Welcome Friends: Ahlan wa sahlan!
Yusuf Ali’s Translation of this Chapter
Muhammad Asad’s Translation of this Chapter.
COMMENTS:
1. Our Reading today begins with Verse 28 (from page 224) where Prophet Noah, peace upon him, responds to the accusations of his people (discussed last time).
He begins with the endearing words ‘O my people/ Ya Qawmi,’ then tells them that he was (calling upon them) upon bayyinah/ evidence from his Lord-Sustainer and had received Mercy from him, and that this evidence had been made blind/ obscure to them.
Note that Prophet Noah did not accuse his people of being blind -or even blinded- to it: It is the evidence itself which had remained obscured to them!
Here, the Qur’an not only shows us Noah’s character, but it also teaches us how to speak to people we are trying to convince -without accusing them and putting them immediately on the defensive.
His was what Yusuf Ali calls: ‘a pattern of humility, gentleness, firmness, persuasiveness, truth, and love for his own people.’ Commentators, such as Zamakhshari and others, have highlighted Noah’s beautiful response, showing that it is in line with HQ 2:256, as indeed any Divine Message is:
لا إكراه في الدين
‘…there is no coercion in Accountability….’
Indeed, this statement rings true at all times: The Standard of Accountability cannot be enforced. Each of us has a personal standard of accountability we feel and respond to, keeping ourselves in line with what we believe. No one can enforce any Standard of Accountability upon others![1]
At the end of the verse Prophet Noah asks a reassuring rhetorical question “Would we force you into it while you are averse to it?”
Let us see how Arabic translates into English:
This single Qur’anic word, ‘anulzimikumooha,’ becomes seven words in English!
This is the second longest word in the Qur’an (made up of ten letters, while the longest (in HQ 15:22 is made up of 11).
2. Verses 29– 30 both begin with ‘O my People,’ as Prophet Noah presents his case, asserting that he asks no financial benefit for himself, for his reward is with God. He refuses their arrogant demand (which we got a glimpse of when they spoke of ‘lower class’ people) and says that he will not dismiss Those Who Attained Faith, who shall be meeting their Lord-Sustainer. Here he shows them both his needlessness of them due to his reliance on God, as well as his unrelenting devotion and guardianship of the Faithful.
Notice his tact here as well, as he indirectly warns them that they too shall be meeting their Lord! At the end of verse 29 he tells them that they are a people who are not knowing/ tajhaloon, rather than calling them ‘ignorant/ jaahiloon’ (using a present tense verb rather than labeling them with a noun).
In verse 30 he shows how dangerous for him it would be to expel those whom God Himself would defend, telling them to reflect upon that.
In verse 31 Prophet Noah begins by stating something similar to what Prophet Muhammad was commanded to say in HQ 6:50 (discussed earlier).[2]
Prophet Noah then returns to defending those whom his people had scorned (and had also alleged that God would not bring benefit to), for God Alone knows the reality of what is in their selves. He announces that, were he to drive them out, he would be of the ‘Thaalimeen/ Wrongdoers,’ having wronged people of faith.
3. In Verse 32 Noah’s people express their weariness at the lengthy discourse/ argument with him, and they challenge him to bring about what he had forewarned! Their daring to do that shows us how deep into Denial they must have been.
He responds (Verse 33– 34) very eloquently that it is up to God, and they will never escape it. He adds that his good counsel ‘nuSH/ نُصح’[3] has done them no good.
It is almost as if he is speaking to himself, indicating that he has done his best and if God ‘yureed/ intended and initiated’ for them a state of darkness and corruption (which isn’t the case),[4] then He is their Lord and to Him shall they return.
Verse 35 is an interpolation addressed to Prophet Muhammad in the middle of Prophet Noah’s story, showing the similarities between their experiences, peace upon both.
