Surah Al A'raf Tafseer

فَكَذَّبُوهُ

But they belied him,

but they insisted on rejecting and opposing him, and only a few of them believed in him, as Allah stated in another Ayah.

Allah said next,

فَأَنجَيْنَاهُ وَالَّذِينَ مَعَهُ فِي الْفُلْكِ

So We saved him and those along with him in the Fulk, (the ark),

وَأَغْرَقْنَا الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُواْ بِأيَاتِنَا

And We drowned those who belied Our Ayat.

Allah said in another Ayah,

مِّمَّا خَطِييَـتِهِمْ أُغْرِقُواْ فَأُدْخِلُواْ نَاراً فَلَمْ يَجِدُواْ لَهُمْ مِّن دُونِ اللَّهِ أَنصَاراً

Because of their sins they were drowned, then they were admitted into the Fire. And they found none to help them instead of Allah. (71:25)

Allah said,

إِنَّهُمْ كَانُواْ قَوْماً عَمِينَ

They were indeed a blind people.

meaning, blind from the Truth, unable to recognize it or find their way to it.

Here, Allah said that He has taken revenge from His enemies and saved His Messenger and those who believed in him, while destroying their disbelieving enemies. Allah said in a another Ayah,

إِنَّا لَنَنصُرُ رُسُلَنَا

Verily, We will indeed make victorious Our Messengers. (40:51)

This is Allah's Sunnah (way) with His servants, in this life and the Hereafter, that the good end, victory and triumph is for those who fear Him. For example, Allah destroyed the people of Nuh, and saved Nuh and his believing followers.

Ibn Wahb said that he was told that Ibn Abbas said that;

eighty men were saved with Nuh in the ship, one of them was Jurhum, who spoke Arabic.

Ibn Abi Hatim collected this statement, which was also narrated with a continuous chain of narration from Ibn Abbas