| Hud: (28) He said, "O my people...

Issues in the Verse:

Know that after Allah recounted the doubts raised by those who denied the prophethood of Noah (peace be upon him), He then recounted the response to those doubts.

The first doubt was their saying: {You are not but a human being like us} (Hud: 27). Noah responded by saying that equality in being human does not prevent distinction in the quality of prophethood and messengership.

Then, he mentioned the path indicating its possibility: {Do you see if I am upon a clear proof from my Lord}—meaning knowledge of Allah's Essence, His Attributes, what is obligatory, what is impossible, and what is permissible for Him. {And He has given me mercy from Himself}. This mercy could mean either prophethood itself or a miracle indicating prophethood. {And it has been obscured from you}—meaning it has become a confusing and ambiguous matter in your minds.

He then asked: "Am I able to make you reach the knowledge of it whether you wish or not?" The meaning is that he is absolutely incapable of doing so. Qatadah narrated that if the Prophet of Allah had the ability, he would have compelled them, but he was not able to do that.

The essence of the matter is that when they said: {And we do not see any superiority for us over you} (Hud: 27), Noah (peace be upon him) mentioned that this is because the proof has been obscured and confused for you. However, if you abandoned obstinacy and contention and looked at the evidence, the intended meaning would become clear, and it would be evident that Allah has bestowed upon us a great favor over you.

Hamzah, Al-Kisā’ī, and Ḥaṣṣ (from 'Āṣim) recited {فَعُمِّيَتْ عَلَيْكُمْ} (fa-'ummiyat 'alaykum) with a ḍammah on the 'ayn and a shaddah on the mīm, using the passive voice (form IV), meaning "it was made obscure/confused for you." The rest recited it with a fatḥah on the 'ayn and a light mīm, meaning "it became obscure/confused for you" (form V).

Know that a thing that remains completely unknown resembles something that has been obscured (mu'ammā), because knowledge is the light of inner sight, and sight is the light of the outer eye. Thus, it is appropriate to use each as a metaphor for the other. The reality is that clear proof (bayyinah) is described as sight, as Allah says: {So when it came to them with clear signs, it was blinding} (An-Naml: 13). Likewise, it is described with blindness, as Allah says: {And the news became obscured to them} (Al-Qaṣaṣ: 66). And He says in this verse: {And it has been obscured from you}.

Regarding {أَنُلْزِمُكُمُوهَا} ('anulzimukumūhā), there are three implied pronouns: the pronoun of the speaker (we/I), the pronoun of the absent (it/the proof), and the pronoun of the addressee (you).

Al-Farra’ permitted the sukūn (vowel-less state) of the first mīm, and this was narrated from Abū 'Amr. He said this is because the vowels followed one another, so the mīm became quiescent, even though it is in the nominative case (marfū') and preceded by a kasrah, and the following vowel is a heavy ḍammah.

Al-Zajjāj said that all the Basran grammarians do not permit the sukūn of an inflectional letter except in cases of poetic necessity. What is narrated from Abū 'Amr was not accurately transmitted by Al-Farra’. It is narrated from Sībawayh that he used to lighten the vowel and snatch it quickly, and this is the correct view. The sukūn is only permissible in poetry, like the saying of Imru' al-Qays:

{And, O my people, I ask of you no wealth for it. My reward is only with Allah. And I am not one to drive away those who have believed. Indeed, they will meet their Lord, but I see that you are a people who are ignorant. And, O my people, who will support me against Allah if I drive them away? Will you not remember? And I do not say to you, "With me are the treasuries of Allah," nor do I know the unseen, nor do I say, "Indeed, I am an angel." Nor do I say of those whom your eyes disdain, "Allah will never grant them any good." Allah is most knowing of what is within their souls. Indeed, in that case, I would surely be among the wrongdoers.}