Session 9: Nuh and Hud.

Part 1 of 7. About this session.

The previous passage ended with rain on good land and bad land. Now the stories of the messengers begin, and the first is Nuh. His first words to his people were: “O my people, worship Allah; you have no deity other than Him.” He warned them of a tremendous Day. The eminent among his people answered: “Indeed, we see you in clear error.” Nuh did not insult them back. He called them “my people” again: he was a messenger from the Lord of the worlds, who conveys his Lord’s messages and gives them sincere advice. Then he asked: “Do you wonder that there has come to you a reminder from your Lord through a man from among you…?” They denied him. Allah saved Nuh and those with him in the ship, and drowned those who denied His signs. The ayah calls them “a blind people”.

Then Hud, sent to the people of Ad. His first eight words are Nuh’s, letter for letter: “O my people, worship Allah; you have no deity other than Him.” The eminent among his people answer with a different charge: not error, but foolishness, “we see you in foolishness”. Hud answers in their own word, “there is not foolishness in me”, and says what he is: a messenger, who conveys and who is “a trustworthy adviser”. He reminds them that Allah made them successors after the people of Nuh, and gave them stature. They answer with their fathers: “leave what our fathers have worshipped?” And they dare him to bring what he promises.

Hud tells them the sentence is already due, that the names they argue over carry no authority, and that he will wait with them. Allah saves Hud and those with him “by mercy from Us”, and cuts off the rest to the last.

Two stories, one shape: the call, the leaders’ answer, the messenger’s reply, the end. Salih and Shuayb will open with the same call (ayah 73, ayah 85). The passage asks who we take a reminder from, whose advice we trust, and what we do with what we inherit.

Part 2 of 7. The passage, in Saheeh International.

Ayah 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.

Ayah 60.

Said the eminent among his people, "Indeed, we see you in clear error."

Ayah 61.

[Noah] said, "O my people, there is not error in me, but I am a messenger from the Lord of the worlds."

Ayah 62.

I convey to you the messages of my Lord and advise you; and I know from Allah what you do not know.

Ayah 63.

Then do you wonder that there has come to you a reminder from your Lord through a man from among you, that he may warn you and that you may fear Allah so you might receive mercy."

Ayah 64.

But they denied him, so We saved him and those who were with him in the ship. And We drowned those who denied Our signs. Indeed, they were a blind people.

Ayah 65.

And to the 'Aad [We sent] their brother Hud. He said, "O my people, worship Allah; you have no deity other than Him. Then will you not fear Him?"

Ayah 66.

Said the eminent ones who disbelieved among his people, "Indeed, we see you in foolishness, and indeed, we think you are of the liars."

Ayah 67.

[Hud] said, "O my people, there is not foolishness in me, but I am a messenger from the Lord of the worlds."

Ayah 68.

I convey to you the messages of my Lord, and I am to you a trustworthy adviser.

Ayah 69.

Then do you wonder that there has come to you a reminder from your Lord through a man from among you, that he may warn you? And remember when He made you successors after the people of Noah and increased you in stature extensively. So remember the favors of Allah that you might succeed.

Ayah 70.

They said, "Have you come to us that we should worship Allah alone and leave what our fathers have worshipped? Then bring us what you promise us, if you should be of the truthful."

Ayah 71.

[Hud] said, "Already have defilement and anger fallen upon you from your Lord. Do you dispute with me concerning [mere] names you have named them, you and your fathers, for which Allah has not sent down any authority? Then wait; indeed, I am with you among those who wait."

Ayah 72.

So We saved him and those with him by mercy from Us. And We eliminated those who denied Our signs, and they were not [at all] believers.

Part 3 of 7. The explanation, from the classical tafsir.

What the classical commentators say about these fourteen ayat. Take this one if you want to go deeper.

Two stories, told in the same shape. Nuh and his people in three units (ayat 59 to 64), then Hud and the people of Ad in four (ayat 65 to 72). The second story opens with the same eight words as the first; the page says where the two part.

Reading guide: source summaries below are paraphrases, not direct quotations. Reflections and facilitator notes are editorial teaching suggestions. The Verses and audio page uses Saheeh International, whose bracketed words are the translators’ own; English quoted from tafsir editions follows those editions.

Ayah 59 — The call.

First, the ayah again, in Saheeh International.

Ayah 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.

Allah sent Nuh to his people. His first words to them: worship Allah, you have no god other than Him. Then a warning: I fear for you the punishment of a tremendous Day.

Source summary: Ibn Kathir says that after the story of Adam at the start of the surah, Allah begins the stories of the Prophets, “the first then the latter of them”. He starts with Nuh “because he was the first Messenger Allah sent to the people of the earth after Adam”.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: Al-Qurtubi links the story to the ayat before it. Allah has made clear that He is the Creator, able to bring what He makes to completion. Now He tells the stories of the nations, with the warning in them for those who disbelieve.

Source summary: Which Day? Ibn Kathir and al-Jalalayn take it as the Day of Resurrection. Ibn Kathir: “the torment of the Day of Resurrection, if you meet Allah while associating others with Him”.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: Al-Tabari describes it as a day when their suffering will be great, without naming it.

Optional source note — how the idols of Nuh’s people began, and a reading of the ayah.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: On “worship Allah”, al-Tabari says: worship the One who alone is owed worship, humble yourselves to Him in obedience, and leave the gods you worship besides Him.

Source summary: Ibn Kathir reports from Ibn Abbas and other commentators how idol worship began among Nuh’s people. In Sahih al-Bukhari (4920) Ibn Abbas names the five idols of Surah Nuh, ayah 23, Wadd, Suwa, Yaghuth, Yauq and Nasr, and says the names “formerly belonged to some pious men of the people of Noah”. When those men died, Satan prompted their people to set up images where they used to sit and call them by their names. The images were not worshipped until that generation had died and the reason for them was forgotten. This is Ibn Abbas’s own account, not a saying of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: The word for “other than Him” is read two ways, ghayruhu and ghayrihi, and al-Jalalayn and al-Qurtubi explain the grammar of each. Al-Qurtubi says ghayruhu, the reading in the Arabic on this site, is the reading of Nafi, Abu Amr, Asim and Hamza, and al-Kisai reads ghayrihi. He glosses the phrase: you have no god but Allah.

Reflection: The call is one sentence. The rest of the story is how people answered it.

Ayat 60 to 63 — The leaders’ charge and the messenger’s answer.

First, the ayat again, in Saheeh International.

