Scientific Facts In The Story Of The Flood Of Noah
We sent Noah to his people and he remained among them for fifty short of a thousand years; yet the Flood engulfed them while they were wrongdoers. (Surat al-'Ankabut, 14)
The Prophet Noah (as) spent many years advising the people to whom he was sent as a Prophet to put an end to ascribing partners to Allah and abandon their improper behavior or they would pay a heavy price. Even though he warned his people about the wrath of Allah several times, they still disbelieved in him and continued to worship a number of false “gods” and idols. At this, Allah told the Prophet Noah (as) that He would punish those who denied Him by drowning them, but that believers would be saved. The destruction of the people of Noah (as) and the salvation of those who believed is described as follows in the Qur'an:
But they denied him so We rescued him and those with him in the Ark. And We drowned the people who denied Our Signs. They were a blind people. (Surat al-A'raf, 64)
The events that took place when the time for Allah's promised punishment came are described thus:
So when Our command came, and water bubbled up from the earth, We said, 'Load into it a pair of every species, and your family –except for those against whom the Word was preordained– and all who believe.' But those who believed with him were only few. (Surah Hud, 40)
 |
| The term “the oven gushed forth” in the verse refers to boiling lava being ejected from within the mountain. (Allah knows the truth.) |
The beginning of the punishment is described as when "water bubbled up from the earth." The Arabic word translated as "earth" is "alttannooru". This describes a kind of oven made by digging a hole in the ground, and therefore refers to the volcanic fire inside a mountain. (Allah knows the truth.) The Arabic word "wafara" in the verse means "burned strongly, produced bubbles, boiled up, boiled over, produced a foam". Therefore, the reference in the verse would seem to be to the flowing, molten lava in the mountain.
In another verse, the moment when Prophet Noah (as) boarded the Ark is dubbed "when water bubbles up from the earth". This may also be a reference to hot steam or smoke rising from a volcano immediately before an eruption:
We revealed to him: 'Build the Ship under Our supervision and as We reveal. When Our command comes and water bubbles up from the earth, load into it a pair of every species, and your family – except for those among them against whom the Word has already gone ahead. And do not address Me concerning those who do wrong. They shall be drowned. (Surat al-Muminun, 27)
 |
| Photograph of the Cleveland Volcano in Alaska taken from the International Space Station. |
The molten lava flowing in the wake of the eruption may have caused the ice on the mountain to melt. Intense steam was caused by the combination of heat and cold – meanwhile, the molten lava flowed into the sea may have given rise to intense rains. Flooding was the result of these phenomena, and sources of water on land may also have overflowed as a consequence of the severe rains. (Allah knows the truth.)
So We opened the gates of heaven with torrential water and made the earth burst forth with gushing springs. And the waters met together in a way which was decreed. We bore him on a planked and well-caulked ship. (Surat al-Qamar, 11-13)
The words “Earth, swallow up your water” in the verse may be a reference to water on the ground being pulled underground, as with artesian waters. (Allah knows the truth.)
|
Whilst those who boarded the Prophet Noah’s (as) Ark were saved, those that had rejected Allah’s Messenger was drowned. This group included the Prophet Noah’s (as) own son who mistakenly imagined he could escape by seeking refuge on a mountain nearby:
It sailed with them through mountainous waves, and Noah called out to his son, who had kept himself apart, 'My son! Come on board with us. Do not stay with the unbelievers!' He said, 'I will take refuge on a mountain; It will protect me from the flood.' He said, 'There is no protection from Allah's command today except for those He has mercy on.' The waves surged in between them and he was among the drowned. (Surah Hud, 42-43)
When the flood waters finally receded, the Ark settled on al-Judi, meaning a very high place:
It was said, 'Earth, swallow up your water!' and, 'Heaven, hold back your rain!' And the water subsided and the affair was concluded and the Ark came to land on al-judi. And it was said, 'Away with the people of the wrongdoers!' (Surah Hud, 44)
Shortly after, when the mountains stopped churning forth lava, the waters resumed their former equilibrium as the air cooled down and withdrew back underground. Some of the water may also have risen into the air as water vapor. Later, the water level returned to normal. Allah's command to the earth to"swallow!" and to the sky to "hold back!" summarizes this process extremely concisely. The Arabic word "belea," which appears in the verse in the form"ibla’ee," means "swallow up and eliminate, pull back." The reference to the earth swallowing up its water notes the formation of subterranean water sources – this all happens as the water on the surface retreats underground again. The Arabic verb "aklaa", which takes the form "aqli’ae" in the verse, means "the dispersal of clouds, rain stopping, or abandoning a matter or course of action." The description is therefore one of the air cooling down as lava stops flowing. Then rain then stops because the water vapor level in the air returns to normal - and finally, this vapor in the clouds disperses into the air. (Allah knows the truth.)
 |  |
This chain of events, in complete agreement with the scientific facts only established in the last century or so, is detailed with brilliant accuracy in the Qur'an. It is just one of the proofs that Islam’s Holy Book—comprising information about many branches of science, such as geography, geology and meteorology—is in complete harmony with the science of today.
