How Did Nuh's People React to His Call to Allah?
كيف كان رد فعل قوم نوح على دعوته إلى الله؟
First, they accused Noah of many charges, including: 1. They described him as misguided, meaning he had lost the path to Allah in a very clear way. "Indeed, We sent Noah to his people. He said, 'O my people! Worship Allah, you have no other god except Him. I truly fear for you the torment of a tremendous Day.' But the chiefs of his people said, 'We surely see that you are clearly misguided'" (Surah Al-A'raf 7:59-60). 2. They accused him because he was human, and they claimed Allah does not inspire human beings. 3. They accused his followers of being weak and lacking reason, as if they had no opinion of their own and accepted his message without reflecting on it. This included an insult toward Noah himself, as if only the mindless had accepted his words. 4. They made disbelief equal to faith, as if Noah's words were useless: "We do not see anything that makes all of you any better than us" (Surah Hud 11:27). 5. They accused him and his followers of lying against Allah, the Mighty and Majestic. "But the disbelieving chiefs of his people said, 'This is only a human like you, who wants to be superior to you. Had Allah willed, He could have easily sent down angels instead. We have never heard of this in the history of our forefathers'" (Surah Al-Muminun 23:24). 6. They accused him of being possessed with insanity: "He is simply insane, so bear with him for a while" (Surah Al-Muminun 23:25). "Before them, the people of Noah denied the truth and rejected Our servant, calling him insane. And he was intimidated" (Surah Al-Qamar 54:9). 7. They met his call with insults and attempts to abuse him. Secondly, they asked Noah to expel the believers around him, and that was only out of contempt for his followers: "They argued, 'How can we believe in you, when you are followed only by the lowest of the low?'" (Surah Ash-Shu'ara 26:111). "They threatened, 'If you do not desist, O Noah, you will surely be stoned to death.' Noah prayed, 'My Lord! My people have truly rejected me'" (Surah Ash-Shu'ara 26:116-117). "Before them, the people of Noah denied the truth and rejected Our servant, calling him insane. And he was intimidated" (Surah Al-Qamar 54:9). "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"'" (Surah Nuh 71:21-23).
أولا: اتهموا نوحا بجملة من التهم، ومن ذلك: وصفوه بالضلال، أي أنه قد أضاع الطريق الموصلة إلى الله بشكل في غاية الظهور والوضوح. لَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا نُوحًا إِلَىٰ قَوْمِهِ فَقَالَ يَا قَوْمِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ مَا لَكُم مِّنْ إِلَـٰهٍ غَيْرُهُ إِنِّي أَخَافُ عَلَيْكُمْ عَذَابَ يَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ ﴿٥٩﴾ قَالَ الْمَلَأُ مِن قَوْمِهِ إِنَّا لَنَرَاكَ فِي ضَلَالٍ مُّبِينٍ (سورة الأعراف: 59-60). كذبوه من جهة أنه بشر، والله عز وجل لا يوحي إلى البشر. اتهموا أتباعه بالضعف وقلة العقل، فهؤلاء لا رأي لهم، فبمجرد سماعهم للخطاب قبلوه دون تعقل في هذا الخطاب، وهذا يتضمن إساءة لنوح عليه السلام وكأنهم يقولون له إنما يقبل قولك من لا عقل له. جعلوا الكفر مساويا للإيمان، وكأن كلام نوح عليه السلام لا فائدة منه: وَمَا نَرَىٰ لَكُمْ عَلَيْنَا مِن فَضْلٍ (هود: 27). اتهموه وأتباعه بالكذب على الله عز وجل. فَقَالَ الْمَلَأُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْ قَوْمِهِ مَا هَـٰذَا إِلَّا بَشَرٌ مِثْلُكُمْ يُرِيدُ أَنْ يَتَفَضَّلَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَلَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ لَأَنزَلَ مَلَائِكَةً مَّا سَمِعْنَا بِهَـٰذَا فِي آبَائِنَا الْأَوَّلِينَ (سورة المؤمنون: 24). اتهموا نوحا بأنه مصاب بمس من جنون: إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا رَجُلٌ بِهِ جِنَّةٌ فَتَرَبَّصُوا بِهِ حَتَّىٰ حِينٍ (المؤمنون: 25). كَذَّبَتْ قَبْلَهُمْ قَوْمُ نُوحٍ فَكَذَّبُوا عَبْدَنَا وَقَالُوا مَجْنُونٌ وَازْدُجِرَ (سورة القمر: 9). قابلوا دعوته بالسب والشتم ومحاولات الإيذاء. ثانيا: طلبوا من نوح عليه السلام أن يطرد من حوله من المؤمنين، وإنما كان ذلك ازدراء منهم لأتباع نوح. قَالُوا أَنُؤْمِنُ لَكَ وَاتَّبَعَكَ الْأَرْذَلُونَ (سورة الشعراء: 111). قَالُوا لَئِن لَّمْ تَنتَهِ يَا نُوحُ لَتَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْمَرْجُومِينَ ۖ قَالَ رَبِّ إِنَّ قَوْمِي كَذَّبُونِ (سورة الشعراء: 116-117). كَذَّبَتْ قَبْلَهُمْ قَوْمُ نُوحٍ فَكَذَّبُوا عَبْدَنَا وَقَالُوا مَجْنُونٌ وَازْدُجِرَ (سورة القمر: 9). 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﴾ (سورة نوح: 21-23).
