Quran Universe
26:114

وَمَآ أَنَا۠ بِطَارِدِ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ

Wama ana bitaridi almumineena

And I am not one to drive away the believers.

Word by word
  1. وَمَآAnd not
  2. أَنَا۠I am
  3. بِطَارِدِthe one to drive away
  4. ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَthe believers
Ash-Shu'ara · 26:114Makkah

I will not push away the believers.

Refusing to trade the poor for the powerful

The offer
drive them awaythen we will follow
refused
they staynoble or common
The trade
the elitemore influence
the believerswhoever they are

Ibn Kathir says it seems the leaders asked him to drive these people away, and then they would follow him. Nuh refused: I am not going to drive away the believers. Whoever believes in me belongs to me and I to him, noble or common.

Your group wants to look good. Someone suggests not inviting the awkward guy so the important people come. Nuh would not trade one sincere person for a room full of the influential.

It is worth leaving some people out to attract more important ones.

I will not push away sincere people to please the powerful.

Try this

Include someone in your next gathering who usually gets left out.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (shared passage from 26:111)

They said: "Shall we believe in you, when the inferior follow you? (111)He said: "And what knowledge have I of what they used to do? (112)"Their account is only with my Lord, if you could (but) know. (113)"And I am not going to drive away the believers. (114)"I am only a plain warner. (115)

The Demand of the People of Nuh and His Response

They said: "We do not believe in you, and we will not follow you and become equal to the meanest of the people, who follow you and believe in you, and they are the lowest among us."

قَالُوا أَنُؤْمِنُ لَكَ وَاتَّبَعَكَ الْأَرْذَلُونَ - قَالَ وَمَا عِلْمِي بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ

(They said: "Shall we believe in you, when the inferior follow you?" He said: "And what knowledge have I of what they used to do?") meaning, 'what does it have to do with me if they follow me? No matter what they used to do before, I do not have to check on them and examine their background; all I have to do is accept it if they believe in me; whatever is in their hearts is for Allah to know.'

إِنْ حِسَابُهُمْ إِلَّا عَلَىٰ رَبِّي ۖ لَوْ تَشْعُرُونَ - وَمَا أَنَا بِطَارِدِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

(Their account is only with my Lord, if you could (but) know. And I am not going to drive away the believers.) It seems that they asked him to drive these people away, then they would follow him, but he refused to do that, and said:

وَمَا أَنَا بِطَارِدِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ - إِنْ أَنَا إِلَّا نَذِيرٌ مُّبِينٌ

(And I am not going to drive away the believers. I am only a plain warner.) meaning, 'I have been sent as a warner, and whoever obeys me and follows me and believes in me, then he belongs to me and I to him, whether he is noble or common, upper-class or lower-class.'