His saying, exalted is He: "He said, O my people, have you considered if I am on a clear proof from my Lord and He has granted me a mercy from Himself, and it has been obscured to you, shall we compel you to it while you are averse to it?" "And O my people, I do not ask you for it any wealth; my reward is only with Allah, and I will not drive away those who have believed; indeed, they will meet their Lord, but I see you a people who are ignorant." "And O my people, who will help me against Allah if I drive them away? Will you not remember?" This verse is as if he said: Have you considered if Allah has guided me and led you astray, shall I compel you to guidance while you are averse to it and turning away from it? His questioning in this verse is, first and second, in the sense of affirmation. And the expression of Noah, peace be upon him, was in his language indicating the meaning that stands by itself. This is the understood meaning of this Arabic expression, so it is correct to say thus and thus, since the saying conveys the meaning that stands by itself. And his saying: "on a clear proof" means: on a matter that is clear and evident, and the pronoun in "proof" is for emphasis, as he said: "flies with its wings" [Al-An'am: 38], and its benefit is to raise the ambiguity, even if by metaphor. The majority of people read: "and it has been obscured" and for that, there are two meanings: one of them is: it has become hidden, and for that, it is said to the clouds: the obscurity, because it conceals what is in it, as it is said to it: the mist because it covers it. From this is his saying, blessings and peace be upon him: "Allah was before creating the things in obscurity." The second meaning is that the intention is: "and you have become blind to it," but it has been reversed, as the Arabs say: "I placed the cap on my head," and from this is the poet's saying: You see the bull in it putting its head in the shade, while the rest is all exposed to the sun. Abu Ali said: This is something that can be reversed since there is no difficulty in it, and in the Quran: "So do not think that Allah will fail to fulfill His promise to His messengers" [Ibrahim: 47]. Hafs, Hamzah, and Al-Kisai read: "and it has been obscured" with a damm on the 'ayn and a shaddah on the meem in the form of a verb for the passive, and this is only from the concealment and the reversal mentioned is possible. Al-Amash and others read: "and it has been obscured to them." Abu Hatim said: Al-Amash narrated from Ibn Wathab: "and it has become blind" with a light waw. And his saying: "Shall we compel you to it?" means to compel with force such as fighting and the like, but as for the obligation of it, it is already established. Al-Nahhas said: Its meaning is: Shall we impose it upon you? And his saying: In that is an error. And in the reading of Ubayy ibn Ka'b: "Shall we compel you to it from a part of ourselves?" Its meaning is from our own selves. It has been narrated from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, that he read that as "from a part of our hearts." And His saying, exalted is He: "And O my people, I do not ask you for it any wealth"; in this verse, the pronoun in "for it" refers back to the conveying.

And His saying: ﴿And I am not one to drive away those who have believed﴾ implies that they requested from him to drive away the weak ones who hastened to believe in him, similar to what Quraysh proposed to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, regarding driving away his followers in Mecca who were not from Quraysh.

And His saying: ﴿Indeed, they will meet their Lord﴾ indicates a return to Allah and the meeting of His recompense, meaning "He will connect them to their right with Me if I wronged them by driving them away." Then He described them as being ignorant in such a proposal and similar matters.

And His saying: ﴿O my people, who will support me against Allah﴾ is an inquiry meaning a confirmation and a pause, meaning there is no supporter to fend off from me the punishment of Allah if I wronged them by driving them away from the good which they accepted. Then He paused them with His saying: ﴿Do you not remember?﴾ and presented to them the consideration leading to the validity of this argument.