وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا نُوحًا إِلَى قَوْمِهِ إِنِّي لَكُمْ نَذِيرٌ مُبِينٌ ﴿۲۵﴾ أَنْ لَا تَعْبُدُوا إِلَّا اللَّهَ إِنِّي أَخَافُ عَلَيْكُمْ عَذَابَ يَوْمٍ أَلِيمٍ ﴿۲۶﴾ فَقَالَ الْمَلَأُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْ قَوْمِهِ مَا نَرَاكَ إِلَّا بَشَرًا مِثْلَنَا وَمَا نَرَاكَ اتَّبَعَكَ إِلَّا الَّذِينَ هُمْ أَرَاذِلُنَا بَادِيَ الرَّأْيِ وَمَا نَرَى لَكُمْ عَلَيْنَا مِنْ فَضْلٍ بَلْ نَظُنُّكُمْ كَاذِبِينَ ﴿۲۷﴾ قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ أَرَأَيْتُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُ عَلَى بَيِّنَةٍ مِنْ رَبِّي وَآتَانِي رَحْمَةً مِنْ عِنْدِهِ فَعُمِّيَتْ عَلَيْكُمْ أَنُلْزِمُكُمُوهَا وَأَنْتُمْ لَهَا كَارِهُونَ ﴿۲۸﴾

﴾25﴿ Wa laqad arsalnaa Noohan ilaa qawmihee innee lakum nazeerum mubeen
﴾26﴿ Al laa ta'budooo illal laaha inneee akhaafu 'alaikum 'azaaba Yawmin aleem
﴾27﴿ Faqaalal mala ul lazeena kafaroo min qawmihee ma naraaka illaa basharam mislanaa wa maa naraakat taba'aka illal lazeena hum araazilunaa baadiyar raayi wa maa naraa lakum 'alainaa min fadlim bal nazunnukum kaazibeen
﴾28﴿ Qaala yaa qawmi ara'aitum in kuntu 'alaa baiyinatim mir Rabbee wa aataanee rahmatam min 'indihee fa'um miyat 'alaikum anulzimuku moohaa wa antum lahaa kaarihoon

﴾25﴿ And indeed, We sent Noah (peace be upon him) to his people, and he said, I am a clear warner to you
﴾26﴿ I declare to you that you should worship none but Allah, the Exalted. Indeed, I fear for you the punishment of a painful day
﴾27﴿ So the leaders among his disbelieving people said, We do not see you but as a man like ourselves, and we do not see that anyone has followed you except those who are the lowest among us, acting rashly without thought. Nor do we see any superiority in you over us; rather, we think you are liars
﴾28﴿ Prophet Noah (peace be upon him) said: O my people, have you considered if I am upon a clear proof from my Lord and He has granted me a special mercy (prophethood) from Himself, but it has been made obscure to you, Should we force it upon you while you dislike it

[25] From this point — the second main section — up to verse 111, several stories are mentioned.
The first three stories and the sixth one relate to the first claim of the surah.
The fourth and fifth stories relate to the second claim of the surah.
The seventh story, that of Musa (peace be upon him), relates to the third claim.
In between, there are warnings and glad tidings.
Verse 109 is tied to the fourth claim of the surah.
Verse 125 presents the first transmitted (revealed) evidence from the side of Nuh (peace be upon him) in support of the message of Tawhid.
It also mentions his bravery, his method of calling to the truth, and the punishment of his people as a worldly warning.
The connection between this verse and the previous one is that earlier, the two groups (believers and disbelievers) were described using metaphors — and now, through the purpose of the Prophets, the outcome of both groups is made clear.
(إِنِّي لَكُمْ) — in the phrase (أَرْسَلْنَا نُوحًا), the implied meaning is he said, and the phrase (إِنِّي) is the object of that statement.
In (مُبِينٌ), there is an indication that the Prophet does not consider anyone’s feelings when conveying the truth of Allah, and he does not conceal any part of it.
[26] (أَنْ لَا تَعْبُدُوا) — this is in apposition to (إِنِّي), and serves as the object of (مُبِينٌ).
It expresses the core message of the call — the call to Tawhid (to worship none but Allah).
(أَلِيمٍ) — is an adjective describing (يَوْمٍ), meaning that the day itself will be painful and filled with torment.
This could refer to either worldly punishment, punishment of the Hereafter, or it could be describing the painful nature of the punishment itself.
However, due to its grammatical position directly following (يَوْمٍ), it is most likely an adjective of (يَوْمٍ), and this construction is known as جرّ الجوار (genitive by proximity).
(إِنِّي أَخَافُ) — this fear is concerning their rejection of Tawhid, and the consequences that would follow from it.
[27] (الْمَلَأُ) — refers to the chiefs or leaders, whether in worldly or religious status.
In this context, it refers to those with worldly nobility, such as wealth and status.
Question: In verse 60 of Surah Al-A‘raf, why did it not say those who disbelieved, as it does in other places?
Answer: In Surah Al-A‘raf, the implication is that the entire nation was disbelieving, so it was not necessary to specify.
But here, the objection comes from a place of arrogance, which is the trait of the wealthy elite, hence الْمَلَأُ is mentioned specifically.
The four objections raised by the leaders of the people of Nuh (peace be upon him) are:
1. You are just a human like us — denying any special status.
2. Your followers are lowly people — meaning poor and socially insignificant individuals.
This is supported by the narration of Heraclius, where it is stated that the followers of the prophets are often the weak and humble.
3. You have no superiority over us — meaning, they saw no prophetic qualities in him.
4. You are liars — accusing both Nuh and his followers of fabricating their message.
The first two objections are directed only at Nuh (peace be upon him) — that’s why the singular form is used in addressing him.
The last two objections include both Nuh and the believers, hence the plural form is used.
(بَادِيَ الرَّأْيِ) — means at first glance, i.e., they believed in you without deep thought or reflection.
They claim: If they had really thought about it, they wouldn’t have followed you.
(أَرَاذِلَنَا) — they described the believers as low-class only in terms of poverty, not in terms of lineage.
In fact, the believers included the sons and wives of Nuh (peace be upon him), and their lineage was noble.
This is because Allah sends His prophets from noble and respected lineages.
[28] The meaning of (بَيِّنَةٍ) is the clear evidences of Tawhid, and (رَحْمَةً) refers to Prophethood.
The intended message is: I possess clear proofs and have been granted Prophethood — I am not a liar.
However, I cannot force you to accept this by compulsion — this statement is a response to all of their objections.
The pronouns in (فَعُمِّيَتْ) and (أَنُلْزِمُكُمُوهَا) are in the singular feminine form.
This is because (بَيِّنَةٍ) and (رَحْمَةً) are both singular feminine nouns, and either:
1. They are considered as one unified message, hence the singular pronoun.
2. Or the pronouns refer to each one individually by interpretation (ta’wīl), since both share the same purpose and message.