Surah 71 · Meccan · 28 Verses
نوح
SURAH NUH
Noah
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
إِنَّآ أَرْسَلْنَا نُوحًا إِلَىٰ قَوْمِهِۦٓ أَنْ أَنذِرْ قَوْمَكَ مِن قَبْلِ أَن يَأْتِيَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌۭ
Indeed, We sent Noah to his people, [saying], "Warn your people before there comes to them a painful punishment."
قَالَ يَٰقَوْمِ إِنِّى لَكُمْ نَذِيرٌۭ مُّبِينٌ
He said, "O my people, indeed I am to you a clear warner -
أَنِ ٱعْبُدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَٱتَّقُوهُ وَأَطِيعُونِ
To worship Allāh, fear Him and obey me.
يَغْفِرْ لَكُم مِّن ذُنُوبِكُمْ وَيُؤَخِّرْكُمْ إِلَىٰٓ أَجَلٍۢ مُّسَمًّى ۚ إِنَّ أَجَلَ ٱللَّهِ إِذَا جَآءَ لَا يُؤَخَّرُ ۖ لَوْ كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ
He [i.e., Allāh] will forgive you of your sins and delay you for a specified term. Indeed, the time [set by] Allāh, when it comes, will not be delayed, if you only knew."
قَالَ رَبِّ إِنِّى دَعَوْتُ قَوْمِى لَيْلًۭا وَنَهَارًۭا
He said, "My Lord, indeed I invited my people [to truth] night and day.
فَلَمْ يَزِدْهُمْ دُعَآءِىٓ إِلَّا فِرَارًۭا
But my invitation increased them not except in flight [i.e., aversion].
وَإِنِّى كُلَّمَا دَعَوْتُهُمْ لِتَغْفِرَ لَهُمْ جَعَلُوٓا۟ أَصَٰبِعَهُمْ فِىٓ ءَاذَانِهِمْ وَٱسْتَغْشَوْا۟ ثِيَابَهُمْ وَأَصَرُّوا۟ وَٱسْتَكْبَرُوا۟ ٱسْتِكْبَارًۭا
ثُمَّ إِنِّى دَعَوْتُهُمْ جِهَارًۭا
Then I invited them publicly.
ثُمَّ إِنِّىٓ أَعْلَنتُ لَهُمْ وَأَسْرَرْتُ لَهُمْ إِسْرَارًۭا
Then I announced to them and [also] confided to them secretly
فَقُلْتُ ٱسْتَغْفِرُوا۟ رَبَّكُمْ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ غَفَّارًۭا
And said, 'Ask forgiveness of your Lord. Indeed, He is ever a Perpetual Forgiver.
يُرْسِلِ ٱلسَّمَآءَ عَلَيْكُم مِّدْرَارًۭا
He will send [rain from] the sky upon you in [continuing] showers
وَيُمْدِدْكُم بِأَمْوَٰلٍۢ وَبَنِينَ وَيَجْعَل لَّكُمْ جَنَّٰتٍۢ وَيَجْعَل لَّكُمْ أَنْهَٰرًۭا
And give you increase in wealth and children and provide for you gardens and provide for you rivers.
مَّا لَكُمْ لَا تَرْجُونَ لِلَّهِ وَقَارًۭا
What is [the matter] with you that you do not attribute to Allāh [due] grandeur
وَجَعَلَ ٱلْقَمَرَ فِيهِنَّ نُورًۭا وَجَعَلَ ٱلشَّمْسَ سِرَاجًۭا
And made the moon therein a [reflected] light and made the sun a burning lamp?
وَٱللَّهُ أَنۢبَتَكُم مِّنَ ٱلْأَرْضِ نَبَاتًۭا
And Allāh has caused you to grow from the earth a [progressive] growth.
ثُمَّ يُعِيدُكُمْ فِيهَا وَيُخْرِجُكُمْ إِخْرَاجًۭا
Then He will return you into it and extract you [another] extraction.
وَٱللَّهُ جَعَلَ لَكُمُ ٱلْأَرْضَ بِسَاطًۭا
And Allāh has made for you the earth an expanse
لِّتَسْلُكُوا۟ مِنْهَا سُبُلًۭا فِجَاجًۭا
That you may follow therein roads of passage.'"
قَالَ نُوحٌۭ رَّبِّ إِنَّهُمْ عَصَوْنِى وَٱتَّبَعُوا۟ مَن لَّمْ يَزِدْهُ مَالُهُۥ وَوَلَدُهُۥٓ إِلَّا خَسَارًۭا
Noah said, "My Lord, indeed they have disobeyed me and followed him whose wealth and children will not increase him except in loss.
