Tafsir of Nuh 71:22

Surah Nuh (71): Verse 22

وَمَكَرُوا مَكْرًا كُبَّارًا (And they plotted a great plot.)

Issue 1: The Conjunction of {وَمَكَرُوا} (And they plotted)

• The verb {وَمَكَرُوا} is coordinated (conjoined) with {مَنْ لَمْ يَزِدْهُ} (from verse 21).
• The pronoun refers back to the leaders (the ones who were followed), because it was they who plotted and told their followers: {لَا تَذَرُنَّ} (Do not leave...).
• The plural pronoun is used because {مَنْ} (whoever) carries the meaning of the plural (referring to the group of leaders).

Issue 2: The Reading of {كُبَّارًا} (Great)

• It is recited in two ways: {كُبَّارًا} (with shaddah on the bā’) and {كُبَارًا} (with takhfīf or lightening of the bā’).
• This variation signifies intensification:
  • The lowest degree is كَبِير (great).
  • The middle degree is كُبَار (lightened).
  • The highest degree is كُبَّار (intensified).
• This is analogous to: jamīl (beautiful), jumāl (more beautiful), jumāl (most beautiful); ʿaẓīm (great), ʿiẓām, ʿiẓām; and ṭawīl (long), ṭiwāl, ṭiwāl.

Issue 3: The Meaning of the "Great Plot"

• The "great plot" is their command to their followers: {لَا تَذَرُنَّ وَدًّا} (Do not leave Wadd...).
• They prevented people from monotheism (Tawhid) and commanded them toward polytheism (Shirk).
• Since monotheism is the highest level of virtue, preventing people from it is necessarily the greatest of sins. Therefore, Allah described their plot as {كُبَّارًا}.
• Scholars use this to argue for the superiority of Speculative Theology (ʿIlm al-Kalām) over other sciences: If commanding polytheism is great in terms of ugliness and disgrace, then commanding monotheism and guidance must be great in terms of goodness and religion.

Issue 4: Why Allah Called Their Action "Plotting" (Makr)

There are two reasons:

1. The Deception in Attributing Divinity: Their claim that these idols were gods involved a subtle trick to ensure continued worship. They essentially said: "These idols are your gods, just as they were gods to your forefathers. If you accept Noah’s message, you will have to admit that you and all your ancestors were ignorant, misguided, and disbelievers." Since admitting such profound deficiency and ignorance about oneself and one's lineage is extremely difficult, pointing toward these implications via the term {آلِهَتُكُمْ} (your gods) served to repel them from the true religion. This hidden stratagem earned the speech the name "plot" (makr).
2. The Material Incentive: Allah mentioned that the leaders had wealth and offspring. They might have told their followers: "Your idols are better than Noah’s God because your idols grant you wealth and children, whereas Noah’s God is poor and grants nothing." By this plot, they diverted people from obeying Noah. This is similar to Pharaoh’s plot when he said: {أَلَيْسَ لِي مُلْكُ مِصْرَ} (Is not the sovereignty of Egypt mine?) and {أَمْ أَنَا خَيْرٌ مِنْ هَٰذَا الَّذِي هُوَ مَهِينٌ وَلَا يَكَادُ يُبِينُ * فَلَوْلَا أُلْقِيَ عَلَيْهِ أَسْوِرَةٌ مِنْ ذَهَبٍ} (Or am I better than this one who is contemptible and can scarcely make himself clear? So why have bracelets of gold not been cast upon him?).

Issue 5: Explanations for the Existence of Idol Worship

Abu Zayd al-Balkhi noted that the knowledge that a carved piece of wood is not the Creator of the heavens and the earth is necessary knowledge (ʿilm ḍarūrī), and there should be no disagreement among the rational regarding necessary knowledge. Since idol worship existed before Noah and persists today among most inhabitants of the globe, it must be interpreted in a way that its falsehood is not immediately obvious by rational necessity, otherwise it would not have lasted so long.

The explanations offered by those who adhere to this path are:

1. The Anthropomorphic Conception of God (Jism): Abu Ma'shar Ja'far ibn Muhammad al-Munajjim suggested this arose from the belief that God is a body located in space. They believed God is the greatest light, and the angels surrounding the Throne (His location) are smaller lights relative to Him. Those holding this view fashioned the greatest idol in the image of their conceived God, and lesser idols in the image of the proximate angels, worshipping them while believing they were worshipping God and the angels.
2. The Sabian View (Celestial Bodies): A group of Sabians believed the Great God created the fixed and moving stars and delegated the management of the lower world to them. Humans are slaves to the stars, and the stars are slaves to the Great God. Thus, humans must worship the stars. Since the stars rise and set, they fashioned idols in their forms and worshipped them, intending to worship the stars.
3. Astrology and Talismans: Ancient people followed the doctrine of judicial astrology, attributing worldly fortunes and misfortunes to the stars. When a strange configuration appeared in the heavens suitable for a powerful talisman, they would create that talisman. Since it produced strange phenomena and great effects, they revered and worshipped it. Each talisman was shaped according to a specific star or zodiac sign. Thus, Wadd was shaped like a man, Suwa' like a woman, Yaghuth like a lion, Ya'uq like a horse, and Nasr like an eagle.
4. Veneration of the Pious Dead: When righteous people died, they made statues in their likeness and honored them, intending to honor those deceased individuals so they might intercede with God on their behalf. This aligns with the verse: {مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ إِلَّا لِيُقَرِّبُونَا إِلَى اللَّهِ زُلْفَى} (We only worship them that they may bring us nearer to Allah in station).
5. Veneration of Rulers and Imitation: Sometimes a great king or notable person died, and they made a statue in his image to look upon. Later generations assumed their ancestors worshipped these statues and began worshipping them out of imitation, or perhaps these five names (Wadd, Suwa', Yaghuth, Ya'uq, Nasr) were the names of five sons of Adam. When they died, Iblis told the next generation to make their images so they could look upon them. When those died, he told the next generation that they were worshipped, and so they worshipped them. This is why the Prophet (peace be upon him) was initially forbidden from visiting graves, and later permitted, as the visit serves as a reminder.
6. The Doctrine of Divine Incarnation (Hulul): Those who believe Allah is a body and that He can move or indwell (in things) do not find it impossible that Allah might indwell in a human or an idol. If they sensed a strange phenomenon from an idol fashioned as a talisman, they might think the Divine essence had entered it. For example, some ancient Rawāfiḍ, upon seeing Ali (peace be upon him) tear down the gate of Khaybar (an extraordinary feat), claimed that the Divine essence had entered his body and that he was God.
7. Idols as Qiblahs (Direction of Prayer): Perhaps they took these idols as mere mihrābs (prayer niches), intending their worship to be directed toward Allah alone.

