Tuesday 3 January 2012

Prophet Noah in Islam

Islam is a religion which requires belief in not only the Prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him), but in all the prophets of God; in fact, Islam was the religion of the prophets who preceded Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him) as stated in the Holy Qur’an: 
‘He has prescribed for you (O Muhammad) the religion which He enjoined on Noah, and which We have revealed to thee, and which We enjoined on Abraham and Moses and Jesus...’ [Chapter 42; Al-Shura, Verse :14]
 Thus, the Holy Quran relates in detail the story of the Prophet Noah (peace be upon him) as revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). For a comparative examination, I present a compilation of English translation of all relative verses sighted in the Qur’an. [* Explanatory Note or Commentary]....

Chapter 7; Al-A’raf. Verses: 60-65
60. We sent Noah* to his people and he said, ‘O my people, worship Allah, you have no other God but Him. Indeed, I fear for you the punishment of the great day.’
61. The chiefs of his people said, ‘Surely, we see thee to be in manifest error.’
62. He said, ‘O my people, there is no error in me, but I am a Messenger from the Lord of the worlds.*
63. ‘I deliver to you the messages of my Lord and give you sincere advice, and I know from Allah what you do not know.
64. ‘Do you wonder that an exhortation has come to you from your Lord through a man from among yourselves, that he may warn you and that you may become righteous and that you may be shown mercy?’
65. But they accused him of falsehood, so We saved him and those with him in the Ark, and We drowned those who rejected Our Signs. They were indeed a blind
* people.

Chapter 10; Yunus. Verses: 72-75
72. And recite unto them (O Muhammad) the story of Noah,* when he said to his people, ‘O my people, if my station with God and my reminding you of your duty through the Signs of Allah offend you — and in Allah do I put my trust — muster then all your designs, you and your ‘partners’; then let not your course of action be obscure to you; then carry out your designs against me and give me no respite.
73. ‘But if you turn back, remember, I have not asked of you any reward.
* My reward is with Allah alone, and I have been commanded to be of those who are resigned to Him.’
74. But they rejected him, so We saved him and those who were with him in the Ark. And We made them inheritors of Our favours, while We drowned those who rejected Our Signs. See then, how was the end of those who had been warned!
75. Then We sent, after him, other Messengers to their respective peoples, and they brought them clear proofs. But they would not believe in them, because they had rejected them before. Thus do We seal* the hearts of transgressors.


