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قَالَ يَٰنُوحُ إِنَّهُۥ لَيْسَ مِنْ أَهْلِكَ ۖ إِنَّهُۥ عَمَلٌ غَيْرُ صَٰلِحٍ ۖ فَلَا تَسْـَٔلْنِ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِۦ عِلْمٌ ۖ إِنِّىٓ أَعِظُكَ أَن تَكُونَ مِنَ ٱلْجَٰهِلِينَ
According to this verse only those persons were considered members of Noah’s family who had established true relationship with God through him. The pronoun hu in inna-hu may also refer to Noah’s prayer for his unrighteous son which act of his was Ghairu Salih i.e. out of place.
‘Amalun (lit. a deed) here means Dhu ‘Amalin, i.e. the doer of a deed. The use of the infinitive as active participle when an intensified sense is intended is in harmony with Arabic idiom. See also 2:178, where Birr (lit. righteousness) means a righteous person. An Arab poet says of his she-camel: Innama hiya Iqbalun wa Idbaru, i.e. she is so restless that she has become the very act of moving forward and backward, meaning the embodiment thereof.
Important Words:
عمل (man of conduct) generally signifies work, deed or action; a motion of the whole or of a portion of the body or even of the mind; the utterance of a saying. The word عمل (lit. deed) may also mean ذوعمل i.e. the doer of a deed, which construction is permissible in the Arabic language when an intensified sense is intended (Lane & Muhit).
Commentary:
In a brief sentence, viz. he is surely not of thy family, God disclosed a great truth to Noah.
What He meant was that when He promised to save his family, He did not mean all members of the family, but only such of them as were righteous and believed in him, because, truly speaking, only those persons were members of his family who had established a true relationship with God through him.
The Quranic words انه عمل غیر صالح rendered here as, he is indeed a man of unrighteous conduct, are capable of two interpretations. First, they may refer to the prayer of Noah. In that case, the clause would mean that this act of his, i.e. his prayer for his son, was غیر صالح i.e. out of place, the word صالح meaning "suitable, meet or proper." By using these words with regard to Noah’s prayer, God meant to point out that as He had already pronounced His judgement and the hour of punishment had actually arrived, so the time for prayer had passed.
Secondly, the clause may refer to Noah’s son. In that case, the word عمل (lit. deed) would be taken as meaning ذوعمل(the doer of a deed). This usage of the word is quite in harmony with Arabic idiom, according to which the infinitive is sometimes used in place of the active participle to impart emphasis. An Arab poet describing the restlessness of a she-camel who had lost her young ones says:انما ھی اقبال و ادبار i.e. "She is so restless that she has become the very act of moving forward and backward," meaning the embodiment thereof. According to this meaning of the word عمل the clause would mean that the reason why his son was not considered as belonging to his family was that he was a man of unrighteous conduct.
The words, ask not of Me, may mean either asking for a favour in prayer or simply inquiring. Taking the words in the former sense, the verse would mean that one should not pray for a matter of whose benefit one is not certain, for in such a case a man cannot know whether what he is praying for will prove a blessing or a curse. In such cases one should pray to God only generally to grant what is good in His sight. There are, however, certain matters about the goodness of which there can be no doubt, e.g. the pleasure of God or the welfare of the life to come. For such matters one can pray without qualification. The prayer of Noah for his son belonged to the former category. He did not know how his son would behave if he were saved. It was possible, nay it was most probable, that if he had been saved, the cause of religion would have materially suffered through him.
If the word "ask" be taken in the sense of "inquire," the verse would mean that Noah was not to inquire about a matter which was beyond his power to comprehend or the disclosure of which was not considered proper. The words مالیس لك به علم do not, in this case, mean "that of which thou hast no knowledge," for man always inquires about matters which he does not know. The words would therefore mean "that which thou canst not know," either because they are beyond thy comprehension or because they cannot be disclosed to thee.
God’s reply to Noah given in the words, he is indeed a man of unrighteous conduct, shows that Noah was not aware of the misdeeds of his son, and the reason why Noah was advised to abstain from asking questions about his son was that such questions were calculated to expose the latter’s misdeeds, which was inconsistent with the God’s attribute of mercy as well as with His attribute of covering up or screening the faults of His creatures. Extraordinary are the ways of God! On the one hand He decreed that Noah’s son should be drowned, and on the other His mercy drew a veil over his misdeeds.
