Part 42

by AI-Buk hari , on th e a uth ority of Abu Sa' ced A I-Khudri 4e,

who said : The Messenger of A llah 3.S said , " Noah iMJ and hi s

people wi ll come a nd A llah, the A lmi ghty, the A ll -Powerful

will say, ' Did you convey (the Message)?' He wi ll repl y, ' Yes,

my Lord!' Then He w ill ask his peopl e, ' Did he convey (the

Message) to you?' But th ey wi ll an swer, 'No, no Prophe t came

to us.' A ll ah will th en ask Nooh ~ . 'Who w ill bear witness

on your behalf? ' I-Ie w ill reply, ' Muhammad and hi s people.'

They w ill bear w itn ess that he conveyed (t he Message)." And

that is th c meani ng o f thc Wo rds o f All ah , Most Hi gh: ( Thus

We havc madc you (truc Muslims - rcal beli evers of Islamic

Monotlu.! ism, true fol lowers of Pro ph et Muhammad J'! and hi s

SlIlIIwh l lcga l ways], a Il 'asal [and th e best] na tion, tha t you be

wi tnesses ove r ma nkind and the Messenge r [Muhal1lJl1ud * ]

be a wi tness over yo u. , (SoOt'all AI-Baqara ll 2: 143) Th e word

wasal mea ns j ust; and thi s nation will bea r w itness to (the tnllh

a t) the testi mony o f its truthfu l Prophet, who is be li e ved.

Allah, Most Hi gh, says, « (Nooh) said, ' 0 , my Lord ! I leip me

because they deny Ill ~ .' So We inspircd hi m (say ing): ;Construci

the ship unde r Our Eyes and und er Our Revelat ion (gu idan ce).'

) (Soorall AI-Mu'millooll 23:26,27) That is, accord ing to Our

Command to you and in Our Sight , we shall supervise your

construction of it and We shall instruct you as 10 the correct

manner of doing so. ( Then, whe n O ur COlll ll1,md co mes, and

the f{1II1 100r (ovcn) gushes fo rth wat er. take 011 board of each

kind two (ma le nnd fe ma le) , and your fa mil y, except those

thereof aga inst whom the Word has a lready gone forth. And

address Me not in (<1\'or or lhase who have done wrong. Ve ril y.

Ihey arc 10 be drowned. ) (Soora" Al-Mu 'lIIiIl001l23:27)

Then A llah instru ctcd him that whe n Hi s Command was

ena cted and Hi s Puni shment was infli cted, he should carry

male and femal e pa irs of eve ry anim al and all li vi ng crea tures,

including th ose whic h are eaten a nd others, in order that the ir

progeny mi ght survi ve. I-Ie was al so in stru cted to carry hi s

fami ly w ith him ; that is, th e members of his household, except

those rega rding whol11 the Word had already gone forth. That is,

those who had di sbe lieved, because the irrevocable in voca tion

against them had already been put into effect and the infli ction

o f the Punishment had a lready been sanctioned upon th em and

that wa s irrevers ibl e. A ll ah coul d not be appealed regardi ng

them on ce th e grea t Pun ishm cnt had bee n inflicted upo n them,

as we have exp lai ned previously. Acco rdi ng to the maj ority of

sc holars, what is mcant by the /alllloor is the face of the eart h,

i.e. water gushes forth from every place on earth , even the

"ovens" which arc the places of fire. As fo r th e Words of All ah ,

Most Hi gh: ( (So it was) till then there came Our CO lllm and

and the 101111001' (ove n) gushed forth (water like fountains from

the ea rth). We sa id. "E mbark therein, of each kind two (male

and femal e), and your family, exce pt him against whom the

Word has al ready gone forth, and those who bel ieve. And none

believed with him, except a few." ) (Soorah Hood I I :40) Thi s

was a command that when the ami ction (i.e. the flood) sta rted,

he should carry a male and female of e very spec ies on board

( "A nd your fami ly, except him again st w hom the Wo rd ha s

a lready go ne forth ." ) (Soor{dl Hood II :40) That is, those

disbel ieve rs upon w hom lh e in voca tion was e ffected, in cl uding

hi s son, Yam , who was drowned as we sha ll see.

( "And those who believe." ) (SaO/'ail Hood 11 :40). That is,

ca rry in the ship those of your peop le who beli eve in yo u.

