﴿The offspring of him whom We carried﴾; that is: in the ship; by Our greatness; upon the surface of that water; which covered what was beneath the expanse of the sky; and He pointed out their nobility; and the completeness of His favor upon them; by His saying (glorified and exalted is He): ﴿with Noah﴾; that is: from his children; and their children; whose noblest of them was Abraham; who was grateful; then Israel - peace be upon them both -; because it is correct that those who were with him from others perished; and they did not leave descendants; and He did not say: 'the offspring of Noah'; so that it may be known that they are the descendants of his believing children; so that this may be another favor; then He pointed out his piety; and his goodness; urging to emulate him; by His saying: ﴿Indeed, he was﴾; that is: a natural state; ﴿a grateful servant﴾; that is: one who is excessive in gratitude; which is the turning of all that Allah has bestowed upon him; in what He created for him; and He was good to him; for his gratitude by making in his offspring prophethood; and the Book; as He did with Abraham - peace be upon him -; because he was grateful; so emulate these two great fathers in gratitude; it will increase you; and do not imitate others in disbelief; for they will be punished; and He specifically mentioned Noah - peace be upon him - because he did not delay for anyone what he delayed for his people; then He destroyed them all - as indicated by His saying: 'We carried' -; the destruction of a single soul; then He removed the water after drowning them gradually; over a long period; so it was established that He is free from haste; and that He - glorified is He - sometimes does many difficult matters in the shortest time; and sometimes He does what is less than that over long periods; so it became clear as the sun that He only acts according to what He wills; according to what His wisdom requires; Al-Bukhari narrated in the tafsir; from Abu Huraira - may Allah be pleased with him - who said: 'The Messenger of Allah - blessings and peace be upon him - was brought meat; and he raised the foreleg to him; and it pleased him; so he took a bite from it; then he said: 'I am the leader of the people on the Day of Resurrection; and do you know why that is? Allah will gather the people; the first and the last; in one place; and the caller will call them; and their sight will penetrate; and the sun will draw near; and the people will reach a state of distress and anxiety that they cannot bear; so the people will say: 'Do you not see what has befallen you? Do you not look for someone to intercede for you with your Lord?'"; then he mentioned the great intercession; and their coming to the prophets; Adam; and after him the resolute ones - peace be upon them -; and that they 'will say to Noah - peace be upon him -: And Allah has named you a grateful servant; and all of them will disavow; and refer to those after them; until the matter reaches our Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him - and they will say: 'O Muhammad, you are the Messenger of Allah; and the seal of the prophets; and Allah has forgiven you what has preceded of your sin; and what will come; intercede for us with our Lord; do you not see what we are in?'"; 'So I will go and come to be beneath the Throne and I will prostrate to my Lord; then Allah will open upon me from His praises; and His good commendation; something He has not opened for anyone before me; then it will be said: (O Muhammad; raise your head; ask and you will be given; and intercede and you will be granted intercession); so I will raise my head; and I will say: 'My nation, O Lord; my nation, O Lord;' and it will be said: (O Muhammad; admit from your nation those upon whom there is no reckoning from the right gate of the gates of Paradise; and they are partners of the people in what is other than that from the gates)'; then he said: 'And by Him in whose hand is my soul; indeed, what is between the two doorposts of Paradise is like the distance between Mecca and Himyar; or like the distance between Mecca and Busra.'