Surah Noah - سورة نوح

Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Ibn Kathir explanation) for verse 10 of Surah

Noah - تفسير بن كثير للآية 10 من سورة نوح

فَقُلْتُ اسْتَغْفِرُواْ رَبَّكُمْ إِنَّهُ كَانَ غَفَّاراً

I said: Ask forgiveness from your Lord, verily, He is Oft-Forgiving

meaning, return to Him and turn away from what you are involved in. Repent to Him soon, for verily, He is Most Accepting of the repentance of those who turn to Him in repentance. He will accept repentance no matter what the sin is, even if it is disbelief and polytheism.' Thus, he said,

فَقُلْتُ اسْتَغْفِرُواْ رَبَّكُمْ إِنَّهُ كَانَ غَفَّاراً - يُرْسِلِ السَّمَآءَ عَلَيْكُمْ مُدْرَاراً 

(I said: Ask forgiveness from your Lord, verily, He is Oft-Forgiving; He will send rain to you Midrar,) meaning, continuous rain. Thus, it is recommended to recite this Surah in the prayer for rain due to this Ayah. This has been reported from the Commander of the faithful, `Umar bin Al-Khattab. He ascended the Minbar to perform the prayer for rain, and he did not do more than seeking Allah's forgiveness and reciting the Ayat that mention seeking Allah's forgiveness. Among these Ayat:

فَقُلْتُ اسْتَغْفِرُواْ رَبَّكُمْ إِنَّهُ كَانَ غَفَّاراً - يُرْسِلِ السَّمَآءَ عَلَيْكُمْ مُدْرَاراً 

(I said: Ask forgiveness from your Lord, verily, He is Oft-Forgiving; He will send rain to you Midrar, disbelievers of the Quraysh. Qu ? s? ? ? ? A ? Nuh complains about his Encounter with His People Allah tells about His servant and Messenger, Nuh, and that he complained to his Lord about the response he received from his people, and how he was patient with them for this long period of time -- which was nine hundred and fifty years. He complained due to his explaining and clarifying matters for them and his calling them to guidance and the straightest path. So he (Nuh) said,

رَبِّ إِنِّى دَعَوْتُ قَوْمِى لَيْلاً وَنَهَاراً

(O my Lord! Verily, I have called to my people night and day,) meaning, `I did not abandon calling them night and day, carrying out Your command and in obediance to You.'

فَلَمْ يَزِدْهُمْ دُعَآئِى إِلاَّ فِرَاراً

(But all my calling added nothing but to (their) flight.) meaning, `the more I called them to come to the truth, the more they fled from it and avoided it.'

وَإِنِّى كُلَّمَا دَعَوْتُهُمْ لِتَغْفِرَ لَهُمْ جَعَلُواْ أَصَـبِعَهُمْ فِى ءَاذَنِهِمْ وَاسْتَغْشَوْاْ ثِيَابَهُمْ

(And verily, every time I called unto them that You might forgive them, they thrust their fingers into their ears, covered themselves up with their garments,) meaning, `they closed up their ears so that they could not hear what I was calling them to.' This is similar to what Allah said about the disbelievers of the Quraysh. n?A h complains about his Encounter with His People Allah tells about His servant and Messenger, Nuh, and that he complained to his Lord about the response he received from his people, and how he was patient with them for this long period of time -- which was nine hundred and fifty years. He complained due to his explaining and clarifying matters for them and his calling them to guidance and the straightest path. So he (Nuh) said, NnA ? What Nuh said when He called His People to Allah

فَقُلْتُ اسْتَغْفِرُواْ رَبَّكُمْ إِنَّهُ كَانَ غَفَّاراً

(I said: Ask forgiveness from your Lord, verily, He is Oft-Forgiving;) meaning, `return to Him and turn away from what you are involved in. Repent to Him soon, for verily, He is Most Accepting of the repentance of those who turn to Him in repentance. He will accept repentance no matter what the sin is, even if it is disbelief and polytheism.' Thus, he said,

فَقُلْتُ اسْتَغْفِرُواْ رَبَّكُمْ إِنَّهُ كَانَ غَفَّاراً - يُرْسِلِ السَّمَآءَ عَلَيْكُمْ مُدْرَاراً 

(I said: Ask forgiveness from your Lord, verily, He is Oft-Forgiving; He will send rain to you Midrar,) meaning, continuous rain. Thus, it is recommended to recite this Surah in the prayer for rain due to this Ayah. This has been reported from the Commander of the faithful, `Umar bin Al-Khattab. He ascended the Minbar to perform the prayer for rain, and he did not do more than seeking Allah's forgiveness and reciting the Ayat that mention seeking Allah's forgiveness. Among these Ayat:

