الحمد لله نحمده ونستعينة ونستغفره، ونعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا، ومن سيئات أعمالنا ، وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له ، وأشهد أن سيدنا محمداً عبده ورسوله ، اللهم صلِّ وسلم وبارك على سيدنا محمد وعلى آله وأصحابه  ومن تبعه إلى يوم الدين

This talk is a follow up of last week talk and here I will, inshallah address several issues and these are:

1. Clarify couple of points that I made last time regarding the time between Prophet Adam and Prophet Nuh and the nature of the messengers that were present with Prophet Nuh.
2. Explain the meaning of the sign that was established to start the loading the ship.
3. Address the issue of the nature of animals that were in the ship.
4. Speculate on the most likely location of the ship and whether the whole ship is still present or only parts of it.

Last week we highlighted the importance of stories in the Quran and that they serve two purposes, they provide key lessons and offer educational strategy to increase the analytical capabilities and cognitive capacity of the serious reader of the Quran. 

We mentioned several key lessons and then discussed several elements of the Story of Prophet Nuh (Noah) as presented in the Quran and illustrated their differences from those in the Old Testaments and showed why the Old Testament accounts are not logical.

We illustrated that the flood of the whole earth is not justified by the Quran and that the flood may have been limited to the area in which Prophet Nuh was directly preaching and it is unlikely to cover the areas that are not inhabited by people and areas where the other messengers, who existed during the life of Prophet Nuh were preaching.

In last week talk, I suggested that the likely average age in prophet Adam time was 5,000 years by extrapolating from the age of prophet Ibrahim to the age of prophet Nuh.  However, I was reminded there is a hadith reported by Imam Ahmad that mentioned that Prophet Adam’s age was 960 years. However, there is another very similar hadith that was reported by Imam Al-Tirmidhi and does not mention Prophet Adam’s age.  The hadith by Imam Ahmad that mentions the age and was narrated by Ibn Abbas is as follows:

عن عبدالله بن عباس قال قال رسول الله – صلى الله عليه وسلم – : إن الله عز وجل لما خلق آدم مسح ظهره فأخرج منه ما هو من ذراري إلى يوم القيامة، فجعل يعرض ذريته عليه فرأى فيهم رجلا يزهر، فقال: أي رب من هذا؟ قال: هذا ابنك داود، قال: أي رب كم عمره؟ قال: ستون عاما، قال رب: زد في عمره. قال: لا، إلا أن أزيده من عمرك، وكان عمر آدم ألف عام. فزاده أربعين عاما، فكتب الله عز وجل عليه بذلك كتابا وأشهد عليه الملائكة، فلما احتضر آدم وأتته الملائكة لتقبضه قال: إنه قد بقي من عمري أربعون عاما، فقيل إنك قد وهبتها لابنك داود قال: ما فعلت، وأبرز الله عز وجل عليه الكتاب وشهدت عليه الملائكة. )رواه أحمد (

“When Allah created Adam, He wiped over his back and came out of it all his offspring that Allah will create until the Day of Judgement.  Allah showed Adam his offspring.  Adam saw one of them shining with light.  Adam asked: “My Lord who are they?  Allah said: he is your son Dawoud (David).  Adam asked:  My Lord, what is his age?  Allah said: sixty years.  Adam said: My Lord increase his age.  Allah said: No, unless I increase in his age from your age. Adam knew that his age is 1000 years. So, Allah increased Daud age 40 years.  Allah wrote with this a book that is witnessed by the angels.

When the angel of death came to Adam, he said there are forty years remaining.  He is told, you have granted them to your son Dawoud (David).

