Assalamu-Aliukum!

Welcome to Stories of the Prophets for kids by MyKidsHQ.

Today, we are going to talk about the story of Prophet Nuh (AS), or in english he is known as the Prophet Noah (Peace be upon him). This is a very exciting story because unlike a few of the other stories we have gone over, this one is mentioned in amazing detail in the Qur’an. That means Allah SWT wanted us to know the entire story and learn from it.

Through Ahaadith of the Prophet (SAWS) we learn that there are 10 generations between the creation of Adam (AS) and the birth of Nuh (AS). It is also said that Nuh AS was sent to the descendants of Qabil, who for many generations had been worshiping idols. 

This started because when good people would die, Shaytaan would come to the people and tell them to remember all the great things that person used to do by making a statue of them. People would look at the statues and remember the teachings of the pious, but as generations went on people forgot who these good people were and started to think the statues were meant to be worshiped. They gave their idols names such as Nasr and Wadd, when these were originally the names of good people.

 The statues were made by humans like us and made out of stone. These statues couldn't see, hear or think but the people continued to worship them. They believed these idols represented power, beauty, strength and many more that Shaytan persuaded them to assign to each idol.

So they asked the different idols for different things, and thanked them for their blessings. Anytime something good would happen in their lives, they would thank the idol they believed was responsible instead of Allah and credit them for all of their blessings. When something bad would happen, instead of turning to Allah they would turn to the idol and ask them for help.

Allah SWT was very upset by these actions, and sent to them a pious and kind man from amongst them, Prophet Nuh AS. He was intelligent, well spoken and patient and pointed out the mysteries and wonders of life and universe to his people. He reminded them how the night is regularly followed by the day and that these balances were designed by Allah SWT for us. 

The night gives us the opportunity to rest and cool down while the day awakens activity and gives us warmth. It keeps plants and animals alive while the moon and stars help us keep track of time, direction and the seasons. 

He explained to them that there was only one Allah, and that only He deserved to be worshiped because He alone was responsible for our creation and sustenance. 

The people refused to listen to him and were silent and shocked. They started to become angry after Nuh AS continued to preach and told him he was a regular human just like the rest of them.

 First they accused Noah of being only human like themselves.

 Nuh AS never claimed to be anything but human and told them Allah SWT sent human messengers because the earth was inhabited by humans and that Allah would have sent angels if the earth was inhabited by angels.

The people of Nuh AS were divided into two groups. His words touched the hearts of the poor, oppressed and the weak. The rich and mighty however refused to believe, because they did not want things to change. 

The rulers first thought that Nuh AS would eventually give up and his message would disappear on its own, but when they saw that the commoners were interested in his message they started to taunt and attack him.

They even tried to bargain with him saying they couldn’t have the same faith as the poor so they’ll follow Nuh AS if he gets rid of the poor people. Nuh AS stayed gentle but firm in his response that he could not dismiss the believers as they were not his guests but Allah’s.

Nuh (AS) continued pleading to his people to believe in Allah hour after hour, day after day and year after year. He explained to his people and called them to Allah day and night, in secret and openly. He gave them examples, described  Allah's signs and illustrated Allah's ability in the formation of His creatures. But whenever he called them to Allah, they ran away from him. Whenever he urged them to ask Allah to forgive them, they put their fingers in their ears and became too proud to listen to the truth.

This continued for 950 years.

Every passing generation advised its succeeding one not to believe in Nuh (AS) and to wage war against him. The parents would teach their children to reject him when they reached adulthood and to keep worshiping the idols.

Nuh (AS) saw the numbers of disbelievers keep increasing while there weren't many more believers but he never complained to Allah.

Then came a day when Allah SWT told Nuh AS that no others would believe. Allah SWT inspired him not to grieve for them at which point Nuh AS made du’a against all those who taunted him and did not believe him after 950 years of patience. 

 Allah SWT accepted Nuh (AS) dua. Allah SWT then ordered Nuh AS to build an ark with instructions and with the help of angels.

Why do you think Nuh (AS) was told to build an ark by Allah SWT?

To find out what happened next, tune in next week for the second episode of the Story of Nuh (AS).

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JazakumAllahu Khairan for being here!

Sidra & Anis