فَقُلْتُ اسْتَغْفِرُواْ رَبَّكُمْ إِنَّهُ كَانَ غَفَّاراً - يُرْسِلِ السَّمَآءَ عَلَيْكُمْ مُدْرَاراً 

I said: Ask forgiveness from your Lord, verily, He is Oft-Forgiving; He will send rain to you Midrar,) Then he (`Umar) said, "Verily, I have sought rain with the keys of the sky which cause the rain to descend.'' Ibn `Abbas and others have said, "It (Midrar) means some of it (rain) following others.'' Concerning Allah's statement,

وَيُمْدِدْكُمْ بِأَمْوَلٍ وَبَنِينَ وَيَجْعَل لَّكُمْ جَنَّـتٍ وَيَجْعَل لَّكُمْ أَنْهَاراً

(And give you increase in wealth and children, and bestow on you gardens and bestow on you rivers.) meaning, `if you repent to Allah, seek His forgiveness and obey Him, He will increase your provisions for you and provide you with water from the blessings of the sky. He will cause the blessings of the earth and crops to grow for you. He will increase your live stock animals for you and give you more wealth and children. This means that He will give you more wealth, more children and gardens with various types of fruits. He will cause rivers to flow among these gardens.' This is the position of the invitation with encouragement.

Surah Noah - سورة نوح

Muhammad Muhsin Khan - Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali Translation

1. Verily, We sent Nuh (Noah) to his people (Saying): "Warn your people before there comes to them a painful torment."
2. He said: "O my people! Verily, I am a plain warner to you,
3. "That you should worship Allah (Alone), be dutiful to Him, and obey me,
4. "He (Allah) will forgive you of your sins and respite you to an appointed term. Verily, the term of Allah when it comes, cannot be delayed, if you but knew."
5. He said: "O my Lord! Verily, I have called my people night and day (i.e. secretly and openly to accept the doctrine of Islamic Monotheism).
6. "But all my calling added nothing but to (their) flight (from the truth).
7. "And verily! Every time I called unto them that You might forgive them, they thrust their fingers into their ears, covered themselves up with their garments, and persisted (in their refusal), and magnified themselves in pride.
8. "Then verily, I called to them openly (aloud);
9. "Then verily, I proclaimed to them in public, and I have appealed to them in private,
10. "I said (to them): 'Ask forgiveness from your Lord; Verily, He is Oft-Forgiving;
11. 'He will send rain to you in abundance;
12. 'And give you increase in wealth and children, and bestow on you gardens and bestow on you rivers."
13. What is the matter with you, [that you fear not Allah (His punishment), and] you hope not for reward (from Allah or you believe not in His Oneness).
14. While He has created you in (different) stages [i.e. first Nutfah, then 'Alaqah and then Mudghah, see (VV.23:13,14) the Quran].
15. See you not how Allah has created the seven heavens one above another,
16. And has made the moon a light therein, and made the sun a lamp?
17. And Allah has brought you forth from the (dust of) earth. [Tafsir At-Tabari, Vol.29, Page 97].
18. Afterwards He will return you into it (the earth), and bring you forth (again on the Day of Resurrection)?
19. And Allah has made for you the earth wide spread (an expanse).
20. That you may go about therein in broad roads.
21. Nuh (Noah) said: "My Lord! They have disobeyed me, and followed one whose wealth and children give him no increase but only loss.
22. "And they have plotted a mighty plot.
23. "And they have said: 'You shall not leave your gods, nor shall you leave Wadd, nor Suwa', nor Yaghuth, nor Ya'uq, nor Nasr (names of the idols);
24. "And indeed they have led many astray. And (O Allah): 'Grant no increase to the Zalimun (polytheists, wrong-doers, and disbelievers, etc.) save error."
25. Because of their sins they were drowned, then were made to enter the Fire, and they found none to help them instead of Allah.
26. And Nuh (Noah) said: "My Lord! Leave not one of the disbelievers on the earth!
27. "If You leave them, they will mislead Your slaves, and they will beget none but wicked disbelievers."
28. "My Lord! Forgive me, and my parents, and him who enters my home as a believer, and all the believing men and women. And to the Zalimun (polytheists, wrong-doers, and disbelievers, etc.) grant You no increase but destruction!"