Ayah 60: Said the eminent among his people, "Indeed, we see you in clear error."

Ayah 61: [Noah] said, "O my people, there is not error in me, but I am a messenger from the Lord of the worlds."

Ayah 62: I convey to you the messages of my Lord and advise you; and I know from Allah what you do not know.

Ayah 63: Then do you wonder that there has come to you a reminder from your Lord through a man from among you, that he may warn you and that you may fear Allah so you might receive mercy."

The eminent among his people say they see him in clear error. Nuh answers that there is no error in him: he is a messenger who conveys his Lord’s messages and advises them. Then he asks: do you wonder that a reminder came to you through a man from among you?

Source summary: On al-mala, “the eminent”, Ibn Kathir says: “the general public, chiefs, commanders and great ones of his people”.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: Al-Qurtubi explains al-mala as the nobles of the people and their chiefs. Al-Jalalayn’s Arabic has one word for it, the nobles.

Source summary: Ibn Kathir says they called it error because Nuh called them to leave the idols “that we found our forefathers worshipping”. Then he says: “This, indeed, is the attitude of evil people, for they consider the righteous people to be following misguidance.” His Arabic sets the wicked against the righteous. He compares Surah Al-Mutaffifin, ayah 32 and Surah Al-Ahqaf, ayah 11.

Source summary: They said dalal, error; Nuh answers laysa bi dalalah. Al-Jalalayn says dalalah “is more general” than dalal, so denying it is stronger: not even a little error. Al-Qurtubi, in his Arabic, says the two words mean the same thing, turning away from the path of truth.

Source summary: On ayah 62, Ibn Kathir says: “This is the attribute of a Messenger, that he conveys using plain, yet eloquent words, offers sincere advice and is knowledgeable about Allah.” He brings the narration of the Day of Arafah, where the Companions said the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam had conveyed and advised (optional on the hadith page). Al-Jalalayn explains “I advise you” as “I desire good for you”.

Source summary: On ayah 63, Ibn Kathir reads the question as “do not wonder because of this”: it is not strange that Allah sends revelation “to a man among you as mercy, kindness and compassion for you”. Al-Jalalayn reads it as a denial.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: Al-Qurtubi reads it as a question that makes them admit it. Al-Tabari says Nuh said this after they had rejected his advice, and gives their words from Surah Hud, ayah 27: “We do not see you but as a man like ourselves.”

Paraphrase from the Arabic: Saheeh International has “through a man from among you”. The commentators read the small word ala in three ways. Al-Jalalayn: “through the tongue of a man from among you”. Al-Tabari reports, after al-Farra, that it means with a man from among you. Al-Qurtubi gives both, and a third: sent down to a man whose family you know, one of your own kind. Had he been an angel, he says, you might have shrunk from him because he was not like you.

Optional source note — “I convey” and “I advise”, and what Nuh knows.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: On “I know from Allah what you do not know”, al-Tabari says: that His punishment is not turned away from people who persist in wrongdoing. Ibn Kathir reads the phrase as part of what a messenger is: one who knows Allah.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: Uballighukum, I convey to you, is also read ublighukum; al-Jalalayn and al-Qurtubi give both. Al-Qurtubi says the two may be one meaning in two dialects.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: Al-Qurtubi defines nush, sincere advice, as making your intention pure of any cheating in how you deal with someone. With the little word lakum, “to you”, he says the verb is the more eloquent, as here. He adds two pictures from the language: al-Asmai said al-nasih is pure honey, and al-nasih is also a tailor, and al-nisah the thread he sews with.

Source summary: “A reminder” in ayah 63 is an admonition: al-Jalalayn and al-Qurtubi both explain dhikr this way here.

Reflection: They call him astray, and he answers “my people”, and says what he came to do. The question in ayah 63 still reaches us: does a reminder count for less because it comes through someone we know?

Ayah 64 — Denied, saved, and “a blind people”.

First, the ayah again, in Saheeh International.

Ayah 64: But they denied him, so We saved him and those who were with him in the ship. And We drowned those who denied Our signs. Indeed, they were a blind people.

They denied him. Allah saved Nuh and those with him in the ship, and drowned those who denied His signs. The ayah ends: they were a blind people.

Source summary: Ibn Kathir says they “insisted on rejecting and opposing him, and only a few of them believed in him”. He explains al-fulk as “the ark”, and for the drowning he compares Surah Nuh, ayah 25.

Source summary: All four read “blind” as blindness to the truth, not of the eyes. Ibn Kathir: “blind from the Truth, unable to recognize it or find their way to it”. Al-Jalalayn: “a people blind to the truth”.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: Al-Tabari reports the same from Mujahid and Ibn Zayd: blind to the truth. Al-Qurtubi reports it from Qatada, and adds how the word is used: a man is called amin about something when he does not know it.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: Al-Tabari says those who were drowned had denied Allah’s proofs, had not followed His messengers, and had not accepted Nuh’s advice to them. He ties the end of the story back to the advice of ayah 62.

Source summary: Ibn Kathir: “This is Allah’s Sunnah (way) with His servants, in this life and the Hereafter, that the good end, victory and triumph is for those who fear Him.” He compares Surah Ghafir, ayah 51.

Reflection: They said Nuh was in clear error. The ayah ends by telling us who could not see.

Ayat 65 to 66 — The same call, and the charge of foolishness.

First, the ayat again, in Saheeh International.

Ayah 65: And to the 'Aad [We sent] their brother Hud. He said, "O my people, worship Allah; you have no deity other than Him. Then will you not fear Him?"

Ayah 66: Said the eminent ones who disbelieved among his people, "Indeed, we see you in foolishness, and indeed, we think you are of the liars."

Allah sent Hud to Ad. His first words are Nuh’s words, letter for letter: worship Allah, you have no god other than Him. The leaders answer with a new charge. Not error this time, but safahah: foolishness, lightness of mind.

Source summary: Ibn Kathir opens the story as a second telling of the first: just as Allah sent Nuh to his people, so He sent Hud to Ad, one of their own brethren. He says Hud was among the nobles and chiefs of his people, “for Allah chose the Messengers from among the best, most honorable families and tribes”, and that Hud called them to worship Allah alone and to obey and fear Him. He places Ad in Yemen, in al-Ahqaf, “which means sand mounds”, after Surah Al-Ahqaf, ayah 21.

