Surah Hud (11): Read Online and Download - English Translation

Rewarding the People of Faith

When Allah, the Exalted, mentioned the condition of the wretched, He also commended the people of delight (the believers). They are those who believe and work righteous deeds. Thus, their hearts believed and their limbs worked righteous deeds, both in statements and actions. This includes their performance of deeds of obedience and their abandonment of evils. In this way they are the inheritors of Gardens (of Paradise), which contain lofty rooms and seats arranged in rows. Therein they will find bunches of fruit near to them, elevated couches, fair and beautiful wives, various types of fruit, desired kinds of food and delicious drinks. They also will be allowed to see the Creator of the heavens and the earth and they will be in this state of pleasure forever. They will not die, nor will they grow old. They will not experience sickness, nor will they sleep. They will not have excrement, nor will they spit or snot. Their sweat will be the perfume of musk.

The Parable of the Believers and the Disbelievers

Then, Allah, the Exalted, makes a parable of the disbelievers and the believers. He says,

(The likeness of the two parties) This refers to those disbelievers whom Allah first described as wretched, and then those believers whom He described with delightfulness. The first group is like one who is blind and deaf, while the second group is like he who sees and hears. Thus, the disbeliever is blind from the truth in this life and in the Hereafter. He is not guided to goodness, nor does he recognize it. He is deaf from hearing the proofs, thus he does not hear that which would benefit him. As Allah says,

(Had Allah known of any good in them, He would indeed have made them listen.)8:23 The believer is smart, bright and clever. He sees the truth and distinguishes between the truth and falsehood. Thus, he follows the good and abandons the evil. He hears and distinguishes between the proof and scepticism. Therefore, falsehood does not overcome him. Are these two types of people alike

(Will you not then take heed) This statement means, "Will you not consider, so that you may distinguish between these two categories of people." This is as Allah mentions in another verse,

(Not equal are the dwellers of the Fire and the dwellers of the Paradise. It is the dwellers of Paradise that will be successful.)59:20 Allah also says,

(Not alike are the blind and the seeing. Nor are (alike) darkness and light. Nor are (alike) the shade and the sun's heat. Nor are (alike) the living and the dead. Verily, Allah makes whom He wills to hear, but you cannot make hear those who are in graves. You are only a warner. Verily, We have sent you with the truth, a bearer of glad tidings and a warner. And there never was a nation but a warner had passed among them.)35:19-24

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The Story of Nuh and His Conversation with His People

Allah, the Exalted, informs about Prophet Nuh. He was the first Messenger whom Allah sent to the people of the earth who were polytheists involved in worshipping idols. Allah mentions that he (Nuh) said to his people,

(I have come to you as a plain warner.) meaning, to openly warn you against facing Allah's punishment if you continue worshipping other than Allah. Thus, Nuh said,

(That you worship none but Allah;) This can also be seen in his statement,

(surely, I fear for you the torment of a painful Day.) This means, "If you all continue doing this, then Allah will punish you with a severe punishment in the Hereafter." Then Allah says,

(The chiefs who disbelieved among his people said;) The word `chiefs' (Al-Mala'u) here means the leaders and the heads of the disbelievers. They said,

(We see you but a man like ourselves,) This means, "You are not an angel. You are only a human being, so how can revelation come to you over us We do not see anyone following you except the lowliest people among us, like the merchants, weavers and similar people. No people of nobility, or rulers among us follow you. These people who follow you are not known for their intelligence, wit, or sharp thinking. Rather, you merely invited them (to this Islam) and they responded to your call and followed you (ignorantly)." This is the meaning of their statement,

(nor do we see any follow you but the meanest among us and they (too) followed you without thinking.) The statement, "without thinking," means that they merely followed the first thing that came to their minds. Concerning the statement,

(And we do not see in you any merit above us, in fact we think you are liars.) In this they are saying, "We do not see that you and your followers have any virtuous status above us in your physical appearance, your character, your provisions, or your condition, since you accepted this (new) religion of yours."

s(in fact we think you are liars. ) This means, "We think you are lying about that which you are claiming for yourselves of righteousness, piety, worship and happiness in the abode of the Hereafter when you arrive there." This was the response of the disbelievers to Nuh and his followers. This is a proof of their ignorance and their deficiency in knowledge and intelligence. For verily, the truth is not to be rejected because of the lowly status of those who follow it. Verily, the truth is correct in itself, regardless of whether its followers are of low status, or nobility. Actually, the reality concerning which there is no doubt, is that the followers of the truth are the noble ones, even though they may be poor. On the other hand, those who reject the truth are the lowly wretches, even though they may be wealthy. Thus, we see that usually the weakest of people are the ones who follow the truth, while the nobility and high-class people usually are opposed to the truth. This is as Allah says,

(And similarly, We sent not a warner before you to any town (people) but the luxurious ones among them said: "We found our fathers following a cerain way and religion, and we will indeed follow their footsteps.")43:23 When Heraclius, the emperor of Rome, asked Abu Sufyan Sakhr bin Harb about the qualities of the Prophet , he said to him, "Are his followers the noble people, or the weak" Abu Sufyan said, "They are the weakest of them." Then Heraclius said, "They (weak ones) are the followers of the Messengers." Concerning their statement,

(without thinking. ) In reality this is not objectionable, or something derogatory, because the truth when it is made clear, does not leave room for second-guessing, or excessive thinking. Rather, it is mandatory that it should be followed and this is the condition of every pious, intelligent person. No one continues doubtfully pondering the truth (after it is made clear) except one who is ignorant and excessively critical. The Messengers - Allah's peace and blessings be upon them all - only delivered what was obvious and clear. Concerning Allah's statement,

(And we do not see in you any merit above us,) They did not see this (the virtue of accepting Islam) because they were blind from the truth. They could not see, nor could they hear. Rather, they were wavering in their skepticism. They were wandering blindly in the darknesses of their ignorance. They, in reality, were the slanderers and liars, lowly and despicable. Therefore, in the Hereafter they will be the greatest losers.

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The Response of Nuh

Allah says, informing about the response of Nuh to his people,

(Tell me, if I have a clear proof from my Lord,) Bayyinah means certainty, a clear matter, and truthful prophethood. That is the greatest mercy from Allah upon him (Nuh) and them (his people).

(but that (mercy) has been obscured from your sight.) "Obscured from your sight" in this verse means, `it was hidden from you and you are not guided to it. Thus, you people did not know its importance so you hastily rejected and denied it.'

(Shall we compel you (to accept) it) This means, "Should we force you to accept it, while you actually detest it."

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