رَبِّ اغفِر لي وَلِوالِدَيَّ وَلِمَن دَخَلَ بَيتِيَ مُؤمِنًا وَلِلمُؤمِنينَ وَالمُؤمِناتِ وَلا تَزِدِ الظّالِمينَ إِلّا تَبارًا
My Lord! Forgive me and my parents, and whoever enters my house in faith, and the faithful men and women, and do not increase the wrongdoers in anything except ruin.’
EXEGESIS
The significance of Prophet Noah (a) calling out to God as rabb here and in verse 26, has been explained earlier under verse 5.
Ighfir lī (forgive me) is from ghafara (to forgive), whose meaning and etymology was explained earlier in the surah under verse 4.
Al-muʾminīn wa al-muʾmināt (faithful men and women) are the respective masculine and feminine plural nouns for a muʾmin (fem. muʾminah) – one who has faith, a believer. These are the most common terms by which the Muslims are addressed in the Quran. The faithful are never addressed as ‘O Muslims!’ but always as ‘O you who have faith!’ (yā ayyuha al-ladhīna āmanū). Note the use of the verb āmanū instead of the noun muʾmin in all direct addresses in the Quran. Such an address allows the inclusion of both male and female, and regardless of their number. There is also a subtle difference between one who is a faithful (muʾmin) and one who simply possesses faith (īmān) as an attribute, which can vary in quantity or quality. For more on the meaning of īmān (faith) and muʾmin (faithful), see 2:3.
Forgive me is not said by Prophet Noah (a) for any particular offence. It is a general turning towards God, as is the practice of all His humble servants. A popular tradition states that Prophet Muhammad (s) used to plead God’s forgiveness seventy times a day, for no particular sin, and no one was seen to engage in istighfār more frequently than him. It is also established amongst Muslim mystics that whereas the laity seek God’s forgiveness for carnal sins, those of higher spiritual status seek His forgiveness for any preoccupation that distracts them from God’s constant remembrance, as a recalibration of their spiritual compass and a reset of their focus on God, the one and only true reality.
The righteous usually pray for others before themselves. But in seeking forgiveness, it is appropriate that one seeks it for oneself first, for it would be presumptuous to assume that others are more deserving of God’s forgiveness than oneself. Even in praying for others, Prophet Noah (a) commences first with his parents and the faithful in his community before praying for the faithful at large.
What Prophet Noah (a) meant by my house is debated by exegetes (see Review of Tafsīr Literature) but there are two noteworthy points with regards to it. Firstly, the suffix in faith after my house ensures the elimination of his disobedient wife and rebellious son who drowned, and whom the Quran refers to as faithless (66:10) and of unrighteous conduct (11:46), respectively. And secondly, the mention of whoever enters my house in faith before, and separate, from the faithful men and women, shows that Prophet Noah (a) prayed for both the faithful who were his contemporaries, as well as the faithful men and women in general, including those to come afterwards, who will obey and follow later prophets and messengers until the Day of Resurrection, thereby setting an example for others to emulate his supplication.
Wa lā tazid (do not increase) is from the verb zāda (perfect tense) and yazīdu (imperfect tense). And ẓālimīn (wrongdoers) is from ẓulm (wrongdoing, injustice). Both these terms have been explained earlier under verse 24.
The word tabār (ruin) in Prophet Noah’s (a) words, do not increase the wrongdoers in anything except ruin is similar in meaning to other verses where this term occurs: bound to perish (mutabbarun) (7:139) and, We destroyed utterly (tabbarnā tatbīra) (25:39). Tabār suggests a perishing (7:139), destruction (17:7, 25:39), or annihilation. Qummī reports from Imam al-Bāqir (a) that the word tabār means loss. The literal meaning of tabarahu or tabbarahu is ‘he broke something into little pieces (with his fingers)’ and tibr refers to native gold in the form of dust or nuggets, meaning gold pieces before it is wrought. Lane quotes various sources to argue that the term should only be employed for gold and any use of this term for silver, glass, or other minerals was applied later, and over time. The use of the term here is therefore very apt insofar as their ruin resulted from their following one who possessed wealth (verse 21).