Source summary: On ayah 66, Ibn Kathir says the leaders called it foolishness because Hud called them “to abandon worshipping the idols in order to worship Allah Alone”, and he sets beside it the wonder of Quraysh at the oneness of God in Surah Sad, ayah 5. Al-Jalalayn glosses safahah as ignorance.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: Al-Qurtubi explains safahah as stupidity and lightness of mind, and brings a line of old poetry in which the tips of spears sway as the soft winds pass, to show the picture in the root: something light that moves with every breeze. He also notes the two verbs: “we see you” may be seeing with the eye, or the strong opinion that stands in for it; “we think you” is an opinion. Al-Tabari reads safahah as error from the truth and the right way, because Hud had left their religion and the worship of their gods.

Optional source note — where the two openings part.

Source summary: Al-Jalalayn reads “worship Allah” as: affirm His oneness. And “will you not fear Him” as: will you not fear Him, and so believe?

Paraphrase from the Arabic: On “their brother”, al-Qurtubi gives three readings that come to one thing: the son of their father, that is, one of them; or their brother in the tribe; or a human being like them, a child of Adam. He says Hud was of the middle of them in lineage and the best of them in standing. Al-Tabari glosses the last clause of ayah 65: will you not be wary of your Lord and fear His punishment, when He is your Creator and Provider and nothing else is?

Paraphrase from the Arabic: The first eight words of Hud’s call, from “O my people” to “other than Him”, are byte for byte the words of Nuh at ayah 59. The comparison is ours, made on the Uthmani text as the Verses page carries it. What follows is where the two prophets part: Nuh names the fear, “I fear for you the punishment of a tremendous Day”; Hud asks for it, “Then will you not fear Him?” Salih will open the same way at ayah 73, the next passage, and point at a sign.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: Al-Tabari notes the grammar of “Hud” in ayah 65: it is in the same case as “Nuh” in ayah 59, because the sentence is joined to it. The Qur’an itself joins the two stories. Al-Jalalayn calls these the earlier Ad, the people of Surah Al-Fajr, ayat 6 to 8.

Reflection: Nuh was called astray. Hud is called a lightweight, someone not to be taken seriously. The second is often the easier charge to make, and the harder one to answer.

Ayat 67 to 69 — The trustworthy adviser, and what Ad were given.

First, the ayat again, in Saheeh International.

Ayah 67: [Hud] said, "O my people, there is not foolishness in me, but I am a messenger from the Lord of the worlds."

Ayah 68: I convey to you the messages of my Lord, and I am to you a trustworthy adviser.

Ayah 69: Then do you wonder that there has come to you a reminder from your Lord through a man from among you, that he may warn you? And remember when He made you successors after the people of Noah and increased you in stature extensively. So remember the favors of Allah that you might succeed.

Hud answers in the leaders’ own word: there is no foolishness in me. Then he says what he is, not what he is not: a messenger who conveys, and a trustworthy adviser. He asks the question Nuh asked, do you wonder that a reminder came through a man among you, and names two favours: Allah made them successors after the people of Nuh, and gave them stature. So remember the favours of Allah.

Source summary: On ayah 68, Ibn Kathir says: “These, indeed, are the qualities of the Prophets: conveying, sincerity and honesty”. Al-Jalalayn reads “trustworthy” as trustworthy in the message he conveys.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: Al-Tabari gives the fullest sense of amin. Hud says: in ordering you to worship Allah alone, and in calling you to believe what I bring, I am sincere to you, so accept my advice; and I am trustworthy over the revelation of Allah and over what He has entrusted to me. I do not lie in it, I do not add to it, I do not change it. I convey what I was commanded, as I was commanded. Al-Qurtubi repeats his notes from ayah 62 on nush, sincere advice, and on the two readings of “I convey”; they are in the unit above.

Source summary: On ayah 69, Ibn Kathir reads the question as he read it at ayah 63: do not wonder that Allah sent a messenger from among yourselves to warn you; “Rather than wondering, you should thank Allah for this bounty”. On “successors after the people of Noah” he says: remember Allah’s favour on you, “that He made you among the offspring of Nuh”, after the people of the earth were destroyed for opposing him. On “increased you in stature extensively” he says it means “making you taller than other people”, and compares what is said of Talut in Surah Al-Baqarah, ayah 247. The favours at the end are “Allah’s favors and blessings”.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: Al-Tabari reads “successors” as a warning as much as a favour. Remember what befell the people of Nuh when they disobeyed their messenger, he says; your Lord made you successors in the earth after them only because He destroyed them and put you in their place. So fear Allah, lest the like of their punishment befall you, and He destroy you and put others in your place: that is His way with the people of Nuh before you. On the stature, he says Allah increased their bodies in height and bulk, and their strength over the strength of Nuh’s people, as a favour to be thanked by worshipping Him alone. He gives the word for “favours”, ala, its singular, and reports from Qatadah, al-Suddi and Ibn Zayd that it means blessings.

Optional source note — the small words.

Source summary: On ayah 67, Ibn Kathir has Hud say: I am not as you claim; I brought you the truth from Allah, “Who created everything, and He is the Lord and King of all things”. Al-Tabari reads the denial the same way as at ayah 61: no error from the truth.

Source summary: Al-Jalalayn reads “through a man from among you” as through the tongue of a man; “successors” as successors in the earth; and “increased you in stature extensively” as in strength and in height. “That you might succeed” he glosses as: that you might triumph.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: Al-Qurtubi explains the opening of ayah 69 as a question that makes the hearer admit the thing: the waw is “and”, and the question particle before it asks for an admission. On “through a man from among you” he gives the same three readings as at ayah 63: on the tongue of a man, with a man, or sent down to a man whose family you know. Had he been an angel, a different kind of being, there might have been a natural aversion. On “successors” he says it is the plural of khalifah by meaning, as against khalaif by form, and that Allah favoured them by making them the inhabitants of the earth after the people of Nuh.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: The word for “stature”, bastah, is from a root that means to spread out or extend. The Uthmani text writes it with the letter sad and a small sin above; the Arabic words page has the word.

Reflection: Hud does not defend his intelligence. He says what he does and whose he is. Then he tells a strong people that their strength was given, and that the people before them were removed.

Ayat 70 to 71 — Our fathers, and names with nothing behind them.

First, the ayat again, in Saheeh International.

Ayah 70: They said, "Have you come to us that we should worship Allah alone and leave what our fathers have worshipped? Then bring us what you promise us, if you should be of the truthful."

Ayah 71: [Hud] said, "Already have defilement and anger fallen upon you from your Lord. Do you dispute with me concerning [mere] names you have named them, you and your fathers, for which Allah has not sent down any authority? Then wait; indeed, I am with you among those who wait."

