THE STORY OF NOAH (NOOH) THE PROPHET

THE STORY OF NOAH (NOOH) THE PROPHET

The Holy Quran says: We (once) sent Noah to his people, and he tarried among them a thousand years

less fifty: but the Deluge overwhelmed them while they (persisted in) sin. (29:14)

His name was Abdul Ghaffar or Abdul Malik or Abdul Aala or Sakan, but he is generally known as Noah (One who shed tears) for fear for God, he wept for five hundred (500) years, and he lived for nine hundred and fifty (950) years. In spite of his long life Noah did not construct any house or a permanent dwelling for himself. He lived in a small hut. When he laid himself in it, half of his legs would be out of it. Prophet Noah lived in the land of the two rivers (Tigris and Euphrates).

The people of Noah’s tribe were worshipping idols for many years. Idol worship was so deeply rooted in the minds of the people that they would not like to give it up at any cost. They had accepted idols as their Gods and hoped these idols would make them prosperous and fortunate in their lives. They used to take refuge in them at the time of misery and call them with various names such as Wadd (idol in the form of a Man), Yaghus (idol in the form of a Lion), Ya’ooq (idol in the form of a Horse) and Nasr (idol in the form of an Eagle). So, at such a time of disbelief, Almighty God appointed Noah to be a Prophet among this tribe and to guide them. Noah was a patient, eloquent and wise man. He was inviting people to worship Almighty God but they turned their faces away and tried not to see or hear anything. Despite all these rejections, Noah was trying to guide them with much patience and tolerance as possible and was always kind and tender while talking to them.

This way, Noah an arch Prophet continued to invite people to worship Omnipotent, Omniscient, and omnipresent One God through disputation, reasoning and offering logical proofs for them. Consequently a few people believed in him. But some extremely rude cruel aristocrats and arrogant rich people of the tribe refused to believe him and together started disturbing him. They mocked at him when he preached to them. They would even beat him and pelt stones at him and would even bring their children and ask them to throw stones at the Prophet.

At times Prophet Noah was buried under the heap of stones. Angel Gabriel (Gibraeel) would come and remove the stones and heal up the Prophet's wounds. In spite of Noah’s earnest efforts, people refuse to believe in his Divine Mission.

Prophet Noah refers to the various stages through which a child has to pass; later on he is bestowed by His grace various faculties moral as well as social. If a person ponders over his, creation he is bound to believe in Almighty who is all powerful. Prophet Noah also throws light on His marvels “Do you not see how he has created the seven heavens (in layers) one above the others?” “And made the moon, in it a light, and the sun as a lamp.” There are stages fixed for the moon and the sun, along with its solar system is moving towards some destination. He also said, a man is born from the earth (clay) and returns to it, after his death. He shall come back to life again, on the Day of Judgment.

The people were puffed with pride; hence they did not pay any heed to the Divine Messages. According to the deep rooted belief of the people only an angel could be a Prophet, and not a human being. Hence the people were astonished when Noah declared that he was a Prophet. They said that he wanted to show off his importance hence he claimed to be a Prophet, but he is a human being just as we are and a member of our tribe.

Another man said: “If God wished to send us a Prophet, He would surely send us an angel so that we could pay attention to him and respond to his invitation.”

Another man said: “Who are these poor people? See who have become your followers? If you are interested in guiding us, neither rejects these poor ruffians who believe in you for we cannot follow the same routine nor have the same belief as they do. How can we accept a religion which considers the high and the low, the rich and the poor equal?”

Prophet Noah answered: “I’ve brought you the way of salvation but you’ve treated me with great grudge and obstinacy.”

One of the men said: “We don’t consider you and your followers superior to us. Yes, you are no higher than us from the viewpoint of wisdom, foresightedness and conservatism and we believe you’re liars.” “You Noah, you had a lot of disputations with us. Now if your words are true make your promises about torment (Azaab) come true and send down calamity on us.”

When Noah made sure that the people of his tribe were quite misled and their hearts were filled with disbelief and corruption and even offering logical proofs and reasoning was of no use to them, he couldn’t keep his patience any more. Therefore he said: “O’ my Lord! Leaves not even one of these atheists (non-believers) on earth for if they continue living, they shall mislead your subjects and reproduce sinful and atheist offspring.” (71:5-10, 26-28)

Almighty God then responded to his request with a divine revelation, which said: “Make a ship under My supervision and do not talk about these oppressors anymore.” Prophet Noah started making the ship but the people of his tribe kept mocking him and said: “Noah! You used to keep saying that you were a Prophet, but how come you’ve become a carpenter today? Perhaps you’ve come to hate the Prophethood and got interested in carpentry!” Noah answered: “You ridicule us now but do know that we shall soon laugh at you and your destiny. You will soon understand who receives the humiliating torment and eternal misery.”

