[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. Then He made it balanced for them by using intimidation. He said,
[مَّا لَكُمْ لاَ
تَرْجُونَ لِلَّهِ وَقَاراً ]
(What is the matter with you, that you do not hope for any Waqar from Allah)
meaning, great majesty. This has been said by Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid and Ad-Dahhak.
Ibn `Abbas said, "That you all do not magnify Allah in the proper manner that He
deserves to be magnified. Meaning, you do not fear His punishment and His
vengeance.''
[وَقَدْ خَلَقَكُمْ
أَطْوَاراً ]
(While He has created you (in) Atwar (stages).) It has been said that this
means from a drop of sperm, then from a hanging clot, then from a lump of flesh.
Ibn `Abbas, `Ikrimah, Qatadah, Yahya bin Rafi`, As-Suddi and Ibn Zayd, all said
this. Concerning Allah's statement,
[أَلَمْ تَرَوْاْ
كَيْفَ خَلَقَ اللَّهُ سَبْعَ سَمَـوَتٍ طِبَاقاً ]
(See you not how Allah has created the seven heavens in tiers) meaning, one
above another. Can this be comprehended simply by hearing it only or is it of
the matters that actually can be perceived with the senses which are known about
the movements (of the heavenly bodies) and the eclipses. It is known that they
(the scholars) have many different opinions about these matters that we will not
discuss here. The only intent here is that Allah
[أَلَمْ تَرَوْاْ
كَيْفَ خَلَقَ اللَّهُ سَبْعَ سَمَـوَتٍ طِبَاقاً - وَجَعَلَ الْقَمَرَ فِيهِنَّ
نُوراً وَجَعَلَ الشَّمْسَ سِرَاجاً ]
(Allah has created the seven heavens in tiers and has made the moon a light
therein, and made the sun a lamp) meaning, He made a distinction between them
(the sun and moon) in reference to their lighting. He made each one of them in a
set manner with a distinct quality so that the night and day may be known. They
(the night and day) are known by the rising and setting of the sun. He also
determined fixed stations and positions for the moon, and He made its light vary
so that sometimes it increases until it reaches a maximum, then it begins to
decrease until it is completely veiled. This shows the passing of months and
years. This is as Allah said,
[هُوَ الَّذِى جَعَلَ
الشَّمْسَ ضِيَآءً وَالْقَمَرَ نُوراً وَقَدَّرَهُ مَنَازِلَ لِتَعْلَمُواْ عَدَدَ
السِّنِينَ وَالْحِسَابَ مَا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ ذَلِكَ إِلاَّ بِالْحَقِّ يُفَصِّلُ
الآيَـتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَعْلَمُونَ ]
(It is He Who made the sun a shining thing and the moon as a light and
measured out for its stages that you might know the number of years and the
reckoning. Allah did not create this but in truth. He explains the Ayat in
detail for people who have knowledge.) (10:5) Concerning Allah's statement,
[وَاللَّهُ
أَنبَتَكُمْ مِّنَ الاٌّرْضِ نَبَاتاً ]
(And Allah has brought you forth from the (dust of) earth) This (Nabat) is a
verbal noun (for emphasis) and its usage here is most excellent.
[ثُمَّ يُعِيدُكُمْ
فِيهَا]
(Afterwards He will return you into it (the earth),) (71:18) meaning, when
you die.
[وَيُخْرِجُكُمْ
إِخْرَاجاً]
(And bring you forth.) meaning, on the Day of Judgement He will repeat your
creation just as He first originated you.
[وَاللَّهُ جَعَلَ
لَكُمُ الاٌّرْضَ بِسَاطاً ]
(And Allah has made for you the earth a wide expanse.) meaning, He spread it
out, leveled it, settled it, and stabilized it with firm and lofty mountains.
[لِّتَسْلُكُواْ
مِنْهَا سُبُلاً فِجَاجاً ]
(That you may go about therein in broad roads.) meaning, He created it so
that you may settle in it and travel in it wherever you wish, from its different
sides, areas and regions. All of this is from what Nuh informed them of
concerning Allah's power and His greatness in creating the heavens and the
earth. It demostrates the favor that He did for them by making both heavenly
benefits and earthly benefits. For He is the Creator and the Sustainer Who made
the heaven as a building and the earth as a bed, and He enlarged His provisions
for His creatures. Therefore, He is the One Who it is obligatory to worship, and
accept as One God. No one should be associated with Him as a partner, because He
has no equal, peer, rival, coequal, mate, son, minister or advisor, rather He is
the Most High, the Most Great.
[قَالَ نُوحٌ رَّبِّ
إِنَّهُمْ عَصَوْنِى وَاتَّبَعُواْ مَن لَّمْ يَزِدْهُ مَالُهُ وَوَلَدُهُ إِلاَّ
خَسَاراً - وَمَكَرُواْ مَكْراً كُبَّاراً - وَقَالُواْ لاَ تَذَرُنَّ
ءَالِهَتَكُمْ وَلاَ تَذَرُنَّ وَدّاً وَلاَ سُوَاعاً وَلاَ يَغُوثَ وَيَعُوقَ
وَنَسْراً - وَقَدْ أَضَلُّواْ كَثِيراً وَلاَ تَزِدِ الظَّـلِمِينَ إِلاَّ
ضَلاَلاً ]
(21. Nuh said: "My Lord! They have disobeyed me, and followed one whose
wealth and children give him no increase but 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, and Ya`uq and Nasr.' '')
(24. "And indeed they have led many astray. And (O Allah): `Grant no increase to
the wrongdoers save error.''')