Prophet Muhammad is to tell them that, if indeed the Qur’an had been a fabrication, then he is responsible for such a breach/ ‘ijraam,’[5] while being completely inculpable of the breaches which they are committing.
In Verse 36 Prophet Noah is told that no one else would ever attain faith, other than those who already have done so, and that he should not be distressed (فَلَا تَبْتَئِسْ) by what they were doing.[6]
In Verse 37 God tells Noah not to talk to Him (literally, not ‘to hold a two-way conversation’)[7] regarding Those Who committed Wrongs (الذين ظلموا) for they are to be drowned.
We clearly hear God’s ‘voice’ here, bidding His Messenger to be silent and not attempt any argument, similar to HQ 23:27.
God tells Prophet Noah to manufacture/fabricate the Arc/ fulk -فلك[8] under God’s protection and direction.[9]
Obviously, these people lived inland, with neither ocean nor river nearby, and it isn’t clear whether they knew about sea-vessels.
4. In Verses 38–39 we note that Prophet Noah was building the Arc while bearing his people’s derision/ contempt (سخرية),[10] and we hear him warning them that it is they who shall be on the receiving end in time, and shall come to know shameful, everlasting suffering.
5. Verse 40 speaks of God’s command initiating the beginning of the flood with the bubbling ‘tannoor.’ Exegetes had different explanations for this, some saying it was the earth that started bubbling with water, others said it was the furnaces (or volcanoes) that started spurting water,[11] and God knows best. God commanded Prophet Noah to carry on board ‘one pair of each,’ referring probably to the cattle, livestock and other living creatures in that area, perhaps even plants.
It is interesting to note that, despite all his efforts, very few were the people who were with him in Eman/ faith and trust!
We spoke about ‘the few’ earlier, may we be among ‘the few.’
Readers can check interpretations of Yusuf Ali and Muhammad Asad, although I prefer the unembellished interpretation of Arberry here, which seems truer to the original.
Note that the Qur’an does not say ‘animals’ nor does it say ‘male and female,’ although that must be what is intended (it just says ‘of each one pair,’ which might relate not only to animals, but also to crops). To understand the Qur’an as revealed, we must clear our minds of all additional narrative which includes thinking that ‘the entire world was being engulfed in water,’ or that Noah had to take ‘every kind of domestic and exotic animal on board.’
Biblical stories also seem to have been exaggerated.[12]
Best is to say ‘Allaahu a3lam.’
In Verse 41, Noah announces time to get on board his Arc by declaring:
‘In the name of God, it shall take its course ‘majraaha/ مجراها ’ and (in the name of God) it shall set anchor, my Lord-Sustainer is indeed Oft-Forgiving, Unceasingly Merciful.’
It is interesting to note that the lengthened alif at the center of the word ‘majraaha/ مجراها ’ -according to the Qur’anic qiraa’ah of HafS[14] – must be recited with ‘imaalah/ إمالة’[15] slanted ‘aa’ so as to sound more like a yaa’ي….(like when ‘a’ in ‘car’ becomes ‘a’ in ‘care’).
Why is that so?
Probably has to do with the meaning of sounds as detailed by Ibn Jinni.[16]
The ي sound -as he tells us- denotes a moderate yet extended effort, which offers us here in this verse a highly descriptive, emotive, audible ‘flowing’ of the waters with the arc upon it!
6. In the next verse (Verse 42) we are told that the Arc ‘ran its course’ in mountain-size waves, and we hear Noah -the father- call upon his son endearingly; his son who was in a place apart (O My Sonny/ ya Bunayya)[17] – telling him to ‘irkab ma3ana/ get on board/ ride with us, and do not be with the Deniers (sharing their fate).
Sound Meaning:
Interestingly, the ‘ba’ sound at the end of the word ‘irkab/ اركب ’ -according to the Qur’anic qiraa’ah of HafS – must NOT be recited, but rather, must be replaced with a ‘mm’ sound!
Again related to the meaning of sounds.