Ad answer with their inheritance: have you come so that we leave what our fathers worshipped? Then a dare: bring us what you promise. Hud answers that the sentence is already due, that the names they argue over have no authority from Allah, and that he will wait with them.

Source summary: On ayah 70, Ibn Kathir says Allah mentions “the rebellion, defiance and stubbornness” of Hud’s people, and he sets their dare beside the dare of Quraysh in Surah Al-Anfal, ayah 32, who asked for stones from the sky if the message was true.

Source summary: On ayah 71, Ibn Kathir says they deserved rijs from their Lord for what they said, and reports from Ibn Abbas that rijs here means scorn and anger. On the names: do you dispute with me over idols that you and your fathers made into gods, “even though they do not bring harm or benefit”, when Allah gave you no authority or proof to worship them? And “then wait” is “a threat and warning from the Messenger to his people”.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: Al-Tabari reads “Already have defilement and anger fallen upon you” as: punishment and anger from Allah have already come down upon you. On the names, he says worship belongs only to the One who harms and benefits, rewards and punishes, gives provision and withholds it; as for stone, iron and copper, there is no benefit in them and no harm, and the one who worships them has no argument, because Allah did not permit it. “Then wait” he reads as: wait for Allah’s judgement between us and you; I am waiting with you for His decree. He also reports Ibn Abbas on rijs: displeasure.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: Al-Qurtubi reads “fallen” as: has become due, the way one says a judgement has fallen, and compares ayah 134 later in this surah. He takes rijs as punishment, and records a second view, that it is the rust that gathers on the heart as disbelief increases. On the names he makes the point of the ayah: the name stands for the thing named, as in Surah An-Najm, ayah 23; and the names were like al-Uzza, from the word for might, and there is nothing of might or divinity in them. “Authority” is any proof for worshipping them.

Optional source note — the words.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: Al-Tabari fills out their answer: have you come to threaten us with punishment for the religion we hold, so that we worship Allah alone and abandon the gods our fathers worshipped? We will not, and we will not follow you; so bring the punishment you threaten, if you are truthful. Al-Qurtubi has one line: they asked for the very punishment he had warned them of. Al-Jalalayn reads “leave” as forsake, and “what you promise us” as the punishment.

Source summary: Al-Jalalayn reads rijs as punishment, “authority” as argument and proof, and “then wait” as: wait for the punishment. He ends the ayah by naming what came: because they denied him, the barren wind was sent against them, after Surah Adh-Dhariyat, ayah 41.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: Al-Tabari reports the view of Abu Amr ibn al-Ala that rijz and rijs are one word with a letter exchanged. The commentators’ glosses of rijs differ: scorn and anger (Ibn Abbas, in Ibn Kathir and al-Tabari), punishment (al-Jalalayn and al-Qurtubi), and the rust on the heart (a view al-Qurtubi records). The page says they differ rather than choosing one; the word is on the Arabic words page among the runners-up.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: The same dare is in Surah Al-Ahqaf, ayah 22, in almost the same words, and Surah Al-Ahqaf, ayah 23 gives Hud’s answer there: knowledge of its time is only with Allah, and I convey what I was sent with. The verb “dispute” in ayah 71 is the one Nuh’s people use of him in Surah Hud, ayah 32.

Reflection: Their case rests on their fathers. His answer is about names: a name can promise what the thing cannot give. Then he waits, with them.

Ayah 72 — Saved by mercy; the root cut.

First, the ayah again, in Saheeh International.

Ayah 72: So We saved him and those with him by mercy from Us. And We eliminated those who denied Our signs, and they were not [at all] believers.

Allah saved Hud and those with him, by mercy from Him. Those who denied His signs were cut off to the last; they were not believers.

Source summary: Ibn Kathir says Allah mentions in several places how Ad were destroyed: He “sent a barren wind that destroyed everything it passed by”. He quotes Surah Al-Haqqah, ayat 6 to 8, the wind that Allah sent against them for seven nights and eight days, and Surah Al-Ahqaf, ayat 24 to 25, the cloud they took for rain.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: Al-Tabari reads “We eliminated” as: We destroyed those of Hud’s people who denied Our proofs, all of them to the last man, and left none of them. He reports Ibn Zayd: We uprooted them. He sends the reader back to Surah Al-An'am, ayah 45, where the same phrase is used, “the people that committed wrong were eliminated”. On “they were not believers” he says: they did not believe in Allah nor in His messenger Hud.

Optional source note — the last of them.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: Al-Qurtubi glosses the word Saheeh renders “eliminated”, dabir, as the last: no remnant of them was left. Al-Jalalayn says the same, we uprooted them, and notes that “they were not believers” is joined to “denied”.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: The believers are saved “by mercy from Us”, not by their strength. Set against ayah 69, where strength and stature were the favour, and against Surah Fussilat, ayah 15, where Ad ask who is greater than them in strength, the contrast is the passage’s own; the observation is ours.

Reflection: Ayah 69 called them successors, people put in a place after others. Ayah 72 cuts off what would have come after them. Between the two is a dare and a wait.

Part 4 of 7. Hadith connected to the passage.

Narrations that sit alongside this passage: three for Nuh’s story, four for Hud’s.

Reading guide: the English passages below are plain-language summaries of narrations reported from the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. They are not direct quotations or translations. The full source entry for each one, with its chain, is on Sunnah.com, linked from the Hadith page. Connections to the verses are editorial.

Core reading: Nuh is asked: did you convey?

Summary: The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said that on the Day of Resurrection Nuh will be called and asked whether he conveyed the message. He will say yes. His people will be asked, and they will say no warner came. Nuh will be asked who will bear witness for him, and he will say: Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and his community. They will bear witness that he conveyed it. It ends with Surah Al-Baqarah, ayah 143: this community as witnesses over mankind.

Narrated by Abu Said al-Khudri.

Sahih al-Bukhari 3339, Book 60, Hadith 14, also Sahih al-Bukhari 4487 and 7349.

Connection to the verses, editorial reflection: In ayah 62 Nuh says, “I convey to you the messages of my Lord.” Here he is asked about it, with the same verb in the Arabic. Hud opens ayah 68 with the same words. None of the four commentators brings this narration at the ayah; the link is ours.

Core reading: The wind that destroyed Ad.

Summary: The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said that he was given victory by the saba, the east wind, and that Ad were destroyed by the dabur, the west wind. The narration says only that the one wind helped him and the other destroyed them.