Previously, Prophet Noah (a) had already prayed, Do not increase the wrongdoers in anything except error (verse 24), but that was a supplication to ruin their plots against him and the faithful, or a prayer to increase them in their existing straying, whereas this prayer is for their physical loss and destruction. And this is proven by the fact that when Prophet Noah (a) prayed for them to increase in error it was because they have led many astray (verse 24), whereas here he asks for their ruin because that is what will fulfil his prayer, Do not leave on the earth any inhabitant from among the faithless (verse 26).
Tabatabai, however, holds the opinion that Prophet Noah’s (a) curse mentioned in verse 26 covered their ruin in this world which resulted in their being drowned, and the ruin mentioned in this verse is therefore the punishment in the hereafter.
EXPOSITION
Prophet Noah’s (a) parents were reported to have been among the faithful, still on the creed of Prophet Idrīs (a). Prophet Abraham (a) also prayed similarly: Our Lord! Forgive me and my parents, and all the faithful, on the day when the reckoning is held (14:41), and Prophet Muhammad (s) is also asked to pray in similar fashion and to plead for forgiveness for himself and for the faithful, men and women (47:19).
And when Prophet Jesus (a) is a baby, and miraculously speaks to people in defence of his mother’s chastity, declaring: Indeed I am a servant of Allah! (19:30), he recounts God’s blessings on him and, amongst other matters that God has enjoined him, adds: And to be good to my mother, and He has not made me self-willed and wretched (19:32).
Prophet Solomon (a) also asks God to inspire me to give thanks for Your blessing with which You have blessed me and my parents (27:19). The exact same prayer is the prayer of the faithful regarding his elderly parents: when he comes of age and reaches forty years, he says: ‘My Lord! Inspire me to give thanks for Your blessing with which You have blessed me and my parents’ (46:15), which is then contrasted with the wretch who says to his parents: ‘Fie on you’ (46:16). And even in such a case, the verse captures the unflinching love of a parent for a child which never ceases even when the rest of the world gives up on such a person: they [the parents] invoke Allah’s help [and say to their child]: ‘Woe to you! Believe! Indeed Allah’s promise is true’ (46:17).
Such unconditional love, commonly found only in a parent, is reflective of God’s love for His creation and, perhaps, one reason why parents hold such a unique and exalted status in Islam. This love is used to also highlight the magnitude of the Day of Resurrection, as a day to fear when a father shall not atone for his child, nor the child shall atone for its father in any wise (31:33) and, the day when a man shall evade his brother, his mother, and father, his spouse and his sons (80:34-36), each being occupied with their own affairs. Conversely, the role of parents in one’s salvation is also shown in verses such as the previous one, where Prophet Noah (a) asks God not to spare the wrongdoers because, if He were to do so, they will beget none except vicious ingrates. A profligate does not necessarily always beget a profligate but what Prophet Noah (a) quite likely meant by this is that they will only raise their children to be like themselves and influence them to rebel against their Creator. This is besides the fact that Prophet Noah (a) may have already known this from God (11:36).
The importance of parents is also shown in several verses where they are mentioned first and before anyone else, to highlight their importance and bring a realisation that one is always indebted to one’s parents for having been the means of their existence and for the good that they inherit from them, and for much of God’s blessings that they have attained. When asking the faithful to spend on others in need, for example, parents are mentioned before all near relatives and even orphans (2:215). The faithful are also asked to maintain justice even if it should be against yourselves or [your] parents (4:135), before near relatives and others are mentioned. In numerous verses, doing good to one’s parents is mentioned along with the worship of one God and not associating others with Him (2:83, 4:36, 6:151, 17:23). We have enjoined man concerning his parents (31:14), to be kind to his parents (46:15), declares God, noting the hardship with which a mother carries a child in her womb, nurses her child, and cares for him and so give thanks to Me and to your parents (31:14). The only occasion to disobey a parent is if they urge you to ascribe to Me as partner … then do not obey them (31:15). And in this too, Muslims are asked to revere their parents even if they be idolaters and faithless.
