seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Quran 11:36. And it was revealed to Noah: “None of your people will believe, except those who have already believed, so do not grieve over what they do.”
37. “And build the Ark, under Our eyes, and with Our inspiration, and do not address Me regarding those who did wrong; they are to be drowned.”
38. As he was building the ark, whenever some of his people passed by him, they ridiculed him. He said, “If you ridicule us, we will ridicule you, just as you ridicule.”
39. “You will surely know upon whom will come a torment that will abase him, and upon whom will fall a lasting torment.”
40. Until, when Our command came, and the volcano erupted, We said, “Board into it a pair of every kind, and your family—except those against whom the sentence has already been passed—and those who have believed.” But those who believed with him were only a few.
41. He said, “Embark in it. In the name of God shall be its sailing and its anchorage. My Lord is indeed Forgiving and Merciful.”
42. And so it sailed with them amidst waves like hills. And Noah called to his son, who had kept away, “O my son! Embark with us, and do not be with the disbelievers.”
43. He said, “I will take refuge on a mountain—it will protect me from the water.” He said, “There is no protection from God’s decree today, except for him on whom He has mercy.” And the waves surged between them, and he was among the drowned.
44. And it was said, “O earth, swallow your waters,” and “O heaven, clear up.” And the waters receded, and the event was concluded, and it settled on Judi, and it was proclaimed: “Away with the wicked people.”
45. And Noah called to his Lord. He said, “O My Lord, my son is of my family, and Your promise is true, and You are the Wisest of the wise.”
46. He said, “O Noah, he is not of your family. It is an unrighteous deed. So do not ask Me about something you know nothing about. I admonish you, lest you be one of the ignorant.”
47. He said, “O My Lord, I seek refuge with You, from asking You about what I have no knowledge of. Unless You forgive me, and have mercy on me, I will be one of the losers.”
48. It was said, “O Noah, disembark with peace from Us; and with blessings upon you, and upon communities from those with you. And other communities We will grant prosperity, and then a painful torment from Us will befall them.”
49. These are some stories from the past that we reveal to you. Neither you, nor your people knew them before this. So be patient. The future belongs to the pious
And this is from the commentary.
The laughing of the rigtheous at the wicked is not to be taken literally. You laugh at a thing to show your contempt for it; even as the disbelieving people showed their contempt for the making of the ark, the believer in Divine promise shows his contempt for their opposition and their plans to destroy him. Kf gives another significance: If you think us ignorant on account of what we are doing, we consider you ignorant on account of your disbelief ... because your thinking us ignorant is due really to your own ignorance.
It should be borne in mind that the Qur’ån does not give any countenance to the story that the deluge covered the whole surface of the earth. On the other hand, it repeatedly speaks of Noah as having been sent to his people, i.e. to a single tribe, and according to the Divine law the punishment must have overtaken his people, who not only rejected the truth, but also sought to destroy Noah and his followers. The mention of the water flowing from the valley also shows that it was only a tract of land that was deluged, and not the entire earth. The taking in of a pair of all things does not mean that Noah had travelled over the whole earth and taken a pair of every living animal wherever it could be found: in that case he would have spent perhaps a thousand years in collecting pairs of all living creatures on earth, and then without success. The order is clearly to take in pairs of all those things that he considered necessary for himself and those who were with him in the ark. The Bible narrative, which makes God “bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven” (Gen. 6:17), and then makes Noah collect and lodge in an ark a pair of each of the thousands of animals and birds, cannot be accepted.
So... The Quran doesn't accept that Noah took his family into the Ark and they all survived the deluge of the whole world. I've been in floods. I've been in a flood that moved a house off its foundation. I've never been in a flood that started with a volcano going off to announce it.... but I've been through a few big big hurricanes. I was living in Baltimore County when a hurricane went though and turned a trickling brook into a raging river that killed people. I know the power of water.... but I have never been in a flood that I thought was going to envelope the planet and destroy everyone except the fish. So I can totally understand why the story of Noah would make a few wonder about the perfection of the written word.
Check out verse 43..... One of Noah's sons decided not to get on the boat.... Noah's own son thought he could "ride it out" on high ground. He couldn't find ground high enough.... now that kind of flood would make me wonder if the flood would ever end.
Noah had three sons.... guess I better change that favorite phrase to Noah had three sons who got on the boat. After all, back in the days of Noah... children were everywhere. Women were always pregnant or soon to be pregnant. Humans were populating the earth.... the idea of "spilled sperm" was unheard of. Children were welcome..... Noah may have had 20 sons before the flood.
Only three sons made it on to the Ark.... according to the Bible. Only three sons decided to get on the Ark.... according to the Quran.
In the area where Noah lived.... let's face it.... they were pretty much all related..... Biblically, the Tower of Babble and the splitting of humanity didn't happen until after the flood. So back in the days of Noah.... most people were hanging with tribes. It was more secure that way. So... most of the people who didn't get on the boat.... were relatives. Sure Noah went out looking for them. If God didn't want them on that boat.... there was no way they were getting on it.
These verses include an attempt at water rescue.