Narrated by Ibn Abbas.

Sahih al-Bukhari 1035, Book 15, Hadith 30, also Sahih al-Bukhari 3205 and Sahih Muslim 900a.

Connection to the verses, editorial reflection: Ayah 72 says only that those who denied were cut off. This is the one narration of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam that names Ad and says what cut them off: a wind. Al-Jalalayn ends ayah 71 by naming the same wind, after Surah Adh-Dhariyat, ayah 41. The same wind, in another direction, was a mercy to the believers.

Optional reading: The trustworthy one of this community.

Summary: The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said that every community has its trustworthy one, its amin, and that the trustworthy one of this community is Abu Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah.

Narrated by Anas ibn Malik.

Sahih al-Bukhari 3744, Book 62, Hadith 89, also Sahih al-Bukhari 4382 and Sahih Muslim 2419a.

Connection to the verses, editorial reflection: In ayah 68 Hud calls himself “a trustworthy adviser”, nasihun amin. The word the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam uses here for Abu Ubaydah is the same word, amin, said of a Companion rather than a prophet: the quality is one people can have. None of the four commentators brings this narration at the ayah; the link is ours.

Core reading: The warner who saw the army.

Summary: The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said that he and the message Allah sent him with are like a man who came to his people and said: I have seen the enemy army with my own eyes, and I am warning you in earnest, so save yourselves. Some of them listened, left quietly in the night, and were safe. Others did not believe him, and in the morning the army destroyed them.

Narrated by Abu Musa al-Ashari.

Sahih al-Bukhari 6482, Book 81, Hadith 71, also Sahih Muslim 2283.

Connection to the verses, editorial reflection: Ayah 63 says the reminder came “that he may warn you”, and ayah 64 tells what happened to those who listened and those who denied. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam describes his own warning the same way. None of the four brings this narration at these ayat; the link is ours.

Optional reading: At Arafah: you conveyed and you advised.

Summary: At Arafah, in the Farewell Hajj, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: you will be asked about me, so what will you say? They said: we bear witness that you have conveyed the message, fulfilled your trust, and given sincere advice. He raised his forefinger to the sky, pointed it toward the people, and said three times: O Allah, bear witness. It is part of a long narration.

Narrated by Jabir ibn Abdullah, through Jafar ibn Muhammad and his father.

Sahih Muslim 1218a, Book 15, Hadith 159, also Sunan Abi Dawud 1905 (Grade: Sahih (Al-Albani, as listed on Sunnah.com)) and Sunan Ibn Majah 3074 (Grade: Sahih (Darussalam, as listed on Sunnah.com)).

Connection to the verses, editorial reflection: Ibn Kathir brings this narration at ayah 62. The Companions’ answer uses two of the ayah’s verbs, conveyed and advised.

Optional reading: The religion is sincere advice.

Summary: The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: the religion is sincere advice. The Companions asked: to whom? He said: to Allah, to His Book, to His Messenger, to the leaders of the Muslims, and to all of them.

Narrated by Tamim al-Dari.

Sahih Muslim 55a, Book 1, Hadith 103.

Connection to the verses, editorial reflection: Nuh says “I advise you” to people who have just called him astray. Al-Qurtubi brings this narration where he explains sincere advice, at Surah At-Tawbah, ayah 91; the tie to Nuh is ours.

Optional reading: Do not curse the wind.

Summary: The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: do not curse the wind. When you see something in it you dislike, ask Allah for the good of this wind, the good of what is in it and the good of what it was sent with, and seek refuge in Him from the evil of this wind, the evil of what is in it and the evil of what it was sent with. The Arabic carries the du'a itself.

Narrated by Ubayy ibn Kab.

Jami at-Tirmidhi 2252, Book 33, Hadith 95, Grade: Hasan (Darussalam, as listed on Sunnah.com).

Connection to the verses, editorial reflection: The passage ends with a people cut off, and the core narration above says it was by a wind. This narration gives the believer’s answer to a wind: not a curse, and not a reading of anyone’s punishment, but a du'a. The link is ours.

Part 5 of 7. Arabic words in the passage.

Eight words, four from each story. For Nuh: the leaders, the two things a messenger does, the wonder at an ordinary messenger, and the blindness at the end. For Hud: the charge of foolishness, the trustworthy adviser, the successors, and the root that was cut. Indonesian has words from five of these roots: tablig, nasihat, ajaib, amanah and khalifah.

Al-malau, ayah 60.

Saheeh International: “the eminent” — Said the eminent among his people.

Meaning in context: The leading people: the ones whose word counts. Ibn Kathir: “the general public, chiefs, commanders and great ones of his people”. Al-Qurtubi says the nobles and the chiefs.

Root: m-l-hamza. Lane gives the verb first as “He filled”. The noun is “An assembly”, and also “Nobles; chiefs; princes”, “persons whose opinion is respected”.

For reflection: The leaders decided for everyone that Nuh was wrong. When you decide what is right, whose opinion carries the most weight with you?

In this surah: Eight times, always the leading people in a messenger's story: Nuh's here, then Hud's (ayah 66), Salih's (ayah 75), Shuayb's (ayah 88, 90) and Pharaoh's (ayah 103, 109, 127). You will meet them again in most of the stories that follow.

Grammar: Noun — nominative masculine. The second word of ayah 60.

Elsewhere in the Qur'an: The root occurs 40 times, and the noun mala 30 times. Its first place is Surah Al-Baqarah, ayah 246, where Saheeh renders it “the assembly”:At ayah 66 Hud's leaders say almost the same sentence, with “foolishness” where Nuh's said “error”. That is our observation from the two ayat.

Surah Al-Baqarah, ayah 246 — “the assembly of the Children of Israel”.

From the tafsir: Who the leaders were, and Ibn Kathir on how the wicked see the righteous.

Uballighukum … wa-ansahu lakum, ayah 62.

Saheeh International: “I convey to you”, “advise you” — I convey to you the messages of my Lord and advise you.

Meaning in context: Two verbs for what a messenger does. Uballighu: I make the message reach you. Ansahu: I advise you, and al-Jalalayn explains it as “I desire good for you”. In Indonesian, tablig and mubalig come from the root of the first verb, and nasihat, session 03's word, from the root of the second.

Root: b-l-gh. Lane: “The causing to reach, attain, arrive, or come; bringing, conveying, or delivering”. n-s-h. Lane: it “was, or became, pure, unadulterated, or genuine”. The same root gives “Pure, or clear, honey”, and “a tailor”. Al-Qurtubi gives the honey and the tailor's thread too.

