Surah Nuh, Ayah 27

مِّمَّا خَطِيئَـتِهِمْ

(Because of their sins) It also has been recited as; (خَطَايَاهُمْ) (their errors.)

أُغْرِقُواْ

(they were drowned,) meaning, for their numerous sins, rebellion, persistence in disbelief and opposition to their Messengers.

أُغْرِقُواْ فَأُدْخِلُواْ نَاراً

(they were drowned, then were made to enter the Fire.) meaning, they will be carried from the flood of the seas to the heat of the Fire.

فَلَمْ يَجِدُواْ لَهُمْ مِّن دُونِ اللَّهِ أَنصَاراً

(And they found none to help them instead of Allah.) meaning, they will have no helper, assistant, or savior who can rescue them from the punishment of Allah. This is similar to Allah's statement,

مِّمَّا خَطِيئَاتِهِمْ أُغْرِ‌قُوا فَأُدْخِلُوا نَارً‌ا فَلَمْ يَجِدُوا لَهُم مِّن دُونِ اللَّـهِ أَنصَارً‌ا (Because of their sins they were drowned, and then admitted into the Fire. So they found no helpers for them besides Allah…1:25). The 'sins' referred to here are unpardonable sins of 'kufr and shirk'. They were drowned in water and emerged in fire, an opposing punishment which is not impossible for Divine power. Obviously, the ‘Fire’ mentioned in the verse does not refer to the fire of Hell, but refers to the fire in the realm of ‘Barzakh’ (the existence between the worldly life and the life of the Hereafter). The Qur'an speaks of the fire in the realm of 'Barzakh'. It is evident that Sayyidna Nuh's (علیہ السلام) people will be punished in Hell-Fire in the Hereafter after resurrection and accounting for their deeds.

Qur’ an Confirms Punishment in the Grave

The verse under comment confirms that people will be punished in the realm of Barzakh, usually referring to the period of stay in the grave. This further proves that, since the evil-doers will be punished in the grave, the righteous believers will also be rewarded and blessed with favours. Authentic and successively transmitted ahadith report about the reward and punishment in the grave so abundantly and clearly that its reality cannot be denied or rejected. Therefore, there is a total agreement of the Ummah on this issue; and belief in it is the symbol of Ahl-us-Sunnah wal-Jami'ah.

Al-hamdulillah

The Commentary on

Surah Nuh

Ends here

It appears from Noah’s prayer that, in his own times, evil had reached its final limit. Misguided beliefs and thoughts had become so prevalent in society that any child born and brought up in this society would have gone astray. When this stage had been reached, Noah’s people were destined to face nothing less than destruction by Noah’s flood.