Surah al-Furqan (The Criterion ) 25 : 37

Explanatory Note

This is followed by a reference to Noah’s people who ‘rejected their messengers’ and in consequence, God ‘caused them to drown’. It should be explained here that Noah’s people denied only Noah’s message and their rejection applied only to him, but we have to remember that Noah only preached the faith advocated by all God’s messengers. Hence, when they rejected what he told them, it was as though they rejected all messengers, most of whom lived after their own time. God states that He "made of them an example for mankind." The great floods could not be forgotten despite the passage of time. Anyone who looks carefully at the result of that flood will understand its lesson, provided he approaches it with an open mind. “For the wrongdoers We have prepared grievous suffering.” It is now ready, requiring no further waiting. We note that the wrongdoers are mentioned by their attribute, rather than by the use of a pronoun, which would have been perfectly correct from the point of view of style, but mentioning this quality explains the reason behind their punishment.