By: Sadruddin Noorani, Chicago, USA
Allah sent many Prophets after Adam (Peace Be Upon Him), guiding people to the truth. But Satan/Devil was hard at work too. He hated people praying to God alone, so he tricked them into praying to fire, sun, moon, animals, stones and many other imaginary figurines. Something had to be done to stop him…
The people were left stranded following the death of Prophet Idris (Enoch) (Peace Be Upon Him). Since no other man from amongst them was chosen as a Prophet, people began to look to the pious companions of Prophet Idris for guidance. They respected and followed these righteous men and consulted them for their questions and concerns. Eventually, as time passed by, the pious men also had passed away leaving people again with no leaders for guidance. They feared and were concerned that they would stray from the right path of God.
God sent the Prophet Nūḥ (Noah) (Peace Be Upon Him) to guide the people back. It was not an easy task for him”. “Fear Allah alone and do what Allah likes!” said Prophet Nūḥ. His people did not want to hear this, and they just stuck their fingers into their ears and walked away.
Prophet Nūḥ told the people that he was a messenger appointed by Allah to deliver His messages to them and urged them not to stray from Allah’s guidance. “Don’t you see how God made the moon light up the sky?” said Nūḥ, “and how He made the sun like a lamp? It was God who spread the Earth like a carpet for you. So why don’t you give any thanks?” Despite all his efforts, not everyone accepted the Divine guidance. His people did not care. “You are a man just like us,” they said. “We think you are lying.” Only a few people believed in Prophet Nūḥ. The rest of them just turned away. Prophet Nūḥ called them to God for nine hundred and fifty years. He never became tired, but his people did. “You have called us for too long,” they said. “If you do not stop, we will stone you!” Some people made Prophet Nūḥ’s life difficult and drove him away from their valley.
The more Prophet Nūḥ called his people, the more they turned away. So, he gave them a warning. “I fear for you the punishment of a painful day,” he said. “Bring us the punishment if you are telling the truth!” said Nuh’s people. They had no shame. Indeed, Nūḥ’s people had gone too far!
The Prophet was very sad, and he prayed to God for help. In response, God told Nuh to build a rescue ark. It was all part of God’s plan. The Prophet along with his followers at once put God’s order into practice and started making an ark. The unbelievers passed by making fun, laughed and poked fun at the Prophet as they wondered what the ark would be used for and where it would sail as there was no water for far around. “We shall make fun of you,” said Nūḥ, “just like you make fun of us.” He believed in the promise of God. It was about to come true… The story of Noah and the Ark is also mentioned in the Torah, the Bible and the Qur’an.
One day, when the ark was ready, dark storm-clouds gathered followed by lightning and thunder. Heavy raindrops began to fall from the sky and water started to gush up from the ground. At this very moment, God commanded Prophet Nuh to board into the ark a pair of every kind of creature he could find. The followers began “in the name of Allah” (Bismillah). He at once began to gather all kind of animals male and female, that came flying, hopping and jumping in pairs. Once all the animals were on board, the prophet led the followers into the ark. The rest of the people stayed behind. They thought it was all a joke. There was no turning back now.
Suddenly, rain poured down from the sky nonstop for many days and nights. Water gushed from springs sprouting in the ground. Sea waves rose like mountains. Water was flowing everywhere. Riding high on the waves, the ship was safe. The people on the ground found no place to safety. The tides swept them away. Everyone who had not believed the prophet was drowned in the flood and was never seen again nor their evil ways, and all those who listened and boarded the ark were saved.
Then one day, God commanded the storm to end, the earth quickly swallowed all the water, the sky stopped its rain, the wind calmed down and the clouds cleared. The ark came to rest safely on the side of a mountain as the flood was finally over. Prophet Nūḥ stepped out of the ark, followed by the believers. When their feet touched the ground, the believers fell to their knees and thanked God for saving them from the terrible flood.
Prophet Nuh and his followers were safe. The Devil’s trick did not work with Prophet Nūḥ. He followed the truth and did what God likes. That should be our aim in life.
How are we to understand the ark in this story? Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) has said: “My family among you are like Nūḥ’s ark. He who sails on it will be safe…” For Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims, the ark means the guidance given to us through the Holy Qur’an, by the Holy Prophet and his progeny, we are like the believers in the ark of Prophet Nūḥ and we too shall be provided protection.
The saying of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is as follows:
“The example of my household among you is like the example of Noah’s Ark among his people. Whoever rides it will be saved, and whoever leaves it will be drowned.” (Arjah al-Matlib, p. 329).
And the Imam of every age is the Nūḥ’s ark, on which the souls of believers can ride.
Some time went by, but the Devil did not rest. People fell for his tricks again. They carved shapes from stones and prayed to them. It seems as though they never learned. Did they really want to be taught the lesson again?
Source: Institute of Ismaili Studies, Prophets of Allah, London: Islamic Publications Limited.
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