The ‘m’ sound -as mentioned in earlier footnote- indicates ‘joining, coming together’ (as the lips rejoin).. which allows us to HEAR Prophet Noah’s desperation as he beseeches his son to join him on the Arc or else he will drown!
But as we see in Verse 43, his son who obviously was a Denier who would not follow his father, opted to take refuge on higher ground, saying that a mountain would be his stronghold (away) from the waters. Noah tries again to convince him, telling him that there is no stronghold at this time to save from God’s command -unless one were to receive God’s Mercy- and as the waves come in between them we learn that he was of those who drowned.
7. Our Reading ends with Verse 44, where God commands the earth to swallow its water and the sky to cease, and as the waters receded, the Arc settled upon the Judi (thought by some to be a mountain in Mosul, and by others, in Turkey).
It is best NOT to subscribe to any ‘location.’[18]
God knows best.
The verse ends by saying بُعداً…… Away! DISTANCED are the Wrongdoing People!
Enough said!
Our next Reading is from HQ 11:45-60
Peace unto all!
[1] We referred to that earlier saying:
“Verse 2: 256 is one of the most-quoted verses by Muslims today when they allude to the manner in which Islam has traditionally dealt with people of other faiths; not forcing them to convert.”
Through language and Qur’anic context we saw how the word ‘deen’ rewound itself back to its original meaning of ‘accountability.’ We noted Asad’s explanation (note 249) in which he posited ‘deen’ as ‘the contents of, and the compliance with, a morally binding law…’ and that the meaning depends on context, which could be ‘religion,’ however in the widest sense of the term.
The context in which Muslims have traditionally understood this verse is very important, and, as Asad says, it “disposes of the widespread fallacy that Islam places before unbelievers the alternative of ‘conversion’ or the sword.”
[2] In HQ 6:50 the Messenger peace upon him was told to highlight his mortality, making it clear that he neither possesses material treasures nor supernatural powers, and furthermore does not know ‘Al gheyb’/THE Unseen; ALL that is beyond human perception, although God did give some of this knowledge to His Messengers.
In three clear Qur’anic statements the Messenger plainly says, as commanded by God: “…I do not know The Unseen…” (HQ6:50; 11:31) and,“….if I had known The Unseen….”(HQ7:188).
[3] The root-verb is ‘naSaHa/نَصَحَ to counsel, advise, reconcile; its noun ‘naaSiH’ originally meant ‘tailor,’ seeing that tailors stitch material together to create a whole, or mend something that was torn.
[4] Please note that the Qur’an never mentions that God ‘yaghwi’ (obscuring/ petrifying) except as an accusation by some who are already deep in darkness and putrefaction; ‘ghaaween.’
We encountered the root-verb ‘ghawiya/ غَوِيَ’ earlier (as in these verses),
Ibn Faris gives us its two denotations related firstly to things becoming obscure, as in the opposite of rightful guidance, and the second related to putrefaction, when something is spoilt (making someone sick).
Al Isfahani considers the putrefaction one of belief, rather than physical.
ابن فارس:
غَوِيَ: أَصْلَانِ: أَحَدُهُمَا يَدُلُّ عَلَى خِلَافِ الرُّشْدِ وَإِظْلَامِ الْأَمْرِ، وَالْآخَرُ عَلَى فَسَادٍ فِي شَيْءٍ.