For reflection: Nuh wanted good for people who had just called him astray. Who do you find it hard to want good for right now?

In this surah: The root of ansahu comes six times. First Iblis claims it at ayah 21 (session 03's word); here a messenger says it of himself for the first time. At ayah 68 Hud says the first verb again and calls himself “a trustworthy adviser”. The pairing is our observation.

Grammar: uballighukum: verb, form II — 1st person singular imperfect, with the object pronoun “you” (plural). wa-ansahu: verb, form I — 1st person singular imperfect, joined by wa, and. The first and fourth words of ayah 62. Al-Qurtubi says the verb with lakum, “to you”, is the more eloquent way to say it, and Lane says the same.

How it is read: The Arabic on this site reads uballighukum; al-Jalalayn and al-Qurtubi also give ublighukum. Al-Qurtubi says the two may be one meaning in two dialects.

Elsewhere in the Qur'an: The root b-l-gh occurs 77 times. This form of the verb comes 6 times, twice here in Surah 7: Nuh at ayah 62 and Hud at ayah 68. Salih and Shuayb use another form of the same verb (ayah 79, ayah 93). The root n-s-h occurs 13 times. Nuh speaks of his advice again in Surah Hud:

Surah Hud, ayah 34 — “And my advice will not benefit you”.

From the tafsir: Ibn Kathir on what makes a messenger, and al-Qurtubi's honey and thread. At Arafah the Companions use the same two verbs: that narration is on the hadith page.

A-wa-ajibtum, ayah 63.

Saheeh International: “Then do you wonder” — Then do you wonder that there has come to you a reminder from your Lord through a man from among you.

Meaning in context: Do you find it strange? What they found strange was not the message but the messenger: a man from among them. Al-Qurtubi says he was one of their own kind, a man whose family they knew. In Indonesian, ajaib comes from this root. There it is something wonderful; here, the wondering is a way of refusing.

Root: ayn-j-b. Lane: “He wondered at it; i. e. he deemed it strange, extraordinary, or improbable”, “on account of his being little accustomed to it”.

For reflection: Whose voice do you expect the truth to come from? Whose voice do you not expect it from?

In this surah: Only here and at ayah 69, where Hud asks his people the same question in the same words.

Grammar: Verb, form I — 2nd person masculine plural perfect, with the question letter a and wa, and, joined in front. The first word of ayah 63. Al-Qurtubi says the question here makes them admit it; al-Jalalayn reads it as a denial.

Elsewhere in the Qur'an: The root occurs 27 times, and this verb 8 times. Hud's question, word for word:The first ten words of ayah 63 and ayah 69 are the same in the Arabic. That is our check of the two ayat.

Ayah 69 — “Then do you wonder that there has come to you a reminder from your Lord through a man from among you, that he may warn you?”

From the tafsir: Three ways the commentators read “through a man from among you”, and al-Qurtubi on why not an angel.

Amina, ayah 64.

Saheeh International: “blind” — Indeed, they were a blind people.

Meaning in context: Blind, but not in the eyes. All four commentators read it as blindness to the truth. Ibn Kathir: “blind from the Truth, unable to recognize it or find their way to it”. The leaders said Nuh was in clear error; the passage ends by saying who could not see. Do not mix it up with amin, the amin after a du'a: this word starts with the letter ayn.

Root: ayn-m-y. Lane gives the plain sense first, blind “of both eyes”. Then it is “metaphorically used in relation to the mind”, and for this word he gives “Blind in respect of the mind”.

For reflection: What might you be looking at every day and not seeing?

In this surah: Only here.

Grammar: Adjective — accusative masculine plural. The last word of ayah 64.

Elsewhere in the Qur'an: The root occurs 33 times. This word comes only twice, here and at Surah An-Naml, ayah 66:The verb from the root says the same thing plainly at Surah Al-Hajj, ayah 46:The link to Surah Al-Hajj, ayah 46 is our observation; the count is the corpus's.

Surah An-Naml, ayah 66 — “Rather, they are, concerning it, blind.”

Surah Al-Hajj, ayah 46 — “it is not eyes that are blinded, but blinded are the hearts which are within the breasts.”

From the tafsir: What each commentator says “blind” means here.

Safahatin, ayah 66.

Saheeh International: “foolishness” — Indeed, we see you in foolishness.

Meaning in context: Not madness, and not wickedness. Lightness: someone who does not have his feet under him, who is not to be taken seriously. Nuh’s leaders said dalal, error; Hud’s say safahah. Al-Jalalayn glosses it as ignorance; al-Qurtubi as stupidity and lightness of mind. Hud answers in the same word in ayah 67: there is no safahah in me.

Root: s-f-h. Lane gives the verb as “unwise, witless, or destitute of wisdom or understanding, or [rather] lightwitted.” Of a wind, the same root means it “put the branches in motion”. Al-Qurtubi brings a line of poetry with the same picture: spear tips that sway as the soft winds pass.

For reflection: Being called foolish for your faith is lighter than being called evil, and it can sting more. When it happens, do you answer the label, or do what Hud did and say what you are?

In this surah: Only here and in Hud’s answer, ayah 67. The root comes back at ayah 155, where Musa speaks of the foolish among his people.

Grammar: Noun — genitive feminine indefinite. The tenth word of ayah 66, and the fifth of ayah 67.

Elsewhere in the Qur'an: The root occurs 11 times. This noun comes only in these two ayat. The plural sufaha, the foolish, comes seven times, and the mirror image of this ayah is Surah Al-Baqarah, ayah 13, where it is the believers who are called foolish:The mirror is our observation; the count is the corpus's.

Surah Al-Baqarah, ayah 13 — the corpus glosses it “the fools”.

From the tafsir: Al-Qurtubi on “we see you” as a fact and “we think you” as an opinion, and what the two openings share.

Aminun, ayah 68.

Saheeh International: “trustworthy” — I am to you a trustworthy adviser.

Meaning in context: Nuh said: I advise you. Hud says: I am to you an adviser who is amin, someone you can trust with the thing itself. Al-Jalalayn: trustworthy in the message he conveys. Al-Tabari puts it in Hud’s mouth: I do not lie in it, I do not add to it, I do not change it. In Indonesian, amanah, a trust you carry for someone, and aman, safe, are both this root. So is the title the people of Makkah gave the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam before his mission, al-Amin. Do not mix it up with amin, “blind”, the last word of ayah 64: that one begins with the letter ayn.

