وَقَوْمَ نُوحٍ مِّن قَبْلُ ۖ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا۟ قَوْمًا فَـٰسِقِينَ 46
Translations
And [We destroyed] the people of Noah before; indeed, they were a people defiantly disobedient.
Transliteration
Wa qawma Noohin min qablu, innahum kanoo qawman fasiqeen
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah refers to the people of Prophet Noah (Nuh), who were destroyed before the time of the Quraysh for their disobedience and rejection of Allah's signs. According to classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, the term 'fasiqun' (transgressors) emphasizes their deliberate and persistent rebellion against Allah's guidance, making them deserving of divine punishment. The ayah serves as a warning to the Meccan disbelievers that those who reject the prophets face the same fate as Noah's people did.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in Surah Adh-Dhariyat, which is a Meccan surah addressing the polytheists of Mecca. It is part of a sequence of ayahs (51:46-48) enumerating destroyed nations as historical warnings. The mention of Noah's people specifically recalls one of the earliest and most severe punishments in Islamic history, serving as a powerful precedent for the Meccan audience to heed the warning brought by Prophet Muhammad.
Related Hadiths
The story of Noah and his people is extensively mentioned in Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, particularly in hadiths related to the greatest sinners. Notably, Tirmidhi reports that Prophet Muhammad said Noah called upon his people for 950 years, and only a few believed, emphasizing the rejection described in this ayah.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah reminds believers that resistance to prophetic truth throughout history has consistently resulted in divine punishment, serving as a sobering reminder that arrogance and transgression carry serious spiritual consequences. For modern Muslims, it emphasizes the importance of accepting guidance and learning from the fate of past nations.