The structure of Prophet Noah’s (a) prayer in the first part of this verse – in a surah that is largely a lament by Prophet Noah (a) and his condemning of God’s enemies – is instructive. Firstly, it teaches the faithful that even when lamenting to God for one’s hardships, recalling one’s blessings should not be left out. Realising and expressing gratitude for them can be healing. And secondly, even when invoking God’s wrath on the wrongdoers, beseeching Him for His forgiveness and blessings on one’s self, one’s parents, the faithful in one’s home, and all the believing men and women, should not be overlooked. Even the angels supplicate God for the forgiveness of the faithful’s shortcomings (40:7-9) and for all of mankind (42:5), for your Lord is forgiving to mankind despite their wrongdoing (13:6).
As for the latter half of Prophet Noah’s (a) prayer in this verse against the wrongdoers, it simply echoes a foregone conclusion. The wrongdoers or unjust (ẓālimīn) always increase in nothing but loss (17:82), error (71:24), and ruin (71:28), as they accumulate the effects of their transgressions (ẓulm). See the Exegesis of al-khaṭīʾah under 2:81 and 69:9 for an explanation of how wrongdoing results in other unintended negative effects on the soul, which linger, besiege, and surround its doer until it becomes an indelible trait.
Since Prophet Noah’s (a) curse was accepted, we can assume that his prayer for the faithful (made simultaneously) was also accepted. And as explained under the Exposition of verse 21, we must always assume by default that any supplication quoted in the Quran was accepted by God, even if there is no explicit mention of its fulfilment.
A most befitting response and conclusion to all of Prophet Noah’s (a) pleas and supplications in this surah is given in other verses: Certainly, Noah called out to Us, and how well We responded! We delivered him and his family from the great agony, and made his descendants the survivors, and left for him a good name among posterity: ‘Peace to Noah, throughout the nations!’ Thus indeed do We reward the virtuous. He is indeed one of Our faithful servants. Then We drowned the others (37:75-82). See also 21:76-77.
INSIGHTS FROM HADITH
- From Prophet Muhammad (s), when asked about the need to be dutiful to one’s parents after their demise, he said: ‘Yes; prayers (ṣalāh) on their behalf, seeking forgiveness (istighfār) for them, fulfilling their pledges [on their behalf] after them, maintaining family ties which is through them, and respecting their friends.’
- From Imam al-Bāqir (a): ‘A person may be dutiful to his parents in their lifetime then they die, and he does not pay off their debts nor seek forgiveness for them, so Allah records him as being irreverent (ʿāq). And another is irreverent to them in their lifetime and undutiful to them, but when they die, he pays off their debts and seeks [Allah’s] forgiveness for them, so Allah, the mighty and glorious, records him as being dutiful.’
- From Imam al-Ṣādiq (a), concerning the words my house, he said: ‘It means the guardianship (al-wilāyah), for whoever enters the wilāyah enters the house of the prophets (a).’
Note: This is a tradition min al-jary. It also agrees with other prophetic traditions quoted by both Shia and Sunni traditionists, such as the Holy Prophet saying: ‘The similitude of my household is like that of the ark of Noah (a). whoever boards it is saved, and whoever turns away from it drowns and perishes,’ implying, following and staying close to the Ahl al-Bayt of the Prophet is the most secure means of salvation. Similar as well are the Holy Prophet’s (s) words: ‘Salmān is from us, the Ahl al-Bayt,’ for which the esteemed companion of the Prophet, Salmān al-Fārsī, came to be known as Salmān Muḥammadī.
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
Baghdādī suggests that Prophet Noah’s (a) asking God, Forgive me was because Prophet Noah (a) had forsaken the better option (tark al-afḍal) and cursed his people for all the suffering they had caused him, so he was now asking God to forgive him for having given up on them and having sought revenge against them. This is incorrect and his asking for forgiveness was, as mentioned in the Exegesis, a general prayer, as is the habit of the faithful. The proof for this is that Prophet Noah (a) also asks God forgiveness for my parents, and whoever enters my house in faith, and the faithful men and women. There is nothing in this verse to suggest that Prophet Noah’s (a) seeking forgiveness for himself was for a particular lapse or any different from his seeking forgiveness for his parents and all the faithful.