Adam said:  I did not.   Allah produced for him the book and the angels testified about in the book. “(Reported by Ahmad)

The Hadith by Imam Al-Tirmidhi that does not mention the age and was narrated by Abu Hurrirah is as follows: 

عن أبي هريرة قال : قال رسول الله – صلى الله عليه وسلم – : لما خلق الله آدم مسح ظهره فسقط عن ظهره كل نسمة هو خالقها من ذريته إلى يوم القيامة ، وجعل بين عيني كل إنسان منهم وبيصا من نور ، ثم عرضهم على آدم ، فقال أي رب ! من هؤلاء ؟ فقال ذريتك . فرأى رجلا منهم فأعجبه ، وبيص ما بين عينيه ، قال : أي رب ! من هذا ؟ قال : داود . فقال : رب ! كم جعلت عمره ؟ قال : ستين سنة . قال : رب زده من عمري أربعين سنة ) . قال رسول الله – صلى الله عليه وسلم – : ( فلما انقضى عمر آدم إلا أربعين جاءه ملك الموت ، فقال آدم ) : أولم يبق من عمري أربعون سنة ؟ قال : أولم تعطها ابنك داود ؟ ! فجحد آدم ، فجحدت ذريته ، ونسي آدم فأكل من الشجرة ، فنسيت ذريته ، وخطأ وخطأت ذريته ) رواه الترمذي .

“When Allah created Adam, He wiped his back brought from it every soul of his offspring that Allah will create until the Day of Judgement.  Allah put on the forehead of every one of them a flash of light, then showed them to Adam. Adam asked: “My Lord who are they?  Allah said: They are your offspring.

Adam saw one of them and he was charmed by a bright flash between his eyes. He asked: My Lord, who is this?  Allah said: he is Dawoud (David).

Adam asked:  My Lord, what is his age?  Allah said: sixty years.

Adam said: My Lord give him from my age 40 years. 

When the age of Adam ended minus the 40 years. The angel of death came to him

Adam said: Is it not that I still have 40 years.  The angel said: didn’t you give it to your son Dawoud (David). 

The Prophet said: Adam denied it and his offspring will deny.  Adam forgot and ate from the tree and his offspringg will forget.  Adam made mistake and his offspring will make mistakes. (Reported by Al-Tirmidhi)

The second issue is existence of messengers during the time of Prophet Nuh, in some books of Tafseer, it is suggested that these messengers were send by Prophet Nuh and not by Allah.  But there is nothing to justify that the messengers that are mentioned in the following verses were not sent by Allah.   The important point that remains is that Prophet Nuh was the first messenger, but he was not the only messenger at that time as Allah says:

وَقَوۡمَ نُوحٍ۬ لَّمَّا ڪَذَّبُواْ ٱلرُّسُلَ أَغۡرَقۡنَـٰهُمۡ وَجَعَلۡنَـٰهُمۡ لِلنَّاسِ ءَايَةً۬‌ۖ  (٣٧)

“And for the people of Nuh (Noah), when they rejected the Messengers, We drowned them and made them as a sign for mankind.” (Al-Furqan 25:37)

كَذَّبَتۡ قَوۡمُ نُوحٍ ٱلۡمُرۡسَلِينَ (الشعراء (

“The people of Nuh (Noah) rejected the Messengers.” (Al-Shura 26:105)

Now, let us address the question that has created confusion because what is included in the Old Testament regarding the numbers of animals that Prophet Nuh carried with him in the Ship.  The Quran suggests that not all the earth was flooded and thus the only animals to be saved are those in the area where the flood occurred.  The command to Prophet Nuh that ended with last week was as follows:

حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا جَآءَ أَمۡرُنَا وَفَارَ ٱلتَّنُّورُ قُلۡنَا ٱحۡمِلۡ فِيہَا مِن ڪُلٍّ۬ زَوۡجَيۡنِ ٱثۡنَيۡنِ وَأَهۡلَكَ إِلَّا مَن سَبَقَ عَلَيۡهِ ٱلۡقَوۡلُ وَمَنۡ ءَامَنَ‌ۚ وَمَآ ءَامَنَ مَعَهُ ۥۤ إِلَّا قَلِيلٌ۬  (هود(

When Our command came to pass and “Al Tanour” gushed, We said: Load in it from every pair two and your family, except those against whom the word already been pronounced, and take those who have believed. And there were only few who believed with him.” (Hud 11:40)

In the last week talk, I suggested that there are two phrases that need explanations, the first is the phrase “gushing or overflowing of Al-Tanour” (وَفَارَ ٱلتَّنُّورُ) which was the sign to start loading the Ship and the second phrase is “from every pair two (مِن ڪُلٍّ۬ زَوۡجَيۡنِ ٱثۡنَيۡنِ).  In the first phrase, what is “Al-Tanour” and in the second phrase what does “from every pair two” mean. 

