So when he had fulfilled the refutation of what they had concluded in their claim with utmost fairness, gentleness, and persuasion, he began the narrative about them by saying: ﴿They said﴾ [meaning] the words of one who finds no doubt to present in his rebuttal nor any argument to counter with: ﴿O Noah, you have argued with us﴾ meaning you wanted to lead us astray and divert us from our opinions with your arguments, and we wanted to divert you from your opinion with something similar. ﴿So you have increased﴾ meaning: it has resulted from that [and from our annoyance] that you have increased ﴿our debate﴾ meaning: our words in the form of debate. ﴿So bring us﴾ meaning: it has resulted from that [and from] our annoyance that we say to you: your claims have not been established (p-278) with us, bring us ﴿what you promise us﴾ of the punishment ﴿if you are﴾ meaning: being one who is truly of the truthful. ﴿Among the truthful﴾ meaning: those who are established [in truthfulness that he will come to us]. So they expressed their obstinacy, distancing themselves from fairness and the quality of being right, and they named it by its name, and they did not allow themselves to say to him: O our cousin, even once, as he repeatedly called them: O my people. The meaning was that we are not accepting anything of what you say, even if you increase and prolong it - without any argument from them, but rather out of obstinacy and arrogance - so do not tire yourself, rather shorten the matter of what you threaten us with, and they called it a promise mockingly, meaning that what you have made a warning is for us a good promise, considering that we love its occurrence. The meaning is that you are not capable of that nor are you truthful in it, so if it is true, then bring it to us. It was as if it was said: What did he say to them? It was said: ﴿He said﴾ following the pattern of his saying: ﴿And I do not say to you, 'I have the treasures of Allah,' nor do I know the unseen﴾ [Hud: 31] ﴿Indeed, Allah brings it to you﴾ meaning: the One who has knowledge of everything, so he disassociated himself from strength and power and returned that to] the One who has it. And he indicated by his saying: ﴿If He wills﴾ that He is free to enact it, even though his previous statement was a guidance to the fact that He, glorified and exalted is He, is not obligated to anything nor does anything He do seem inappropriate, rather [and] He is not asked about what He does [even if nothing occurs except what He has informed of]; then he clarified to them their inability and error in exposing themselves to destruction, saying: ﴿And you will not cause failure to Him﴾ meaning: at any time regarding anything He intends for you, glorified is He; and the increase is: the excess beyond the measure of sufficiency; and the debate is: the confrontation with what entangles the opponent from his stance with an argument or doubt, and it is from debate which is the intensity of entanglement, and what is sought by it is to return from the stance, and what is sought by the arguments is the appearance of the proof. It may be blameworthy like contention, and that is when it is for the purpose of doubting the truth after its appearance, and when debate is constrained by: ﴿which is best﴾ [Isra: 53] the intended meaning is to reveal the truth.