Topic: Noah’s

7:73; 26:120-121.

Important Words:

عمین (blind) or عمون is the plural of اعمی meaning a blind man. The word is derived from عمی meaning, he was or became blind in both eyes; or, figuratively, he was blind in respect of the mind; he erred and did not find the right way. اعمی means, blind in both eyes; blind in respect of the mind; erring (Lane).

Commentary:

In spite of all his arguments and appeals, the people rejected the Prophet Noah and began to treat him as a liar, for they were a "blind people" and could not see and understand the evidence and proofs of his truth. The Flood engulfed them all.

29:16.

Commentary:

This verse tells us that there is a basic difference between the punishment of those who are given a previous warning and that of those who have had no such warning. The words, how evil was the end of those who had been warned, point to this difference. Those warned of the coming punishment of God never escape except by removing the cause of punishment.

The words, We made them inheritors of Our favours, contain a veiled warning for believers. When one people have been destroyed, those who take their place must prove themselves to be deserving of God’s favours, if they wish them to continue.

23:28.

Important Words:

باعیننا (under Our eyes). اعین is the plural of عین which has a large variety of meanings. Among other things it means: (1) the eye; (2) look or view, as the Quran says ولتصنع علی عینی i.e. that thou mightest be reared in my view; (3) the people or inmates of a house or dwelling, as they say مابھاعین i.e. there is no one in it (the house); (4) brothers from the same father and mother; (5) one’s protection and honour, as the Arabs say انت علی عینی i.e. thou art entitled to be honoured and protected by me (Lane).

Commentary:

In view of one of the meanings of the word عین the expression باعیننا may mean "with the help of the people of Our house." The people of Noah’s house have been spoken of as "the people of Our house," because those who are near and dear to a Prophet are also dear to God. Noah was bidden to build an ark with the aid of the people of God’s spiritual house (for spiritually the followers of a Prophet belong to God’s own house).

Taking the word عین in the sense of one’s "protection" or "honour," the sentence would mean, "Make thou the Ark under Our protection," meaning that Noah’s adversaries would jeer and mock at the building of the Ark, but he should pay no heed to their mockery, for he would be protected and honoured by God.

The verse may also allude to two kinds of arks, the physical ark which was to be built by Noah with the help of his followers, and the spiritual ark i.e. the ark of righteousness which God had bestowed on Noah’s followers through him. Truly speaking, it is only the spiritual ark that can help to save a person from the punishment of God.

The words, address not Me concerning the wrongdoers, also show that Noah’s prayer for the destruction of his people mentioned in 71:27, 28 was not offered by him at his own initiative, for when he himself was praying for the destruction of the wrongdoers, there was no occasion for God to order him not to pray for their deliverance.

Commentary:

Messengers of God are always mocked at because they bring teachings which the people of their time are not prepared to accept. But these people never pause to consider that if heavenly Messengers were not entrusted with extraordinary work, there would be no need for God to send Messengers. It is only because man, in spite of his intellectual attainments, cannot rid himself of his manifold troubles and because the cure which, with the help of his experience and knowledge, he devises brings him no relief that God sends His Messengers for his guidance and deliverance, and as the remedy which they suggest is out of the ordinary, it naturally appears strange to him and he begins to ridicule and mock at it. But despite this jeering and ridicule, Divine Messengers and their followers succeed in attaining their goal, while their opponents make fools of themselves and incur God’s displeasure.

For the meaning of the expression, we shall mock at you, see note on 2:16.

11:94; 39:40-41.

Commentary:

Punishments are of various kinds. There are some misfortunes which excite pity for their victims, while others, besides causing pain, bring their victims into disgrace and also serve as a warning to others. Such was the punishment which overtook the people of Noah, for it constituted a disgrace and an humiliation which is remembered to this day.

The words, a lasting punishment, signify a punishment which will not end with the present life but will continue in the life to come.

Scoffers are here told by Noah that their scoffing can do him no harm nor can it bring him into disgrace. Therefore he does not feel humiliated on account of their mockery, but it is they who have a real cause to feel humiliated, for they are about to be overtaken by a punishment which will not end in this life but will continue in the life to come and will be attended by a lasting disgrace.

