أَوَعَجِبْتُمْ أَن جَآءَكُمْ ذِكْرٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ عَلَىٰ رَجُلٍ مِّنكُمْ لِيُنذِرَكُمْ وَلِتَتَّقُوا۟ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ 63
Translations
Then do you wonder that there has come to you a reminder from your Lord through a man from among you, that he may warn you and that you may fear Allāh so you might receive mercy?"
Transliteration
Awa'ajibtu m'an jaa'akum dhikru mir rabbikum 'ala rajulin minkum liyundhirakum wa litattaqoo wa la'allakum turhamoon
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah, spoken by Nuh (Noah) to his people, expresses surprise at their rejection of the divine message brought through a human messenger from among themselves. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari explain that Nuh is addressing the arrogance of those who find it strange that Allah sends guidance through ordinary men rather than angels, emphasizing that the purpose of this message is to warn them and enable them to develop God-consciousness (taqwa) so they might receive His mercy.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the context of Surah Al-A'raf's discussion of various prophets and their nations. It specifically reflects Noah's response to his people's rejection, which serves as a foundational example of prophetic patience and the consistent pattern of divine guidance being rejected by those who refuse to accept human messengers. The surah uses this narrative to warn the Meccan society of similar rejection.
Related Hadiths
The concept relates to Hadith Qudsi: 'My mercy precedes My wrath' (Sahih Bukhari 3194), emphasizing that warnings and messages are means of divine mercy. Additionally, the Hadith: 'The best of you are those who learn the Quran and teach it' (Sahih Bukhari 5027) connects to the role of messengers in conveying divine guidance.
Themes
Key Lesson
Believers should not be surprised by divine guidance coming through human messengers, as this is Allah's established way, and should embrace warnings as expressions of divine mercy meant to protect us. Developing taqwa (God-consciousness) through heeding such messages is the pathway to receiving Allah's compassion and protection.
Related Ayahs
وَلَمَّا رَجَعَ مُوسَىٰٓ إِلَىٰ قَوْمِهِۦ غَضْبَـٰنَ أَسِفًا قَالَ بِئْسَمَا خَلَفْتُمُونِى مِنۢ بَعْدِىٓ ۖ أَعَجِلْتُمْ أَمْرَ رَبِّكُمْ ۖ وَأَلْقَى ٱلْأَلْوَاحَ وَأَخَذَ بِرَأْسِ أَخِيهِ يَجُرُّهُۥٓ إِلَيْهِ ۚ قَالَ ٱبْنَ أُمَّ إِنَّ ٱلْقَوْمَ ٱسْتَضْعَفُونِى وَكَادُوا۟ يَقْتُلُونَنِى فَلَا تُشْمِتْ بِىَ ٱلْأَعْدَآءَ وَلَا تَجْعَلْنِى مَعَ ٱلْقَوْمِ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ
And when Moses returned to his people, angry and grieved, he said, "How wretched is that by which you have replaced me after [my departure]. Were you impatient over the matter of your Lord?" And he threw down the tablets and seized his brother by [the hair of] his head, pulling him toward him. [Aaron] said, "O son of my mother, indeed the people overpowered me and were about to kill me, so let not the enemies rejoice over me and do not place me among the wrongdoing people."
فَدَلَّىٰهُمَا بِغُرُورٍ ۚ فَلَمَّا ذَاقَا ٱلشَّجَرَةَ بَدَتْ لَهُمَا سَوْءَٰتُهُمَا وَطَفِقَا يَخْصِفَانِ عَلَيْهِمَا مِن وَرَقِ ٱلْجَنَّةِ ۖ وَنَادَىٰهُمَا رَبُّهُمَآ أَلَمْ أَنْهَكُمَا عَن تِلْكُمَا ٱلشَّجَرَةِ وَأَقُل لَّكُمَآ إِنَّ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنَ لَكُمَا عَدُوٌّ مُّبِينٌ
So he made them fall, through deception. And when they tasted of the tree, their private parts became apparent to them, and they began to fasten together over themselves from the leaves of Paradise. And their Lord called to them, "Did I not forbid you from that tree and tell you that Satan is to you a clear enemy?"
ٱدْعُوا۟ رَبَّكُمْ تَضَرُّعًا وَخُفْيَةً ۚ إِنَّهُۥ لَا يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُعْتَدِينَ
Call upon your Lord in humility and privately; indeed, He does not like transgressors.
ٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّخَذُوا۟ دِينَهُمْ لَهْوًا وَلَعِبًا وَغَرَّتْهُمُ ٱلْحَيَوٰةُ ٱلدُّنْيَا ۚ فَٱلْيَوْمَ نَنسَىٰهُمْ كَمَا نَسُوا۟ لِقَآءَ يَوْمِهِمْ هَـٰذَا وَمَا كَانُوا۟ بِـَٔايَـٰتِنَا يَجْحَدُونَ
Who took their religion as distraction and amusement and whom the worldly life deluded." So today We will forget them just as they forgot the meeting of this Day of theirs and for having rejected Our verses.