فِي ضَلَـلٍ مُّبِينٍ ( "Verily, we see you in plain error" ) because of your calling us to abandon the worship of these idols that we found our forefathers worshipping.
This, indeed, is the attitude of evil people, for they consider the righteous people to be following misguidance.
Allah said in other Ayat, وَإِذَا رَأَوْهُمْ قَالُواْ إِنَّ هَـؤُلاَءِ لَضَآلُّونَ ( And when they saw them, they said: "Verily, these have indeed gone astray!" ) 83:32 and, وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ لِلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لَوْ كَانَ خَيْراً مَّا سَبَقُونَآ إِلَيْهِ وَإِذْ لَمْ يَهْتَدُواْ بِهِ فَسَيَقُولُونَ هَـذَآ إِفْكٌ قَدِيمٌ ( And those who disbelieve say of those who believe: "Had it been a good thing, they (the weak and poor ) would not have preceded us thereto!" And when they have not let themselves be guided by it ( this Qur'an ), they say: "This is an ancient lie!") 46:11 There are several other Ayat on this subject. قَالَ يَـقَوْمِ لَيْسَ بِى ضَلَـلَةٌ وَلَكِنِّي رَسُولٌ مِّن رَّبِّ الْعَـلَمِينَ ( Nuh said: "O my people! There is no error in me, but I am a Messenger from the Lord of all that exists!" ) meaning, there is nothing wrong with me, but I am a Messenger from the Lord of all that exists, Lord and King of all things, أُبَلِّغُكُمْ رِسَـلـتِ رَبِّى وَأَنصَحُ لَكُمْ وَأَعْلَمُ مِنَ اللَّهِ مَا لاَ تَعْلَمُونَ ( "I convey unto you the Messages of my Lord and give sincere advice to you.
And I know from Allah what you know not." ) This is the attribute of a Messenger, that he conveys using plain, yet eloquent words, offers sincere advice and is knowledgeable about Allah; indeed, no other people can compete with the Prophets in this regard.
In his Sahih, Muslim recorded that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to his Companions on the Day of `Arafah, when their gathering was as large as it ever was,
«أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّكُمْ مَسْؤُولُونَ عَنِّي فَمَا أَنْتُمْ قَائِلُونَ؟»
( O people! You will be asked about me, so what will you say ) They said, "We testify that you have conveyed and delivered ( the Message ) and offered sincere advice." So he kept raising his finger to the sky and lowering it towards them, saying,
«اللَّهُمَّ اشْهَدْ اللَّهُمَّ اشْهَد»
( O Allah! Bear witness, O Allah! Bear witness. )

(7:59) Indeed We sent forth Noah to his people  *47and he said: '0 my people! Serve Allah, you have no other god than Him  *48Indeed I fear for you the chastisement of an awesome Day.'

We had certainly sent Noah to his meaning

*47).
This historical narrative opens with an account of the Prophet Noah and his people.
For the people of Noah were the first to drift away from the right way of life which was followed by the Prophet Adarn and his descendants.
God, therefore, sent Noah to guide and reform them.

In light of the Qur'anic allusions and Biblical statements it seems certain the people of Noah inhabited the land presently known as Iraq.
This view is also supported by inscriptions of pre-Biblical times discovered in the course of archaeological excavations in Babylonia.
Those inscriptions contain almost the same account which is recounted in the Qur'an and the Torah.
The locale of the event is the vicinity of Mosul.
Kurdish and Armenian traditions also corroborate this account insofar as they mention that it was in this area that Noah's Ark anchored.
Some relies ascribed to Noah are still found in Jazirat Ibn 'Urnar, situated to the north of Mosul and on the frontiers of Armenia in the vicinity of the Ararat mountain mass.
The inhabitants of Nakhichevan believe to this day that their town was founded by Noah.

Traditions similar to the story of Noah are also found in classical Greek Egyptian, Indian and Chinese literature.
Moreover, stories of identical import have been popular since time immemorial in Burma, Malaya, the East Indies, Australia, New Guinea and various parts of Europe and America.
This shows clearly that the event took place at some point in the dim past when men lived together in one region and it was after Noah's Flood that they dispersed to different parts of the world.
This is why traditions of all nations mention the Flood of the early time.
This is notwithstanding the fact that the actual event has increasingly been shrouded in mystery, and the authentic elements of the event overlaid with myth and legend.

*48).
It is evident from the above verse and from other Qur'anic descriptions of the people of Noah that they were neither ignorant of, nor denied the existence of God, nor were they opposed to the idea of worshipping Him.
Their real malady was polytheism.
They had associated others with God in His godhead, and considered them akin to God in their claim that human beings should worship them as well.
This basic error gave rise to a number of evils among them.
There had arisen among them a class of people representing the false gods they themselves had contrived.
Gradually this class of people virtually monopolized all religious, economic and political authority.
This class also introduced a hierarchical structure of society which led to immense corruption and injustice.
The moral degeneration which this system promoted sapped the roots of mankind's higher characteristics.
When corruption reached a high peak, God sent Noah to improve the state of affairs.
For long, Noah strove with patience and wisdom to bring about reform.
All his efforts, however, were thwarted by the clergy which craftily kept people under its powerful hold.
Eventually Noah prayed to God not to spare even a single unbeliever on the face of the earth, for they would go about misguiding human beings, and their progeny would likewise be wicked and ungrateful.
( For a detailed discussion see Hud 11: 25-48, al-Shu'ara' 26: 105-22 and Nuh 71: 1-28. )
 