Prophet Noah was consistent in his work, joining large and small pieces of the ship together. He then made the ship fast and it was completed. The Ship/Ark was constructed at the place, now known as ‘Kufa Mosque’ in Iraq. It was 1200 yards in length, 800 yards in width and 80 yards in height. It had three floors; bottom floor was for animals, middlefloor for the birds and the top floor for 80 believers along with the necessary articles.

After building the Ship, Noah waited for some time to receive God’s command. Finally Almighty God sent down a revelation to Noah. It said: “When the signs of torment appear, get onto the ship and take some of your relatives (Noah’s wife, his three sons Ham, Sam and Yafes and their wives), your followers (72) and a couple of each species of the animals and birds with you on board.” Noah’s other wife was an unbeliever, she did not believe in the message of her husband. Noah’s son Kan’an was a hypocrite at heart and did not get into the Ship. An old woman with her little daughter came to Prophet Noah. She asked him about Salvation Day: “When will God save us from the wickedness of the unbelievers?”

Prophet Noah did not know the time of the Salvation Day. So he looked at the sky. Indeed only God knew that day. At that moment, an angel came down from the sky. He said to Prophet Noah: “When water gushes from the house of the old woman the time of the flood will be close.” Noah said to the old woman: “God’s specified a sign for the Salvation Day. He has inspired me that water will gush from your house. The water will be like a fountain. This will be the sign of the Salvation Day.”

The old woman rejoiced at this miracle. The little girl smiled at this hope. The believers went to the old woman’s house every day. They looked at the place of the water, but there was no water. Prophet Noah also went there. However, the water had not gushed yet. One day, the sky became over clouded. It got very dark. Prophet Noah was looking at the sky waiting for God’s order.

The unbelievers increased their oppression and corruption. They killed people and robed their houses. Their evil deeds and wickedness increased day by day. The little girl came running to Prophet Noah and said to him: “The water has flowed out!” So Prophet Noah went there quickly. Almighty God was truthful in his promise. The water was like a fountain. The water was flowing out with force. The old woman was bewildered, not knowing what to do.

The believers went to the old woman’s house to look at God’s sign. Some of them looked at the water in astonishment. Some of them were looking at the sky. They all were weeping with joy. Following the revelation a heavy rain started and water began to gush up from the earth. There was solar eclipse. Nothing was visible except the sky and the water. A flood overflowed and gradually covered the hills and mountains. At such a time, Noah rushed towards his Ship and saw the disbelievers of the tribe who were struggling with death to overcome it but despite their effort, the victory was of the death.

At that time Prophet Noah suddenly saw his son Kan’an who was plunging among the roaring waves, Noah said to his son: “Where are you going? Believe in Almighty God and come to the Ship to be saved.” “I shall take refuge in a mountain to protect me from the danger of the flood.” “My dear son! Today you can not find shelter to save you from God’s command.” Noah’s son drowned inside the waves, and then Noah said to his God: “O God! My son is among my relatives and you promised to save all those relatives of mine who believed in you.” And Almighty God sent him a revelation saying: “Noah! This son is not of your relatives for he has denied your Prophethood.”

The above Paragraph throws light on the fact that it is merit and virtuous deeds which count and not the blood relationship. It demands close affinity in character and spiritual attainment. Therefore birth does not convey any importance. Salman Farsi a villager in Isfahan, obeyed God and His Messenger Muhammad (pbuh). He was honored with being one of the Prophet’s companions. But the son of Prophet Noah disobeyed God and His Messenger and he was drowned. In an apologetic manner Prophet Noah said: “O’ my Lord! Verily I seek refuge in You from asking you that of which I have no knowledge; and if You forgive me not and have Mercy on me, I should be of the losers.”

It is related that the Ship made turns and the waves shoved it forward till it reaches Makkah, where it made rounds of the shrine of Kaaba. The whole earth was submerged with water except the spot where Kaaba stood. The Holy house is known by the name of ‘Baitul Atique’.