The clause, I advise thee lest thou become one of the ignorant, refers to Noah’s prayer to God to save his son, who was a member of his family and was apparently included among those whom God had promised to save, and means: "You, being the bearer of the Word of God, must in future ponder over every aspect of the Divine revelation received by you and should not act unknowingly." In other words, the seeming indefiniteness of the prophecy was cited to serve the purpose of a warning to Noah, who was asked to learn a lesson from it and to remember that prophecies bear more than one meaning and that their true significance becomes known only when they are actually fulfilled.
It may be asked why, whereas Noah refers to a "promise" of God (see the preceding verse), actually there is no mention of a Divine promise here. In this connection it may be noted that the words ارکبوھا بسم الله i.e. Embark therein in the name of Allah…(v. 42) did imply a Divine promise, because sometimes a commandment is tantamount to an undertaking. When God directed Noah to make his people enter the Ark, the direction implied a promise by God to save those who entered it. Similarly, the words, except those against whom the word has already gone forth (v. 41), also point to a promise having been made by God. If the above-quoted words contained only a command-ment and implied no promise, the names of excepted persons should have been revealed to Noah so that these could have been refused entrance. The fact that the names of the excepted persons were not disclosed shows that all those who went into the Ark were meant to be saved.
1427
Important Words:
عمل (man of conduct) generally signifies work, deed or action; a motion of the whole or of a portion of the body or even of the mind; the utterance of a saying. The word عمل (lit. deed) may also mean ذوعمل i.e. the doer of a deed, which construction is permissible in the Arabic language when an intensified sense is intended (Lane & Muhit).
Commentary:
In a brief sentence, viz. he is surely not of thy family, God disclosed a great truth to Noah.
What He meant was that when He promised to save his family, He did not mean all members of the family, but only such of them as were righteous and believed in him, because, truly speaking, only those persons were members of his family who had established a true relationship with God through him.
The Quranic words انه عمل غیر صالح rendered here as, he is indeed a man of unrighteous conduct, are capable of two interpretations. First, they may refer to the prayer of Noah. In that case, the clause would mean that this act of his, i.e. his prayer for his son, was غیر صالح i.e. out of place, the word صالح meaning "suitable, meet or proper." By using these words with regard to Noah’s prayer, God meant to point out that as He had already pronounced His judgement and the hour of punishment had actually arrived, so the time for prayer had passed.
Secondly, the clause may refer to Noah’s son. In that case, the word عمل (lit. deed) would be taken as meaning ذوعمل(the doer of a deed). This usage of the word is quite in harmony with Arabic idiom, according to which the infinitive is sometimes used in place of the active participle to impart emphasis. An Arab poet describing the restlessness of a she-camel who had lost her young ones says:انما ھی اقبال و ادبار i.e. "She is so restless that she has become the very act of moving forward and backward," meaning the embodiment thereof. According to this meaning of the word عمل the clause would mean that the reason why his son was not considered as belonging to his family was that he was a man of unrighteous conduct.
The words, ask not of Me, may mean either asking for a favour in prayer or simply inquiring. Taking the words in the former sense, the verse would mean that one should not pray for a matter of whose benefit one is not certain, for in such a case a man cannot know whether what he is praying for will prove a blessing or a curse. In such cases one should pray to God only generally to grant what is good in His sight. There are, however, certain matters about the goodness of which there can be no doubt, e.g. the pleasure of God or the welfare of the life to come. For such matters one can pray without qualification. The prayer of Noah for his son belonged to the former category. He did not know how his son would behave if he were saved. It was possible, nay it was most probable, that if he had been saved, the cause of religion would have materially suffered through him.
If the word "ask" be taken in the sense of "inquire," the verse would mean that Noah was not to inquire about a matter which was beyond his power to comprehend or the disclosure of which was not considered proper. The words مالیس لك به علم do not, in this case, mean "that of which thou hast no knowledge," for man always inquires about matters which he does not know. The words would therefore mean "that which thou canst not know," either because they are beyond thy comprehension or because they cannot be disclosed to thee.
