أَن لَّا تَعْبُدُوٓا۟ إِلَّا ٱللَّهَ ۖ إِنِّىٓ أَخَافُ عَلَيْكُمْ عَذَابَ يَوْمٍ أَلِيمٍ 26
Translations
That you not worship except Allāh. Indeed, I fear for you the punishment of a painful day."
Transliteration
An lā ta'budū illā Allāh, innī akhāfu 'alaikum 'adhāba yawmin alīm
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah contains the core message of Prophet Nuh's da'wah (call) to his people: worship none but Allah alone, and abandon all forms of shirk (polytheism). Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari note that Nuh emphasizes the severity of divine punishment on the Day of Judgment as a motivating factor for his people to heed his warning and turn to monotheistic worship. The phrase 'adhāba yawmin alīm (punishment of a painful day) refers to the torment of the afterlife, underscoring the urgency of his message.
Revelation Context
This verse is part of Surah Hud, a Meccan surah that recounts the stories of various prophets and their struggles against their disbelieving peoples. This particular ayah encapsulates Prophet Nuh's fundamental preaching for 950 years—calling people to pure monotheism and warning them of divine punishment. It reflects the consistent message of all prophets throughout Islamic history.
Related Hadiths
The hadith in Sahih Bukhari states that the Prophet Muhammad said, 'The most important thing I have been commanded to do is to make people understand that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah.' This directly parallels Nuh's emphasis in this ayah. Additionally, Sunan Ibn Majah records that the Prophet warned about the punishment of the Day of Judgment as a means to encourage righteous behavior.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah reminds believers that the essence of all divine messages is the call to exclusive worship of Allah, and that sincere concern for others' spiritual welfare (as Nuh showed) is demonstrated through clear, persistent preaching and reminding them of accountability before Allah. For modern readers, it emphasizes that true guidance involves both positive invitation to faith and honest warning about consequences of rejecting truth.
Related Ayahs
أَوَلَمْ يَنظُرُوا۟ فِى مَلَكُوتِ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَمَا خَلَقَ ٱللَّهُ مِن شَىْءٍ وَأَنْ عَسَىٰٓ أَن يَكُونَ قَدِ ٱقْتَرَبَ أَجَلُهُمْ ۖ فَبِأَىِّ حَدِيثٍۭ بَعْدَهُۥ يُؤْمِنُونَ
Do they not look into the realm of the heavens and the earth and everything that Allāh has created and [think] that perhaps their appointed time has come near? So in what statement [i.e., message] hereafter will they believe?
قُلْ أَفَغَيْرَ ٱللَّهِ تَأْمُرُوٓنِّىٓ أَعْبُدُ أَيُّهَا ٱلْجَـٰهِلُونَ
Say, [O Muḥammad], "Is it other than Allāh that you order me to worship, O ignorant ones?"
وَرَبَطْنَا عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمْ إِذْ قَامُوا۟ فَقَالُوا۟ رَبُّنَا رَبُّ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ لَن نَّدْعُوَا۟ مِن دُونِهِۦٓ إِلَـٰهًا ۖ لَّقَدْ قُلْنَآ إِذًا شَطَطًا
And We bound [i.e., made firm] their hearts when they stood up and said, "Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth. Never will we invoke besides Him any deity. We would have certainly spoken, then, an excessive transgression.
وَمِن كُلِّ شَىْءٍ خَلَقْنَا زَوْجَيْنِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ
And of all things We created two mates [i.e., counterparts]; perhaps you will remember.