1. Seven Accusations, No Answer to the Call | سبع تهم بلا رد على الدعوة
The accusations leveled at Nuh (peace be upon him), misguidance, humanity, his followers' supposed weakness, dishonesty, insanity, and insult, were mostly attacks on his person and his followers; the others rejected revelation to a human messenger and his call to abandon their idols (23:24; 71:23). None of them answered the simple call to worship Allah alone, a pattern that recurs whenever a difficult truth is rejected without being genuinely considered.
كانت أكثر التهم التي وُجهت إلى نوح، الضلال، البشرية، ضعف أتباعه المزعوم، الكذب، الجنون، والإهانة، هجوما على شخصه وأتباعه؛ وأما غيرها فرفض للوحي إلى رسول من البشر ولدعوته إلى ترك أصنامهم (المؤمنون: 24؛ نوح: 23). ولم يرد أي منها على الدعوة البسيطة لعبادة الله وحده، وهو نمط يتكرر كلما رُفضت حقيقة صعبة دون تفكر حقيقي فيها.
2. Contempt for the Poor Among His Followers | احتقار الفقراء من أتباعه
The demand that Nuh expel his followers, calling them "the lowest of the low," reflects a recurring theme across many Prophets' stories: those with wealth and status often rejected the message specifically because it was embraced first by the poor and marginalized. Nuh refused this demand entirely, a stance stated in Hud 11:29; his long mission is covered in How Long Did Nuh Stay Among His People?
المطالبة بأن يطرد نوح أتباعه، ووصفهم بـ"الأرذلين"، تعكس موضوعا يتكرر عبر قصص كثير من الأنبياء: فأصحاب المال والمكانة كثيرا ما رفضوا الرسالة تحديدا لأن الفقراء والمهمشين هم من اعتنقوها أولا. ورفض نوح هذا الطلب رفضا تاما، وهو موقف ورد في هود 11:29، أما مدة دعوته فتناولناها في مقال كم مكث نوح بين قومه؟
3. A Rejection That Escalated Into a Plot | رفض تصاعد إلى مؤامرة
The rejection did not remain at the level of insults; Surah Nuh 71:21-23 describes the elite among his people actively plotting and urging others not to abandon their idols by name, Wadd, Suwa', Yaghuth, Ya'uq, and Nasr. This escalation from mockery to organized resistance was part of what Nuh had seen of his people before he prayed against them (71:26-27), covered in What Made Nuh Pray Against His People?
لم يبقَ الرفض عند حد الشتائم؛ فتصف سورة نوح 71:21-23 كبراء قومه وهم يخططون فعليا ويحضّون الآخرين على عدم ترك أصنامهم بالاسم، ودّ وسواع ويغوث ويعوق ونسر. وكان هذا التصعيد من السخرية إلى المقاومة المنظمة جزءا مما رآه نوح من قومه قبل أن يدعو عليهم (نوح: 26-27)، وهو ما تناولناه في مقال ما الذي جعل نوح يدعو على قومه؟
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
What accusations did Nuh's people make against him?
That he was misguided, merely human, insane, and a liar, and that his followers were weak-minded.
What did Nuh's people demand of him?
That he expel the poor and lowly among his followers, out of contempt for them.
Did the opposition to Nuh stay limited to insults?
No, it escalated into an organized plot by the elite to keep the people devoted to their idols, as recorded in Surah Nuh 71:21-23.