God’s reply to Noah given in the words, he is indeed a man of unrighteous conduct, shows that Noah was not aware of the misdeeds of his son, and the reason why Noah was advised to abstain from asking questions about his son was that such questions were calculated to expose the latter’s misdeeds, which was inconsistent with the God’s attribute of mercy as well as with His attribute of covering up or screening the faults of His creatures. Extraordinary are the ways of God! On the one hand He decreed that Noah’s son should be drowned, and on the other His mercy drew a veil over his misdeeds.
The clause, I advise thee lest thou become one of the ignorant, refers to Noah’s prayer to God to save his son, who was a member of his family and was apparently included among those whom God had promised to save, and means: "You, being the bearer of the Word of God, must in future ponder over every aspect of the Divine revelation received by you and should not act unknowingly." In other words, the seeming indefiniteness of the prophecy was cited to serve the purpose of a warning to Noah, who was asked to learn a lesson from it and to remember that prophecies bear more than one meaning and that their true significance becomes known only when they are actually fulfilled.
It may be asked why, whereas Noah refers to a "promise" of God (see the preceding verse), actually there is no mention of a Divine promise here. In this connection it may be noted that the words ارکبوھا بسم الله i.e. Embark therein in the name of Allah…(v. 42) did imply a Divine promise, because sometimes a commandment is tantamount to an undertaking. When God directed Noah to make his people enter the Ark, the direction implied a promise by God to save those who entered it. Similarly, the words, except those against whom the word has already gone forth (v. 41), also point to a promise having been made by God. If the above-quoted words contained only a command-ment and implied no promise, the names of excepted persons should have been revealed to Noah so that these could have been refused entrance. The fact that the names of the excepted persons were not disclosed shows that all those who went into the Ark were meant to be saved.
1318
According to this verse only those persons were considered members of Noah’s family who had established true relationship with God through him. The pronoun hu in inna-hu may also refer to Noah’s prayer for his unrighteous son which act of his was Ghairu Salih i.e. out of place.
1319
‘Amalun (lit. a deed) here means Dhu ‘Amalin, i.e. the doer of a deed. The use of the infinitive as active participle when an intensified sense is intended is in harmony with Arabic idiom. See also 2:178, where Birr (lit. righteousness) means a righteous person. An Arab poet says of his she-camel: Innama hiya Iqbalun wa Idbaru, i.e. she is so restless that she has become the very act of moving forward and backward, meaning the embodiment thereof.
وَيَجْعَلُونَ لِمَا لَا يَعْلَمُونَ نَصِيبًا مِّمَّا رَزَقْنَٰهُمْ ۗ تَٱللَّهِ لَتُسْـَٔلُنَّ عَمَّا كُنتُمْ تَفْتَرُونَ
6:137.
6:137.
6:137.
Commentary:
The verse means to say that idolaters allege that their gods or idols have bestowed upon them such and such things while the gods themselves have no knowledge of any such bestowal of their favours upon them. The words لما لا یعلمون (of which they know nothing) signify that idolaters who imagine they have received gifts from their gods and goddesses do not know who their gods are.
The verse constitutes one more powerful argument in refutation of polytheism. Very often polytheists and idolaters are found to indulge in abstruse philosophical and metaphysical arguments in support of polytheism which confuse men’s minds. In this verse they are told that the possibility that a certain thing can exist and the fact that it actually exists are two vastly different things. Even admitting for the sake of argument that there can be more than one God, does this hypothetical possibility actually prove that a particular person who is believed by idolaters to be a god is really so? These abstruse philosophical discussions do not prove anything. The godhead of the pseudo-gods has to be proved by strong and cogent proofs. This is a line of argument which at once takes the ground from under the feet of idolaters. They cannot prove the godhead of any one of their many gods. A polytheist will always indulge in abstruse metaphysical discussion about polytheism, but will never be able to adduce one single solid argument to prove the godhead of any of his many gods. It is in pursuance of God’s own plan that the lives of the pseudo-gods of the polytheists show that they were so weak and helpless that in view of their weakness and helplessness not even the most confirmed polytheist could dare say that they were gods.
c
6:137.
c
6:137.
1858
Commentary:
The verse means to say that idolaters allege that their gods or idols have bestowed upon them such and such things while the gods themselves have no knowledge of any such bestowal of their favours upon them. The words لما لا یعلمون (of which they know nothing) signify that idolaters who imagine they have received gifts from their gods and goddesses do not know who their gods are.
