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, middle
floor 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 deluge). The world is indebted to the progeny of Prophet Noah; hence he is known as Adam-e-Sani
(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.