Surah Nuh 71:22
ﲑ ﲒ ﲓ
And they conspired an immense conspiracy.
Tafsir of Nuh 71:21-24
Tafsir
Al-Kashshaf
Verse range: 71:21-24
{ واتبعوا } They followed their leaders, the possessors of wealth and children. They adhered to what was prescribed for them regarding the worship of idols. They made their wealth and children—which brought them nothing but status and benefit in this world—a source of "loss" in the Hereafter. This was treated as an inherent attribute and a mark by which they were known, to confirm and establish it, and to invalidate everything else.
{ ومكروا } This is conjoined to "did not increase them." The pronoun is plural, referring to "those" (the people), because it carries the meaning of a collective group. The "plotters" are the leaders. Their "plotting" refers to their schemes regarding the religion, their deception against Noah, their incitement of the people to harm him, and their prevention of others from inclining toward him or listening to him.
{ مكرا كبارا } Their saying to them, "Do not abandon your gods," is a "great plot." "Kubar" (great) is a superlative of "kabir" (big), and "kubbar" is even greater than "kubar," similar to "tuwal" and "tuwwal."
{ ولا تذرن ودا } It seems these named entities were their greatest and most significant idols, which is why they singled them out after saying, "Do not abandon your gods." These idols were transferred from the people of Noah to the Arabs: Wadd for Kalb, Suwa‘ for Hamdan, Yaghuth for Madh-hij, Ya‘uq for Murad, and Nasr for Himyar. Hence, the Arabs named themselves "Abd Wadd" and "Abd Yaghuth."
It is said they were names of righteous men. Others say they were children of Adam who died, and Iblis said to those after them, "If you make images of them, you will be able to look at them." They did so. When those people died, he said to those who followed, "They used to worship them," so they worshipped them.
It is also said: Wadd was in the form of a man, Suwa‘ in the form of a woman, Yaghuth in the form of a lion, Ya‘uq in the form of a horse, and Nasr in the form of an eagle.
{ وقد أضلوا } The pronoun refers to the leaders. It means they have led "many" astray before these people whom they advised to hold fast to idol worship; they are not the first they have misled. Or, it means they have misled many through their own misguidance, implying that these misleaders are numerous. It is also possible it refers to the idols, as in the verse: "They have led many of the people astray" (Ibrahim: 36).
{ ولا تزد الظالمين } If you ask: To what is "Do not increase the wrongdoers" conjoined? I say: To his saying, "My Lord, they have disobeyed me." It is a narration of Noah’s speech after "He said" and the "wa" (and) that stands in its place. It means: He said, "My Lord, they have disobeyed me," and he said, "Do not increase the wrongdoers except in error." Both statements are in the accusative position because they are the objects of "said."
If you ask: How is it permissible for him to desire error for them and pray to God to increase it? I say: "Error" here means that they be abandoned and denied divine grace, due to their persistence in disbelief and the despair of their faith. This is good and beautiful, and it is permissible to pray for it; in fact, it is not appropriate to pray for the opposite. It is also possible that "error" here means ruin and destruction, based on the verse: "And do not increase the wrongdoers except in destruction" (Noah: 28).