We sent Nûh to his people. He said: O my people, worship Allah, you have no god other than Him.
The elite of his people said: we see you in clear error.
And to 'Âd, their brother Hûd. He said: O my people, worship Allah, you have no god other than Him.
The elite who disbelieved among his people said: we see you in foolishness, and we think you are one of the liars.
Al-mala': the elite, the notables, the masters and leaders of a people.
7:60: qâla l-mala'u min qawmih. 7:66: qâla l-mala'u lladhîna kafarû min qawmih. Two words added: who disbelieved.
And the insult grows: for Nûh, “error”; for Hûd, safâha. Al-Qurtubî: foolishness, lightness of mind.
Az-Zamakhsharî explains: among the notables of Hûd's people, some believed, one of them hiding his faith.
So the words set them apart: among the notables of Nûh's people, no one believed.
Az-Zamakhsharî leaves a door open: the words may also be there to blame, not to set anyone apart.
Ibn 'Âshûr goes through that door: the words describe, they do not restrict. A variation of style. Look at Sûrat Hûd.
The elite who disbelieved among his people said: we see you only as a man like us.
In the Qur'an, the same words return: twice for Nûh's people, once for Hûd's, once for Shu'ayb's (peace be upon them).
And the people of Nûh before: they were more unjust and more rebellious.
That is: more rebellious than any people who came after them.
He remained among them a thousand years minus fifty.
Read within al-A'râf, the difference invites a lesson: for 'Âd, the Qur'an named the guilty ones, not the whole elite.
Either way, the verse names a deed, kafarû, not a rank. The Qur'an blames what people did, and leaves the others alone.
Nûh and Hûd (peace be upon them): one sûra, the same answer from the powerful: you are lost, you are a fool.
For Nûh, the Qur'an says “the elite”. For Hûd, “the elite who disbelieved”. Why the extra words?
“Who disbelieved”: a fence for some, a brushstroke for others. Neither reading lets you say “all of them”.
Tonight, catch yourself once saying “they are all…”, and replace it with what you actually know.