وَقَالَ نُوحٌ رَّبِّ لَا تَذَرْ عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ مِنَ ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ دَيَّارًا 26
Translations
And Noah said, "My Lord, do not leave upon the earth from among the disbelievers an inhabitant.
Transliteration
Wa qāla Nūḥun Rabbi lā tadhur `alā al-arḍi mina al-kāfirīna diyyāran
Tafsir (Explanation)
Prophet Noah (peace be upon him) invokes Allah, beseeching Him not to leave any disbelievers dwelling upon the earth. This represents Noah's prayer of frustration after 950 years of preaching to his people without success, as they stubbornly rejected the message of monotheism. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari note that this supplication reflects Noah's exhaustion with their persistent rejection and his desire for Allah's justice to manifest, ultimately leading to the Flood that destroyed all disbelievers except the believers with him.
Revelation Context
This ayah occurs within Surah Nuh, which documents Prophet Noah's lengthy call to tawhīd (monotheism) and his people's rejection. The surah is Meccan and served to comfort Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) during his early trials at Mecca, showing him that previous prophets also faced severe rejection. The context here is Noah's final prayer after centuries of preaching, setting the stage for Allah's command to build the ark and the subsequent flood.
Related Hadiths
The hadith in Sunan Ibn Majah and Tirmidhi reports that Noah made this supplication, and Allah responded by revealing that none of his people would believe except those who had already believed. This illustrates the principle that sincere supplication aligned with divine will is answered according to Allah's wisdom.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches believers that after exhausting sincere efforts to convey truth, we may entrust the outcome to Allah's justice, and that rejection of divine guidance carries serious consequences. It also reminds us that true success is measured by our faithfulness in the message, not by the numbers who accept it.