Surah Hud (11) — Ayah 29

(Ayah 30,29) ➊ { وَ يٰقَوْمِ لَاۤ اَسْـَٔلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ مَالًا …:} And O my people! I do not ask you for any reward for delivering this message of Allah to you, lest you think that Noah has made up the excuse of prophethood to amass wealth. My reward is due from none but Allah, and I do not demand anything of this world from you.

➋ { وَ مَاۤ اَنَا بِطَارِدِ الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا :} That is, as long as you continue to dislike and detest coming under the mercy (Islam) of Allah, I cannot force you to accept Islam against your will, just as you want me to drive out those who have followed me, since they are people of the lower class, I can never do such a thing. This was the same kind of demand that the chiefs of Quraysh made from the Prophet (peace be upon him), but Allah forbade him from it. See Surah Al-An'am (52), Al-Kahf (28), and Surah Abasa.

➌ { اِنَّهُمْ مُّلٰقُوْا رَبِّهِمْ:} That is, if I mistreat them or drive them out of my gathering, then they will seek justice from Allah, so what answer will I give? Or, those people will gain honor with Allah and, due to their faith and deeds, will attain rank and status in that exalted court, so what difference does it make if you consider them lowly? This is the answer to their second objection: O Noah! Your followers are our lowly ones. Shah Abdul Qadir (may Allah have mercy on him) says: "The disbelievers considered the Muslims lowly and wanted them to be driven away so that they would sit with you and listen to your words. So it was said that Allah will judge the matters of the heart when they meet Him. If I drive away the Muslims, who will save me from Allah? And they considered them lowly because they used to earn a living. There is no better earning than earning through work, so it was said that you are ignorant." (Muwadhih)

➍ {وَ لٰكِنِّيْۤ اَرٰىكُمْ قَوْمًا تَجْهَلُوْنَ :} That is, you do not understand anything properly; your attention is only on outward things and you do not consider the outcome. Is it any sense to say that such and such a person is from a lowly class, so do not let him sit with you? With Allah, only the believer and the pious are honored. No matter how highborn a disbeliever or evildoer is, in the sight of Allah he is worse than even the lowest of the low.

29. 1. So that this suspicion does not arise in your minds that the purpose of this claim to prophethood is to accumulate worldly wealth. I am doing this work only by Allah’s command and for His pleasure; He alone will reward me.

29. 2. From this it is understood that the chiefs of the people of Nuh (علیہ السلام) also must have demanded from Nuh (علیہ السلام) to keep those believers, who were considered weak in society, away from his gathering or his company, just as the chiefs of Makkah made such a demand from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, upon which Allah Almighty revealed verses of the Noble Quran: “O Prophet, do not turn away those who call upon their Lord morning and evening” (Surah Al-An’am 52) (وَلَا تَطْرُدِ الَّذِيْنَ يَدْعُوْنَ رَبَّهُمْ بالْغَدٰوةِ وَالْعَشِيِّ يُرِيْدُوْنَ وَجْهَهٗ ۭ مَا عَلَيْكَ مِنْ حِسَابِهِمْ مِّنْ شَيْءٍ وَّمَا مِنْ حِسَابِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ مِّنْ شَيْءٍ فَتَطْرُدَهُمْ فَتَكُوْنَ مِنَ الظّٰلِمِيْنَ 52؀) 6. Al-An’am: 52) “And keep yourself patient [by being] with those who call upon their Lord morning and evening, seeking His pleasure, and let not your eyes pass beyond them, desiring adornments of the worldly life” (Surah Al-Kahf 28) (وَاصْبِرْ نَفْسَكَ مَعَ الَّذِيْنَ يَدْعُوْنَ رَبَّهُمْ بالْغَدٰوةِ وَالْعَشِيِّ يُرِيْدُوْنَ وَجْهَهٗ وَلَا تَعْدُ عَيْنٰكَ عَنْهُمْ ۚ تُرِيْدُ زِيْنَةَ الْحَيٰوةِ الدُّنْيَا ۚ وَلَا تُطِعْ مَنْ اَغْفَلْنَا قَلْبَهٗ عَنْ ذِكْرِنَا وَاتَّبَعَ هَوٰىهُ وَكَانَ اَمْرُهٗ فُرُطًا) 18. Al-Kahf: 28)

29. 3. That is, to consider the followers of Allah and His Messenger as insignificant and then to demand that they be kept away from the nearness of prophethood—this is your ignorance. These people are worthy of being honored, not driven away.

29. And O my people! I do not ask you for any wealth; my reward is only with Allah. And I am not going to drive away those who have believed; they will surely meet their Lord. But I see that you are a people behaving ignorantly.

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Reward for Prophethood and Messengership?

I am neither your salaried employee nor do I demand any compensation from you, so how can you demand from me that I should dismiss those who have believed from my presence? What kind of ignorant talk is this? I consider them far better than you in that they have accepted the truth as truth; these people are God-fearing, not rebellious and stubborn like you. In the sight of Allah, the honorable one is the believer and the pious; being high or low in lineage does not benefit much. And if, hypothetically, I were to expel them from my presence at your request, then I myself would become a criminal in the sight of Allah. Then, who is there to help me against Allah at that time?