His saying - glorified and exalted is He -: "Indeed, We sent Noah to his people, and he said, 'O my people, worship Allah. You have no deity other than Him. Indeed, I fear for you the punishment of a Great Day.'" "The elite of his people said, 'Indeed, we see you in clear error.'" "He said, 'O my people, there is no error in me, but I am a messenger from the Lord of the worlds.'" "I convey to you the messages of my Lord and advise you, and I know from Allah what you do not know.'" The letter 'lam' is the lam of swearing; Al-Tabari said: Allah, the Exalted, swore that He sent Noah - peace be upon him -; and a group of the interpreters said: He was named 'Noah' because he used to lament for himself. Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: This is weak. Sibawayh said: 'Noah', 'Lut', and 'Hud' are foreign names; however, they are true; therefore, they were declined. This is a warning from Noah - peace be upon him - to his people; he called them to the worship of Allah, the Exalted, alone; and to reject their deities named: 'Wadd', 'Suwah', 'Yaghuth', 'Ya'uq', and others that are not well-known. Al-Kisai read alone: 'other than Him' with a kasra on the ra, as an adjective for 'deity'; and this is the reading of Yahya ibn Wathab, Al-Amash, and Abu Ja'far; and the others read: 'other than Him' with a damma; and Hamzah and Al-Kisai read: 'Is there any creator other than Allah?' in the genitive; and the others read: 'other than Allah' in the nominative; and the nominative in the reading of the group here is as a substitute for His saying: 'of a deity'; because the position of His saying: 'of a deity' is nominative; and this is what Al-Farisi preferred; and it is permissible that it be an adjective in its position; because the statement is: 'What do you have of a deity other than Him?' or 'other than' may be estimated with 'except'; thus it is grammatically analyzed as what occurs after 'except'; and Isa ibn Umar read: 'other than Him' with a fatha on the ra, as an exception; Abu Hatim said: and that is weak; due to the preceding negation; and His saying, the Exalted, 'punishment' may mean the punishment of this world; and it may mean the punishment of the Hereafter.

And "the assembly": the noble group; Al-Tabari said: there is no woman among them; and Al-Naqqash narrated it from Tha'labi regarding: "the assembly"; and "the group"; and "the few"; and "the people"; and it is said: they are taken from the fact that they fill the soul and the eye; and it is possible that it is from the fact that when they unite on a matter, it is accomplished. "And Salamah ibn Salamah ibn Waqsh Al-Ansari said when the Messenger of Allah - blessings and peace be upon him - returned from the Battle of Badr: 'We only killed the old men who were bald'; so the Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him - said to him: 'Those are the assembly from Quraysh; if you had witnessed their actions, you would have considered your action insignificant.'" And "the assembly" is a predominant description; its plural is "assemblies"; and it is not from the category of "group"; even though they are both names for the collective; because "group" has no singular form from its wording; and "assembly" exists from its wording "filling"; Ahmad ibn Yahya said: "The filler": the honorable man who fills the eye with his grandeur; and it comes like "bachelor" and "servant"; and "breath"; for the names of their plurals are: "bachelors"; and "servants"; and "breaths"; and although the term is from "the people united on such and such"; it is distinct from the category of "group"; and from it is the saying of Ali - may Allah be pleased with him -: 'I did not kill Uthman; nor did I conspire in his blood'; and Ibn Abbas - may Allah be pleased with both of them - said: "the assembly"; with a waw; and so it is in the manuscripts of Ash-Sham; and their saying: ﴿ 'We will see you' ﴾ it is possible that it is made from the vision of sight; and it is possible from the vision of the heart; and this is the more apparent; and "in misguidance"; meaning: in destruction; and ignorance of what you are following.

And His saying to them - in response to this -: ﴿ 'There is no misguidance in me' ﴾; is an exaggeration in good manners; and turning away from their rudeness; and a gentle approach; and a broad chest; as required by the character of prophethood; and His saying: ﴿ 'But I am a messenger' ﴾; is an exposure to those who want to look; and search; and reflect on the miracle.

The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: And we must assume that Noah - peace be upon him - and every prophet sent to the creation had a miracle that breaks the norm; so among them are those whose miracle we know; and among them are those we do not know.

And the seven reciters - except for Abu Amr - read: ﴿ 'I convey to you' ﴾ with a strong lam; and an open ba; and Abu Amr read with a silent ba; and a light lam; and His saying: ﴿ 'And I know from Allah what you do not know' ﴾; and although it is a general wording for everything he knows; the intended meaning here is: the fearful information upon them; especially since they have never heard of a nation that was punished; so the wording implies a warning.