Chapter 11; Hud; Verses: 26-50
26. And We sent Noah to his people, and he said, ‘Truly, I am a plain Warner to you,
27. ‘That you worship none but Allah. Indeed, I fear for you the punishment of a grievous day.’
*
28. The chiefs of his people, who disbelieved, replied, ‘We see in thee nothing but a man like ourselves, and we see that none have followed thee but those who, to all outward appearance,
* are the meanest of us. And we do not see in you any superiority over us; nay, we believe you to be liars.’
29. He said, “O my people, tell me: if I stand on a clear proof from my Lord and He has bestowed upon me from Himself a great mercy which has been rendered obscure to you, shall we force it upon you, while you are averse thereto?
30. “And O my people, I ask not of you any wealth in return for it. My reward is due from Allah alone. And I am not going to drive away those who believe. They shall certainly meet their Lord. But I consider you to be a people who act ignorantly.
31. “And O my people, who would help me against Allah, if I were to drive them away? Will you not then consider?
32. “And I say not to you, ‘I possess the treasures of Allah,’ nor do I know the unseen, nor say I, ‘I am an angel.’ Nor say I concerning those whom your eyes despise, ‘Allah will not bestow any good upon them’ — Allah knows best whatever is in their minds — Surely, I should then be of the unjust.”
33. They said, ‘O Noah, thou hast indeed disputed with us long and hast disputed with us many a time; bring us now that with which thou threatenest us, if thou art of those who speak the truth.’
34. He said, ‘Allah alone will bring it to you, if He please, and you cannot frustrate God’s purpose.
*
35. ‘And my advice will profit you not if I desire to advise you. If Allah intends to destroy you.
* He is your Lord and to Him shall you be made to return.’
36. Do they say, ‘He has forged it?’ Say (to them O Muhammad), ‘If I have forged it, on me be my sin and I am clear of the sins you commit.’
37. And it was revealed to Noah, ‘None of thy people will believe except those who have already believed; grieve not therefore at what they have been doing.
*
38. ‘And build thou the Ark under Our eyes
* and as commanded by Our revelation. And address not Me concerning the wrongdoers. They are surely going to be drowned.’
39. And he was making the Ark; and every time the chiefs of his people passed by him, they mocked at him. He said, ‘If now you mock at us, the time is coming when we shall mock at you even just as you mock now.
40. ‘Then you shall know who it is on whom will come a punishment that will disgrace him, and on whom will fall a lasting punishment.’
41. Till, when Our command came and the fountains of the earth gushed* forth, We said, ‘Embark therein two of every kind,
* male and female, and thy family, except those against whom the word has already gone forth, and those who believe.’ And there did not believe and live with him except a few.
42. And he said, ‘Embark therein. In the name of Allah be its course and its mooring. My Lord is assuredly Most Forgiving, Merciful.’
43. And it moved along with them on waves like mountains. And Noah cried unto his son, while he was keeping apart, ‘O my son, embark with us and be not with the disbelievers.’
44. He replied, ‘I shall soon betake myself to a mountain which will shelter me from the water.’ He said, ‘There is no shelter for anyone this day, from the decree of Allah, excepting those to whom He shows mercy.’ And the wave came in between the two; so he was among the drowned.
45. And it was said, ‘O earth, swallow thy water, and O sky, cease raining.’ And the water was made to subside and the matter was ended. And the Ark came to rest on al-Judi.
* And it was said, ‘Cursed be the wrongdoing people.’
46. And Noah cried unto his Lord and said: ‘My Lord, verily, my son is of my family, and surely, Thy promise is true, and Thou art the Most Just of judges.’
47. He said: ‘O Noah, he is surely not of thy family; he
* is indeed a man of unrighteous conduct.* So ask not of Me that of which thou hast no knowledge. I advise thee lest thou become one of the ignorant.’
48. He said: ‘My Lord, I beg Thee to protect me from asking Thee that whereof I have no knowledge. And unless Thou forgive
* me and have mercy on me, I shall be among the losers.’
49. It was said, ‘O Noah, descend then with peace from Us and blessings upon thee and upon peoples to be born of those with thee.
* And there will be other peoples whom We shall grant provision for a time, then shall a grievous punishment touch them from Us.’
50. This is of the tidings of the unseen
* which We reveal to thee (O Muhammad). Thou didst not know them, neither thou nor thy people, before this. So be thou patient; for the end is for the God-fearing.


Chapter 17; Bani Isra’il. Verse: 4
4. ‘O ye the progeny of those whom We carried in the Ark with Noah.’ He was indeed a grateful servant.


Chapter 23; Al-Mu’minun. Verses: 24-32
24. And We did send Noah to his people, and he said, ‘O my people, serve Allah. You have no God other than Him. Will you not then be righteous?’
25. And the chiefs of his people, who disbelieved, said, ‘He is only a man like yourselves;
* he seeks to make himself superior to you. And if Allah had so willed, He could have surely sent down angels with him. We have never heard of such a thing among our forefathers.
26. ‘He is only a man stricken with madness; wait, therefore, concerning him for a while.’
27. He said, ‘O my Lord, help me, for they have treated me as a liar.’
28. So We sent revelation to him, saying, “Make the Ark under Our eyes and according to Our revelation. And when Our command comes, and the fountains of the earth gush forth, take thou into it two of every kind, male and female, and thy family, except those of them against whom the word has already gone forth. And address Me not concerning those who have done wrong; they shall be drowned.
*
29. “And when thou hast settled on the Ark — thou and those that are with thee — say, ‘All praise belongs to Allah Who has saved us from the unjust people!’
30. “And say, ‘My Lord, cause me to land a blessed landing, for Thou art the Best of those who bring men to land.’”
31. Verily, in this there are Signs. Surely, We did try the people of Noah.
32. Then We raised after them another generation.*


Chapter 25; Al-Furqan. Verse: 38
38. And as to the people of Noah when they rejected the Messengers, We drowned them, and We made them a Sign for mankind. And We have prepared a painful punishment for the wrongdoers.