The verse constitutes one more powerful argument in refutation of polytheism. Very often polytheists and idolaters are found to indulge in abstruse philosophical and metaphysical arguments in support of polytheism which confuse men’s minds. In this verse they are told that the possibility that a certain thing can exist and the fact that it actually exists are two vastly different things. Even admitting for the sake of argument that there can be more than one God, does this hypothetical possibility actually prove that a particular person who is believed by idolaters to be a god is really so? These abstruse philosophical discussions do not prove anything. The godhead of the pseudo-gods has to be proved by strong and cogent proofs. This is a line of argument which at once takes the ground from under the feet of idolaters. They cannot prove the godhead of any one of their many gods. A polytheist will always indulge in abstruse metaphysical discussion about polytheism, but will never be able to adduce one single solid argument to prove the godhead of any of his many gods. It is in pursuance of God’s own plan that the lives of the pseudo-gods of the polytheists show that they were so weak and helpless that in view of their weakness and helplessness not even the most confirmed polytheist could dare say that they were gods.
a
6:137.
وَلَوْ شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ لَجَعَلَكُمْ أُمَّةً وَٰحِدَةً وَلَٰكِن يُضِلُّ مَن يَشَآءُ وَيَهْدِى مَن يَشَآءُ ۚ وَلَتُسْـَٔلُنَّ عَمَّا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ
5:49; 11:119.
5:49; 11:119.
5:49; 11:119.
Commentary:
The verse means to say that the authors of such treaties as are concluded with the intent to deceive other peoples have in view no object other than that of establishing their own dominion in the world. But, says the Quran, if it had been the will of God that there should be only one dominant power in the earth, He Himself would have made one. There is therefore no justification in having recourse to dishonest means for the purpose of subduing other nations. A nation which seeks to impose its will and foist its domination upon other peoples against their consent will itself someday fall victim to the evil designs of another nation and lose its freedom.
a
5:49; 11:119.
a
5:49; 11:119.
1894
Commentary:
The verse means to say that the authors of such treaties as are concluded with the intent to deceive other peoples have in view no object other than that of establishing their own dominion in the world. But, says the Quran, if it had been the will of God that there should be only one dominant power in the earth, He Himself would have made one. There is therefore no justification in having recourse to dishonest means for the purpose of subduing other nations. A nation which seeks to impose its will and foist its domination upon other peoples against their consent will itself someday fall victim to the evil designs of another nation and lose its freedom.
a
5:49; 11:119.
قَالَ فَإِنِ ٱتَّبَعْتَنِى فَلَا تَسْـَٔلْنِى عَن شَىْءٍ حَتَّىٰٓ أُحْدِثَ لَكَ مِنْهُ ذِكْرًا
11:47; 17:37.
11:47; 17:37.
11:47; 17:37.
Commentary:
By implication the verse establishes the Holy Prophet’s spiritual superiority over Moses. Whereas Moses, in spite of his repeated pledge that he would ask no more questions, persisted in doing so, the Holy Prophet, though he had made no such promise to Gabriel, on being only once told by the Archangel in his Vision to ask no question, at once submitted to him and maintained complete silence.
a
11:47; 17:37.
a
11:47; 17:37.
2110
Commentary:
By implication the verse establishes the Holy Prophet’s spiritual superiority over Moses. Whereas Moses, in spite of his repeated pledge that he would ask no more questions, persisted in doing so, the Holy Prophet, though he had made no such promise to Gabriel, on being only once told by the Archangel in his Vision to ask no question, at once submitted to him and maintained complete silence.
a
11:47; 17:37.
ثُمَّ لَتُسْـَٔلُنَّ يَوْمَئِذٍ عَنِ ٱلنَّعِيمِ
Commentary:
When disbelievers will be brought face to face to Hell, they will be told that God had bestowed upon them all kinds of favours, especially His greatest favour—the Holy Prophet—but they rejected and opposed him.
4831
Commentary:
When disbelievers will be brought face to face to Hell, they will be told that God had bestowed upon them all kinds of favours, especially His greatest favour—the Holy Prophet—but they rejected and opposed him.