He collected wood and tools and began working day and night to build
the ark. The people's mockery continued: "O Nooh! Does carpentry
appeal to you more than prophethood? Why are you building an ark so
far from the sea? Are you going to drag it to the water or is the wind
going to carry it for you?" Nooh replied:"You will come to know who
will be put to shameand suffer."
Allaah, the Almighty, Says (what means): "And He [Nooh] constructed
the ship, and whenever an assembly of the people passed by him, they
ridiculed him. He said: 'If you ridicule us, then we will ridicule you
just as you ridicule. And you are going to know who will get
apunishment that will disgrace him [on earth] and upon whom will
descend an enduring punishment [in the Hereafter].'" [Quran: 11:38-39]
The ship was constructed,and Nooh sat, awaiting Allaah's command.
Allaah revealed to him that when water miraculouslygushed forth from
the oven at Nooh's house, that would be the sign ofthe start of the
flood, andthe sign for Nooh to act.
The Flood
The terrible day arrived when the oven at Nooh's house, overflowed.
Nooh hurried to open the ark and summon the believers. He also took
with him a pair, male andfemale, of every type of animal, bird and
insect. Seeing him taking these creatures to the ark, the people
laughed loudly:"Nooh must have gone out of his head! What is he going
to do with the animals?" Almighty Allaahnarrates in the Quran (what
means): "[So it was], until when Our command came and the oven
overflowed, We said: 'Load upon it [i.e., the Ark] of each [creature]
two mates andyour family, except those about whom the word [i.e.,
decree] has preceded, and [include] whoever has believed.' But none
had believed with him, except a few." [Quran: 11:40]
Nooh's wife was not a believer, so she did not join him; neither did
one of Nooh's sons, who was secretly a disbeliever but had feigned
faith in frontof Nooh . Likewise most of the people were disbelievers
and therefore did not go on board.
A Description of the Flood
Water rose from the cracks in the earth; there was not a crack from
which water did not rise. Rain poured from the skyin quantities never
seen before on earth. Water continued pouring from the sky and rising
from the cracks; hour after hour the level rose. The high waves
flooded the land. The interior of the earth moved in a strange way,
and the ocean floors lifted suddenly, flooding the dry land. The
earth, for the first time was submerged.
The Quran records this story in these verses (which mean): "And [Nooh]
said: 'Embark therein; in the Name of Allaah is its course and its
anchorage. Indeed, my Lord is Forgiving and Merciful.' And it sailed
with them through waves like mountains, and Nooh called to his son who
was apart [from them]: 'O my son! Come aboard with us and be not with
the disbelievers.' [But] he said: 'I will take refuge on a mountain to
protect me from the water.' [Nooh] said: 'There is no protector today
from the decree of Allaah, except for whom He gives mercy.' And the
waves came between them, and he was among the drowned." [Quran:
11:41-43]
The Flood Ends
Allaah Almighty Says in the Quran (what means): "And it was said: 'O
Earth! Swallow up your water, and O sky! Withhold your rain.' And the
water subsided, and the matter was accomplished, and it [i.e., the
ship] came to rest on the [mountain of] Joodiyy. And it wassaid: 'Away
with the wrongdoing people'. And Nooh called to his Lord and said: 'My
Lord! Indeed my son is of my family; and indeed, Your promise is true;
and You are the most just of judges!' He [Allaah] said: 'O Nooh!
Indeed he is not of your family; indeed, he is [one whose] work was
other than righteous, so ask Me not for that about which you have no
knowledge. Indeed, I advise you, lest you be among the ignorant.'
[Nooh] said: 'My Lord! I seek refuge in You from asking that of which
I have no knowledge. And unless You forgive me and have Mercy upon me,
I will be among the losers.' Itwas said: 'O Nooh! Disembark in
security from Us and blessings upon you and upon nations [descending]
from those with you. But other nations [of them] We will grant
enjoyment; then there will touch them from Us a painful punishment.'"
[Quran: 11:44-48]
With the issue of the divine command, calm returned to the earth,
thewater retreated, and the dry land shone once again in the rays of
the sun. The flood had cleansed the earth of the disbelievers and
polytheists.
Nooh released the birds and the beasts which scattered over the earth.
After that, the believers disembarked. Nooh put his forehead to the
ground in prostration. The survivors kindled a fire and sat around it.
Lighting a fire had been prohibited on board so as not to ignite the
ship's wood and burn it up. None of them had eaten hot food during the
entire period of the flood. Following the disembarkation, there was a
day of fasting in thanks to Allaah.
Nooh's Death
The Quran draws the curtain on the story of Nooh . We do not know how
his affairs with his people continued. All we know or can ascertain is
that on his deathbed he requested his son to worship Allaah alone, and
then passed away.
'Abdullaah Ibn 'Amr Ibn Al-'Aas narrated that the Prophet said: "When
the death of the Messenger of Allaah Nooh approached, he admonished
his sons: 'Indeed I give you far-reaching advice, commanding you to do
two things, and warning you against two others: I beseech you to
believe that there is no deity except Allaah, and that if the seven
heavens and the seven earths were put on one side of a scale and the
words 'There is no deity but Allaah' were put on the other, the latter
would outweigh the former. I warn you against associating partners
with Allaah in worship and against pride.'" [Al-Bukhaari]
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