Tafseer of The Star · An-Najm · 53:52
And the people of Noah before. Indeed, it was they who were [even] more unjust and oppressing.
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.
Explanation of the word of the Exalted: وَقَوْمَ نُوحٍ مِنْ قَبْلُ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا هُمْ أَظْلَمَ وَأَطْغَى ("And the people of Nūḥ before — verily, they were more unjust and more rebellious") (52)
He, exalted is His mention, says: and that He destroyed the people of Nūḥ before ʿĀd and Thamūd; verily, they were fiercer in injustice against themselves, greater in their disbelief toward their Lord, and more severe in rebellion and recalcitrance toward Allah than those whom He destroyed of the communities thereafter. And their rebellion, with which Allah has described them, and that they were therein more rebellious than other communities.
As Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word وَقَوْمَ نُوحٍ مِنْ قَبْلُ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا هُمْ أَظْلَمَ وَأَطْغَى ("And the people of Nūḥ before — verily, they were more unjust and more rebellious"): there was no people among mankind more unjust and more rebellious than the people of Nūḥ; the prophet of Allah, Nūḥ ﷺ, called them for a thousand years less fifty. Whenever a generation passed away and a generation grew up, the prophet of Allah called them, until it was related to us that a man would take the hand of his son and walk with him, and say: O my son, my father led me to this [man], and I am on that day like you, in persisting in error and denying the matter of Allah.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا هُمْ أَظْلَمَ وَأَطْغَى ("verily, they were more unjust and more rebellious"), he said: the prophet of Allah called them for a thousand years less fifty.
