Noah chose a place outside the city, far from the sea. He began to work day and night to build the ark. The people's mockery continued, "O Noah! 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?" In Surah Hud [11]:38-39, Allah narrated, "And he constructed the ship, and whenever an assembly of the eminent of his 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 a punishment that will disgrace him [on earth] and upon whom will descend an enduring punishment [in the Hereafter]."
The ship was constructed, and Noah sat waiting Allah's command. Allah revealed to him that when water miraculously gushed forth from the oven at Noah's house, that would be the sign of the start of the flood, and the sign for Noah to act. It was an oven of stone that belonged to Eve and eventually came into Noah's possession.
Then the terrible day arrived when the oven at Noah's house overflowed. Noah hurried to open the ark and summon the believers. He also took with him a pair, male and female, of every type of animal, bird and insect. Seeing him taking these creatures to the ark, the people laughed loudly: "Noah must have gone out of his head! What is he going to do with the animals?" Allah said, in Surah Hud [11]:40, "[So it was], until when Our command came and the oven overflowed, We said, "Load upon the ship of each [creature] two mates and your family, except those about whom the word has preceded, and [include] whoever has believed." But none had believed with him, except a few."
Water rose from the cracks in the earth; there was not a crack from which water did not rise. Rain poured from the sky in quantities never seen before on earth. Water continued pouring from the sky rising from the cracks; hour after hour the level rose. The seas and waves invaded 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.
At-Tabari reported from Aishah, radiallahu anha, the mother of believers, said, "The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had said, 'If Allah had shown mercy to anyone among Noah's people, it would have been the mother of the small child.' The Messenger of Allah continued, 'Noah had stayed among his people for 950 years calling them to Allah. Then at the end of this time, he planted a tree which grew and spread in all directions. He then cut it down and began to build an ark. People who were passing by asked him lwhat he was doing!. He replied, 'I am building an ark from lthe tree!. They made fun of him and said: You are building an ark on dry land!? How will it float?' He replied, 'You will see.' When he finished it "and the oven boiled," and there was more and more water in the streets, the mother who loved her small child very much became fearful. She went out to the mountain and climbed one-third of it. When the water reached her there, she climbed two-thirds jon the way up). When the water reached her again, she went up to the summit. When the water was up to her neck, she lifted her child up with her hand until the water swept it away. If Allah had shown mercy to anyone of them, it would have been the mother of the small child."
The scholars hold different opinions on the number of those who were with Noah on the ship. Ibn Abbas stated that there were 80 believers, Noah carried in the ark his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and his daughters-in-law, the wives of those sons of his, as well as seventy-three of the children of Seth who believed in him. Thus, there were eighty in the ark. Kaab al-Ahbar held that there were 72 believers. Others claimed that there were 10 believers with Noah. Noah's wife was not a believer with him so she did not join him; neither did one of Noah's sons, who was secretly a disbeliever but had pretended faith in front of Noah. Likewise most of the people were disbeliveers and did not go on board. Allah told about Noah's son in Surah Hud [11]:41-47, "And [Noah] said, "Embark therein; in the name of Allah is its course and its anchorage. Indeed, my Lord is Forgiving and Merciful. And it sailed with them through waves like mountains, and Noah 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." [Noah] said, "There is no protector today from the decree of Allah, except for whom He gives mercy." And the waves came between them, and he was among the drowned. And it was said, "O earth, swallow your water, and O sky, withhold [your rain]." And the water subsided, and the matter was accomplished, and the ship came to rest on the [mountain of] Judiyy. And it was said, "Away with the wrongdoing people." And Noah 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 said, "O Noah, 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." [Noah] 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."
According to Ibn 'Abbas, Allah sent rain for forty days and forty nights. When the rain hit them, the wild animals, the domestic animals, and the birds all went to Noah and were subjected to labor for him. As commanded by Allah, he carried along "pairs, two of each kind." He also carried along Adam's corpse, making it a barrier between the women and men. They boarded the ark on the tenth of Rajab, and they left it on the 'Ashura Day, (the tenth day of al-Muharram); therefore, all those people fast on the 'Ashura Day.