Conclusion on These Explanations: Some of these views are false based on rational proof. Since it is established that Allah is not a body, fashioning an idol in His image is void, as is the doctrine of indwelling (ḥulūl) or descent (nuzūl). Since Allah is the All-Powerful, the reliance on intermediaries and talismans is void. Since the Law (Sharīʿah) explicitly forbids idol worship, claiming they are merely prayer niches or intercessors is void.

Issue 6: The Lineage and Transmission of These Idols

These five idols were their greatest deities. They were transmitted from Noah’s people to the Arabs: Wadd to the tribe of Kalb, Suwa' to Hamdan, Yaghuth to Madhhij, Ya'uq to Murad, and Nasr to Himyar. This is why the Arabs named themselves ʿAbd Wadd, ʿAbd Yaghuth, etc., according to the books.

• A Problem Arises: How did these idols survive the Flood, which destroyed the world? How were they transmitted to the Arabs? It cannot be said that Noah (peace be upon him) placed them on the Ark, because his mission was to eradicate and smash them, not preserve them.

Issue 7: Recitations of {وَدًّا} (Wadd)

• It is recited with a fatḥah (A) on the Wāw ({وَدًّا}) and with a ḍammah (U) on the Wāw ({وُدًّا}).
• Al-Layth said: Wadd (with fatḥah) was an idol of Noah’s people. Wudd (with ḍammah) was an idol of the Quraysh, after whom ʿAmr ibn ʿAbd Wadd was named.
• My Comment: If Al-Layth is correct, reading Wudd (with ḍammah) is not permissible here, as these verses concern Noah’s story, not the affairs of Quraysh.
• Al-Aʿmash recited {وَلَا} (and not) with ṣarf (allowing declension/tanwīn). This is problematic because whether they are Arabic or foreign names, they should be mamnūʿ min al-ṣarf (indeclinable) due to either [1] being proper nouns and following the pattern of a verb, or [2] being proper nouns and foreign. Perhaps he allowed declension because their counterparts were declined (e.g., Waddan, Suwaʿan, Nasran).

When Noah recounted that they told their followers {كُبَّارًا} and commanded them {لَا تَذْرُنَّ آلِهَتَكُمْ} (Do not leave your gods), he then said:

وَقَدْ أَضَلُّوا كَثِيرًا (And indeed they have led many astray.)

There are two interpretations:

1. Those leaders had already led many astray before these current ones who were commanded to cling to idol worship; this was not the first instance of their misleading.
2. The pronoun might refer back to the idols, as in {إِنَّهُنَّ أَضْلَلْنَ كَثِيرًا مِنَ النَّاسِ} (Indeed, they have led astray many people). In this case, the idols are treated grammatically as human beings, like the verse {أَلَهُمْ أَرْجُلٌ} (Do they have feet?).

Regarding His statement:

وَلَا تَزِدِ الظَّالِمِينَ إِلَّا ضَلَالًا (And do not increase the wrongdoers except in error.)

There are two questions:

1. What is the context of {وَلَا تَزِدِ الظَّالِمِينَ}?
   • Answer: Since Noah (peace be upon him) elaborated extensively on their reprehensible actions and ugly words, his heart filled with rage and anger toward them, so he concluded his speech by supplicating against them.
2. Since he was sent to turn them away from error, how is it appropriate for him to ask Allah to increase their error?
   • Answer: There are two possibilities:
     • Perhaps the intended "error" is not in religious matters, but in their worldly affairs, or in the promotion of their plots and stratagems.
     • "Error" (ḍalāl) here means punishment, as in {إِنَّ الْمُجْرِمِينَ فِي ضَلَالٍ وَسُعُرٍ} (Indeed, the criminals are in error and fierce Fire).

مِمَّا خَطِيئَاتِهِمْ أُغْرِقُوا فَأُدْخِلُوا نَارًا فَلَمْ يَجِدُوا لَهُمْ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ أَنْصَارًا (Because of their sins they were drowned and admitted into a Fire. And they found for themselves no helpers besides Allah.)