The Story of Nuh and His People After Allah mentioned the story of Adam in the beginning of this Surah, He started mentioning the stories of the Prophets, the first then the latter of them.
Allah mentioned the story of Nuh, because he was the first Messenger Allah sent to the people of the earth after Adam.
His name was Nuh bin Lamak bin Matushalakh bin Khanukh.
And Khanukh was, as they claim, the Prophet Idris.
And Idris was the first person to write letters using pen, and he was the son of Barad bin Mahlil, bin Qanin bin Yanish bin Shith bin Adam, upon them all be peace.
This lineage is mentioned by Muhammad bin Ishaq and other Imams who document lineage.
`Abdullah bin `Abbas and several other scholars of Tafsir said that the first idol worship began when some righteous people died and their people built places of worship over their graves.
They made images of them so that they could remember their righteousness and devotion, and thus, imitate them.
When time passed, they made statues of them and later on worshipped these idols, naming them after the righteous people: Wadd, Suwa`, Yaghuth, Ya`uq and Nasr.
After this practice became popular, Allah sent Nuh as a Messenger, all thanks are due to Him.
Nuh commanded his people to worship Allah alone without partners, saying, يَـقَوْمِ اعْبُدُواْ اللَّهَ مَا لَكُم مِّنْ إِلَـهٍ غَيْرُهُ إِنِّى أَخَافُ عَلَيْكُمْ عَذَابَ يَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ ( "O my people! Worship Allah! You have no other god but Him.
Certainly, I fear for you the torment of a Great Day!" ) the torment of the Day of Resurrection, if you meet Allah while associating others with Him. قَالَ الْمَلأ مِن قَوْمِهِ ( The leaders of his people said ) meaning, the general public, chiefs, commanders and great ones of his people said, إِنَّا لَنَرَاكَ فِي ضَلَـلٍ مُّبِينٍ ( "Verily, we see you in plain error" ) because of your calling us to abandon the worship of these idols that we found our forefathers worshipping.
This, indeed, is the attitude of evil people, for they consider the righteous people to be following misguidance.
Allah said in other Ayat, وَإِذَا رَأَوْهُمْ قَالُواْ إِنَّ هَـؤُلاَءِ لَضَآلُّونَ ( And when they saw them, they said: "Verily, these have indeed gone astray!" ) 83:32 and, وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ لِلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لَوْ كَانَ خَيْراً مَّا سَبَقُونَآ إِلَيْهِ وَإِذْ لَمْ يَهْتَدُواْ بِهِ فَسَيَقُولُونَ هَـذَآ إِفْكٌ قَدِيمٌ ( And those who disbelieve say of those who believe: "Had it been a good thing, they (the weak and poor ) would not have preceded us thereto!" And when they have not let themselves be guided by it ( this Qur'an ), they say: "This is an ancient lie!") 46:11 There are several other Ayat on this subject. قَالَ يَـقَوْمِ لَيْسَ بِى ضَلَـلَةٌ وَلَكِنِّي رَسُولٌ مِّن رَّبِّ الْعَـلَمِينَ ( Nuh said: "O my people! There is no error in me, but I am a Messenger from the Lord of all that exists!" ) meaning, there is nothing wrong with me, but I am a Messenger from the Lord of all that exists, Lord and King of all things, أُبَلِّغُكُمْ رِسَـلـتِ رَبِّى وَأَنصَحُ لَكُمْ وَأَعْلَمُ مِنَ اللَّهِ مَا لاَ تَعْلَمُونَ ( "I convey unto you the Messages of my Lord and give sincere advice to you.
And I know from Allah what you know not." ) This is the attribute of a Messenger, that he conveys using plain, yet eloquent words, offers sincere advice and is knowledgeable about Allah; indeed, no other people can compete with the Prophets in this regard.
In his Sahih, Muslim recorded that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to his Companions on the Day of `Arafah, when their gathering was as large as it ever was, «أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّكُمْ مَسْؤُولُونَ عَنِّي فَمَا أَنْتُمْ قَائِلُونَ؟» ( O people! You will be asked about me, so what will you say ) They said, "We testify that you have conveyed and delivered ( the Message ) and offered sincere advice." So he kept raising his finger to the sky and lowering it towards them, saying, «اللَّهُمَّ اشْهَدْ اللَّهُمَّ اشْهَد» ( O Allah! Bear witness, O Allah! Bear witness. )

( We sent Noah (of old ) unto his people, and he said: O my people! Serve Allah) profess Allah’s divine Oneness. ( Ye have no other God save Him ) to Whom I am calling you. ( Lo! I fear for you ) I know that you be inflicted with ( the retribution of an Awful Day ) if you do not believe.

Indeed, We sent Nuh (Noah) to his people and he said: "O my people! Worship Allah! You have no other Ilah (God) but Him. (La ilaha ill-Allah: none has the right to be worshipped but Allah). Certainly, I fear for you the torment of a Great Day!"

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