39. This theme is related with the preceding sentences. A study of them shows why these stories are being narrated here.

40. This refers to the prayer that the Prophet Noah (peace be upon him) had at last made to Allah Almighty, being disappointed with his people, after having preached the true faith to them for a very long period of time, without much success. This prayer has been related in Surah Al- Qamar, thus: He called out to his Lord, saying: I am overcome: take now Thy vengeance.( verse 10).

41. That is, from the severe distress that was being caused to him on account of the continuous opposition and antagonism of a wicked and cruel people. This also contains a subtle allusion that just as the Prophet Noah (peace be upon him) and his companions were saved from the great distress, so We will also ultimately save the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his companions from the great distress that is being caused to them by the people of Makkah.

42. This can have two meanings.

(1) That the progeny of the people who were opposing the Prophet Noah (peace be upon him) was made extinct and the Prophet Noah’s progeny alone was allowed to survive.

(2) That the whole human race was made extinct, and only the Prophet Noah’s progeny was allowed to inhabit the earth after that. The commentators generally have adopted this second meaning, but the words of the Quran are not explicit in this regard and no one knows the reality except Allah.

43. That is there is none in the world today, who would talk evil of the Prophet Noah (peace be upon him). After the flood till today the world has been praising and speaking well of him for thousands of years.

44. “Approached his Lord”: Turned to his Lord sincerely and exclusively; “with a sound heart”: With a heart that was free from all kinds of moral evils and weaknesses of faith, free from every trace of unbelief and shirk, doubt and suspicion, from every feeling of disobedience and rebellion, from every crookedness, confusion and complexity, and free from every evil inclination and desire, and a heart that neither cherished any malice and jealousy and ill-will against anyone, nor had any evil intention.

45. For further details of this story of the Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him), see (Surah Al-Anaam,Ayats 72-90); (Surah Maryam, Ayats 41-60); (Surah Al-Anbiya, Ayats 51-75); (Surah Ash-Shuara, Ayats 69-89); (Surah Al- Ankabut, Ayats 16-17) and the E.Ns thereof.

46. That is, why have you formed such a wrong view of Allah? Do you think that the gods that you yourselves have carved out from wood and stone can be like Him, or can be His associates in his attributes and rights? And are you involved in the misunderstanding that you will somehow manage to escape His punishment after you have indulged in such blasphemy?

47. The reference is to a particular incident the details of which have been given in (Surah Al-Anbiya, Ayats 71-73 )and (Surah Al-Ankabut, AYats 16-27).

48. Ibn Abi Hatim has cited a saying of the famous commentator Qatadah, an immediate follower of the companions, to the effect that the Arabic idiomatic expression, “glanced a glance at the stars,” means that he pondered deeply, or that he started thinking seriously. Allama Ibn Kathir has preferred this same view, and this is also supported by the common observation: when a person is confronted by a problem that needs serious consideration, he looks upward or to the sky for a while, and then makes a reply, after due consideration.

49. This is one of those three things concerning which it is said that the Prophet Abraham had told three lies in his life, whereas it should be ascertained before declaring it a lie, or anything contrary to fact, whether the Prophet Abraham at that time was not suffering from any illness, and therefore, he had made this excuse only as a pretense. If there is no proof, there is no reason why it should be regarded as a lie. For a detailed discussion, please refer to (E.N. 60 of Surah Al-Anbiya )and Rasail-o-Masail, vol. II, pp. 35 to 39. (A book by Abul Aala Moududi).

50. This sentence by itself shows the real state of the affairs. It appears that the people might be going to some fair of theirs. The family of the Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him) might have also asked him to accompany them. He might have excused himself, saying that he was indisposed, and therefore, could not go. Had it been something contrary to fact, the people of the house would have said: You look perfectly normal: you are making a false excuse. But when they accepted his excuse and left him behind, it clearly shows that the Prophet Abraham must at that time be suffering from cough and cold or some other such visible illness on account of which the people of the house agreed to leave him behind.

51. This shows that there were different kinds of food placed before the idols in the temple.

52. Here the story has been told in brief. According to the details given in Surah Al-Anbiya, when they returned and found all their idols broken to pieces in the temple, they started making investigations. Some people said that a young man, called Abraham, had been talking such and such things against idol-worship. At this the multitude demanded that he should be immediately seized and brought before them. Therefore, a group of the people went running to him and brought him before the multitude.

53. The words in( Surah Al-Anbiya, Ayat 69) are to the effect, We commanded: O fire, be cool and become safe for Abraham. And in( Surah Al-Ankbut, Ayat 24), it has been said: Then Allah saved him from the fire. This proves that those people had actually thrown the Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him) into the fire, and then Allah had rescued him from it safe and sound. The words of the verse, “So they intended against him a plot, then We made them the lowest” cannot be taken to mean that they had only intended to throw the Prophet Abraham into the fire but could not carry their plan into effect; but when these words are read with the verses cited above, the meaning becomes plain that they had wanted to kill him by casting him into the fire but could not do so, and the Prophet Abraham’s miraculous escape proved his superiority and the polytheists were humbled by Allah. The real object of relating this incident is to warn the people of the Quraish to this effect: The way that you have adopted is not the way of the Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him), whose descendants you claim yourselves to be, but his way is the one being presented by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Now, if you plot against him in order to defeat him and frustrate his mission, as the people of the Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him) had done against him, you alone will be defeated in the end, because you cannot defeat Muhammad (peace be upon him).