Biography -, The story of Prophet Nooh -I

Prophet Nooh (Noah) was one of the prominent Prophets whom Allaah
Almighty sent to guide people to His Path - that of Monotheism. Ibn
'Abbaas narrated that Prophet Muhammad said: " The periodbetween Aadam
and Nooh was ten centuries." [Al-Bukhaari]
Nooh was therefore born some one thousand years after Aadam's
creation, or after he left the Garden of Eden. For many generations,
the people of Nooh had been worshipping statues that they called gods.
They believed that these gods would bring them good, protect them from
evil and provide all their needs. They gave their idols names such as
Wadd, Suwaa', Yaghooth, Ya'ooq, and Nasr.
Allaah Almighty revealed in the Noble Quran (what means): "And [the
idolaters] said: 'Never leave your gods and never leave Wadd, nor
Suwaa' or Yaghooth and Ya'ooq and Nasr [i.e., the names of their
idols]." [Quran: 71:23] Originally, these were the names of good
people who had lived among them. After their deaths, statues of them
were erected to keep their memories alive. After some time, however,
people began to worship these statues. Later generations did not even
know why they had been erected;they only knew their parents had prayed
to them. That is how idol worshipping developed. Since they had no
understanding of Allaah Almighty who would punish them for their evil
deeds, they became cruel and immoral.
Ibn 'Abbaas explained:"Following the death of those righteous men,
Satan inspired their people to erect statues in the places where they
used to sit.They did this, but these statues were not worshiped until
the coming generations deviated from the right way of life. Then they
worshipped them as their idols."
In his description of this story, Imaam Ibn Jareer narrated:"There
were righteous people who lived in the period between Aadam and Nooh,
may Allaah exalt their mention, and who hadfollowers who held them as
models. After their death, their friends who used to emulate them
said: 'If we make statues ofthem, it will be more pleasing to us in
our worship and will remind us of them.' So they built statues of them
and, after they had died and others came after them, Iblees (Satan)
crept into their minds saying: 'Your forefathers used to worship them,
and through that worship they got rain.' So they worshipped them."
Imaam Ibn Abu Haatim related the following story:"Wadd was a righteous
man whowas loved by his people. When hedied, they withdrew to his
grave in the land of Babylonia and were overwhelmed by sadness. When
Iblees saw their sorrow caused by his death, he disguised himselfin
the form of a man saying: 'I have seen your sorrow because of this
man's death; can I make a statue like him which could be put in your
meeting place to make you remember him?' They said: 'Yes.' So he made
the statue like him. They put it in their meeting place in order to be
reminded of him. When Iblees saw their interest in remembering him, he
said: 'Can I build a statue of him in the homeof each one of you so
that he would be in everyone's house and you could thereby
rememberhim?' They agreed. Their children learned about and saw what
theywere doing. They also learned about their remembrance of him
instead of Allaah. So the first to be worshipped instead of Allaah was
Wadd, the idol which they named thus."
The essence of this point is that every idol from those earlier
mentioned was worshipped by a certain group of people. It was
mentioned that people made pictures and, as the ages passed, they made
these pictures into statues, so that their forms couldbe fully
recognised; afterwards they were worshipped instead of Allaah.
It was narrated that Umm Salamah and Umm Habeebah who were two of the
wives of the Prophet informed him about the church named 'Maria' that
they had seen in the land of Abyssinia . They described its beauty and
the pictures therein. He said: "Those are the peoplewho build places
of worship on the grave of every dead man whowas righteous and then
make therein those pictures. Those are the worst of creation in the
sight of Allaah." [Al-Bukhaari]
Worshipping anything other thanAllaah is a tragedy that results not
only in the loss of freedom; its serious effect reaches man's mind and
destroys it as well. Almighty Allaah created man and his mind with its
purpose set on achieving knowledge, the most important of which is
that Allaah alone is the Creator and all the rest are worshippers
(slaves). Therefore, disbelief in Allaah, or polytheism, results in
the loss of freedom, the destruction of the mind, and the absence of a
noble target in life. By worshipping anything other than Allaah, man
becomes enslaved to Satan, who is himself a creature, and becomes
harnessed to his own baser qualities.
