And what is my knowledge, and what is my knowledge? The intended meaning is the negation of his knowledge of their sincerity in their deeds for Allah and his awareness of the secret of their matter and its inner aspect. He said this because they had criticized—while belittling them—their faith, claiming that they did not believe with insight and understanding, but rather believed out of desire and instinct, as Allah mentioned about them in His saying: 'Those who are our lowly ones at first glance.' It is permissible for Noah, blessings and peace be upon him, to feign ignorance towards them. He interprets their saying 'the lowly ones' by what is considered lowliness to him, based on their bad deeds and corrupt beliefs, and he does not pay attention to what is considered lowliness by them. Then he builds his response on that, saying: 'I have no responsibility except to consider the outward appearances, without investigating their secrets and probing their hearts. If they have bad deeds, then Allah will hold them accountable and punish them for it. I am only a warner, not an accountant or punisher, if you only knew that. But you are ignorant, so you follow ignorance wherever it leads you.' He intended thereby to refute their belief and deny that a believer can be called lowly, even if he is the poorest of people and of the lowest lineage. For wealth is the wealth of religion, and lineage is the lineage of piety. 'And I am not to drive away the believers' means that it is not my concern to follow your desires and please your souls by driving away the believers whose faith is sound, hoping for your faith. My only responsibility is to warn you with a clear warning through the correct proof that distinguishes truth from falsehood. Then you know best about your own affairs.