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Tafsir of Nuh 71:2-4

Surah Nuh 71:2

ﱷ ﱸ ﱹ ﱺ ﱻ ﱼ

He said, "O my people, indeed I am to you a clear warner,

Tafsir

Mafatih al-Ghayb

Verse range: 71:2-4

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Surah Nuh (71: 2-4)

{أن اعبدوا الله واتقوه وأطيعون}

This command is similar to {An undhiru} (Nuh: 1) in its two interpretations (regarding the nature of the command).

The command to the people involved three things:

  1. Worshipping Allah.
  2. Having Taqwa (God-consciousness) of Him.
  3. Obeying the Messenger (Noah).

The command for worship encompasses all obligatory and recommended acts, both of the heart and the limbs. The command for Taqwa encompasses abstaining from all forbidden and disliked things. The statement {and obey me} commands them to obey him (Noah) in all matters commanded and forbidden. Although this obedience is included within the command for worship and Taqwa, it was singled out for emphasis (ta'kīd) to stress this obligation and strongly establish it.

Then, after commanding them with these three things, Allah promised them two rewards:

  1. Removing the harms of the Hereafter, which is stated in {He will forgive you of your sins}.
  2. Removing the harms of this world as much as possible, by postponing their lifespan to the furthest possible limit.

Here are some inquiries:

First Inquiry: What is the benefit of the preposition *min* (of/some) in **{He will forgive you *of* your sins}**?

The answer has several aspects:

  1. It is an extra particle (ṣilah zā’idah), meaning the intended sense is simply: "He will forgive your sins."
  2. Forgiveness of a sin means not being held accountable for it. If the text said, "He will forgive your sins" (without min), it could imply that He will not hold them accountable for the sum total of their sins. However, not holding accountability for the total does not necessitate not holding accountability for each individual sin within that total. Thus, Allah could say, "I will not hold you accountable for the sum of your sins, but I will hold you accountable for this one sin." But by saying {He will forgive you of your sins}, the meaning is that He will forgive all that belongs to the category of your sins, which necessitates non-accountability for the total and for every individual instance.
  3. Even if {He will forgive you of your sins} implies partiality (some sins), it is still beneficial because for those who believe, all their past sins committed before their faith become forgiven. However, sins committed afterward are not forgiven by that initial act of faith alone. Therefore, the particle implying partiality is necessary here.

Second Inquiry: How can He say **{and postpone you}** when He has already informed that postponing the appointed term is impossible (i.e., death is inevitable)? Is this not a contradiction?

The answer is: Allah decreed, for example, that if the people of Noah believed, He would let them live for a thousand years. If they remained in disbelief, He would destroy them after nine hundred years. They were told: "Believe, and {He will postpone you to a specified term}," meaning to the time He has set as the maximum limit for their lifespan, which is the completion of the thousand years. He then informed them that once that longest term expires, death must occur.

Third Inquiry: What is the benefit of the phrase **{if you only knew}**?

The purpose is to admonish them against loving the world, being overly attached to it, and turning away from religion because of that love. It means their excessive love for the world and pursuit of its pleasures reached a point indicating that they doubted the reality of death itself.

{He said, "My Lord, indeed I have called my people night and day, but my call only increased their flight (from the truth).} (71: 7)