Tafseer of Hud · Hud · 11:27
So the eminent among those who disbelieved from his people said, "We do not see you but as a man like ourselves, and we do not see you followed except by those who are the lowest of us [and] at first suggestion. And we do not see in you over us any merit; rather, we think you are liars."
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of the word of Allah the Exalted: فَقَالَ الْمَلأُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْ قَوْمِهِ مَا نَرَاكَ إِلا بَشَرًا مِثْلَنَا وَمَا نَرَاكَ اتَّبَعَكَ إِلا الَّذِينَ هُمْ أَرَاذِلُنَا بَادِيَ الرَّأْيِ وَمَا نَرَى لَكُمْ عَلَيْنَا مِنْ فَضْلٍ بَلْ نَظُنُّكُمْ كَاذِبِينَ ("The eminent ones who disbelieved among his people said: 'We see you only as a man like ourselves, and we do not see that anyone has followed you except those who are the lowliest among us at first sight. And we do not see that you have any superiority over us. Rather, we consider you to be liars.'") (27)
Abū Jaʿfar said: Allah the Exalted says: The eminent and noble ones of the people of Noah — and they are "al-malaʾ" — who did not believe in Allah and denied the prophethood of their prophet Noah, may peace be upon him, said: We see you, O Noah, ("only as a man like ourselves") — by this they meant that he was an ordinary man like themselves, in terms of creation, form, and kind. It appeared that they rejected the notion that Allah would send a human being as a messenger to His creation.
And His word: ("and we do not see that anyone has followed you except those who are the lowliest among us at first sight") — He says: We do not see that anyone has followed you except the lowliest among us among the people, not the eminent and noble ones — at least that is how it appears to us and how it seems to us.
And His word: ("at first sight") — the reciters differed over its reading.
The majority of the reciters of Medina and Iraq read it as (bādiya l-raʾy), without the hamza in "al-bādī" and with the hamza in "al-raʾy," with the meaning: what is clear and apparent of the opinion, from the verb "badā al-shayʾu yabdū," when something becomes clear, as the poet said:
"To my uncle my likeness is clearly apparent (bādī badī), and to the stallion now there is my tongue and my hand."
"Bādī badī" without the hamza. And another said:
"And greyness has befallen me, clearly apparent (bādī badī)."
Some reciters of Basra read it as (bādiʾa l-raʾy), with the hamza, with the meaning: the beginning of the opinion, from the word "badaʾtu bi-hādhā l-amr," when one begins with something before something else.
Abū Jaʿfar said: The most correct of the two readings, in my opinion, is the reading of the one who reads it as (bādiya l-raʾy) without the hamza in "al-bādī" and with the hamza in "al-raʾy," because the meaning of the sentence is: only those who are the lowliest among us, in what is clear to us and what is shown to us.
And His word: ("and we do not see that you have any superiority over us") — He says: We do not perceive any superiority for you over us that you have attained through your turning away from us in worshipping the idols toward the worship of Allah and the exclusive devotion to serving Him, such that we would follow you in pursuit of that superiority and out of desire for what you have attained through your turning away from us. ("Rather, we consider you to be liars").
This is an address from them to Noah, may peace be upon him, for they denied Noah, not his followers, because his followers were not messengers. The form of address, which is singular, was expressed in the form of the plural, as it was said: يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ إِذَا طَلَّقْتُمُ النِّسَاءَ ("O Prophet, when you (men) divorce the women") (Surah Al-Ṭalāq: 1).
Abū Jaʿfar said: The meaning of the sentence is: Rather, we consider you, O Noah, a liar in your claim that Allah has sent you as a messenger to us.
And the interpreters of the Qurʾān (ahl al-taʾwīl) have expressed similar views concerning the explanation of the word ("at first sight").
Mention of those who said this:
18105 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ al-Khurāsānī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās concerning the word: ("we do not see that anyone has followed you except those who are the lowliest among us at first sight"), he said: what is clear to us.