فَالْأَوَّلُ الْغَيُّ، وَهُوَ خِلَافُ الرُّشْدِ، وَالْجَهْلُ بِالْأَمْرِ، وَالِانْهِمَاكُ فِي الْبَاطِلِ. يُقَالُ غَوَى يَغْوِي غَيًّا…وَذَلِكَ عِنْدَنَا مُشْتَقٌّ مِنَ الْغَيَايَةِ، وَهِيَ الْغُبْرَةُ وَالظُّلْمَةُ تَغْشَيَانِ، كَأَنَّ ذَا الْغَيِّ قَدْ غَشِيَهُ مَا لَا يَرَى مَعَهُ سَبِيلَ حَقٍّوَالْمُغَوَّاةُ: حُفْرَةُ الصَّائِدِ، وَالْجَمْعُ مُغَوَّيَاتٌ.. فَأَمَّا الْغَايَةُ فَهِيَ الرَّايَةُ، وَسُمِّيَتْ بِذَلِكَ لِأَنَّهَا تُظِلُّ مَنْ تَحْتَهَا…ثُمَّ سُمِّيَتْ نِهَايَةُ الشَّيْءِ غَايَةً. وَهَذَا مِنَ الْمَحْمُولِ عَلَى غَيْرِهِ، إِنِّمَا سُمِّيَتْ غَايَةً بِغَايَةِ الْحَرْبِ، وَهِيَ الرَّايَةُ، لِأَنَّهُ يُنْتَهَى إِلَيْهَا كَمَا يَرْجِعُ الْقَوْمُ إِلَى رَايَتِهِمْ فِي الْحَرْبِ.
وَالْأَصْلُ الْآخَرُ: قَوْلُهُمْ: غَوِيَ الْفَصِيلُ، إِذَا أَكْثَرَ مِنْ شُرْبِ اللَّبَنِ فَفَسَدَ جَوْفُهُ. وَالْمَصْدَرُ الْغَوَى.
الأصفهاني:
غوى: الغَيُّ: جهل من اعتقاد فاسد، وذلك أنّ الجهل قد يكون من كون الإنسان غير معتقد اعتقادا لا صالحا ولا فاسدا، وقد يكون من اعتقاد شيء فاسد، وهذا النّحو الثاني يقال له غَيٌّ.
[5] Encountered earlier, from root-verb ‘jarama,’ which denotes something which is cut, or has dropped away like defective fruit off its tree.
[6] Similar to what Prophet Joseph said to his youngest brother in HQ 12:69.
[7] The root-verb ‘khaTaba’ is about a two-way talk/ interchange/ engagement, hence a speech given by a person to listeners is called a ‘khuTbah,’ as is the ‘engagement’ to marry between two. It is also about something that has two different colors, hence a bicolored bird is called ‘akhTab.’
خَطَبَ: أَصْلَانِ أَحَدُهُمَا الْكَلَامُ بَيْنَ اثْنَيْنِ، يُقَالُ خَاطِبُهُ يُخَاطِبُهُ خِطَابًا، وَالْخُطْبَةُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ. وَفِي النِّكَاحِ الطَّلَبُ أَنْ يُزَوَّجَ، وَالْخُطْبَةُ: الْكَلَامُ الْمَخْطُوبُ بِهِ. وَالْخَطْبُ: الْأَمْرُ يَقَعُ ; وَإِنَّمَا سُمِّيَ بِذَلِكَ لِمَا يَقَعُ فِيهِ مِنَ التَّخَاطُبِ وَالْمُرَاجَعَةِ. وَأَمَّا الْأَصْلُ الْآخَرُ فَاخْتِلَافُ لَوْنَيْنِ. .. وَالْأَخْطَبُ: طَائِرٌ ; وَلَعَلَّهُ يَخْتَلِفُ عَلَيْهِ لَوْنَان.
[8] Discussed earlier, put the word ‘Arc’ in Search.
[9] Al Razi (d. 606 AH/ 1210 CE) says that the meaning of the term “by our ‘a3yun/ بأعيننا” indicates that God shall oversee the building of the ‘fulk/ arc,’ or shall watch over and protect Noah while he is building it.
We spoke of ‘Fulk’ فُلك’ earlier, which in Arabic is a circular shape without sharp corners, a ‘curved, rounded’ vessel. ‘Fulk’ are also celestial bodies (such as planets and stars)..“..similar to the ‘felkeh’ of a spinning-wheel…. so sea-vessels are called because they turn around in the water..”
