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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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