ذُرِّيَّةَ مَنْ حَمَلْنَا مَعَ نُوحٍ إِنَّهُ كَانَ عَبْدًا شَكُورًا ﴿۳﴾ وَقَضَيْنَا إِلَى بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ فِي الْكِتَابِ لَتُفْسِدُنَّ فِي الْأَرْضِ مَرَّتَيْنِ وَلَتَعْلُنَّ عُلُوًّا كَبِيرًا ﴿۴﴾

﴾3﴿ Zurriyyata man hamalnaa ma'a Noohin innahoo kaana 'abdan shakooraa
﴾4﴿ Wa qadainaaa ilaa Baneee Israaa'eela fil Kitaabi latufsidunna fil ardi marratain; wa lata'lunna'uluwwan kabeeraa

﴾3﴿ O descendants of those whom We carried with Noah (peace be upon him)! Indeed, he was a grateful servant
﴾4﴿ And We conveyed to the Children of Israel in the Book (Torah): You will surely cause corruption on the earth twice, and you will surely become exceedingly arrogant

[3] In this verse, encouragement to accept Tawhid is given in two ways.
First, that I bestowed favor upon you by saving your forefather with Nuh (peace be upon him) in the ark.
Second, that your forefather Nuh (peace be upon him) was among the people of Tawhid and a proclaimer of it.
And this is the meaning of “shakūraan” (grateful).
So why do you oppose the path of your ancestors?
Before the word “dhurriyyata” there is an implied “O,” and at the end of the verse the word “give thanks” is implied.
[4] Since the previous verses established the matter of Tawhid with clear proofs, now the condition of Bani Isra'il is mentioned.
Because they opposed Tawhid twice, Allah the Exalted appointed oppressive kings over them.
This worldly punishment from Allah the Exalted came upon them due to their denial of Tawhid.
Even now, this serves as a lesson, as those who claim Islam are either under the control of oppressive rulers or are weak in the face of enemies.
This is because their beliefs in Tawhid are not correct, and instead, they are involved in various forms of shirk and other injustices.
Only a small group of people will remain firm on Tawhid until near the Day of Judgment, as mentioned in the hadith: “A group from my ummah will always remain…”
The word “qadaynā” (We decreed) is an indication that this was foretold in the Torah, just as the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace) foretold many trials and battles, and those have come true.
The phrase “la tufsidunna” (you will surely cause corruption) refers to opposing the Shari‘ah of Musa (peace be upon him) and later the Shari‘ah of ‘Isa (peace be upon him) through acts of shirk.
Meaning that after Musa (peace be upon him), during the time of Ilyas (peace be upon him) and ‘Uzayr (peace be upon him), they became involved in shirk.
Likewise, after the ascension of ‘Isa (peace be upon him), they associated him with Allah the Exalted and called him the son of Allah the Exalted.
In both periods, they also associated their priests and monks with Allah the Exalted and built places of worship over the graves of prophets and the righteous.
This is referred to as corruption (fasād).
The phrase “la ta’lunna” (you will surely rise in arrogance) alludes to their injustices, sins, innovations, and violations of people’s rights.
These became widespread among them, which is why the verse uses the phrase “great arrogance” (ʿuluwan kabīran).