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Moral Degradation:
The Prophet Adam (peace be upon him) had left his progeny in a state of
social and moral health but gradually they began to forget the teachings of
Allah. They adopted the wrong path and indulged in corruption and depravity.
They became mean, evil-doers and greedy. They cheated and hurt one another.
They began to worship idols and forgot to pray to Almighty Allah. The entire
society had been split up into different sections and this state of affairs
had given birth to oppression and injustice.
The Advent of Prophet Nuh:
Under these circumstances Allah, the Most Merciful, wanted the people to be
good again. He sent Nuh as His apostle for the reclamation of the depraved
humanity dwelling in that part of the earth which is called 'Iraq in the
present era. Those people believed in Allah but they associated other gods
with Allah, the Supreme. The priests of these deities exercised great
control over all affairs. The people offered sacrifices in the name of their
deities to please them. They spent the money lavishly and thus their
condition became miserable. The Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him) like other
prophets was sincere, pious, patient and trustworthy. He was strong in his
will and determination. Angel Gabriel (Jibra'il) conveyed him the teachings
from Allah. He was commanded to reform the people who had been led astray by
the Satan. He kept on preaching the faith of Allah and directed the people
to pray to One God. He advised them to refrain from doing evil deeds. The
Holy Qur'an affirms his endeavours to reform his people in the following
Verses:
"He (Nuh) said: 0' my people! serve Allah. There is no god other than Him.
If you refuse, verily I fear for you chastisement of a grievous day. The
Chiefs of his people said: Most certainly we perceive you in clear error. He
said: O' my people! There is no error in me but I am an Apostle from the
lord of the worlds. I deliver to you the message of my Lord and I counsel
you right (7: 59,60)
Again in the following Verses the Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him) warned his
people by declaring:
"O' my people! Surely I am a plain warner to you bidding you to serve Allah
and be mindful of your duty to Him, and obey me so that He may forgive your
faults." (71:2-4)
The Prophet Nuh was opposed:
Most of the people did not believe in the Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him).
They made fun of him and ridiculed him as a mad man. Whenever he tried to
convey the message of Allah to them, they began to thrust their fingers into
their ears. They persisted in their infidelity and proudly disdained his
counsel to do good deeds. The people were so stubborn under the influence of
their priests that they paid no heed to the message of Allah and their
aversion rapidly increased. At last in sheer disgust the Prophet Nuh (peace
be upon him) had to cry out:
"My Lord! Leave not upon land any dweller from among the disbelievers. For
surely if You leave them, they will lead astray Your servants and will not
beget any but immoral ungrateful offspring.
My Lord! Forgive me and my parents and him who enters my house believing,
and the believing males and females and do not increase the unjust in aught
but destruction." (71: 26-28)
Preparation of an Ark:
Consequently Almighty Allah answered the prayer of Prophet Nuh (peace be
upon him) by asking him to build an ark (a very big boat). The Prophet Nuh
(peace be upon him) knew that Allah planned to drown all those sinners who
had rejected His Commandments. He began to build the ark with the help of
his followers. They went on working constantly from dawn to dusk. When the
boat began to take shape, the disbelievers made fun of them. The
transgressors thought that the Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him) and his
followers were becoming crazy and were losing their balance of mind. The
Holy Qur'an says:
"And he began to build the ark and whenever the chiefs among his people
passed by him, they deride him but he said: Though you scoff at us now, we
will scoff at you in Hereafter." (11:38)
Calamity befalls:
When the big ark was completed, the sky became cloudy. It started to rain in
torrents. The streams became bulging with water. The Valleys were in the
grip of food. There was water everywhere. The lightning was frightening and
the thunder made the hearts pound fast. Every one was scared and worried
except the Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him) and his Followers. The Holy
Qur'an gives the description of this terrible deluge in the following
Verses:
"So We opened the gates of the heavens with water pouring down and We caused
the earth to gush forth its springs, so the water of the heavens and the
earth gathered together according to measure already ordained." (54: 11, 12)
The Prophet Nuh (peace be upon trim) called on his family and followers to
embark the boat. They came rushing to the ark. There was a special place in
the boat for all the animates including human beings and their animals. The
ark sailed amid waves like mountains while the streams of water were rising
fast and filling many houses with water through the windows and the doors.
Many houses collapsed and dashed to the ground. Some of them tried to swim
but in vain. They were in a pathetic condition but they deserved it. The son
of Nuh was separated from him because he was an evil-doer. The Prophet Nuh
(peace be upon him) prayed to his Lord and said:
"Surely, my son belongs to my family and Your promise is true. Allah said:
Surely, he is not of your family. He is of evil conduct, therefore ask not
of Me that of which you have no knowledge." (11:45, 46)
In the meantime the water rose higher and higher. The whole area was under
the sway of flood and all the disbelievers were drowned. The Prophet Nuh
(peace be upon him) and his followers were safe and sound in the ark which
was floating without any obstruction of huge waves. Finally the rain stopped
and the water abated. The sky became clear.
The Prophet Nuh and his followers Remain Safe:
The Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him) and his believers sheltered in a safe
place. They built new houses and worked hard in the fields. The next
generation which sprang up from the survived believers included God-fearing
persons. They worshipped one God and acted according to His teachings. The
Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him) lived for about 950 years. After this
dreadful destruction the people abstained from committing sins for sometime.
Afterwards they began to be loose in their actions.
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