The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 3) — Page 125
PT. 12 HŪD CH. 11 اَنْ لَّا تَعْبُدُوا إِلَّا اللَّهَ إِنِّي أَخَافُ That you worship none but. 27 عَلَيْكُمْ عَذَابَ يَوْمٍ أَلِيْمٍ Allah. Indeed, I fear for you the punishment of a grievous day. '1408 فَقَالَ الْمَلَأُ الَّذِيْنَ كَفَرُوا مِنْ قَوْمِهِ مَا The chiefs of his people. 28 نَرُبكَ إِلَّا بَشَرًا مِّثْلَنَا وَمَا نَرُبكَ who disbelieved, replied, 'We see in thee nothing but a man like ourselves, and we see that اتَّبَعَكَ إِلَّا الَّذِينَ هُمْ اَرَازِ لُنَا بَادِيَ none have followed thee but those who, to all outward appearance, الرَّأْيِ ۚ وَمَا نَرَى لَكُمْ عَلَيْنَا مِنْ فَضْلٍ are the meanest of us. And we do بَلْ نَظُنُّكُمْ كَذِبِينَ not see in you any superiority over us; nay, we believe you to be liars. '1409 a7:60; 71:4. 23:25. 26:112. disheartened. It is the function of a divine reformer to tell people that he has with him the remedy of their corruption. Thus when Noah said that he was i. e. a plain Warner, he meant that all his work was above suspicion and that his warning was based on reason; that he had come not to dishearten his people, but to make them realize their true condition. He also meant that he not only warned them of impending punishment but also pointed out to them the way in which they could escape that punishment. It was to "worship none but Allah. " 1408. Commentary: "A grievous punishment" is different from "the punishment of a grievous day. " The latter expression implies greater intensity. Certain punishments are very grievous, but there are certain "days" the remembrance of which continues to cause great pain even after the lapse of hundreds of years. The actual "punishment" causes pain only to those on whom it falls, but remembrance of the "days" of a terrible punishment frightens even those who come after. Thus, by using the expression, the punishment of a grievous day, the Quran points to the fact that the threatened punishment was to be such as would be long remembered and would strike terror into the hearts of coming generations. This expression aptly describes the grievous nature of the punishment which overtook the people of Noah, for the great Deluge is remembered even to the present day as a terrible catastrophe the very thought of which inspires fear. 1333 1409. Important Words: (to all outward appearance) بادى الرأى