In the first phrase, what is the meaning of “Al-Tanour”?  Interpreters of the Quran suggested many different meanings for this “Al-Tanour” that will overflow and become a sign to all who see it to come to the Ship.   However, the most logical interpretation seems that this sign refers to a volcano that will be erupted and all those who are intended to be with Prophet Nuh on the Ship will be able to see it and start travelling towards the ship. 

However, there is one very interesting interpretation and that Al-Tanour” is a steam engine that Allah taught Prophet Nuh how to build as He taught him how to build the ship as Allah said:

وَٱصۡنَعِ ٱلۡفُلۡكَ بِأَعۡيُنِنَا وَوَحۡيِنَا ( هود (

“And construct the ship under Our Eyes and according to Our Revelation.” (Hud 11:37)

So, since Allah taught Prophet Nuh how to build the ship, it is possible that Allah also taught him how to build the steam engine.  The sign for those who are intended to ride on the ship is when the engine is fired, and the steam gushed out of it.  Obviously, the only way to verify the steam engine interpretation is to find the Ship.  Until the ship is found, the idea of an erupted volcano seems to be the most logical.

The phrase “from every pair two (مِن ڪُلٍّ۬ زَوۡجَيۡنِ ٱثۡنَيۡنِ) does not imply that all the kinds of animals were taken in the ship because as we have discussed previously in the discussion on the concept of Biddah, the word (ڪُلٍّ۬) which is translated as every or all, does not mean everything.  In the talk on Biddah, I referenced a book that has been dedicated to this word “Kul”. Therefore, the objection to the idea that the ship of Prophet Nuh cannot carry all the species that exist is not relevant to the account in the Quran.

The other words in the phrase are (زَوۡجَيۡنِ ٱثۡنَيۡنِ) (a pair of two).  This means that the command is to carry 4 animals of each type that Prophet Nuh wanted to save, two females and two males and this is to ensure redundancy. 

The remaining and probably the most intriguing question is where did the ship land whether it still exists since Allah is said that He left it as sign for mankind.  Allah said:

وَحَمَلۡنَـٰهُ عَلَىٰ ذَاتِ أَلۡوَٲحٍ۬ وَدُسُرٍ۬ (١٣) تَجۡرِى بِأَعۡيُنِنَا جَزَآءً۬ لِّمَن كَانَ كُفِرَ (١٤) وَلَقَد تَّرَكۡنَـٰهَآ ءَايَةً۬ فَهَلۡ مِن مُّدَّكِرٍ۬ (١٥(

“And We carried him upon the ship of planks and nails, (13) That sailed under Our Sight, as a reward for him who was rejected. (14) And Indeed, We left it (the ship) as a sign.  So, is there anyone to remember?” (Al-Qamar 54: 13-15)

In this verse Allah provided specific details about the construction materials of the ship and these are the planks and the nails.  Does this mean that these two items are the only things that are remaining as a sign or is the whole ship remains as sign?  The Quran does not give us a firm answer beyond affirming that the ship’s two key building materials (أَلۡوَٲحٍ۬ وَدُسُرٍ۬) remain until now.   

Note that the term “Alwaah” (أَلۡوَٲحٍ۬) is translated as “wood planks” and the term “Dusur” (دُسُرٍ۬) is translated as nails. This may make finding the ship easier using metal detectors.  However, the record shows that metal nails were used in ancient Egypt around 3500 BC and we estimated that Prophet Noah was around 7500 BC.  This, Allah must have taught him how to make them.   However, the term (دُسُرٍ۬) can also mean ropes that were available and can be used to assemble the ship.

