As-salaam wa-alaikum, brothers and sisters.
Summary
Today’s selection is from Surah 23, Al-Mu’minun or the Believers, verses 23-50. These verses recount how God sent Prophet Noah to guide his people and then drowned all the disbelievers in the great flood. Afterward, God sent Prophet Hüd whose people were destroyed by a mighty blast after calling him an impostor. After Hüd, God sent Prophet Moses to minister to the Pharaoh of Egypt and his chiefs.
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Verses
Bis-millahi ar-rahman, ar-raheem.
In the name of Allah, most gracious, most merciful.We sent Nüh (Noah) to his people. He said, “O my people! Worship Allah, you have no other god but Him, are you not afraid of Him for committing shirk?”[23] The chiefs of the unbelievers among his people said, “Nüh is but a human like you, he desires to assert his superiority over you. If Allah wanted to send Messengers, He could have sent down angels, we have never heard such a thing as he says from our forefathers.”[24] Some of them said: “He is just a madman, so bear with him for a while.”[25] Nüh said, “O my Lord! Help me against their calling me a liar.”[26] So We revealed Our will to him, saying: “Build an ark under our supervision according to Our instructions; and when Our judgement comes to pass and water wells out from ‘At-Tannur’, take aboard a pair (a male and a female) from every species and take your family, except those of them against whom the judgement has already been passed; and do not plead with Me in favor of the wrongdoers, for they are doomed to be drowned in the flood.[27] Then when you have embarked on the ark with your companions, say: “Praise be to Allah Who has delivered us from the nation of wrongdoers,”[28] and pray, “O my Lord! Bless my landing from this Ark, for You are the best to make my landing safe.”[29] There are many lessons in this story, and surely We do test people.[30] 23:[23-30]
Then We raised after them a new generation (the people of ‘Ad),[31] and sent to them a Messenger (Hüd) from among themselves, who said to them: “Worship Allah! You have no other god except Him. Will you not fear Him for committing shirk?”[32] 23:[31-32]
But the chiefs of his people – who disbelieved the message and denied the life in the hereafter, – on whom We had bestowed affluence in this worldly life, said: “This person is but a human like you; he eats of what you eat and drinks of what you drink.[33] If you obey a human like yourselves, you shall indeed be lost.[34] What! Does he claim that when you are dead and turned into dust and bones, you will be brought to life out of your graves?[35] Impossible! Just impossible is that with which you are being threatened![36] There is no other life but our life of this world: we live here and die here, and shall never be raised to life again.[37] This man is but an impostor, forging a lie against Allah, and we are not going to believe him.”[38] At this the Messenger prayed: “O my Lord! Help me against them calling me a liar.”[39] Allah responded: “After a short time they will surely be sorry.”[40] So the Blast overtook them in all justice and We swept them away like the rubbish of dead leaves – so gone is the nation of wrongdoers.[41] After them We raised other generations[42] – no people can hasten their term nor can they postpone it[43] – and sent forth Our Messengers one after another: every time a Messenger came to his people, they disbelieved him, so We punished them one by one and made them a part of history; so gone is the nation of disbelievers.[44] 23:[33-44]
Then We sent Musa (Moses) and his brother Haroon (Aaron) with Our signs and clear authority,[45] to Fir’on (Pharaoh) and his chiefs: but they received them with arrogance for they were very haughty people.[46] They said: “What! Should we believe in two human beings like ourselves, and whose people are our slaves?”[47] So they disbelieved both of them and became among those who were destroyed.[48] And We gave Musa the Book, so that his people might be rightly guided.[49] And We made the son of Maryam (Jesus) and his mother a sign for mankind, and gave them a shelter on a peaceful lofty ground, furnished with a fresh spring.[50] 23:[45-50]
Ameen.
This concludes today’s episode of the 17 Verses Podcast. I hope that this selection has helped increase your understanding of the holy Qur’an just a little bit.
Thank you and be well.