The Spider
IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE MOST GRACIOUS, THE DISPENSER OF GRACE[29:14]
AND, INDEED, [in times long past] We sent forth Noah unto his people, and he dwelt among them a thousand years bar fifty; and then the floods overwhelmed them while they were still lost in evildoing:

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* v.14 : This passage connects with verse 2 above, “We did test those who lived before them.” The story of Noah and of his failure to convert his people occurs in the Qur’ān several times, and most extensively in 11:25-48. In the present instance it is meant to illustrate the truth that no one – not even a prophet – can bestow faith on another person (cf. 28:56 – “thou canst not guide aright everyone whom thou lovest”). The same purport underlies the subsequent references, in verses 16-40, to other prophets.
* Sc., “and despite this great length of time was unable to convince them of the truth of his mission.” The identical figure – 950 years – is given in the Bible (Genesis ix 29) as Noah’s life-span. By repeating this element of the Biblical legend, the Qur’ān merely stresses the fact that the duration of a prophet’s mission has nothing to do with its success or failure, since “all true guidance is God’s guidance” (3:73) – and, as we are so often told in the Qur’ān, “God guides [only] him that wills [to be guided].” Thus, the reference to Noah is meant to reassure the believer who may be distressed at seeing the majority of his fellow-men refuse to accept, all at once, a truth which appears self-evident to him.