Let's continue with the Story of Nuh (AS)!

Last week we left off the Story of Nuh (AS). 

Nuh  (AS) was very disappointed in his people. After centuries of preaching the words of Allah, most people still refused to listen to him.

Finally, Allah SWT told him no others would believe in him. He then commanded Nuh (AS) to build an ark on top of a mountain.

So, Nuh (AS) started building the ark in order to fulfill Allah’s command. He would go down to the flat land and cut a tree and carry the wood to the mountain to build the ark.

No ark like this had ever been made. Whenever Nuh (AS) would run out of wood, Allah SWT would make a new tree appear with wood in exactly the shape he needed along with nails to secure it. It was like completing a huge jigsaw puzzle.

Allah SWT also sent the angels down to help Nuh (AS) build the ark, but Nuh (AS) built it himself.

I want to take a moment here to remind you all something. If Allah SWT had willed He would have just created the ark for Nuh AS without him ever having to put in any effort. Allah SWT also could've made it so the trees would've grown right there on the mountain. But He didn't. While Allah SWT will always help us when we try to follow His commands, we must still put in the effort required to accomplish them. And with that effort there is so much reward, in sha Allah.

Some Jewish sources mention that the ark Nuh (AS) built was more like a huge submarine, with all sides closed. They say it took about 100 years to build and was 900 meters or 2900 feet long, 150m which is about 500 feet wide and 90m or almost 300 feet high. 

Most likely because the people back then were very tall!

While Nuh (AS) was building the ark, the chiefs would pass by and make fun of him. They would ask him if he was a carpenter now instead of a prophet and would taunt him about making a ship on top of a mountain rather than down at the shore, but Nuh (AS) kept quiet.

Once the ark was complete Allah SWT told Nuh (AS) to go into the ark with the believers when he saw water coming from the earth.

It is said Nuh (AS) had somewhere between 11-80 followers, and as soon as they saw the water seeping through the earth they all got on the boat. 

This is a reminder to us, dear friends, that the majority is not always correct. Just because a lot of people believe in something, or act a certain way, does not mean it's the right thing to do.

Back on the ark, Allah SWT also commanded Nuh (AS) to take pairs of all the animals and birds so that they may continue to live on. 

Once all the believers were on the ark, they made a dua that we still say to this day when traveling!

"In the name of Allah, it moves and stops.

Bismillah mujraha wa mursaha.

So Allah SWT guided the ark of Nuh (AS) through the waves and floods, and then Nuh (AS) saw his son. He asked him to join him on the ark, but the son refused. He said he was a mountain climber, he would climb the tallest mountain and he would be safe from the flood.

But Nuh (AS) continued asking him, and the defiant son continued to refuse.

After all, who has ever heard of flooding as high as mountains?

But Allah SWT had made it so the water was gushing out from inside the once dry earth and the angry sky.

As the discussion was going on, a huge wave came and swallowed the boy, and he drowned right in front of his fathers eyes. 

We’re not really sure how long the flooding went on, but Allah SWT guided the ark of Nuh (AS), and no one else remained on earth but those on the ark.

Finally, Allah SWT commanded the earth to swallow up its water once more, and the sky to hold its water and the earth once again became habitable.

Then, while the sun shone brightly on the earth, the ark landed on what is thought to be a mountain, a place called Al-Judi.

We don't know where exactly Al-Judi is, some say it’s a mountain in Turkey.

The surviving believers and the animals were finally free to disembark the ship that had protected them during the terrible floods.

The Qur’an mentions that Nuh (AS) preached to his people for 950 years, which means he was more than 950 years old when the great flood occurred.

We don't know anything about his life after he got off the ark except that no disbelievers had remained on earth, and not a single person from all the survivors had any children except Nuh (AS).

So while it is true that every single person on the planet is a descendant of Adam AS, the same can also be said about Nuh (AS).

We are all the children of Adam and Nuh (AS). 

Dont forget to give this podcast a listen with the kiddos!

Sidra & Anis