The Quran

قالَ يا قَومِ أَرَأَيتُم إِن كُنتُ عَلىٰ بَيِّنَةٍ مِن رَبّي وَآتاني رَحمَةً مِن عِندِهِ فَعُمِّيَت عَلَيكُم أَنُلزِمُكُموها وَأَنتُم لَها كارِهونَ

Muhammad Asad

Said [Noah]: "O my people! What do you think? If [it be true that I am taking my stand on a clear evidence from my Sustainer, who has vouchsafed unto me grace from Himself - [a revelation] to which you have remained blind -: [if this be true,] can we force it on you even though it be hateful to you?¹

A reference to the cardinal Qur'anic doctrine that "there shall be no coercion in, matters of faith" (2:256), as well as to the oft-repeated statement that a prophet is no more than "a warner and a bearer of glad tidings", implying that his duty consists only in delivering the message entrusted to him. The plural "we" in this sentence relates to Noah and his followers.