The ark carried them around the entire earth in six months. It did not come to rest anywhere until it came to the Sacred Territory of Mecca and Medina. However, it did not enter the Sacred Territory but circled around for a week. The House built by Adam was lifted up. After the ark had circled around the Sacred Territory, it traveled with those aboard over the earth and eventually reached al-Judi, a mountain whose foot is in the land of Mosul, where it came to rest after six months at the completion of seven nights, or, according to another statement, after the six months.
When it had come to rest upon al-Judi, in Surah Hud [11]:-48, "It was said, "O Noah, 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." The water which was coming from the ground, the earth absorbed it. The water that had come down from heaven became the oceans that are seen on earth today. The last remnant of the Flood on earth was some water at Hisma. It remained on earth for forty years after the Deluge and then disappeared.
With the issue of the divine command, calm returned to earth, the water retreated, and the dry land shone once again in the rays of the sun. The flood had cleansed the earth of the disbelivers and polytheists. Noah released the birds, and the beats which scattered over the earth. After that the believers disembarked. Noah 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 floor. Following the disembarkation there was a day of fasting in thanks to Allah.
The Quran draws the curtain on Noah's story. 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 Allah alone, Noah then passed away. Recorded by Ahmad and al-Thabrani, Abdullah Ibn Amr Ibn 'Ash narrated that the Prophet (ﷺ) said, "When the death of the Messenger of Allah Noah approached, he admonished his sons, 'Indeed I would give you far reaching advice, commanding you to do two things, and warning you against doing two things as well. I charge you to believe that there is no god but Allah and that if the seven heavens and the seven earths were put on one side of a scale and the words "there is no god but Allah" were put on the other, the latter would outweigh the former. I warn you against associating partners with Allah and against pride." Only Allah knows best.
The thinker silence, then said, "O young man, we need men of 'aqeedah，not men of philosophy. We need people who can deal with the ailments and problems of this ummah，and philosophers cannot do that. The one who holds an inference and thinking-opinion-is emotionally cool and unenthusiastic. If what he thinks is proven to be true，he merely smiles in arestrained manner，and if it is not proven to be true，it doesn't matter，for he has already taken the precaution of noting that whilst he believes his opinion to be correct，it may be wrong，and that another person's opinion，which he believes maybe mistaken，may be right.
But the one who follows 'aqeedah is warm and enthusiastic，and does not feel content unless his 'aqeedah is fulfilled. The one who has philosophical opinion may easily change his mind and adopt new ideas，because he only follows evidence，or his own interests when they come in the form of evidence. The one who follows 'aqeedah - creed - is definite and certain; he has no doubts and does not engage in speculation. His 'aqeedah is true and does not change，and it will still be true tomorrow. It is no longer subject to evidence. It is above doubts and conjecture.
Mere opinion is like a dead body; it is lifeless unless it is infused with the breath of ‘aqeedah. Mere opinion is like a dark cave which remains unlit unless 'aqeedah shines its rays into it. Mere opinion is like a stagnant pond in which mosquitoes lay their eggs. 'Aqeedah， on the other hand，is like avast ocean where insignificant insects are not allowed to multiply. Mere opinion is an unformed nebula，whilst 'aqeedah is abrightly shining star. Mere opinion creates problems and obstac1es，pays attention to physical desire，creates doubts and fosters hesitation，whilst 'aqeedah pays no heed to danger，causes mountains to tremble，changes the course of history，wipes out doubt and hesitation，and engenders strength and certainty; it permits nothing but the fulfilment of the aims of the soul. And Allah know best."
(Part 1)"Allah - there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of [all] existence. Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what is [presently] before them and what will be after them, and they encompass not a thing of His knowledge except for what He wills. His Kursi extends over the heavens and the earth, and their preservation tires Him not. And He is the Most High, the Most Great." - [QS.2:255]
Reference :
- Ibn Kathiir, Stories of The Prophets, Darussalam
- The History of at-Tabari, Volume I, General Introduction and From the Creation to the Flood, translated by Franz Rosenthal, SUNY Press.
- 'Umar S. al-Ashqar, Belief in Allah - In the Light of the Qur'an and Sunnah, IIPH
