Tafsir

The End of the Flood

Allah, the Exalted, informs that when the people of the earth were all drowned, except for the people on the ship, He commanded the earth to swallow its water, which had sprang from it and gathered upon it. Then He commanded the sky to cease raining. وَغِيضَ الْمَآءُ(And the water was made to subside) This means that it (the water) began to decrease. وَقُضِىَ الاٌّمْرُ(and the decree was fulfilled.) This means that all of those who disbelieved in Allah were removed from the people of the earth. Not a single one of them remained upon the earth. وَاسْتَوَتْ(And it (the ship) rested) This is referring to the ship and those who were in it. عَلَى الْجُودِىِّ(on (Mount) Judi.) Mujahid said, "Judi is a mountain in Al-Jazirah (Northwest Mesopotamia) where the mountains sought to tower above each other on the day of the drowning. On that day of destruction, all the mountains sought to be higher (to avoid being overcome by the water). However, this mountain (Judi) humbled itself for Allah, the Mighty and Sublime, and therefore it was not drowned.

This is why Nuh's ship anchored upon it." Qatadah said, "The ship rested upon it (Mount Judi) for a month before they (the people) came down from it. " Qatadah also said, "Allah made Nuh's ship remain on Mount Judi in the land of Al-Jazirah, as a lesson and a sign." Even the early generations of this Ummah saw it. How many ships are there that have come after it and have been destroyed and became dust وَقِيلَ بُعْدًا لِّلْقَوْمِ الظَّـلِمِينَ(and it was said: "Away with the people who are wrongdoing!") means destruction and loss for them. The term "away with" here implies being far away from the mercy of Allah. For verily, they were destroyed to the last of them, and none of them survived.

At the end of the fourth verse (44), it was said that the heaven and the earth obeyed the orders and the matter of the flood was all over. The Ark of Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) came to rest on the Mount Judiyy and it was declared that the unjust people have been cast far ` away from the mercy of Allah' - (which is what curse is).

Mount Judiyy still stands there by that name. Geographically, it is located on the border of Armenia near Ibn ` Umar Island north of Mousil in ` Iraq, the real home of Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) . This is a mountain range, part of which is called Judiyy. Another part of it is known as Ararat. In the present Torah, the place where the Ark came to rest has been identified as Mount Ararat. As obvious, there is not much of a contradiction in these two reports. But, well-known old historical accounts also say that the ark of Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) had come to rest on Mount Judiyy.

These accounts also mention that pieces of this ark are still there at many places in ` Iraq. These are kept and used as a relic.

According to Tafsir at-Tabari and al-Baghawi, Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) had embarked the Ark on the tenth of the month of Rajab. For six months, this ark sailed on the waters of the flood. When it reached the spot where Baytullah was, it made seven circuits. Allah Ta` ala had raised His House higher from being submerged. Then, on the tenth of Muharram, the day of ` Ashura', the flood subsided and the ark came to rest at the Mount of Judiyy. Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) observed a thanks-giving fast on that day and asked everyone on the ark to do the same. Some reports say that even animals that had shared the ark fasted on that day. (Mazhari and Qurtubi)The importance of the day of ` Ashura', that is, the tenth of Muharram, has been recognized in all religious codes of the blessed prophets. In early Islam - before the fasts of Ramadan became obligatory - fasting on the day of ` Ashura' was fard. It is no more fard after the revelation of the obligatory status of fasting in Ramadan, but it continues to be a practice of prophets, and a source of reward forever.

وقال الله للأرض -بعد هلاك قوم نوح-: يا أرض اشربي ماءك، ويا سماء أمسكي عن المطر، ونقص الماء ونضب، وقُضي أمر الله بهلاك قوم نوح، ورست السفينة على جبل الجوديِّ، وقيل: هلاكًا وبعدًا للقوم الظالمين الذين تجاوزوا حدود الله، ولم يؤمنوا به.