23:28; 54:13.

23:28.

Important Words:

فار (gushed forth). They say فارت القدر the kettle boiled or estuated. فارت نفسه means, his stomach heaved; or he became agitated by a tendency to vomit. فار الماء means, the water gushed forth and flowed. فار العرق means, the vein became excited and flowed forth with blood (Lane & Aqrab).

تنور (fountains of the earth) is derived from the root تنر and means, a sort of fire-place or oven in which bread is baked; the surface of the ground; the highest part of the earth; any place from which water pours forth, i.e. a fountain etc.; a place where the water of a valley collects; the shining of the dawn (Lane).

Commentary:

It should be remembered that the punishment which overtook the people of Noah was not merely due to the gushing forth of the water from a spring. But, as is clear from other passages of the Quran, the real source of the Deluge were the clouds. Rain fell in such abundance that there was water everywhere and as sometimes happens during heavy rain, water also began to gush forth from the depths of the earth, and springs and fountains began to sprout, and thus water, both from the heavens and the earth, flooded the whole land. In 54:12, 13, we read, Then We opened the gates of heaven with water pouring down; and We caused the earth to gush forth with springs; so the waters met for the purpose that had been decreed. Similarly v. 45 below also speaks of water from both the heavens and the earth. In fact, it appears from the Quran that Noah lived in a mountainous country where springs were found in abundance, for in v. 44 Noah’s son is represented as saying, I shall soon betake myself to a mountain which will shelter me from the water, which shows that Noah lived at the foot of a mountain. Obviously when floods were rising fast on all sides, his son could not think of going to a far off mountain and taking shelter there.

The word کل (all) does not here mean all the animals of the earth. It only means all such animals as Noah needed. It has been similarly used in a restricted sense in other verses of the Quran as well. For instance, in 27:24, which speaks of the Queen of Sheba, we read, "She has been given everything." But all commentators are agreed in holding that by "everything" is here meant all that the Queen of Sheba needed and not everything in the literal sense of the word. If she had possessed "everything" in the literal sense of the word, she would have had in her possession everything existing in the world and Solomon dared not have said to her ambassador, Go back to them, for we shall surely come to them with hosts, against which they will have no power, and we shall drive them out from there in disgrace, and they will feel abased (27:38). Moreover, the Ark certainly was not big enough to carry a pair of all kinds of animals found in the world. The addition of the word "two" also shows that it was meant that as few animals were to be taken as were absolutely necessary.

The words, except those against whom the word has already gone forth, do not mean "except those of whom thou hast been informed," but "except those against whom God’s judgement has already been passed."

Commentary:

Commentators differ as to whether the person referred to in this verse as Noah’s son was his real son or only a near relative. According to some, he was his stepson. Ibn Mas‘ud, Ibn ‘Abbas, ‘Ikrimah, Ad-Dahhak, Ibn Jubair and many other commentators, however, are inclined to view that he was Noah’s own son. But discussion of this subject seems to be super-fluous and unnecessary.

Christian annotators have question-ed the authenticity of this incident on the ground that it does not agree with the Biblical account. But the authenticity of the Bible itself as a historical record is open to doubt and it is unreasonable to accept or reject an incident on its authority alone.

Important Words:

ساوی (I shall betake myself). آوی is derived from اوی. They say اوی الیه i.e. he betook himself to or repaired or resorted to it; he betook himself to it or repaired to it for lodging, covert or refuge. اوی الی البیت means, he took up his abode in the house; he lodged or dwelt in it. The Quranic expression, اذ اوی الفتیة الی الکھف means, when the young men betook themselves to the cave for refuge. ماوی means, a place to which one repairs for lodging, covert or refuge (Lane).

Commentary:

The verse shows that the place where Noah lived was surrounded by mountains. This is why his son said that he would take shelter in a mountain. The word جبل (a mountain) used as a common noun points to the fact that there was a chain of mountains on one of which Noah’s son wished to take shelter. In fact, the place appears to have been a valley with mountains rising on all sides. That such a place should become quickly flooded with heavy rain is not extraordinary.

The words, which will shelter me from the water, show how bigoted men shut their eyes to stark realities to the last. The flood is rising, but Noah’s son still entertains doubt about the truth of his father’s Message.