The Ship was not moving steadily and smoothly. Movement was with jerks and Noah began to fear drowning, at this moment he began the recitation: La Elaha IllAllah (There is no God but Almighty God). Only the believers survived who were in the Ship along with Prophet Noah. The rest i.e., disbelievers perished in the deluge.

There is a famous saying by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), which states as: “The likeness of my Ahlul Bayt (The Holy Prophet and his household) is that of the Ark of Noah. He who got into it is saved and he who turned away from it is drowned.” After forty (40) days, raining stopped. The clouds dispersed gradually. The sun rose and a beautiful rainbow appeared in the horizon. The colors were beautiful and they made the believers hopeful. Noah’s Ship was placed on the Judy mount (the mountains of the region of Ararat/Turkey) safe and sound. The earth starts swallowing the water slowly.

Prophet Noah released a crow. The crow flew high in the sky. It turned in space, and then it returned, for it found no land to sit on. Then Noah released a white pigeon. The pigeon set off. It flew over the water till it disappeared. After awhile, the pigeon came back. It was carrying an olive tree twig in its pink beak. Noah and the believers rejoiced at that. The flood ended. Thus Almighty God protected the believers from the wickedness of the unbelievers.

Then Noah was commanded to get off the Ship, step on the earth and start a new life once again under God’s divine blessings and providence. And Noah laid the foundation of the city of ‘Madinatus Samanin’ or ‘Sooqus Samanin’ (The city of eighty people or the market of eighty persons who survived the  (The second Adam).

Prophet Noah lived for quite some time, after the deluge. When his life was drawing to its close Angel Gabriel informed him that he should hand over the Ministry to his son Sam along with the signs of the Prophetic knowledge. Because, other two sons Ham and Yafes are not virtuous and mock the Prophet. Prophet Noah had given to the people the good news of the coming of Hud the Prophet. At the end of his life, the angel of death (Ezraeel) appeared, when Prophet Noah was standing in the Sun and asked the angel the purpose of his visit. The angel replied that it was to take his soul out of this Corporal world. Prophet Noah asked: Is there time for him to return from the Sun to the Shade? ‘Yes’, said the angel. Returning from the Sun, Prophet Noah said that his stay in the world was only as much as his passing from the Sun to the Shade and the likeness of the life in this world is like entering through a door and getting out by another.

Noah and the ugly Dog

One day, long before he built the Ark, Prophet Noah was passing by a lonely road. He saw a Dog. The Dog was not good to look at. In fact, it was very, very ugly. The Dog was so ugly that Noah did not even like to look at it again. Noah felt disgusted at the sight of the ugly Dog. He said to himself, “Oh My God! What an ugly Dog!”

Immediately, by the will of Almighty, the Dog began to speak. The Dog said to Noah, “Oh Noah, I am ugly. It is sad, no doubt. But, if you have power, create one even as ugly as myself. Can you?” Noah was a good man. He was humble and sincere. He realized that he should not have said what he had said. He began to cry with tears of repentance. He cried begging forgiveness of Almighty God. Moral: Never hate any creature however bad looking it may be, because it is also created by Almighty God only.

Logical answers to the following two questions:

1. The Prophet Noah’s flood was a local or global disaster?

The Quran looks at the flood from a very different viewpoint than do the Pentateuch (a name for the first five books of the Old Testament) and the other flood legends narrated in various cultures. The Pentateuch, says that the flood was cosmic and that it covered the whole world. Yet the Quran does not offer such as assertion, indeed on the contrary, the relevant verses imply that the flood was regional and did not cover the whole world but only drowned Noah’s people who had been warned by Prophet Noah and so were punished.

It is not God’s way to destroy people whom He has not sent any messengers. As a Warner, Noah had been sent only to his people. Therefore, God did not destroy the communities who had not been sent a Warner, but only Noah’s people.

“Nor was thy Lord the one to destroy a population until He had sent to its centre a messenger, rehearsing to them Our Signs; nor are We going to destroy a population except when its members practice iniquity.” (28:59)

2. What was the location of Noah’s flood?

The Mesopotamian Plains have been suggested as the location of the flood. In this region were the oldest civilizations known to history. Besides, being between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, this region geographically is a suitable setting for a great deluge. One of the contributory factors to the effect of the flood is most probably that these two rivers overflowed their beds and overwhelmed the region. Many excavations have been made in investigation of the flood which covered the Mesopotamian plains. In excavations made in the region, in four main cities (Ur, Erech, Kish and Shuruppak) there are found traces of what must have been a particularly large flood.