#2The beautiful story of Prophet Nuh alaihis salam

BismIllahir Rahman ir Rahim,
..
BUILDING THE FIRST SHIP
Hazrat Nooh (alaihis-salaam)
preached the message of Islam
among his people for nine hundred
years. When the kuffar in those days
passed away, they would leave behind
a wasiyyat (instructions) to their
children not to believe in Hazrat
Nooh (alaihis-salaam), but to
continue rejecting him. Such was the
severity of their kufr. In this manner,
every generation exhorted the next to
commit kufr against Allah
SubhanuWaTha'ala and His Rasool,
Nooh (alaihis-salaam).
Allah SubhanhuWaTha'ala then
revealed to Nabi Nooh (alaihis-
salaam) that now none of his people
was going to embrace Islam, except
those that already have done so. He
was commanded to build a ship, but
at that stage the world had never ever
heard of a ship. Therefore, he was
shown by Hazrat Jibreel (alaihis-
salaam) how to construct a ship.
Hazrat Nooh (alaihis-salaam) was
therefore the first person on earth to
build a ship, and through him
mankind came to know about this
technique for travelling over water.
The Ship
The ship was built according to
specifications laid down by Allah
SubhanhuWaTha'ala . He built it from
teak wood and both the inside and
the outside was coated with a layer
of tar. The ship was about 138
metres in length, 23 metres wide, and
14 metres high. It had three decks of
equal height. The lower deck was for
animals, the middle for human
beings, and the top deck for birds. It
also had a flat roof, and several
windows and a door on the side.
Hazrat Nooh alaihis salams was
shown how to build a pointed bow at
the front, so that the vessel could
plough through water easily.
It took him fifty years to build this
ship. Some Ulema say the reason for
this lengthy period was that trees had
to be specially planted and grown,
then chopped down and cut up for
the wood that was to be used in
manufacturing the ship. The work on
this ship was undertaken and
completed in a small but very
important and central musjid in the
city of Kãfa, Iraq. This was known as
the Musjid of Nooh. aslihis salam
The Kuffar in those days used to
mock at him and his small band of
followers who were assisting him in
building the ship. When they were
told that a great flood was to strike
them soon, they scoffed and made
even bigger mockery. For at that time
there was a severe drought. Where
would floods come from, they
thought? Secondly, how would this
ship sail when there was no river in
sight? But Hazrat Nooh (alaihis-
salaam) and the Muslims paid no
attention to their jeering and insults.
They continued with the command of
Allah SubhanhuWaTha'ala to build
the ship.
THE GREAT FLOOD
Next to the musjid where the ship
was being built, was the clay oven of
Hazrat Nooh (alaihis-salaam). This
oven was actually a huge hole dug
into the ground, in which they used to
bake their bread. Allah
SubhanhuWaTha'ala informed Nabi
Nooh (alaihis-salaam) that when
water starts gushing out from this
hole, that was a sign of the beginning
of the flood. Nabi Nooh (alaihis-
salaam) was then to order the
believers, who numbered about 80
men and women, as well as animals,
to board the ship. When the level of
the water rose, the ship would begin
to float automatically.
When the ship was completed, the
command of Allah
SubhanhuWaTha'ala came. It started
to rain, and then Hazrat Nooh alihis
salam noticed water flowing out of
this clay-oven. He immediately
ordered all the believers to embark,
and took a male and female species
of each animal and bird onto the ship
was well. The drizzle of rain soon
changed to a downpour. Then the
rain started falling in torrents. Water
flowed from every hole, spring, and
fountain on earth. Soon the ship was
afloat on high, raging currents of
water. It is said that the level of the
water rose about 10 metres higher
than the tallest mountain on earth at
that time! No place on earth was
spared. Every area of the world was
swamped in this flood and all people
drowned, except for the occupants of
the ship. The world had never ever
witnessed a flood of this nature, nor
was such a calamity ever to occur
again till before Qiyamat.
When embarking on the ship, they
were commanded to take the name of
Allah SubhanhuWaTha'ala, and when
disembarking, to recite the praises of
Allah SubhanhuWaTha'ala for saving
them from disaster. Three sons of
Nabi Nooh (alaihis-salaam) were
with him on this ship. They were,
Saam, Haam, and Yaafith. The fourth
son, Yaam, was an unbeliever, so he
drowned with the rest of the kuffar. In
spite of Nabi Nooh alaihis salams'
pleading with him to board the ship,
he refused, saying that he will take to
the high mountains and be saved.
But this was not to be, and he too
perished. Three wives of Nabi Nooh
were also saved, while the fourth one
drowned because she too was among
the kuffaar.
The flood started on 10th Rajab,
which was the day they all embarked
on the ship of Nooh (alaihis-salaam),
and it subsided on 10th Muharram.
So for six months this ship and its
passengers sailed the flood waters.
Eventually it came to rest on Mount
Joodiy, which is part of a Mountain
range in Eastern Turkey, close to the
border of Iran. (Today this mountain
is named ‘Mt. Ararat’) On this day
(10 Muharram) they all got off the
ship and Hazrat Nooh (alaihis-
salaam) ordered them to observe a
fast as thanksgiving unto Allah
SubhanhuWaTha'ala (subhanAllah!
wa alhamdulIllah to Allah
SubhanhuWaTha'ala for each and
every one of his blessings and
mashaAllah and Allahu Akbar!!! ).
Recently excavators have discovered
parts of this ship, and some Muslim
countries have preserved these parts
as holy relics.
AFTER THE FLOODS AND HAZRAT
NOOH’S alaihis salams' DEATH
After the floods Hazrat Nooh alaihis
salams and his followers started
civilization all over again. They built
towns and settlements and had to do
farming to grow fruit and vegetables.
From these 80 believers different
languages developed. They married
among themselves and produced
children. In this manner the world
began to be populated once more
with only Muslims. Remember that all
mankind were destroyed in the floods.
Hazrat Nooh (alaihis-salaam) and
his people had to populate and
develop the world all over again. For
this reason Hazrat Nooh is known as
the second Adam. Soon thereafter
Nabi Nooh alaihis salaam passed
away. According to the most
authentic reports he is buried
somewhere in the Musjidul-Haraam
of Makka. His age was 950 years
according to the Holy Quran.
THE SONS OF NABI NOOH
The three sons of Nabi Nooh
mentioned above were saved from the
floods, and they later on became the
ancestors of all mankind, the
Ambiyaa and their nations.
jazakAllahu khair for reading this
assaalamu alaikum wa
rahmatULLAHI wa barakathuhu
La Ilaha Illa Anta, subhanaka, Inni
Kunto Minal dhalimeen. (Al Anbiya
21:87) Nabi(SAW)said
'None who is experiencing difficulty
employs it except that Allah would
relieve him of his difficulty'