The expression, And the wave came in between the two, is intended to hint that God spared Noah the pain of seeing his son being drowned before his eyes. He was drowned behind the screen of a high wave.

Important Words:

اقلعی (cease raining) is derived from قلع i.e. he displaced or uprooted. اقلع means, it (rain) left off; it cleared away. یاسماء اقلعیmeans, O sky, cease raining. اقلع عنه means, he or it left him; he abstained or desisted from it. They say أقلعت الحمی عن فلان i.e. the fever passed away or left such a one (Lane & Aqrab).

بعدا (curse) is the noun-infinitive from بعد which means, he or it was or became distant, remote, or aloof; he went or withdrew himself to a distance; he alienated; it perished. They say لا تعبد و ان بعدت عنی i.e. mayest thou not perish, though thou be distant from me. The Arabs say ابعدہ الله i.e. may God alienate him, or estrange him from good or prosperity; or may God curse him. بعد means, distance or remoteness; remoteness from probability or correctness i.e. improbability or strangeness; perdition or death; judgement and prudence; curse, execration or malediction. They say, بعدا له i.e. may he be cursed, or may God alienate him from good (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The verse makes it clear that water not only came out from the "fountains of the earth" (v. 41) but it also fell from the sky (i.e. the clouds) and thus both combined to deluge the land.

The mountain al-Judi is, according to Yaqut al-Hamwi, a long chain of mountains on the eastern side of the Tigris in the province of Mosul (Mu‘jam). According to Sale, "al-Judi is one of those mountains which divide Armenia on the south from Mesopotamia and that part of Assyria which is inhabited by the Curds, from whom the mountain took the name of Cardu or Gardu, but the Greeks turned it into Gordyaei...The tradition which affirms the ark to have rested on these mountains must have been very ancient, since it is the tradition of the Chaldeans themselves (Berosus, apud Joseph. Antiq.). To confirm it, we are told that the remainders of the ark were to be seen on the Gordyaean mountains. Berosus and Abydenus both declare that there was such a report in their time…The relics of the ark were also to be seen here in the time of Epiphanius and we are told the Emperor Heraclius went from the town of Thamanin up to the mountain al-Judi and saw the place of the ark. There was also formerly a famous monastery, called the monastery of the ark, upon some of these mountains where the Nestorians used to celebrate a feast-day on the spot where they supposed the ark rested; but in 776 A.D. that monastery was destroyed by lightning" (Sale, pp. 179, 180).

Again, "Judi (Djudi) is a lofty mountain mass in the district of Bohtan, about 25 miles N.E. of Jazirat ibn ‘Omar in 37°, 30΄ N. Lat…It owes its fame to the Mesopotamian tradition, which identifies it, and not Mount Ararat, with the mountain on which Noah’s ark rested. It is practically certain from a large number of Armenian and other writers that, down to the 10th century, Mt. Ararat was in no way connected with the Deluge. Ancient Armenian tradition certainly knows nothing of a mountain on which the ark rested; and when one is mentioned in later Armenian literature, this is clearly due to the gradually increasing influence of the Bible which makes the ark rest on the mountains (or a mountain) of Ararat. The highest and best known mountain there is Masik…The tradition that Masik was the mountain on which the Ark rested, only begins to find a place in Armenian literature in the 11th and 12th centuries. Older exegesis identified the mountain now called Judi, or according to Christian authorities the mountains of Gordyene, as the apobaterion of Noah (Enc. of Islam. Vol. 1, p. 1059).

Babylonian traditions also place the mount al-Judi in Armenia (Jew. Enc. under Ararat) and the Bible admits that Babylon was the place where the descendants of Noah lived (Gen. 11:9).

19:59; 23:28.

Commentary:

The verse is taken by some commentators to refer to the followers of the Holy Prophet, but primarily it refers to the followers of Moses, as the context shows. It reminds the Israelites that they should have profited by the noble example of Noah who with his followers was savedfrom the Deluge and was grateful to God for that great favour. They, too, were saved from drowning in the sea and should have been grateful to God for that favour but they were not. The verse may also be taken as constituting a forewarning to Muslims who are told that when, by the grace of God, they emerge safe from the storm of opposition and persecution that was raging over their heads, they should be grateful to Him.

