What Made Nuh Pray Against His People?
ما الذي حمل نوحا على الدعاء على قومه؟
1. He lived amongst them 950 years, calling them, warning them, encouraging them with hope and cautioning them with fear, with all the means of advocacy available to him, and they met his preaching with denial and accusation. 2. Every time he talked to them, they would cover their ears and cover their faces with their clothes, so as not to hear anything that their Prophet called them to. 3. Their persistence in disbelief and their reluctance to listen to the truth only increased their evil and diminished their good, making them only more reluctant to follow the truth. 4. Their plotting against their Prophet Nuh and those who believed in him, concealing their schemes until they could cause harm; some scholars say they were planning to kill Nuh and incite people to hurt him and his followers. Allah the Almighty says: "He cried, 'My Lord! I have surely called my people day and night, but my calls only made them run farther away. And whenever I invite them to be forgiven by You, they press their fingers into their ears, cover themselves with their clothes, persist in denial, and act very arrogantly'" (Surah Nuh 71:5-7). And Allah the Almighty says: "Eventually, Noah cried, 'My Lord! They have certainly persisted in disobeying me and followed instead those elite whose abundant wealth and children only increase them in loss, and who have devised a tremendous plot, urging their followers, "Do not abandon your idols, especially Wadd, Suwa', Yaghuth, Ya'uq, and Nasr." Those elite have already led many astray. So, my Lord, only allow the wrongdoers to stray farther away'" (Surah Nuh 71:21-24). (Note: The surah number in the references above has been corrected to Nuh 71; the original published text gave it as 74 by mistake.)
1. لبث فيهم ألف سنة إلا خمسين عاما، أي 950 سنة، يدعوهم ويحذرهم وينذرهم ويرغبهم ويرهبهم بكل وسائل الدعوة المتاحة لديه، وهم يقابلون ذلك بالتكذيب والاتهام. 2. كانوا إذا دعاهم أغلقوا آذانهم وغطوا وجوههم بثيابهم؛ لئلا يستمعوا إلى شيء مما يدعوهم إليه نبيهم عليه السلام. 3. إصرارهم على الكفر واستكبارهم عن الاستماع للحق، فشرهم ازداد وخيرهم بعد، ولا تزيد هذه الحالة القوم إلا ضلالا وضياعا عن اتباع الحق. 4. مكرهم بنبيهم نوح عليه السلام والذين آمنوا معه بإضمار الكيد لهم حتى يقعوا في الضر، وقال بعض المفسرين إنهم كانوا يدبرون الحيلة لقتل نوح وتحريش الناس على أذاه وأذى أتباعه. قال الله تعالى: قَالَ رَبِّ إِنِّي دَعَوْتُ قَوْمِي لَيْلًا وَنَهَارًا ﴿٥﴾ فَلَمْ يَزِدْهُمْ دُعَائِي إِلَّا فِرَارًا ﴿٦﴾ وَإِنِّي كُلَّمَا دَعَوْتُهُمْ لِتَغْفِرَ لَهُمْ جَعَلُوا أَصَابِعَهُمْ فِي آذَانِهِمْ وَاسْتَغْشَوْا ثِيَابَهُمْ وَأَصَرُّوا وَاسْتَكْبَرُوا اسْتِكْبَارًا ﴿٧﴾ (سورة نوح: 5-7). وقال الله تعالى: قَالَ نُوحٌ رَّبِّ إِنَّهُمْ عَصَوْنِي وَاتَّبَعُوا مَن لَّمْ يَزِدْهُ مَالُهُ وَوَلَدُهُ إِلَّا خَسَارًا ﴿٢١﴾ وَمَكَرُوا مَكْرًا كُبَّارًا ﴿٢٢﴾ وَقَالُوا لَا تَذَرُنَّ آلِهَتَكُمْ وَلَا تَذَرُنَّ وَدًّا وَلَا سُوَاعًا وَلَا يَغُوثَ وَيَعُوقَ وَنَسْرًا ﴿٢٣﴾ وَقَدْ أَضَلُّوا كَثِيرًا ۖ وَلَا تَزِدِ الظَّالِمِينَ إِلَّا ضَلَالًا ﴿٢٤﴾ (سورة نوح: 21-24). (ملاحظة: صُححت أرقام السورة أعلاه إلى نوح 71، بعد أن وردت في النص الأصلي المنشور برقم 74 خطأ.)
1. A Last Resort, Not a First Response | ملاذ أخير لا استجابة أولى
Nuh's prayer against his people came only after 950 years of every possible method of outreach had been exhausted, covered in How Did Nuh Admonish and Warn His People? Ibn Kathir explains that Nuh prayed this way from long experience of his people, having lived among them for a thousand years less fifty.
لم يأتِ دعاء نوح على قومه إلا بعد أن استُنفدت كل وسيلة ممكنة للدعوة على مدى 950 عاما، كما تناولنا في مقال كيف وعظ نوح قومه وحذّرهم؟ وقد بيّن ابن كثير أن نوحا دعا بذلك لخبرته بقومه ومكثه بين أظهرهم ألف سنة إلا خمسين عاما.
2. A Physical Refusal to Even Listen | رفض جسدي حتى للاستماع
The image of Nuh's people physically pressing their fingers into their ears and covering themselves with their clothes goes beyond simple disagreement; it describes a deliberate refusal to even be exposed to the message. It shows willful, active rejection rather than confusion or ignorance.
صورة قوم نوح وهم يضعون أصابعهم فعليا في آذانهم ويغطون أنفسهم بثيابهم تتجاوز مجرد الخلاف؛ فهي تصف رفضا متعمدا حتى للتعرض للرسالة. وهذا التفصيل دليل على رفض إرادي فاعل لا على حيرة أو جهل.
3. Their Plotting and Nuh's Prayer | مكرهم ودعاء نوح
The Quran gives Nuh's own reason in the next verse: "For if You spare ˹any of˺ them, they will certainly mislead Your servants, and give birth only to ˹wicked˺ sinners, staunch disbelievers" (71:27). Their concealed plotting against him and his followers, which some exegetes describe as a plan to kill him, was part of what he had come to know of them. Their story ended in the flood, covered in What Punishment Did Allah Send to the People of Noah?
ويذكر القرآن سبب دعاء نوح بلسانه في الآية التالية: "إنك إن تذرهم يضلوا عبادك ولا يلدوا إلا فاجرا كفارا" (نوح: 27). وكان مكرهم الخفي ضده وضد أتباعه، الذي يصفه بعض المفسرين بأنه خطة لقتله، جزءا مما عرفه منهم. وانتهى أمرهم بالطوفان الذي تناولناه في مقال ما العقاب الذي أرسله الله لقوم نوح؟
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
Why did Nuh pray against his people?
After 950 years of willful rejection, refusal to listen, and a plot against him and the believers with him, he prayed for Allah to destroy them, explaining that if they were spared they would mislead Allah's servants (Nuh 71:27).
How did Nuh's people show their refusal to listen?
They pressed their fingers into their ears and covered themselves with their clothes whenever he called them.
What did some scholars say the elite were plotting?
Some said they were planning to kill Nuh and incite people against him and his followers.