The saying of Allah, the Almighty: "O offspring of those We carried with Noah! Indeed, he was a grateful servant." This means: O offspring who were with Noah, addressing them; Mujahid said, and this was narrated by Ibn Abi Najih. The intended meaning by "offspring" is everyone whom the Quran establishes an argument against, and they are all those on earth; as mentioned by Al-Mahdawi. Al-Mawardi said: It refers to Moses and his people from the Children of Israel, meaning "O offspring of those We carried with Noah, do not associate partners [with Me].” Noah was mentioned to remind them of the blessing of salvation from drowning upon their forefathers. Sufyan narrated from Hamid from Mujahid that he read "offspring" with the letter "ذ" (dhaal) opened and the "ر" (raa) reinforced with a "ي" (yaa). This reading was narrated by Amer ibn Al-Waajid from Zaid ibn Thabit. It was also narrated from Zaid ibn Thabit that it is "offspring" with the "ذ" (dhaal) broken and the "ر" (raa) reinforced. Then it clarified that Noah was a grateful servant who thanked Allah for His blessings and did not see good except from Him. Qatada said: When he wore a garment, he would say: "In the name of Allah," and when he took it off, he would say: "All praise is due to Allah." Similarly, this was narrated from Ma'mar. Ma'mar narrated from Mansoor from Ibrahim that he would thank Allah when he ate, saying: "In the name of Allah," and when he finished eating, he would say: "All praise is due to Allah." Salman Al-Farisi said: This is because he would praise Allah for his food. Imran ibn Salim said: Noah was named a grateful servant because when he ate, he would say: "All praise is due to Allah who fed me, and if He willed, He could have made me hungry," and when he drank, he would say: "All praise is due to Allah who quenched my thirst, and if He willed, He could have made me thirsty." When he dressed, he would say: "All praise is due to Allah who clothed me, and if He willed, He could have made me naked." And when he put on his shoes, he would say: "All praise is due to Allah who gave me shoes, and if He willed, He could have left me barefoot." And when he fulfilled his needs, he would say: "All praise is due to Allah who relieved me of discomfort, and if He willed, He could have kept it in me." The aim of the verse is: You are from the offspring of Noah, who was a grateful servant, so you are more deserving of emulating him rather than your ignorant forefathers. It was said: The meaning is that Moses was a grateful servant as Allah made him from the offspring of Noah.
And it is said: It is permissible for "ذُرِّيَةً" to be the second object of "تَتَّخِذُوا" and for the phrase "وَكِيلًا" to refer to the plural, thus allowing it in both recitations, namely with "ي" and "ت" in "تَتَّخِذُوا". It is also permissible in both recitations for "ذُرِّيَةً" to be a substitute for the phrase "وَكِيلًا" because it has the meaning of plural; as if He said, "Do not take "ذُرِّيَةً" from those We carried with Noah". It is permissible to construct it in the accusative by implying "I mean" and "I praise", and the Arabs do construct in the accusative for praise and blame. It is also permissible to raise it as a substitute for the implicit subject in "تَتَّخِذُوا" in the recitation of those who read with "ي"; and this is not appropriate for those who read with "ت" because the addressed cannot substitute for the absent. It is also permissible to genitive it as a substitute for "بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ" in both cases. As for "أَلَّا تَتَّخِذُوا", it is in the accusative in the reading of those who recited with "ي" due to elision of the preposition, the estimate being: "We guided them so that they do not take". And it is appropriate in the reading with "ت" that it be extra and the statement is implied as previously mentioned. It is appropriate for it to be explicative, meaning "any", having no position in the syntax, and "لا" serves to negate, thus transitioning from the statement to negation.