Surah Al-'Ankabut 29:14-22 - Quran Translation Commentary

(29:14) Indeed We sent Nuh to his people. He dwelt among them a thousand years except for fifty years.¹⁶ Then the flood seized them while they were wrongdoers.¹⁷

(29:15) And We delivered him and the companions of the boat and appointed it a sign for the (peoples of the) worlds.¹⁸

(29:16) And (remember) Ibrahim, when he said to his people, ‘Worship Allah and fear Him. That is better for you if only you knew.

(29:17) You only worship idols besides Allah, and invent a falsehood. Indeed, those you worship besides Allah have no power of sustenance for you. Therefore, seek sustenance from Allah,¹⁹ worship Him, and be grateful to Him; to Him you will be returned.

(29:18) But if you cry lie (to Muhammad), then, surely nations before you also cried lies. And there is no more on the Messenger, except clear conveyance.’²⁰

(29:19) Have they not seen how Allah begins the creation and then repeats it? That surely is easy for Allah.

(29:20) Say, ‘Journey in the land and see how He began the creation.’ Then Allah will produce the final producing.²¹ Surely, Allah has power over all things.

(29:21) He punishes whom He will and shows mercy unto whom He will.²² And to Him shall you be turned back.

(29:22) And you are not going to frustrate (Him) either in the earth or in the heaven.²³ And you have not, apart from Allah, a protector or helper.

Commentary

16. The period of Nuh’s stay was mentioned to encourage the Prophet and his early followers to bear the Makkan rejection with patience. After all, an earlier Prophet had shown patience in the face of rejection for no less than 950 years (Razi).

There are several opinions about the age at which Nuh (asws) was commissioned and how long he lived. The nearest to being correct is that of Ibn `Abbas, (as in Ibn Abi Shaybah, `Abd b. Humayd, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abi Hatim, Abu al-Sheikh and Hakim, with the last rating it Sahih: Shawkani), that he was granted Prophethood at forty, remained preaching for the next 950 years, after which the Flood overtook the unbelievers. After the floods he lived for another sixty years (Qurtubi, Zamakhshari and others).

Qurtubi presents another report coming from Anas b. Malik. It says that when the angel of death came to Nuh, he asked him, “O thou, the longest living Prophet. How did you find the world?” Nuh replied, “Like a man who built a house with two doors. He entered by one door, stood in the middle to say, ‘Salam to you,’ and then left by another.” (The report is in Ibn `Asakir whose authenticity could not be checked: Au.).

Alusi points out that it is in Ibn Abi al-Dunya also, (but he does not evaluate it: Au.).

Mujahid said, “Ibn `Umar asked me, ‘How long did Nuh tarry among his people?’ I said, ‘A thousand years except for fifty.’ He said, ‘Since that time people have been suffering decrease in their ages, their aspirations, their morals, and their physical stature - to this day’” (Durr al-Manthur).

Sayyid has an intelligent point for the rationalists who fail to think straight quite so often. He writes: “By any account, the length of Nuh’s life was certainly long. By today’s standards, it was unnatural and is not known to occur among humanity today. But we have it from a source that happens to be the truest source in existence. This is evidence enough for us. However, if we wished to explain, we could say that the human population then, at the time of consideration, must have been quite low. It is no surprise that Allah should have compensated fewness in numbers with long lives in order that human life could continue on the earth. When the numbers increased and mankind spread over the lands, there remained no need for such long lives. This can be noticed in many species: whenever the populations are low, the age factor increases such as in the case of certain reptiles. For example, turtles live for hundreds of years. On the other hand among the flies, which multiply in millions, individuals hardly live for more than two weeks.”

17. That is, they remained adamantly on unbelief: wrongdoers to the end (Razi).

18. According to Qatadah the meaning is that Allah left the boat on top of Mount Judiyy as a sign. But another possible meaning is that He appointed the punishment meted out to the unbelievers as a sign for the rest of the world (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir).

19. “Rizq” of Arabic has a wide connotation, often relegated to the back of the mind. Yusuf Ali reminds us: “Sustenance: in the symbolic as well as the literal sense. Seek from Allah all that is necessary for your upkeep and development, and for preparing you for your future Destiny. Lay all your hopes in Him and in no one else. Dedicate yourselves to His worship. He will give you all that is necessary for your growth and well being, and you should show your gratitude to Him by conforming your will entirely to His.”

20. It is also possible that these are the words of Ibrahim (asws) in which case he was referring to the nations of Sheeth, Idrees, Nuh and others (Zamakhshari).

21. According to Ibn `Abbas and Qatadah, the allusion is to the resurrection after death (Ibn Jarir).

22. It is another thing that Allah (swt) does not punish every defaulter, every time he commits an error, but rather offers reprieve, punishing only those who cross all limits. Otherwise, as Ibn Kathir quotes a hadith (from Abu Da’ud, Ibn Majah and Musnad Ahmad: H. Ibrahim),

إن الله لو عذب أهل سماواته وأهل أرضه، لعذبهم وهو غير ظالم لهم

“Verily, if Allah punished all of his creations in the heavens and all of them in the earth, He could do it without being unjust.”

Shu`ayb al-Arna’ut judged the above as a strong report (Au.).

The connection with the previous verse is obvious. There it was said that Allah will resurrect a final time. Now, resurrection will be for the purposes of judging the people, rewarding or punishing them, which is what this present verse says (Au.).

23. That is, you will not be able to frustrate Allah’s designs either in the earth, or in the heavens if you happened to be there (Ibn Jarir).