59لَقَد أَرسَلنا نوحًا إِلىٰ قَومِهِ فَقالَ يا قَومِ اعبُدُوا اللَّهَ ما لَكُم مِن إِلٰهٍ غَيرُهُ إِنّي أَخافُ عَلَيكُم عَذابَ يَومٍ عَظيمٍMuhammad AsadINDEED, We sent forth Noah unto his people,1 and he said: "O my people! Worship God alone: you have no deity other than Him. Verily, I fear lest suffering befall you on an awesome Day!"2In continuation of the stress, in the preceding passages, on God's omnipotence and transcendental oneness, verses 59-93 refer to several of the earlier prophets, who preached the same truth, and whose names were familiar to the Arabs before the revelation of the Qur'an. Their stories - beginning with that of Noah, who is considered the first apostle ever sent to mankind - are reduced here to the warnings with which they unsuccessfully tried to persuade their people to worship God alone and to live righteously.This refers either to the Day of Judgment or to the approaching deluge.