Rafed English

Interpretation of Sura Hud - Verses 45-47

45. " And Noah called unto his Lord, and said: "O my Lord! Verily, my son is of my family, and certainly Your promise is true and You are the Most just of Judges. "

Commentary

The Tragic Story of Noah's Son

In the foregoing verses, we noted that Noah's son did not listen to his father's advice, and did not stop being obstinate and stiff- necked to the last moment.

Another part of this same story is being dealt with here. That is, when Noah noticed his son buffeted by the waves, his fatherly emotions were provoked and he was reminded of Allah's promise that his family would be saved. Facing Allah's sanctuary, he cried: that his son was a member of his family and He had promised him that He would save his family from the storm and His promises are always true. Allah is superior to all rulers, and He is a staunch keeper of His promise. This promise refers to the same subject that was discussed in the fortieth verse of this Sura. The verse says:

" And Noah called unto his Lord, and said: "O my Lord! Verily, my son is of my family, and certainly Your promise is true and You are the Most just of Judges. "

46. " He (Allah)said: 'O' Noah! Verily he is not of your family. Verily he is(of)conduct other than righteous. So do not ask of Me that of which you have no knowledge! I admonish you, lest you should be among the ignorant. '"

Commentary

However, the thought provoking answer was provided, recalling a stern reality and the secondary status of the family relationship as separated from religious school of thought. Allah tells Noah that he was not of his kind, on the contrary, he was an evil doer; a man of misdemeanor, whose family relationship was of no value and kinship of no avail owing to the fact that he was cut off from Noah's school of thought, as such Noah should not make any requests about which he had no knowledge and therefore he should not be among the ignorant. The verse says:

"He(Allah)said: 'O' Noah! Verily he is not of your family. Verily he is(of)conduct other than righteous.

So do not ask of Me that of which you have no knowledge! I admonish you, lest you should be among the ignorant. '"

Imam Rid a(a.s.)has been quoted as saying that one day he asked his friends: "How do the common folk comment on this verse, which says: ' Verily he is(of)conduct other than righteous. ' " One person from among the audience replied: "Some believe that it means that he who is referred to as Noah's son, that is, Kan'an was not his real son. " The Imam(a.s.)said:

"No it is not so, he was his real son, though Allah refused him his kinship when he committed sins and disobeyed, leading himself astray. Those who also belong to our school but refuse to obey Allah should not be considered as of us. "

47. " He(Noah)said: 'O my Lord! Verily I seek refuge in You, lest I should ask You(for)that of which I have no knowledge. And unless You forgive me and have Mercy on me I should be of the losers'. "

Commentary

Noah discovered that his request for Allah's sanctuary had been out of the question, and that he should have never considered the salvation of such a son as being covered by Allah's promise to save his family members. Therefore, turning to Him, he said that he would do seek refuge in Him for whatever good and evil he had no knowledge of, and so of making wrong requests. And unless He forgive him for having made such a request, and pardon him, he would be among the losers, indeed. The verse says:

" He(Noah)said: 'O my Lord! Verily I seek refuge in You, lest I should ask You(for)that of which I have no knowledge. And unless You forgive me and have Mercy on me I should be of the losers'. "

Adopted from the book : "The Light of the Holy Qur'an; Interpretation of Surah Hud" by : "Sayyid Kamal Faghih Imani and a Group of Muslim Scholars"

Share this article

Comments 0

Your comment

Comment description

Latest Post

Most Reviews

MOST READ