The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 3) — Page 142
CH. 11 HŪD PT. 12 48. He said, 'My Lord, I begŞIJE Thee to protect me from asking Thee that whereof I have no knowledge. And "unless Thou forgive me and have mercy on me, I shall be among the losers. '1428 لَيْسَ لِي بِهِ عِلْمٌ وَإِلَّا تَغْفِرْ لِي وَتَرْحَمْنِي أَكُنْ مِّنَ الْخَسِرِينَ a7:24. means: "You, being the bearer of the Word of God, must in future ponder over every aspect of the Divine revelation received by you and should not act unknowingly. " In other words, the seeming indefiniteness of the prophecy was cited to serve the purpose of a warning to Noah, who was asked to learn a lesson from it and to remember that prophecies bear more than one meaning and that their true significance becomes known only when they are actually fulfilled. It may be asked why, whereas Noah refers to a "promise" of God (see the preceding verse), actually there is no mention of a Divine promise here. In this connection it may be noted that the words ami. e. Embark therein in the name of Allah. . . (v. 42) did imply a Divine promise, because sometimes a commandment is tantamount to an undertaking. When God directed Noah to make his people enter the Ark, the direction implied a promise by God to save those who entered it. Similarly, the words, except those against whom the word has already gone forth (v. 41), also point to a promise having been made by God. If the above-quoted words contained only a command- ment and implied no promise, the names of excepted persons should have been revealed to Noah so that these could have been refused entrance. The fact that the names of the excepted persons were not disclosed shows that all those who went into the Ark were meant to be saved. 1428. Commentary: This verse shows the exalted which spiritual position to the Prophets of God attain. When Noah heard the Divine remonstration, he not only withdrew his words, but solicited God's help against repeating such a mistake. In contrast to this, how pitiable is the condition of those who, though enjoying no spiritual status, yet boast and brag and make big claims and do not profit by the example of God's chosen servants. The words, unless Thou forgive me, throw interesting light on the significance of the term (asking for forgiveness) when used about a Prophet of God. The verse mentions the of Noah. Now as the preceding verses clearly show Noah had committed no sin against the Law but only an error of judgement, which 1350