Chapter 26; Al-Shu’ara. Verses: 106-123
106. The people of Noah treated the Messengers as liars,
107. When their brother Noah said to them, ‘Will you not be righteous?
108. ‘Surely, I am unto you a Messenger, faithful to my trust.
109. ‘So fear Allah, and obey me.
*
110. ‘And I ask of you no reward for it. My reward is only with the Lord of the worlds.
111. ‘So fear Allah, and obey me.’
112. They said, ‘Shall we believe thee, when it is the meanest that follow thee?’
113. He said, ‘And what knowledge have I as to what they have been doing?
114. ‘Their account is only with my Lord, if you only knew!
*
115. ‘And I am not going to drive away the believers.
*
116. ‘I am only a plain Warner.’
117. They said, ‘If thou desist not, O Noah, thou shalt surely be one of those who are stoned.’
118. He said, ‘My Lord, my people have treated me as a liar.
119. ‘Therefore judge Thou decisively between me and them; and save me and the believers that are with me.’
120. So We saved him, and those who were with him in the fully laden Ark.
121. Then We drowned thereafter those who remained behind.
122. In this, verily, there is a Sign, but most of them would not believe.
123. And verily thy Lord — He is the Mighty, the Merciful. 


Chapter 29; Al-Ankabut. Verses: 15-16
15. And We certainly sent Noah to his people, and he dwelt among them a thousand years save fifty years.
* Then the deluge overtook them, while they were wrongdoers.
16. But We saved him and those who were with him in the Ark; and We made it a Sign for all peoples.


Chapter 71; Nuh. Verses: 2-29
2. We sent Noah to his people, saying, ‘Warn thy people before there comes upon them a grievous punishment.’
3. He said, ‘O my people! surely I am a plain Warner unto you,
4. ‘That you serve Allah and fear Him and obey me.
5. ‘He will forgive you your sins and grant you respite till an appointed time. Verily the time appointed by Allah cannot be put back when it comes,
* if only you knew!’
6. He said, “My Lord, I have called my people night and day,
7. “But my calling them has only made them flee from me all the more.
8. “And every time I called them that Thou mightest forgive them, they put their fingers into their ears, and covered up their hearts,
* and persisted in their iniquity, and were disdainfully proud.
9. “Then, I called them to righteousness openly.
10. “Then I preached to them in public, and also spoke to them in private.
*
11. “And I said, ‘Seek forgiveness of your Lord; for He is the Great Forgiver.
12. ‘He will send down rain for you in abundance,
13. ‘And He will strengthen you with wealth and with children, and He will give you gardens and He will give you rivers.
14. ‘What is the matter with you that you expect not wisdom and staidness from Allah?
15. ‘And He has created you in different forms and different conditions.
*
16. ‘Have you not seen how Allah has created seven heavens in perfect harmony,
17. ‘And has placed the moon therein as a light, and made the sun as a lamp?
18. ‘And Allah has caused you to grow as a good growth from the earth,
19. ‘Then will He cause you to return thereto, and He will bring you forth a new bringing forth.
20. ‘And Allah has made the earth for you a wide expanse
21. ‘That you may traverse the open ways thereof.’”
22. Noah said, “My Lord, they have disobeyed me, and followed one whose wealth and children have only added to his ruin.
23. “And they have planned a mighty plan.
24. “And they say to one another, ‘Forsake not your gods under any circumstances. And forsake neither Wadd, nor Suwa‘, nor Yaghuth and Ya‘uq and Nasr.’
*
25. “And they have led many astray; so increase Thou not the wrongdoers but in error.”
26. Because of their sins they were drowned and made to enter Fire. And they found no helpers for themselves against Allah.
27. And Noah said, ‘My Lord, leave not in the land a single one of the disbelievers;
28. ‘For, if Thou dost leave them, they will only lead astray Thy servants and will not give birth but to a sinner and a disbeliever.
29. ‘My Lord, forgive me and my parents, and him who enters my house as a believer, and the believing men and the believing women; and increase Thou not the wrongdoers but in perdition.’
* End…….


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