Also, the verb related to the term “Dusur” is “Dasar” (دَسَرَ) that means push hard.  Could the term “Dusur” (دُسُرٍ۬) be referring to the engine that pushed the ship in the water and not merely the materials that held the planks of the ship tightly together, Allah knows best.  Only, when we find the ship, will we really know.  

This point of having specific elements of the ship remaining as a sign for mankind and not the whole ship is noted because Allah used two other terms when referring to the ship of Prophet Nuh.  One term is Fulk (فلك) and the second term is Safina (سفينة) and both are translated as ship.

The term Fulk (فلك) is used in the Quran 23 times with 8 related to the ship of Prophet Nuh and in none of these verses, Allah mentioned that it is remaining as a sign for mankind.   

The term Safina (سفينة) came in the Quran 3 times with one related to the ship of Prophet Nuh and in this case, Allah says:

فَأَنجَيۡنَـٰهُ وَأَصۡحَـٰبَ ٱلسَّفِينَةِ وَجَعَلۡنَـٰهَآ ءَايَةً۬ لِّلۡعَـٰلَمِينَ (١٥)

“And We saved him and the people of the ship and made of it a sign for the worlds.” (Al-Ankabout 29:15)

In this verse, is the sign the ship or is the sign the saving of Prophet Nuh and the people of the ship.  The verse can be interpreted to mean either.   Therefore, this verse is not as clear as the verse in Surat Al-Qamar that specifies the materials of constriction, the   planks and the nails (أَلۡوَٲحٍ۬ وَدُسُرٍ۬), as the ones that are saved as a sign for mankind.  

The key question is where the ship landed for explorers to look for it.  Although there are reports that the ship was found at different places, none of these reports has been proven true so far.  One of the problems in validating what people find is when was Prophet Noah.  People think that the flood occurred 4,400 years ago based on the Bible, but in my talk last time, I proposed that it was about 10,000 years ago based on a hadith by the Prophet (PBUH).  Also, note that in my previous talk, I presented population studies that suggested that the earth was inhabited by one million people 12,000 years ago.  

Regarding where the ship could be found, the Quran informs us that the ship landed on Al-Judi, as Allah says:

وَقِيلَ يَـٰٓأَرۡضُ ٱبۡلَعِى مَآءَكِ وَيَـٰسَمَآءُ أَقۡلِعِى وَغِيضَ ٱلۡمَآءُ وَقُضِىَ ٱلۡأَمۡرُ وَٱسۡتَوَتۡ عَلَى ٱلۡجُودِىِّ‌ۖ وَقِيلَ بُعۡدً۬ا لِّلۡقَوۡمِ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ (هود(

“And it was said: “O earth! Swallow your water and, O sky! stop! And the water subsided. And the matter was fulfilled. And it (the ship) came to rest upon Al-Judi and it was said: Away with the wrongdoers!” (Hud 11:44)

As we mentioned in the previous talk, the Epic of Gilgamesh (ملحمة جلجامش) stated that the ship landed on the mountain of Naseer (جبل نصير) and the Old Testament stated that it landed on the mountain of Ararat (جبل أرارات).  The mountain of Naeer (جبل نصير) is located in Iraq near the city Al-Sulaymaniyah (القرب من المدينة السليمانية في كردستان i), and the mountain of Ararat (جبل أرارات) is located in the extreme east of Turkey.  Also, the mountain of Al-Judi (الجودى) is located in North Iraq near the city of Mosel (الموصل).   

The question is whether the names of these mountains existed before these documents existed or the names of the mountains were given by the people to justify what is in the documents?  But it would be hard to suggest that these names were merely invented by the writers of the legend of Gilgamesh or the Old Testament because it will be easy to prove the inaccuracy of the names since there exist mountains with these names.

The question is whether these names refer to names of specific mountains or do they refer to a description of the one mountain on which the ship landed.  Supporting that the name is related to a description is the change of the name of the mountain in the Old Testament to Ararat from the name Naseer in the Epic of Gilgamesh (ملحمة جلجامش) from which the story in the Old Testament was copied.   

If the name is a description, these three names, Naseer, Ararat and Al-Judi, must be related to each other. 

