His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "And I do not say to you, 'I have the treasures of Allah,' nor do I know the unseen, nor do I say, 'Indeed, I am an angel,' nor do I say to those whom your eyes disdain, 'Allah will not give them any good.' Allah knows what is in their souls. Indeed, I would then be among the wrongdoers." They said, "O Noah, you have argued with us, and you have increased your argument against us. So bring us what you promise us, if you are among the truthful."

His saying: "And I do not say" is an addition to his saying: "I do not ask you for it any wealth" [Hud: 29]. The meaning of this verse is that I do not deceive you, nor do I engage in anything other than what Allah has qualified me for. I do not say, 'I have the treasures of Allah,' meaning the power by which something exists after its state of non-existence. It is possible that it may be from the existing things, like the winds and water, and many similar things by the creativity of Allah, the Most High. Therefore, it is called - in a figurative sense - 'treasured' and resembles it. Do you not see what is narrated about the matter of the wind of 'Aad that it opened upon them from the wind the size of a ring? If it had been the size of a bull's nostril, it would have destroyed the earth. It has been narrated that the wind was rebellious against the angels assigned to control it, and that is why Allah described it as rebellious. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, and others said: It rebelled against the guardians. This and similar matters imply that there are indeed treasures. Then he said: "And I do not know the unseen." Then he descended upon these two and said: "Nor do I say, 'Indeed, I am an angel.'" The apparent meaning of this verse is the superiority of the angel over humans and over the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and this is a matter of disagreement. The apparent meanings of the Qur'an support what we have said. If we take his saying: "Nor do I say, 'Indeed, I am a star' or something like that," the method of preference would be removed. However, the apparent meaning is what we have mentioned.

And "tazdari" originally is "taztari" which means "to look down upon." The meaning of "tazdari" is to despise. And "the good" here appears to be the good of the Hereafter, except that their disdain may be due to poverty, in which case the good would be wealth. Some of the interpreters said: Wherever Allah mentioned good in the Qur'an, it refers to wealth. In this statement, there is an exaggeration, and it seems that it can be said: Wherever good is mentioned, wealth is included in it.

And His saying: "Allah knows what is in their souls" is a submission to Allah, the Most High, meaning: I do not judge them by anything of this, but rather He judges them by that, and His judgment extends to the realm of existence. Allah, the Most High, knows what is in their souls and will reward them for that. Some of the interpreters said: It is a response to their saying: "The lowly among us have followed you based on what appears from them."

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: As has been previously mentioned in some interpretations of that verse, the meaning is: I do not judge them to have no good based on your assumption about them, that their inner selves are not like their outward appearances. Allah, exalted and glorified is He, knows what is in their souls. Then he said: "Indeed, I would then" if I did that "be among the wrongdoers" who place things in other than their proper places.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿They said, O Noah, you have certainly argued with us﴾, means: This argument has prolonged from you. It is the review in the evidence, the dispute, and the confrontation with words until victory occurs. It is derived from الجَدَل (al-jadal), which means the intensity of twisting, and from it: a twisted rope, meaning a cord. From it, it is said: the falcon is أجْدَل (ajdal) for the strength of its build and the twisting of its limbs. 'Al-jidal' is a verbal noun, derived from فاعَلَ (fa'ala), and it occurs between two parties. The verbal noun from فاعَلَ comes in the forms of فِعالٍ (fi'al) and فَيْعالٍ (fay'al) and مُفاعَلَةٍ (mufā'ala), so the ياء (ya) was omitted from فَيْعالٍ and rejected. Among the forms of جِدَال (jidal) is that which is commendable, and that is when it occurs with a disbeliever in war, hoping that through argument he may be guided. This verse is an example of that, and from it is His saying, exalted is He: ﴿And argue with them in a way that is best﴾ [An-Nahl: 125], and other similar examples. Among the forms of جِدَال (jidal) is that which is disliked, and that is what occurs among Muslims, some of them against others, in seeking the reasons for the laws and understanding what the legislation informs about the power of Allah. The Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, prohibited that, and the scholars disliked it. And Allah is the One sought for help.

Ibn Abbas read: "You have argued with us, and you have increased our argument" without the ألف (alif), and with the جيم (jim) opened, as mentioned by Abu Hatim.

What they mean by their saying: ﴿So bring us what you promise us﴾ is the punishment and destruction, and the second object of 'تَعِدُنا' (ta'iduna) is implied, its estimation being: 'with what you have promised us.' And since the speech necessitates punishment, it is permissible to use the word promise in it.