The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 3) — Page 131
PT. 12 HŪD CH. 11 قَالَ إِنَّمَا يَأْتِيُكُمْ بِهِ اللهُ إِنْ شَاءَ He said, “Allah alone will. 34 وَمَا أَنْتُمْ بِمُعْجِزِيْنَ bring it to you, if He please, and you cannot frustrate God's purpose. 1415 وَلَا يَنْفَعُكُمْ نُصْحِي إِنْ أَرَدْتُ And my advice will profit. 35 اَنْ اَنْصَحَ لَكُمْ إِنْ كَانَ اللهُ يُرِيدُ you, if Allah desires to destroy أَنْ تُغْوِيَكُمْ هُوَ رَبُّكُمْ وَ إِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ you not if I desire to advise you. He is your Lord and to Him shall you be made to return. '1416 "46:23-24. hinted at the future prosperity of his followers and it was evident that they could prosper only if their opponents perished and thus cleared the way for their prosperity, therefore Noah's enemies realized that the prophecy of the future prosperity of believers implied a prophecy about their own destruction. So they asked him to give up all other discussions and let them know when their threatened destruction would come to pass. 1415. Commentary: This verse embodies three important rules about prophecies foretelling the punishment of the enemies of God's Messengers: (1) that the time of their actual happening is generally not disclosed, being known only to God; (2) that they are conditional and can be deferred or revoked as God may desire; and (3) that whatever changes may take place in regard to prophecies of punishment, God's immutable purpose never changes, for disbelievers "cannot frustrate God's purpose. " 1416. Important Words: (destroy you). See 7:17. Commentary: By the words, If Allah desires to destroy you, Noah means to say that though he ardently wishes his people to accept his Message and thus be saved, his love for them cannot exceed God's love for His creatures; and when God has decreed their destruction, the doom must be accepted as not only inevitable but also justified, and he must submit to His decree. The verse also explodes the wrong notion commonly held that Noah prayed for the destruction of his people (71:27, 28), for it shows that it was not Noah who had prayed for their destruction but that God Himself had commanded him to do so. 1339 The words, He is your Lord, are intended to hint that God destroys a people only when He finds that their destruction is necessary and is good for others; otherwise, being their