Satan, who watched on with shrewd eyes, approached the wailing men and women disguised as a man and whispered into their ears:
"If we make statues of these righteous men, it will be more pleasing to us in our worship and will remind us of them."
The men agreed as they perceived no harm in erecting statues of their most pious men; that would surely help them remember Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ and encourage them to do good.
Satan had successfully planted his corrupt seed. He was patient for he knew that getting man to worship another was a slow process.
“
When that generation had passed, and the new generation of people had forgotten the intention behind the erecting of statues, Satan whispered into the ears of the men: "Your forefathers used to worship these idols. These statues brought them goodness."
Thus, idolatry took root in the hearts of man.
Centuries passed, and Allah decided to send a Prophet to guide the
idolaters back to the truth. The Prophet chosen for this sacred task was
Nuh (عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ) (the judeo-Christian equivalent to the Prophet Noah).
Allah (سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ)
blessed his loyal disciple with
eloquent speech and immense patience so that
he may carry out his duty with success. So
Prophet Nuh (
عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ )
began to preach to his people about the mysteries of the vast
universe—he informed them about the night and the day, the stars and
the moon, the plants and animals, and the heavens and the earth.
He explained to them that
man was created by Allah to glorify and worship Him. Nuh then
told them about the
oneness of Allah (سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ) — that the mysteries of the world were only proof of the
existence of one true God, and that is none other than
Allah the Most High. He explained to them
that Satan had misled them into worshiping idols and warned
them of a
terrible punishment from Allah (سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ)
if they continued their idol worship.
The People of Prophet Nuh listened to him with great confusion
and patience.
The most miserable and desperate amongst Nuh's people began to find
hope and solace in the Prophet's words and gradually entered
into the fold of Islam,
whilst the affluent watched on with rage.
They said to Nuh:
“We see you but a man like ourselves.”
Prophet Nuh (
عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ )
explained to them that
he was certainly a human being, and Allah (سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ) had explicitly chosen a human messenger
as the earth was predominantly occupied by humans after all.
And if angels occupied the earth,
Allah (سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ)
would have surely sent an angelic messenger to convey his message.
Despite the continuous mockery and rejection, Prophet Nuh (عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ) was persistent in calling his people to Islam for nine hundred and fifty years. But every generation that came into existence rejected Nuh as their fathers did.
Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ soon revealed to Prophet Nuh that no other man from his people would enter Islam thereafter.
“
Sad and frustrated, Prophet Nuh replied to Allah:
"My Lord! Leave not one of the disbelievers on the earth. If you leave them, they will mislead Your slaves and they will beget none but wicked disbelievers."
Prophet Nuh's prayer was accepted by his Lord.
“
He instructed Prophet Nuh:
"And construct the ark under Our Eyes and with Our Inspiration and address Me not on behalf of those who did wrong."
Soon after, heavy rains began to pour down from the angry skies,
and water began to rise through every crack on earth. It didn't take long before the oceans completely conquered the
once-dry land.
Prophet Nuh (
عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ ) witnessed the terrible calamity that had befallen his
people.
He knew the disbelievers had no escape from the wrath of Allah
(سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ).
Amongst the disbelievers was Prophet Nuh's wife and son, who
refused to board his ark.
“
Nuh (عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ) desperately called out to his son:
“O my son! Embark with us and be not among the disbelievers.”
The ignorant son of Nuh (
عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ ) replied,
“I will get to the mountain; it will save me from the water.”
Nuh (
عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ ) answered:
“This day there is no saviour from the Decree of Allah except
him on whom He has mercy.”
Before long,
Nuh's son was engulfed by the angry waves,
never to be seen again.
When every single disbeliever had perished, Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ ordered the skies and the earth:
"O Earth! Swallow up your water, and O sky! Withhold your rain."
The skies immediately cleared, and the sun shined brightly on the land. Meanwhile, Nuh's ark peacefully landed on Mount Judi. Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ instructed His Prophet:
"O Nuh! Come down (from the ship) with peace from Us and blessings on you and on the people who are with you."
As instructed,
Prophet Nuh (
عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ ), along with the believers, got off the ark,
releasing the rescued animals, birds and insects across the green
land.
Prophet Nuh (
عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ ) placed his forehead on the ground, prostrated to his Lord, and
thanked Him immensely for His mercy and blessings. The believers
were grateful to Allah (سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ) for safeguarding them from the terrible ordeal and observed a day
of fasting as an act of gratitude to Allah (سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ) .
VERSES FROM THE QUR'AN THAT MENTION THE PROPHET NOAH: (
عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ)
There are a total of 47 different instances where Allah (سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ) directly refers to Prophet Noah (عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ) in the Qur'an. Here we provide reference to all for you to explore. We've also created a dedicated page on all the verses of Prophet Nuh (عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ) to be read on a single page.
