Surah Nuh, Ayah 22

Nuh complains to His Lord about His People's Response

Allah says that Nuh turned to Allah to inform Allah - the All Knowing from Whom nothing escapes - that he presented the clear call, as mentioned previously, and the comprehensive invitation in various ways. He called them sometimes by encouragement and sometimes by intimidating warnings. Yet, they disobeyed him, opposed him, denied him and followed the children of the world. They were those who were heedless of the command of Allah and they possessed delights of wealth and children. However, these things (worldly benefits) were also for gradual punishment and temporary respite, not for honor or blessing. Thus, Allah says,

لَمْ تَرَ‌وْا كَيْفَ خَلَقَ اللَّـهُ سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتٍ طِبَاقًا وَجَعَلَ الْقَمَرَ‌ فِيهِنَّ نُورً‌ا

(Did you not see how Allah has created seven heavens one upon another, and has made the moon a light therein? ....71:15-16)

These verses are adduced as proof positive of Divine Oneness and His power. He has created seven heavens, one on top of the other, and placed the moon as a light in them. The prepositional phrase in the verse apparently indicates that the moon is placed in the body of the heavens. The subject is fully discussed in Surah Al-Furqan under the following verse:

تَبَارَ‌كَ الَّذِي جَعَلَ فِي السَّمَاءِ بُرُ‌وجًا وَجَعَلَ فِيهَا سِرَ‌اجًا وَقَمَرً‌ا مُّنِيرً‌ا

Glorious is the One who made stellar formations in the sky and placed therein a lamp (sun) and a bright moon. [ 25:61] Complaining about his people, Prophet Nuh (علیہ السلام) said:

وَمَكَرُ‌وا مَكْرً‌ا كُبَّارً‌ا (and they devised an enormous plan....71:22). In other words, they hatched a mighty plot. They rejected the message and persecuted Prophet Nuh (علیہ السلام) . In addition, they let loose hooligans and hoodlums on him. They agreed that they will not abandon their gods, especially the five major idols whose names appear in the following verse:

Why did people deny Noah’s pleas for reform? The reason for this was that they thought that, compared to the words of Noah, the utterances of those who had attained a higher status from the worldly point of view were more worth considering. The great ones of the time arrogantly rejected the call for Truth, while lesser mortals rejected it because the great ones had done so.