وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا نُوحًا إِلَىٰ قَوْمِهِۦٓ إِنِّى لَكُمْ نَذِيرٌ مُّبِينٌ · أَن لَّا تَعْبُدُوٓا۟ إِلَّا ٱللَّهَ إِنِّىٓ أَخَافُ عَلَيْكُمْ عَذَابَ يَوْمٍ أَلِيمٍ
wa laqad arsalnā Nūḥan ilā qawmihī innī lakum nadhīrun mubīn · allā taʿbudū illā'llāh, innī akhāfu ʿalaykum ʿadhāba yawmin alīm
"And We sent Noah to his people: 'I am to you a plain warner. · Serve none but God. I fear for you the punishment of a painful day.'"
In al-Shuʿarāʾ the shared opening of five narratives was tabulated: kadhdhabat … al-mursalīn + idh qāla lahum akhūhum … a-lā tattaqūn + the threefold introduction.
| Element | al-Shuʿarāʾ 26/105-109 | Hūd 11/25-26 |
|---|---|---|
| The announcement of denial | kadhdhabat qawmu Nūḥini'l-mursalīn (105) | None |
| akhūhum | present (106) | None |
| a-lā tattaqūn | present (106) | None |
| Self-introduction | innī lakum rasūlun amīn (107) | innī lakum nadhīrun mubīn (25) |
| The sentence about payment | 109 — at once | 29 — four verses later |
| The content of the command | fa'ttaqū'llāha wa aṭīʿūn (108) | allā taʿbudū illā'llāh (26) |
| An expression of fear | none | innī akhāfu ʿalaykum (26) |
One — in Hūd, Noah introduces himself not as rasūlun amīn but as nadhīrun mubīn. The two adjectives differ: amīn reports trustworthiness, mubīn reports clarity.
Two — in Hūd the content of the command is given (allā taʿbudū illā'llāh); in al-Shuʿarāʾ it is not (fa'ttaqū'llāha wa aṭīʿūn — be wary and obey). Hūd, that is, states the content of the call.
Three — the sentence innī akhāfu ʿalaykum does not occur in al-Shuʿarāʾ at all. In Hūd it occurs twice: in Noah's mouth (26) and in Shuʿayb's (84). The messenger is afraid on behalf of the one he addresses. This is a difference that can be verified from the text.
And the sentence allā taʿbudū illā'llāh is word for word the same as the second verse of the sūra. The first sentence placed in Noah's mouth, that is, is the sūra's own opening. This was tabulated in the section on the backbone.