Tafsir of Nuh 71:26

Surah Nuh (Noah): Verse 26

And Noah said, "My Lord, do not leave upon the earth [even] one dweller from among the disbelievers."

Linguistics Note on Diyāran:

Al-Mubarrid stated that the word {ديارا} (diyāran) is only used in a comprehensive negation. One says: "There is no dweller in the house" (mā bi-d-dāri diyārun). It is not used in the affirmative sense.

The grammarians say it is derived from the pattern fi'āl from the root dawr (dwelling/turning). Its original form was diywārun, where the wāw was changed to a yā' and one of the identical letters was assimilated into the other.

Al-Farrā' and Al-Zajjāj, and Ibn Qutaybah, explained that mā bihā diyārun means "there is no one residing in a dwelling."

Then the Almighty said:

{إنك إن تذرهم يضلوا عبادك ولا يلدوا إلا فاجرا كفارا}

"Indeed, if You leave them, they will mislead Your servants, and they will not beget except for the wicked disbeliever."