Into that environment, Allaah sent Nooh with His message to his
people. Nooh was the only intellectual not caught in thewhirlpool of
man's destruction which was caused by polytheism.
Allaah, out of His Mercy, sent His messenger Nooh to guide his people.
Nooh was an excellent speaker and a very patient man. He pointed out
to his people the mysteries of life and the wonders of the universe.
He pointed out how the night is regularly followed by the day andthat
the balance between these opposites was designed by AllaahAlmighty for
our good. The night gives coolness and rest while the day gives warmth
and awakens activity. The sun encourages growth, keeping all plants
and animals alive, while the moon and stars assist in the reckoning of
time, direction and seasons. Hepointed out that the ownership of the
heavens and the earth belongs only to the Divine Creator.
Therefore, he explained to this people, there cannot have been more
than one deity. He clarified to them how the devil had deceived them
for so long and that the time had come for this deceit to stop. Nooh
spoke to them of Allaah's glorification of man, how He had created him
and provided him with sustenance and the blessings of the mind. He
told them that idol-worshipping was a suffocating injustice to the
mind. He warned them not to worship anyone but Allaah and described
the terrible punishment Allaah would mete out if they continuedin
their evil ways.
The people listened to him in silence. His words were a shock to their
stagnating minds as it is a shock to a person who is asleepunder a
wall which is about to fall and who is vigorously awakened. This
person may be alarmed and may even become angry, although the aim was
onlyto save him.
The people of Nooh were divided into two groups after his warning. His
words touched the hearts of the weak, the poor, andthe miserable, and
soothed their wounds with its mercy. As for therich, the strong, the
mighty and the rulers, they looked upon the warning with cold
distrust. They believed they would be better off if things stayed as
they were. Therefore, they started their war of words against Nooh .
First they accused Nooh of being a mere human, just like themselves,
as the verse states (what means): "So the eminent among those who
disbelieved from his people said: 'We do not see you but as a man like
ourselves'…." [Quran: 11:27]
He, however, had never said anything other than that. He asserted
that, indeed, he was only a human being; Allaah had sent a human
messenger because the earth was inhabited by humans. If it had been
inhabited by angels, Allaah wouldhave sent an angelic messenger.
The contest between the polytheists and Nooh continued. The rulers had
thought at first that Nooh's call would soon fade on its own. When
they found that his call attracted the poor, the helpless and common
labourers, they started to verbally attack and taunt him: 'You are
only followedby the poor, the meek and the worthless.'
Allaah the Almighty tells us in theQuran (what means): "And We had
certainly sent Nooh to his people, [saying]: 'Indeed, I am to you a
clear warner. That you not worship except Allaah. Indeed, I fear for
you the punishment of a painful day.' So the eminent among those who
disbelieved from his people said: 'We do not see you but as a man like
ourselves, and we do not see you followed except by those who are the
lowest of us [and] at first suggestion. And we do not see inyou over
us any merit; rather, we think you are a liar.'" [Quran: 11:25-27]
Thus, the conflict between Nooh and the heads of his people
intensified. The disbelievers tried to bargain: "Listen Nooh! If you
want us to believe in you, then dismiss your believers. They are meek
and poor, while we are elite and rich; no faith can includeus both."
Nooh listened to the heathens of his community and realised they were
obstinate.However, he was gentle in his response. He explained to his
people that he could not dismiss the believers as they were not
hisguests but Allaah's.
Nooh appealed to them saying (what means): "O my people! I ask not of
you for it any wealth. My reward is not but from Allaah. And I am not
one to drive away those who have believed. Indeed, they will meet
their Lord, but I see that you are a people behaving ignorantly. And O
my people! Who would protect me from Allaah if I drove them away? Then
will you not be reminded? And I do not tell you that I have the
depositories [containing the provision] of Allaah or that I know the
unseen,nor do I tell you that I am an angel, nor do I say of those
upon whom your eyes look down that Allaah will never grant them any
good. Allaah is most knowing of what is within their souls. Indeed, I
would then be among the wrongdoers [i.e., the unjust].'" [Quran:
11:29-31]
Nooh refuted the argumentsof the disbelievers with the nobleknowledge
of the prophets. It is the logic of intellect that rids itself of
personal pride and interests.

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