Allah has commanded Nuh pbuh to board the ship and carry on board his family. (We said ˹to Noah˺, “Take into the Ark a pair from every species along with your family) so Nuh pbuh said to his son: (“O my dear son! Come aboard with us), but his son refused to get on board, (And the waves came between them, and his son was among the drowned.)
Nuh pbuh said to his Lord, asking for forgiveness for his son and for his survival, ( Noah called out to his Lord, saying, “My Lord! Certainly my son is ˹also˺ of my family, Your promise is surely true) i.e. Allah promised him the survival of his family and the promise of Allah Almighty is always true, and perhaps the reason for that prayer was compassion for his son.
Nuh pbuh called for this because he thought that the promise of survival for all his family, meant for the believers as well as the disbelievers, and Allah said to him, ““O Noah! He is certainly not of your family)— i.e., he is not one of those whom I promised to save them, because Allah promised him the survival of the believers from his family, not disbelievers, and that is why He Almighty said, ( with your family— except those against whom the decree ˹to drown˺ has already been passed),” and this boy was one of those who had already said that he had drowned, because of his disbelief and his violation of his father, the Prophet Nuh( peace be upon him).
Nuh, peace be upon him, was reproached for calling on those who did not believe in God or the Last Day to survive, and Allah said to him, (he was entirely of unrighteous conduct.), i.e., this prayer that you called for the survival of those who do not believe in God or His Messenger.
(So do not ask Me about what you have no knowledge of!) Don’t ask Allah anything that you don’t know its ending and whether it is good or not.
Nuh pbuh felt remorse for what he did, and he seeked refuge with Allah, from asking the Lord of the World about something he did not know about. And he asked for forgiveness. (Noah pleaded, “My Lord, I seek refuge in You from asking You about what I have no knowledge of, and unless You forgive me and have mercy on me, I will one of the losers.”) Hud 11:47
And that prayer means: that with forgiveness and mercy that a slave survives from being a loser. Benefits also include:
A . Human beings benefit only from their good deeds, but their kinship and lineage do not benefit them.
B. A good man may have children who are unfit for righteousness and it is not the fault of the good man. A human shall not be blamed for the disloyalty of his children if he teaches them, guides them, preaches them and reminds them of Allah and His commands.
C. . The bond of faith and trust is greater than the bond of descent. When Nuh’s son (pbuh) was a disbeliever, he was not one of his family who deserved to survive, and people who survived with Nuh pbuh were not relatives of Nuh pbuh.
D. A human being may be blamed for doing something he did not know that it is prohibited, did not investigate about the prohibition, but knew Allah’s judgment of it.
إن الله عز وجل قد أمر نبيه نوح عليه السلام أن يركب السفينة وأن يحمل أهله فيها كما في قوله: “ احْمِلْ فِيهَا مِنْ كُلٍّ زَوْجَيْنِ اثْنَيْنِ وَأَهْلَكَ”، فقال نوح لابنه “اركب معنا” فأبى الولد أن يركب، “وحال بينهما الموج فكان من المغرقين“.
فقال نوح عليه السلام لرب العزة جل وعلا، طالباً لولده المغفرة والنجاة، “إن ابني من أهلي وإن وعدك الحق” أي: إن الله وعده بنجاة أهله ووعد الله عز وجل لا يخلف، ولعل الذي حمله على ذلك الدعاء الشفقة على ولده.
وإنما دعا نوحٌ بذلك لأنه ظن أن الوعد بالنجاة لجميع أهله من آمن منهم ومن لم يؤمن، فقال الله له: “يا نوح إنه ليس من أهلك” أي: ليس من الذين وعدت بإنجائهم؛ لأن الله إنما وعده بنجاة من آمن من أهله لا من كفر، ولهذا قال: “وأهلك إلا من سبق عليه القول منهم“، فكان هذا الولد ممن سبق عليه القول بالغرق، لكفره ومخالفته لأبيه نبي الله نوحٍ عليه السلام.
وقد عوتب نوحٌ-عليه السلام- لأنه دعا لمن لم يؤمن بالله ولا باليوم الآخر بالنجاة، فقال الله له: “إِنَّهُ عَمَلٌ غَيْرُ صَالِحٍ”، أي: هذا الدعاء الذي دعوت به لنجاة من لا يؤمن بالله ولا رسوله.
“فَلا تَسْأَلْنِ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ“ أي: لا تدع الله بشيء لا تعلم عاقبته ومآله وهل هو خير أم ضد ذلك؟! إني أعظك وعظًا تخرج به من دائرة الجهالة لتكون من الكاملين في دينهم.
ندم نوح-عليه السلام- ندامة شديدة لما صدر منه، وتعوذ بالله عز وجل من سؤال رب العالمين ما لا يعلم، واستغفر، “قَالَ رَبِّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ أَنْ أَسْأَلَكَ مَا لَيْسَ لِي بِهِ عِلْمٌ وَإِلا تَغْفِرْ لِي وَتَرْحَمْنِي أَكُنْ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ
وذلك الدعاء يفيد: أنه بالمغفرة والرحمة ينجو العبد من أن يكون من الخاسرين.
ومن الفوائد أيضًا:
أ. أن الإنسان لا ينفعه عند الله إلا عمله الصالح أما قرابته من ونسبه فلا ينفعه عند الله.
ب. أن العبد الصالح قد يخرج من بيته من هو مجانب للصلاح وليس ذلك لخطأٍ من الرجل الصالح، فلا يُلام العبد على عدم صلاح أبنائه إن هو علمهم وأرشدهم ووعظهم وذكرهم بالله عز وجل ورباهم على ما أمر الله عز وجل.
ج. إن رابطة الإيمان والتقوى أعظم من رابطة النسب، فلما كان ابن نوح على غير دينه لم يكن من أهله الذين يستحقون النجاة، ونجا مع نوح من ليس من قرابته.
د. قد يُلام الإنسان إن عمل بشيء لم يعلم حرمته ولم يتحر في حرمته ويعلم حكم الله فيه.