Root: hamza-m-n. Lane: the root sense is that “he was, or became, quiet, or tranquil, in heart”; the word itself is “trusty; trustworthy; trustful; confidential; faithful”. He notes the Qur'an's al-ruh al-amin, the trustworthy Spirit, is Jibril, “because he is intrusted with the revelation of God”.

For reflection: Think of the one person whose advice you take without arguing. What did they do, over years, to earn that? Whose amin are you?

In this surah: The word comes only here. The root closes this passage: ayah 72 ends with muminin, believers, the ones who take the message as a trust. In the next passage the root opens ayat 97 to 99, where the cities felt secure. The link from 68 to 72 is in the Arabic; the reading of it is ours.

Grammar: Adjective — nominative masculine singular indefinite. The last word of ayah 68.

Elsewhere in the Qur'an: The root occurs 879 times, most often as the verb “to believe”. This adjective comes 14 times. Five of them are the same phrase, nasihun amin, in Surah Ash-Shuara, where Nuh, Hud, Salih, Lut and Shuayb each say it of themselves:Musa is called al-qawiyy al-amin, the strong and trustworthy, at Surah Al-Qasas, ayah 26, and Jibril al-ruh al-amin at Surah Ash-Shu'ara, ayah 193.

Surah Ash-Shu'ara, ayah 125 — Hud: “Indeed, I am to you a trustworthy messenger.”

From the tafsir: Ibn Kathir on the three qualities of the prophets, and al-Tabari’s gloss of amin. On the hadith page, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam uses the word of a Companion.

Khulafaa, ayah 69.

Saheeh International: “successors” — And remember when He made you successors after the people of Noah.

Meaning in context: A khalifah stands in a place someone else left. Hud tells Ad they were put in the place of Nuh’s people, who were removed. Ibn Kathir reads it as a favour to be thankful for; al-Tabari reads it as a warning too: He put you in their place, and He can put others in yours. In Indonesian, khalifah is the word for a caliph, and the Qur'anic sense underneath it is this one.

Root: kh-l-f. Lane gives the verb as “He came after, followed, succeeded, or remained after, another, or another that had perished or died.” The noun is a “successor, or vice-agent”, one who “supplies the place of him who has been before him”.

For reflection: You stand where someone stood before you: at work, in your family, in your community. What did they leave you, and what are you doing with the place?

In this surah: Salih says the same word of Thamud in the next passage, ayah 74: “successors after the 'Aad”. One people after another. The root comes back at ayah 129 (succession in the land), ayah 142, ayah 150 and ayah 169, and the Qur'an's first use of the idea is Surah Al-Baqarah, ayah 30, where Adam is made a khalifah.

Grammar: Noun — accusative masculine plural. The fourteenth word of ayah 69.

Elsewhere in the Qur'an: The root occurs 127 times. The corpus groups the noun in its three forms, khalifah, khulafa and khalaif, as nine occurrences: Surah Al-Baqarah, ayah 30, Surah Al-An'am, ayah 165, ayah 69, ayah 74, Surah Yunus, ayah 14, Surah Yunus, ayah 73, Surah An-Naml, ayah 62, Surah Fatir, ayah 39 and Surah Sad, ayah 26. The plural used here comes three times, ayah 69, ayah 74 and Surah An-Naml, ayah 62. Hud says the threat out loud in Surah Hud:

Surah Hud, ayah 57 — “My Lord will give succession to a people other than you”.

From the tafsir: Al-Tabari’s reading of “successors” as a warning, and Ibn Kathir’s as a favour.

Dabira, ayah 72.

Saheeh International: “eliminated” — And We eliminated those who denied Our signs.

Meaning in context: Saheeh renders the two Arabic words, qatana dabira, as one English verb, “eliminated”. Word for word it is: We cut off the dabir of those who denied. Al-Qurtubi glosses dabir as the last: no remnant was left. Al-Tabari reports Ibn Zayd: We uprooted them. The corpus glosses it “the roots”. A people who were made successors, put after others, now have nothing after them.

Root: d-b-r. The root is about what is behind: the back, turning the back, what comes after. Lane gives dabir as “The last of anything”, and, from al-Asmai and others, “the root, stock, race, or the like”. He quotes the idiom qataa llahu dabirahum, “May God cut off the last that remain of them”, and this very phrase at Surah Al-An'am, ayah 45.

For reflection: The same root gives tadabbur, pondering the Qur'an: looking at what is behind the words. What is behind the strength you rely on?

In this surah: Only here. The noun comes four times in the Qur'an, each time with “cut off” and each time of a people’s end: Surah Al-An'am, ayah 45, ayah 72, Surah Al-Anfal, ayah 7 and Surah Al-Hijr, ayah 66.

Grammar: Noun — accusative masculine. The seventh word of ayah 72, the object of “We cut off”.

Elsewhere in the Qur'an: The root occurs 44 times: the verb “to ponder” four times (Surah An-Nisa, ayah 82, Surah Al-Mu'minun, ayah 68, Surah Sad, ayah 29, Surah Muhammad, ayah 24), “to turn away” four times, and the noun “back” eighteen times. The nearest use of this word is Surah Al-An'am, ayah 45:

Surah Al-An'am, ayah 45 — “So the people that committed wrong were eliminated.”

From the tafsir: Al-Tabari and al-Qurtubi on the last of them, and the contrast with ayah 69.

More words to notice.

Dalalin, ayah 60, and dalalatun, ayah 61: “Error.” The leaders say dalal; Nuh answers laysa bi dalalatun. Al-Jalalayn says the second word “is more general”, so denying it is stronger: not even a little error. Al-Qurtubi says the two mean the same. The root occurs 191 times. Session 04 met ad-dalalah at ayah 30.

Risalati rabbi, ayah 62: “The messages of my Lord.” In ayah 61 Nuh is a rasul, a messenger, from the same root. This plural noun occurs 6 times, three of them in this surah (ayah 62, 68, 93). Session 01 met the root in al-mursalin.

Dhikrun, ayah 63: “A reminder.” Al-Jalalayn and al-Qurtubi both explain it here as an admonition. Session 01's word dhikra (ayah 2) is from the same root. Indonesian zikir.

Li-yundhirakum, ayah 63: “That he may warn you.” Lane gives the first sense as “I informed him” of a thing, then “put him in fear”. A warning is first of all news. This form of the verb occurs 44 times; in this surah at ayah 2, 63 and 69.