وَمَكَرُوا۟ مَكْرًۭا كُبَّارًۭا
And they conspired an immense conspiracy
وَقَالُوا۟ لَا تَذَرُنَّ ءَالِهَتَكُمْ وَلَا تَذَرُنَّ وَدًّۭا وَلَا سُوَاعًۭا وَلَا يَغُوثَ وَيَعُوقَ وَنَسْرًۭا
وَقَدْ أَضَلُّوا۟ كَثِيرًۭا ۖ وَلَا تَزِدِ ٱلظَّٰلِمِينَ إِلَّا ضَلَٰلًۭا
And already they have misled many. And, [my Lord], do not increase the wrongdoers except in error."
مِّمَّا خَطِيٓـَٰٔتِهِمْ أُغْرِقُوا۟ فَأُدْخِلُوا۟ نَارًۭا فَلَمْ يَجِدُوا۟ لَهُم مِّن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ أَنصَارًۭا
Because of their sins they were drowned and put into the Fire, and they found not for themselves besides Allāh [any] helpers.
وَقَالَ نُوحٌۭ رَّبِّ لَا تَذَرْ عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ مِنَ ٱلْكَٰفِرِينَ دَيَّارًا
And Noah said, "My Lord, do not leave upon the earth from among the disbelievers an inhabitant.
إِنَّكَ إِن تَذَرْهُمْ يُضِلُّوا۟ عِبَادَكَ وَلَا يَلِدُوٓا۟ إِلَّا فَاجِرًۭا كَفَّارًۭا
Indeed, if You leave them, they will mislead Your servants and not beget except [every] wicked one and [confirmed] disbeliever.
رَّبِّ ٱغْفِرْ لِى وَلِوَٰلِدَىَّ وَلِمَن دَخَلَ بَيْتِىَ مُؤْمِنًۭا وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَٱلْمُؤْمِنَٰتِ وَلَا تَزِدِ ٱلظَّٰلِمِينَ إِلَّا تَبَارًۢا
My Lord, forgive me and my parents and whoever enters my house a believer and the believing men and believing women. And do not increase the wrongdoers except in destruction."
About This Surah
Surah Nuh records Noah’s persistent invitation through public and private methods, his call to seek forgiveness, his reflection on creation, and his final prayer after prolonged rejection. The chapter models perseverance without coercion. Its references to rain, wealth, children, gardens, and rivers after seeking forgiveness must not be marketed as a guaranteed prosperity or fertility formula.
Surah Nuh presents a messenger who warns his people before consequence arrives. Noah calls night and day, but many cover themselves, persist, and grow arrogant. He varies his method—publicly, privately, openly, and quietly—showing sustained communication rather than coercion.
Noah urges his people to seek forgiveness and mentions abundant rain, wealth, children, gardens, and rivers. These are part of his address to a particular community under divine promise. They do not establish a fixed repetition count or guarantee that every person who recites an istighfar formula will become wealthy, conceive a child, or avoid drought. Infertility, poverty, and delayed relief must not be blamed on insufficient faith.
The chapter points to creation in stages, layered heavens, moon, sun, growth from earth, return, and broad paths. These signs support worship and resurrection without functioning as a complete scientific account.
The final prayer comes after extraordinary prophetic persistence and hardened public rejection. It should not be used by private readers to pray for destruction upon relatives, critics, or rival communities. The conclusion asks forgiveness for Noah, his parents, believers entering his home, and believing men and women, preserving mercy within warning.
Core Themes
- Persistent invitation without coercion
- Public and private communication
- Seeking forgiveness and divine generosity
- Prosperity claims kept non-mechanical
- Creation signs and resurrection
- Final prayer after prolonged prophetic rejection
Structure
Verses 1-4: Commission, warning, worship, and response — 1-4
Verses 1-4 focus on commission, warning, worship, and response.
Verses 5-12: Public and private invitation and forgiveness — 5-12
Verses 5-12 focus on public and private invitation and forgiveness.
Verses 13-20: Creation signs and human return — 13-20
Verses 13-20 focus on creation signs and human return.
Verses 21-28: Elite influence, final rejection, and prayer — 21-28
Verses 21-28 focus on elite influence, final rejection, and prayer.
Key Passages
Commission, warning, worship, and response — 1-4
Verses 1-4 address commission, warning, worship, and response.
Public and private invitation and forgiveness — 5-12
Verses 5-12 address public and private invitation and forgiveness.
Creation signs and human return — 13-20
Verses 13-20 address creation signs and human return.
Elite influence, final rejection, and prayer — 21-28
Verses 21-28 address elite influence, final rejection, and prayer.
Recitation Note
No exclusive time, fixed repetition count, or guaranteed worldly outcome is asserted here for reciting Surah Nuh. Reading it is worship and study; any claim about protection, healing, provision, family outcomes, or a prescribed number requires separate exact evidence and narrow wording.
Interpretation Limits
- Rain, wealth, children, gardens, and rivers are not guaranteed by a fixed istighfar count.
- Infertility, poverty, or drought must not be blamed on weak faith or insufficient recitation.
- Creation-stage passages are not a complete scientific model.
- No private reader may use Noah’s final prayer to target relatives, critics, or modern communities.