This is akin to the English ‘Arc,’ which etymologically is about something “bowed, curved,” rather than ‘Ark.’
من ذلك فَلْكة المِغزل، سمِّيت لاستدارتها ومن هذا القياس فَلَك السماء.
[10] The root-verb ‘sakhira’ is about ‘subjugation/ servitude’ on one hand, and ‘contempt/ derision/ humbling’ on another. We therefore see the word (with different diacritics) used in the Qur’an in verses speaking of God having ‘subjugated/ sakh-khara’ to us what is in the Exalted Expanses and the Earth, or the night and day, the sun and moon, the oceans, animals, etc. as well as verses about contempt and derision.
سَخِرَ: يَدُلُّ عَلَى احْتِقَارٍ وَاسْتِذْلَالٍ. مِنْ ذَلِكَ قَوْلُنَا سَخَّرَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ الشَّيْءَ، وَذَلِكَ إِذَا ذَلَّلَهُ لِأَمْرِهِ وَإِرَادَتِهِ. قَالَ اللَّهُ جَلَّ ثَنَاؤُهُ: {وَسَخَّرَ لَكُمْ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ} [الجاثية: 13] . وَيُقَالُ رَجُلٌ سُخْرَةٌ: يُسَخَّرُ فِي الْعَمَلِ، وَسُخْرَةٌ أَيْضًا، إِذَا كَانَ يُسْخَرُ مِنْهُ. وَمِنَ الْبَابِ: سَخِرْتُ مِنْهُ، إِذَا هَزِئْتَ بِهِ… وَفِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى: {فَإِنَّا نَسْخَرُ مِنْكُمْ كَمَا تَسْخَرُونَ} [هود: 38] .
[11] In common usage, ‘tannoor’ is the baking kiln/ tandoor, its root-verb related to ‘light’ and ‘lighting.’
[12] Biblical scholars contest the thought that Noah’s flood engulfed the entire globe, stating that it was in one part of the earth, not everywhere.
In the English Standard Version of the Bible, in Genesis 7:2, it does not mention all animal species: “Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and his mate, and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and his mate..”
In 2 Peter 2:5 Noah was preserved with seven others, and (only) the world of the ungodly perished: “If he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly.”
[13] Before proper words and names, humans communicated through sounds which had come to them naturally via the environment and nature around them, pronounced by way of our speech organs. Scholars have looked at these sounds (which today we might register as letters) and shown how we might understand each, for example the ‘fa’ sound indicating something ‘opening, coming apart’ (as the lips open) whereas the ‘ma’ sound indicates ‘joining, coming together’ (as the lips rejoin). Now, putting the two sounds together (f + m) gives us the Arabic word for ‘mouth,’ with is ‘famm/ فَمّ-’ This is not only highly emotive, indicative, but also quite accurate a decription.
[14] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hafs
[15] “هي النطق بالألف الممالة بين الألف والياء الصحيحتَيْن وقد أمال حفصٌ إمالةً كبرى كلمةً واحدة في تلاوة القرآن الكريم وهي: ﴿مَجْرَاهَا﴾”
[16] Linguist and grammarian Ibn Jinni (932-1008 CE).
“سجّل لنا ابنُ جنّي رأيَ فريق من العلماء يقول: إنّ أصل اللّغات كلّها إنّما هو من المسموعات كدويّ الرّيح وحنين الرّعد وخرير الماء وشحيج الحمار ونعيق الغراب وصهيل الفرس، ثُمّ وُلِدت اللّغات عن ذلك فيما بعدُ (الخصائص: 1/46-47)”
[17] Bunayya (بُنَيَّ) is a term of endearment; the diminutive of Ibni (ابني).
[18] Biblical commentators indicate a certain location for the Arc’s landing site, while historians, such as Dr. Ahmad Daoud, indicate another. These locations are more than 4,000 km. apart, so best to say