Tafsir of Hud 11:25

"And We certainly sent Noah..."

Meaning: We sent Noah, saying, "I am a clear warner to you." The meaning is that We sent him while he was accompanied by this statement, which is His saying: {Inni lakum nadhirun mubin} (I am a clear warner to you).

• Regarding the grammatical case of Inna: It is read with a kasra (i.e., Inni). When it is connected to the preposition (the ba in bi-anni), it is read with a fatha (i.e., anna), just as it is read with a fatha in the case of kāna. However, the intended meaning remains that of the kasra, similar to your saying: "Indeed, Zayd is like a lion." It has also been read with a kasra based on the implied verb "to say" (i.e., qulna: inni...).

• {An la ta'budu} (That you worship none): This is a substitute (badal) for {Inni lakum nadhirun}. Meaning: We sent him with the instruction that you worship none but Allah. Alternatively, {an} may be explanatory (mufassira), linked to "We sent" or to "warner."

• The description of the Day as "painful": This is a metaphorical attribution (al-isnad al-majazi), because the pain occurs within that day. If you ask: "Then what if the punishment is described as painful?" I say: It is a similar metaphor, because the truly painful one is the punishment itself. Its equivalent is your saying: "Your day is fasting" (meaning you are fasting during it) or "His grandfather was serious" (jadda jadduhu).

"But the eminent among those who disbelieved from his people said, 'We do not see you but as a man like ourselves, and we do not see you followed except by those who are the lowest of us at first suggestion. And we do not see in you any merit over us; rather, we think you are liars.'"