1:7; 4:70; 5:21; 57:20.

17:108,110; 32:16.

Commentary:

This verse explains two things:(1) The Prophets whose names have been mentioned in it were righteous and holy men. But in spite of the very exalted position they held they were ordinary mortals. Jesus, like them, too, was a Prophet of God and like them a mere mortal. There was nothing in him that could entitle him to some special position. (2) These righteous and holy men were Divine Prophets and as such sinless. The Jews in the Old Testament (Gen. 9:21-23; 19:31-38; 20:2; Exod. 32:1-4); and Christians in the New Testament (John 10:8) hurled at these paragons of piety and righteousness very filthy charges, the former in order to screen their own crimes and the latter in order to establish the exclusive sinlessness of Jesus. Special stress has been laid on their holiness in the verse under comment and it is in order to clear them completely of the charges attributed to them and also to demolish the wrong notion of the exclusive sinlessness of Jesus that the words "whom We guided and chose" have been used about them.

Some commentators of the Quran think that the words 'of the posterity of Adam' refer to Idris, and whom we carried in the Ark with Noah to Abraham, and the words, of the posterity of Abraham, refer to Ishmael, Isaac and Jacob, and the words, of the posterity of, understood before the word Israel, to Moses, Aaron, Zachariah, Yahya and Jesus, all of whom have been mentioned in the preceding verses of the present Surah.

11:38.

11:41; 54:13-14.

Important Words:

أعین is the plural of عین which means, (1) the eye; (2) look or view; (3) the people or inmates of a house; (4) brothers from the same father and mother and (5) one’s protection and honour (Lane & Aqrab). See also 11:38.

زوج means, two persons of the same species, i.e. a male and a female. See also 2:26 & 6:144.

For فار and تنور see 11:41.

Commentary:

The expression, against whom the word has already gone forth, refers to those rejecters of truth whose destruction had already been decreed; and the words, address Me not, mean "do not intercede with Me." In spite of this clear Divine commandment Noah did pray to God to save his son. This shows that he did not regard the Divine commandment contained in the words "against whom the word has already gone forth" as applicable to his son. This was an error of judgement on Noah’s part and all Prophets are liable to make such errors. See also 11:38-48.

11:42; 43:14.

11:49.

Commentary:

For a detailed account of Noah and the Ark and the place where it came to rest, see 11:38-45. Briefly it may be stated here that according to the Bible Noah’s Ark rested on the mountains of Ararat (Gen. 8:4) and according to the Quran it rested upon Al-Judi. It is of interest to note that ارا راط being a combination of ارا which means, "I saw" and راط which means, "he sought refuge in the mountains," signifies a place of safety in the mountains and the word جودی means, "my beneficence, my grace, my mercy." Thus, whereas according to the Bible, the Ark rested in a place of safety, according to the Quran it rested in a place where God’s mercy, grace or beneficence were manifested.

54:14.

Important Words:

مشحون (fully laden) is passive participle from شحن. They say شحن السفینة i.e. he filled (or loaded) and completely equipped or furnished the boat. شحن الرجل means, he drove away the man. مشحون means, fully laden or filled and fully equipped with all necessary things (Aqrab & Lane).

Commentary:

Noah built an ark of wood in which he and those who believed in him took refuge from the Deluge which overwhelmed his people. The Ark rested on the mountain, Al-Judi. See also 11:45. Metaphorically, Noah’s Ark may mean Noah’s teaching, signifying that those who accepted his message and followed his teaching were saved.

10:74; 11:42.

23:31.

26:120; 29:16.

Important Words:

دسر (nails) is the plural of دسار which is derived from دسر which means, he drove a nail with force; he nailed anything; he fastened or repaired a ship with a nail, or with a cord of fibres of palm-tree. They say دسرہ i.e. he thrust, drove, pierced or stabbed him vehemently with a spear, he or it pushed, drove, propelled him or it. دسار means, a cord of fibres of the palm tree with which the planks of a ship are bound together; a nail of a ship (Lane & Aqrab).