1. The mountain name Naseer (جبل نصير) could mean the mountain on which victory and help is granted. Note that one of Allah’s glorious names is Al-Naseer (النَّصير:) that means “The Helper and the Granter of Victory”.
2. The mountain name Ararat (جبل أرارات) needs to be resolved by knowing what the word Ararat mean in Hebrew. In Hebrew, the word “Ar” means city” and the “Arat: means “to grab”.  Could the name Ararat mean “the place that grabbed the ship”
3. The name Al-Judi (الجودى) means the blessings. This means that ship is landed in the mountain of blessings.

Therefore, it seems that all the three names of the mountain where the ship landed are related.  They imply that the mountain on which the ship landed is a blessed location that grabbed the ship, and this was done by the help of Allah.   This does not help us identify the mountain until we examine where Prophet Nuh lived.  

We can justify the Prophet Nuh lived in Arabia based on some observations:

1. Prophet Adam lived in Arabia where the angels built for him the first place of worship in the earth in Mecca and most likely his descendants lived there.
2. The two prophets who came after Prophet Nuh are Hud and Saleh and they lived in Arabia where they were prophets to the people of Ad and the people of Thamud.
3. The names of the Idols that were worshipped by Prophet Nuh’s people (ود و سواعا و يغوث ويعوق ونسر) are names of idols that were worshipped in Arabia until Islam came.
4. Since we suggested that an erupted volcano could have been the sign for Prophet Nuh to start loading the ship, there are at least 13 main volcanos that have erupted in Arabia long time ago.

If Prophet Nuh was in Arabia and the flood occurred in Arabia, the mountain on which the ship landed is most likely be also in Arabia.  There is one recent Islamic scholar who suggested that prophet Nuh’s ship landed in the mountain of Shamonaseer (جبل شمنصير) which is located about 100 km northeast of Mecca. In general, I don’t give references because I don’t want you to make your decision to accept or reject an idea based on the person who is saying it, but I want you to make your decision based on the merit of the idea itself.  After all, you are not obligated to accept any idea unless it makes sense to you.  But here, I am going to give the reference because of the uniqueness of the identified location, he is the Palestinian religious scholar Dr. Mohammad Al-Mubayad (محمد المبيض). 

Obviously, most people will justifiably question the relevance of this mountain, Shamonaseer (جبل شمنصير), because its name appears to have no relationship to the meaning of the other names Al-Judi (الجودى), Naseer (جبل نصير) and Ararat (جبل أرارات).  But this may be resolved by noting that this name is very odd name in the structure of Arabic language, and it is most likely a combination of two names: “Shamon” and “Naseer”. The word “Naseer” has a meaning of victory and help as we have discussed, and its meaning is related to the meaning of the name Al-Judi. 

But what does “Shamon” mean?  The word “Shamon” in Hebrew means the number eighty.  Number 80 in Hebrew sounds in English as “shmoneem”.  We previously discussed that the number of people who were saved with Prophet Nuh in the ship is 80.  So, one can say that the name of the mountain Shamonaseer (جبل شمنصير) means the mountain on which 80 people were saved by Allah.  And thus, this mountain could have been named after the victorious eighty people who were with Prophet Nuh on the ship.

In fact, at the bottom of the mountain a village called the village of Shamon (قرية شمن قرب جبل شمنصير) meaning the village of the eighty.  And west of the mountain is the village of Rahat (قرية رهاط).  Note the similarity in the sounding of the Old Testament’s name Ara-Arat (أرارات) which means the city of Arat with the sound of the village of Rahat.  

It is interesting that this mountain Shamonaseer (جبل شمنصير) is blessed in that it can hold rainwater and thus plants grow on it and the water in it transforms into perpetual springs from which water flows down to the villages at its bottom.

I’ll stop here and I’ll leave it up to you to study the subject further if interested.  Hope, this presentation increases your curiosity to take a trip to this mountain when you go to Saudi Arabia in Ummrah or Hajj.  You may be that explorer who will be blessed and find the planks and the nails, if not the ship.

DUA