There are also various interpretations for what Prophet Noah (a) meant when he said my house. Ibn Abbas offers three possible meanings: my religion, my place of worship (masjid), or my ship. Each of these three meanings has its arguments for support and it is not improbable that the verse could hold more than one, if not all, meanings. ‘My religion’ as my house would not refer to a physical structure and so it can hold true as a simultaneous, metaphoric reference to my house. See, for example, the hadith from Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) under the Insights from Hadith, where he interprets my house as my guardianship (wilāyah).
As for ‘my masjid’, this agrees with a tradition from Imam al-Riḍā (a) that says Prophet Noah (a) lived in the Mosque of Kufa. Therefore, whoever enters my house in faith meant whoever enters the Mosque of Kufa. The Quran, in fact, uses ‘house’ to refer to a place of worship: Indeed the first house (bayt) to be set up for mankind is the one at Bakkah, blessed and a guidance for all nations (3:96), which most exegetes understand to refer to the Kaaba in Mecca. And possibly as well (in one interpretation of the verse): We revealed to Moses and his brother [saying]: ‘Settle your people in the city and make your homes (buyūt) places of worship and maintain the prayer (10:87).
And as for the meaning of ‘my ark’ or ‘my ship’, Ālūsī believes this to be true because it was those who were with him in the ark (10:73) that were delivered. Furthermore, if the assumption we made in verse 26 – that these final verses were Prophet Noah’s (a) supplication whilst on the ark (at which point Prophet Noah (a) did not have any ‘house’ on the land) – then my house would refer to the ark such that the words enters my house in faith implies those who boarded the ark because of their faith in his message.
And on Prophet Noah’s (a) prayer for the faithful men and women which, as explained in the Exegesis, is a reference to the faithful that would come in later times, Maybudī is explicit about this being a reference to the faithful followers of the final messenger (rasūl), Prophet Muhammad (s), just as Prophet Noah (a) was the first rasūl:
‘… and the faithful men and women [71:28] are the faithful among the community of Aḥmad, the men and the women, who will come into existence at the end of the era, as the best of all communities and approved by You, O’ Lord.’
[1] Zuhd, p. 73, h. 195; Bihar, 93/282; Tirmidhi, 5/383, h. 3259; Ibn Majah, 2/1254, h. 3816; Tabarani, p. 515, h. 1836; Kanz, 1/477, h. 2077.
[2] Nasai, 6/118, h. 10288; Ibn Ḥabbān, Ṣaḥīḥ, 3/207, h. 928; Kanz, 2/261, h. 3970.
[3] Ibn Kathir, 8/250-1.
[4] Qummi, 2/388.
[5] Lane, t-b-r.
[6] Mizan, 20/37.
[7] Jalalayn, p. 574; Ibn Abbas, p. 618.
[8] Maybudi, 10/242.
[9] Targhib, 3/323, h. 32.
[10] Kafi, 2/163, h. 21.
[11] Kafi, 1/423, h. 54.
[12] Min al-jary (literally, ‘from the flow’), refers to traditions that offer an instance of the meaning of a Quran verse, besides the original context or cause for its revelation. This concept – of traditions ‘from the flow’ – is explained in detail under the Insights from Hadith for 3:7.
[13] Hakim, 3/163, h. 4720; Amali.S, p. 269, h. 18; Amali.T, 60/88; Baghdadi, 12/91, from Anas ibn Mālik; Faraid, 2/242, h. 516, from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī.
[14] Ihtijaj, 1/260.
[15] Lubab, 4/347.
[16] Jalalayn, p. 574.
[17] Ibn Abbas, p. 618; Maybudi, 10/242.
[18] Qaraati, 10/240.
[19] Alusi, 15/89.
[20] Maybudi, 10/246.