The SIOI)I oj Noah ~ 195

A llah, Most High, says, ( "A nd none bel ieved w ith him ,

except a few." ) (SoO/·all I-load 11 :40) Thi s was in spite o f

the long period of time and the fact that he remain ed among

them and the urgent ex hort ati ons he made to th em ni ght and

day, propo unding to them teachings, w ith courteousness,

so metimes usi ng threats and warn in gs and oth er times lIsing

A llah, Most High, says, ( And when you have embarked all

the ship, you and w hoever is with you, then say, 'A ll praise and

thank s be to A1Iah, Who has saved us from the people who are

zalimooJl (i.e. oppressors, wrong-doers, polytheis ts, those who

join others in worsh ip with All ah, etc.). And say: " My Lord!

Calise me to land a t a blessed landing-place, for You are the Best

of lhose who bri ng 10 land ." ) (SoOl·all AI-Mu'minooIl23:28,29)

He commanded him to praise and thank his Lord for provid ing

him with th is sh ip and fo r sav ing him therew ith ; for grant ing

him victory over hi s peop le and relievi ng hi s heart of those

who opposed him and beli ed him, as He, Most Hi gh, says, (

And Who has created a ll the pa irs and has appointed for you

ships and cattle on which you ride, in orde r tha t yo u may mount

fi rmly on the ir backs, and then may remembe r the Favor o f your

Lord whe n you mOllnt thereon , and say: 'G lory to Him who has

subjected th is to us, and we cou ld never have it (by our efforts).'

And veri ly, to Our Lord we indeed are to retum! " ) (SoOl·all Az-

Likewise, he was commanded to invoke A llah at the start of

the event s, so that he mi ght receive goodness and bless ings and

that hi s end might be a laudable onc. He, Most Hi gh, sa id to Hi s

Messenger (M uhammad) :l'$ , whe n he migrated (from Makkah

10 AI-Madi nah), ( And say (0, Muhammad), "My Lord' LeI

my enlry (10 Ihe c ily of AI-Mad inah) be good, and likew ise my

196 Tile Story 0/ Noo" <.,.~

exi t (from the c ity or Makkah) be good . And g rant mc from

You an authority to help me (or a firm s ign o r a proof)." )

Nooh ca rried ou1 th ese instructions: ( And he (N ooh) said.

" Embark therein, in the Namc of Allah will bc il s mov ing

course and its rC~ lin g anchorage ." ' ) (50omil Hood 11 :41)

T hai is, begin Ihe voyage by invoking Allah 's Name and end

it in the same W:'ly. ( "Surely. my Lord is On· Forg ivillg.

Most Merciful." ) (Soora" Hood 11:41). T hat is, and (He

is) th e Owne r of H painful Pun ishmen t - alt hough He is th e

On-Forgiv ing, Most Mercifu l - Hi s Puni shm ent cannot be

resc inded fro m the sin ning people; thus it was sanc tioned for

Ihe peop le of Ihe Earth who disbel ieved and wo rshipped other

A ll a h, Most Hi gh, says, ( So it (thc ship) sa il cd wit h th clll

<lmid the waves lih.e mountains. ) (Soomh Hood I I :42). This

was beca use Al lah. Most Hi g h, sent rain from th e sky, the like

o f whi ch th e carth had not known be fore and ha s not see n sin ce;

it was li ke thc mouths of watersk ins (pouring forth). And He

com manded the eart h to bring forth wa ter from all di rec ti o ns, as

All ah says, ( Then he invoked hi s Lord (say ing) : " I have bee n

overcom e, so he lp ( me)! " So We opened the gates of hea ve n

with wat er pouring f'orth. And We caused Ihe earth 10 gush forth

with springs . So the wa lers (of th e heavcn and th e canh) mel

for a mallcr pred est ined. And We carried him on a (ship) made

of plank s and nail s. I (SoO/'ail AI-Qal/1ar 54: I 0-1 3) ( Floaling

under Our Eyes. ). (SoOl'oil AI-Qamar 54: 14) That is, under

Our Protcction, Our Watch, Our Guard and Our Observation. (

a reward for him who had been rejected! ) (SoO/'all AI·Qamar

54: 14) A llah , Most Hi gh, says, ( Veri ly! When the wate r rose

beyo nd il s limits (Nooh's Flood), We carried you (mankind) in

th e floating (SoO/'ali AI-Haqqall 69: II), Tha t is, in thc floa ti ng

ship Thai We might makc it a rcmemb rance fo r yo u, and the

keen t.:;1 1" (person) may (hear and) understand it (SoO/'all Af-

A nu mber of sc holars of I{if.\'eer sai d that the water rose fi fteell

cubi ts above th e hi g hest moun tai n on Earth; thi s was wha t

was sa id by the People of the Scrip ture. It was a lso s<1id that it

rose eighty cubi ts and that it covered the w ho le of the Earth ,