قالَ رَبِّ إِنّي دَعَوتُ قَومي لَيلًا وَنَهارًا
He said: ‘My Lord! Indeed I have summoned my people night and day.
EXEGESIS
Here onwards, until verse 9, begins the first lament of Prophet Noah (a). His final lament and curse on his people are given from verse 21 until the end of the surah. But in all his complaints to God, it is never about himself and his suffering. It is only about the people’s impugning him and refusing to accept his message.
The prayers of Prophet Noah (a) listed in this surah are not his only prayers. Several of his other supplications, at different times of his life and mission, are quoted in other surahs (11:45, 11:47, 23:26, 23:29, 26:118, 54:10).
Every prayer of Prophet Noah (a) in this surah calls out to God as rabb (Lord). He even asks his people to repent to their rabb (verse 10). In fact, the vast majority of all supplications quoted in the Quran, whether by a prophet or the faithful, call out to God as rabb. Exceptions would be where God Himself prescribes a prayer, such as: Say: ‘O Allah, Master of all sovereignty’ (3:26).
The reason for this, as explained under 69:43, is that the true meaning of rabb is not lord, but one who sustains and nourishes gently whilst continuously guiding one to perfection. In addressing his Creator as rabb, man not only acknowledges God’s lordship over him but also that it is only with God’s nurturing (tarbiyah) that he will succeed. God’s lordship (rubūbiyyah) is also the prime divine attribute inscribed in the heart of man and planted in his soul. It is what man is most innately familiar with, and by which he inherently knows God. The mention of rabb here, and in all supplications in the Quran, emphasises God’s immanence (tashbīh) over His transcendence (tanzīh).
Daʿawtu (I summoned) is from daʿā (to call out). A supplication is called duʿāʾ because, typically, one calls out and beseeches God. An invitation as well is called daʿwah. So the verse gives us the imagery of Prophet Noah (a) pleading, inviting, and beseeching his people in a personal manner rather than simply warning and admonishing them dispassionately.
I have summoned my people means: I have called them to worship Allah and be wary of Him, and obey me (verse 3), night and day, meaning constantly, until even They said: ‘O Noah, you have disputed with us already, and you have disputed with us exceedingly’ (11:32).
Prophet Noah (a) is said to have been one of the most steadfast of God’s messengers, persisting in his mission until he was a thousand years, less fifty (29:14), even though his followers were but a handful. In admiring Prophet Noah’s (a) perseverance, Makārim Shīrāzī notes that after 950 years, Prophet Noah (a) is said to have only won eighty followers, an average of twelve years of preaching for each one of them!
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
Some exegetes give this verse a literal interpretation, reporting that when people would reject Prophet Noah (a) during the day, he would come knocking on their doors in the night and call out to them, pleading them to attest to one God and give up idolatry. Quite likely, however, night and day here means continuously and without interruption. Qurṭubī suggests that night and day may be an allusion to calling them secretly and openly, or privately and publicly, respectively, but this is unlikely for two reasons: firstly because the summons of Prophet Noah (a) privately and publicly is already given later in the surah: [I] appealed to them publicly and confided with them privately (verse 9). So it is unlikely this is just a repeat of the same verse. And secondly, the verb daʿawtu itself suggests a loud, public calling out. This is shown more explicitly, for example, in a later verse: Again I summoned (daʿawtu) them aloud (jihāra) (verse 8). Even a supplication that is whispered to God (instead of calling out to Him) is usually called a munājāh (from najwā – a secret or private conversation) instead of the more common term duʿāʾ.
[1] Nemuneh, 25/66.
[2] Hairi, 11/254.
[3] Qurtubi, 18/300.