Surah Hud (Hud) 11 : 31

Explanatory Note

I do not claim to have a position which you think to be higher than that of man, so that I may gain favour or high position from you.

so that I satisfy your pride or accommodate your standards and values. I have to go by what I see. To me, they appear deserving of honour and hope that God will grant them of His bounty.

If I made such false claims I would be unjust to the very truth I have come to convey. I would also be unjust to myself, exposed to God’s wrath, and I would be unjust to other people to whom I gave a status other than that given them by God.

Thus Noah (peace be upon him) disowns all false values and assumed pretences. He presents his message clearly: real, great, free of all falsehood. He faces them with the clarity and strength of the truth. At the same time he makes a gentle and friendly exposition of the simple truth so that they may look it in the face and decide upon their line of action. No pretence, no flattery, no attempt to win any favour with anyone at the expense of the message and its simple nature. In this Noah sets an example for all advocates of the Islamic message in all generations and provides them with a lesson in how to confront the people of authority with the simple truth, without any attempt to compromise, or flatter, but with the sort of friendliness which is not associated with submission.

At this point, it was clear to the notables that they had no chance of winning the argument. They stiffened their attitude, became determined not to accept any proof of Noah’s case, logical and natural as it certainly was. Then they finally rallied themselves in order to deliver a challenge to Noah.