Al-fulki, ayah 64: “The ship.” Ibn Kathir: “the ark”. Lane says the word is “particularly applied to the ark of Noah”. The noun occurs 23 times.

Fa-anjaynahu … wa-aghraqna, ayah 64: “So We saved him” and “And We drowned”: two verbs of the same form, side by side. The same pair closes Nuh's story in Surah Yunus (Surah Yunus, ayah 73), and “We drowned” comes again in this surah for Pharaoh's people (ayah 136).

Bastatan, ayah 69: “Extensively” in Saheeh, of stature. Lane: “Width, or ampleness”, and “in body, height, or tallness”. The root is to spread out. This noun comes twice: here and of Talut at Surah Al-Baqarah, ayah 247, “in knowledge and stature”. The Uthmani text writes it with sad and a small sin above.

Rijsun, ayah 71: “Defilement” in Saheeh. The commentators’ glosses differ: scorn and anger (Ibn Abbas), punishment (al-Jalalayn, al-Qurtubi). Lane: “Uncleanness, dirt, or filth”, and “anything that is disliked, or hated, for its uncleanness”. Ten occurrences in the Qur'an.

Wa-ghadabun, ayah 71: “And anger.” The noun comes 14 times, twice more in this surah, at ayah 152 and ayah 154, of the calf. Al-maghdub in Al-Fatihah is the same root.

A-tujadilunani, ayah 71: “Do you dispute with me.” The root occurs 29 times, 25 as this verb. Nuh’s people use the same verb of him at Surah Hud, ayah 32: you have disputed with us much. Indonesian jidal, debate.

Asmain sammaytumuha, ayah 71: “Names you have named.” The same phrase comes at Surah Yusuf, ayah 40 and Surah An-Najm, ayah 23. Al-Qurtubi: the name stands for the thing, and al-Uzza was named from might, with no might in it.

Sultanin, ayah 71: “Authority”: al-Jalalayn says argument and proof. The noun comes 37 times; session 05 met it at ayah 33. Indonesian sultan.

Wahdahu, ayah 70: “Alone.” This noun comes six times in the Qur'an, always “Him alone”.

Wa-qatana, ayah 72: “And We cut off.” The verb that goes with dabir. The root occurs 36 times.

Part 6 of 7. Questions for discussion, and personal reflection.

These are the questions the halaqa discusses. The first three are the core questions; the rest are optional. Pause after each one and think it through, or talk it over with someone.

Question 1, core, on ayah 63.

Nuh asks his people: “Then do you wonder that there has come to you a reminder from your Lord through a man from among you…?” Hud asks Ad the same question, in the same words (ayah 69). Al-Qurtubi says the messenger was one of their own kind, a man whose family they knew. Many of us take a reminder more easily from a well-known speaker, or even a stranger, than from a brother, a spouse or a friend our own age. Why is a reminder sometimes harder to take from someone we know well?

Question 2, core, on ayah 68.

Hud’s second credential is not a proof. It is a character: “I am to you a trustworthy adviser.” The word is amin, and al-Tabari explains it as: I do not lie in it, I do not add to it, I do not change it. On the hadith page, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam uses the same word of one of his Companions. Think of the one person whose advice you actually take. What did they do, over time, to earn that? And whose amin are you?

Question 3, core, on ayah 69.

Hud tells Ad that Allah “made you successors after the people of Noah”. The word is khulafa: people put in a place that others left. One ayah later Ad answer with their fathers: should we “leave what our fathers have worshipped?” We all inherit a great deal, faith and language and food and habits, and we hand it on. What have you received from your parents or your community that carries the truth, and what might be only what your fathers did? How do you tell the two apart without becoming ungrateful?

Question 4, optional, on ayah 61.

The leaders tell Nuh: “Indeed, we see you in clear error.” He does not insult them back. He calls them “O my people” again, and says what he is there for: to convey his Lord's messages and to advise them. The word is ansahu, and al-Jalalayn explains it as “I desire good for you”. When someone close to us speaks harshly about our faith or our practice, what makes it hard to answer the way Nuh did, and what helps?

Question 5, optional, on ayah 59.

Nuh's first words are: “O my people, worship Allah; you have no deity other than Him.” In Sahih al-Bukhari, Ibn Abbas says the idols of Nuh's people carried names that “formerly belonged to some pious men of the people of Noah”. When those men died, Satan prompted their people to set up images where they used to sit, named after them. Only later, once the reason was forgotten, were the images worshipped. It began with honouring good men. Where in our own lives can something good slowly take a place it should not have?

Question 6, optional, on ayah 66.

Hud’s leaders do not call him evil. They call him light-minded: “we see you in foolishness”. The word is safahah. He answers, “there is not foolishness in me, but I am a messenger”, and goes straight on to what he does. Being told that faith is foolish, backward or unserious is something many of us meet at work, at school, sometimes at home. What is the difference between answering the label and answering the person, and which did Hud choose?

Question 7, optional, on ayah 71.

After conveying and advising, Hud does not storm off and does not escalate. He says: “Then wait; indeed, I am with you among those who wait.” Al-Tabari reads it as: waiting for Allah’s judgement between us and you. When you have said what you could, to a child, a friend or a colleague, what does waiting well look like, and what does it protect you from?

Tadabbur — personal reflection.

These are personal applications, written for this session. They are separate from the verse translation and from the tafsir.

Reflection 1. Ayah 59 and ayah 65 open with the same eight words: worship Allah, you have no god but Him. Read them slowly once, and ask what in your day competes with them.

Reflection 2. Nuh and Hud both keep calling the people who insult them “O my people”. The next time someone annoys you, think of them first as one of your own.

Reflection 3. Ayah 72 says the believers were saved “by mercy from Us”, not by their strength. Name one thing that went well for you lately that you did not earn.

Reflection 4. Finish this silently: One reminder I took lightly because of who said it is blank. One person whose advice I will take, without arguing, is blank.

Part 7 of 7. Lectures to watch later.

These are talks by other scholars, to watch later if you want to go further. The links are on the Watch page. The descriptions are editorial.

Yasir Qadhi: The Story of Nuh - Part 3: The Da'wah of the Prophet Nuh and Its Reception, Episode 35.

Connection to the verses, editorial reflection: From the transcript, part of a long series on the stories of the prophets. At 3 minutes 48 seconds he reads ayah 59 in English and says this one ayah holds three foundations of the faith: one God, a God who sends prophets, and a final Day. The rest of the talk follows Nuh’s call through other surahs too.