The Prophet Adam(peace be upon him) had left his progeny in a state of
social and moral health but gradually they began to forget the
teachings of Allah. They adopted the wrong path and indulged in
corruption and depravity. They becamemean, evil-doers and greedy. They
cheated and hurt one another. They began to worship idols and forgot
to pray to Almighty Allah. The entire society had been split up into
different sections and this state of affairs had given birth to
oppression and injustice.
The Advent of Prophet Nuh (Noah)
Under these circumstances Allah, the Most Merciful, wanted the people
to be good again. He sentNuhas His apostle for the reclamation of the
depraved humanity dwelling in that part of the earth which is called
'Iraq in the present era. Those people believed in Allah but they
associated other gods with Allah, the Supreme. The priests of these
deities exercised great control over all affairs. The people offered
sacrifices in the name of their deities to please them. They spent the
money lavishly and thus their condition becamemiserable.
TheProphet Nuh (peace be upon him)like other prophets wassincere,
pious, patient and trustworthy. He was strong in his will and
determination.Angel Gabriel(Jibra'il) conveyed him the teachings from
Allah. He was commanded to reform the people who had been led astray
by the Satan. He kept on preaching the faith of Allah and directed the
people to pray to One God. He advised them torefrain from doing evil
deeds. The Holy Quran affirms his endeavors to reform his people in
the following Verses:
"He (Nuh) said: O' my people! serve Allah. There is no god other than
Him. If you refuse, verily I fear for you chastisement of a grievous
day. The Chiefs of his people said: Most certainly we perceive you in
clear error. He said: O' my people! There is no error in me but I am
an Apostle from the lord of the worlds. I deliver to you the message
of my Lord and I counsel you right ( Surah 7: Verses 59,60)
Again in the following Verses the Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him)
warned his people by declaring:
"O' my people! Surely I am a plain Warner to you bidding you to serve
Allah and be mindful of your duty to Him, and obey me so that He may
forgive your faults." ( Surah 71: Verses 2-4)
The Prophet Nuh (Noah) was Opposed
Most of the people did not believe in the Prophet Nuh (peace be upon
him). They made fun of him and ridiculed him as a mad man. Whenever he
tried to convey the message of Allah to them, they began to thrust
their fingers into their ears. They persisted in their infidelity and
proudly disdained his counsel to do good deeds. The people were so
stubborn under the influence of their priests that they paidno heed to
the message of Allahand their aversion rapidly increased. At last in
sheer disgust the Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him) had to cry out:
"My Lord! Leave not upon land any dweller from among the disbelievers.
For surely if You leave them, they will lead astray Your servants and
will not beget any but immoral ungrateful offspring. My Lord! Forgive
me and my parents and him who enters my house believing, and the
believing males and females and do not increase the unjust in aught
but destruction." ( Surah 71: Verses 26-28)
Preparation Of An Ark
Consequently Almighty Allah answered the prayer of Prophet Nuh (peace
be upon him) by asking him tobuild an ark(a very big boat). The
Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him) knew thatAllah planned to drownall
those sinners who had rejected His Commandments. He began to build the
ark with the help of his followers. They went on working constantly
from dawn to dusk. When the boat began to take shape, the disbelievers
made fun of them. The transgressors thought that the Prophet Nuh
(peace be upon him) and his followers were becoming crazy and were
losing their balance of mind. The Holy Quran says:
"And he began to build the ark and whenever the chiefs among his
people passed by him, they deride him but he said: Though you scoff at
us now, we will scoff at you in Hereafter." ( Surah 11: Verse 38)
Calamity Befalls
When the bigark was completed, the sky became cloudy. It started to
rain in torrents. The streams became bulging with water. The Valleys
were in the grip of food. There was water everywhere. Thelightning was
frighteningand the thunder made the hearts pound fast. Every one was
scared and worried except the Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him) and his
Followers. The Holy Quran gives the description of this terrible
deluge in the following Verses:
"So We opened the gates of the heavens with water pouring down and We
caused the earth to gush forth its springs, so the water of the
heavens and the earth gathered together according to measure already
ordained." ( Surah 54: Verses 11, 12)
The Prophet Nuh (peace be upon trim) called on his family and
followers toembark the boat. They came rushing to the ark. There was a
special place in the boat for all the animates including human beings
and their animals. The ark sailed amid waves like mountains while the
streams of water wererising fast and filling many houseswith water
through the windows and the doors. Many houses collapsed and dashed to
the ground. Some of them tried to swim but in vain. They were in a
pathetic condition but they deserved it. The son of Nuh was separated
from him because he was an evil-doer. The Prophet Nuh (peace be upon
him) prayed to his Lord and said:
"Surely, my son belongs to my family and Your promise is true. Allah
said: Surely, he is not of your family. He is of evil conduct,
therefore ask not of Me that of which you have no knowledge." ( Surah
11: Verses 45, 46)
In the meantime the water rose higher and higher. The whole area was
under thesway of floodand all thedisbelievers were drowned. The
Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him) and his followers were safe and sound
in the ark which was floating without any obstruction of huge waves.
Finally the rain stopped and the water abated. The sky became clear.
The Prophet Nuh And His Followers Remain Safe
The Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him) and his believerssheltered in a
safe place. They built new houses and worked hard in the fields. The
next generation which sprang up from the survived believers
includedGod-fearing persons. They worshipped one God and acted
according to His teachings. The Prophet Nuh (Noah)(peace be upon him)
lived for about950 years.After this dreadful destruction the people
abstained from committing sins for sometime. Afterwards they began to
be loose in their actions.
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