PROPHET Noah (Nuh) (peace be upon him)

Moral Degradation:

The Prophet Adam (peace be upon him) had left his progeny in a state of social and moral health but gradually they began to forget the teachings of Allah. They adopted the wrong path and indulged in corruption and depravity. They became mean, evil-doers and greedy. They cheated and hurt one another. They began to worship idols and forgot to pray to Almighty Allah. The entire society had been split up into different sections and this state of affairs had given birth to oppression and injustice.

The Advent of Prophet Nuh:

Under these circumstances Allah, the Most Merciful, wanted the people to be good again. He sent Nuh as His apostle for the reclamation of the depraved humanity dwelling in that part of the earth which is called 'Iraq in the present era. Those people believed in Allah but they associated other gods with Allah, the Supreme. The priests of these deities exercised great control over all affairs. The people offered sacrifices in the name of their deities to please them. They spent the money lavishly and thus their condition became miserable. The Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him) like other prophets was sincere, pious, patient and trustworthy. He was strong in his will and determination. Angel Gabriel (Jibra'il) conveyed him the teachings from Allah. He was commanded to reform the people who had been led astray by the Satan. He kept on preaching the faith of Allah and directed the people to pray to One God. He advised them to refrain from doing evil deeds. The Holy Qur'an affirms his endeavours to reform his people in the following

Verses:

"He (Nuh) said: 0' my people! serve Allah. There is no god other than Him. If you refuse, verily I fear for you chastisement of a grievous day. The Chiefs of his people said: Most certainly we perceive you in clear error. He said: O' my people! There is no error in me but I am an Apostle from the lord of the worlds. I deliver to you the message of my Lord and I counsel you right
(7: 59,60)

Again in the following Verses the Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him) warned his people by declaring:

"O' my people! Surely I am a plain warner to you bidding you to serve Allah and be mindful of your duty to Him, and obey me so that He may forgive your faults." (71:2-4)

The Prophet Nuh was opposed:

Most of the people did not believe in the Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him). They made fun of him and ridiculed him as a mad man. Whenever he tried to convey the message of Allah to them, they began to thrust their fingers into their ears. They persisted in their infidelity and proudly disdained his counsel to do good deeds. The people were so stubborn under the influence of their priests that they paid no heed to the message of Allah and their aversion rapidly increased. At last in sheer disgust the Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him) had to cry out:

"My Lord! Leave not upon land any dweller from among the disbelievers. For surely if You leave them, they will lead astray Your servants and will not beget any but immoral ungrateful offspring.

My Lord! Forgive me and my parents and him who enters my house believing, and the believing males and females and do not increase the unjust in aught but destruction." (71: 26-28)

Preparation of an Ark:

Consequently Almighty Allah answered the prayer of Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him) by asking him to build an ark (a very big boat). The Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him) knew that Allah planned to drown all those sinners who had rejected His Commandments. He began to build the ark with the help of his followers. They went on working constantly from dawn to dusk. When the boat began to take shape, the disbelievers made fun of them. The transgressors thought that the Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him) and his followers were becoming crazy and were losing their balance of mind. The Holy Qur'an says:

"And he began to build the ark and whenever the chiefs among his people passed by him, they deride him but he said: Though you scoff at us now, we will scoff at you in Hereafter." (11:38)

Calamity befalls:

When the big ark was completed, the sky became cloudy. It started to rain in torrents. The streams became bulging with water. The Valleys were in the grip of food. There was water everywhere. The lightning was frightening and the thunder made the hearts pound fast. Every one was scared and worried except the Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him) and his Followers. The Holy Qur'an gives the description of this terrible deluge in the following Verses:

"So We opened the gates of the heavens with water pouring down and We caused the earth to gush forth its springs, so the water of the heavens and the earth gathered together according to measure already ordained." (54: 11, 12)

The Prophet Nuh (peace be upon trim) called on his family and followers to embark the boat. They came rushing to the ark. There was a special place in the boat for all the animates including human beings and their animals. The ark sailed amid waves like mountains while the streams of water were rising fast and filling many houses with water through the windows and the doors. Many houses collapsed and dashed to the ground. Some of them tried to swim but in vain. They were in a pathetic condition but they deserved it. The son of Nuh was separated from him because he was an evil-doer. The Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him) prayed to his Lord and said:

"Surely, my son belongs to my family and Your promise is true. Allah said: Surely, he is not of your family. He is of evil conduct, therefore ask not of Me that of which you have no knowledge." (11:45, 46)

In the meantime the water rose higher and higher. The whole area was under the sway of flood and all the disbelievers were drowned. The Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him) and his followers were safe and sound in the ark which was floating without any obstruction of huge waves. Finally the rain stopped and the water abated. The sky became clear.

The Prophet Nuh and his followers Remain Safe:

The Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him) and his believers sheltered in a safe place. They built new houses and worked hard in the fields. The next generation which sprang up from the survived believers included God-fearing persons. They worshipped one God and acted according to His teachings. The Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him) lived for about 950 years. After this dreadful destruction the people abstained from committing sins for sometime. Afterwards they began to be loose in their actions.

PROPHET LOT (LUT) (peace be upon him)

The Advent of Prophet Lut(Lot):

The Prophet Lut (peace be upon him) was contemporary of Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him). He was a nephew and follower of the Faith of his uncle. He was the resident of Ur, an ancient town in Mesopotamia God conferred prophethood upon him.

He was commanded to leave his native land and go to Sodom and Gomorra to warn and reform the people who were indulged in grave sins such as homosexual intercourse and robbery. The Holy Qur'an says:

"And Lut (remember) when he said to his folk: Will you commit abomination such as no creature ever did before. Lo! you come with lust unto men instead of women. Nay, but you are wanton folk." (7:80, 81)

In another Verse the Holy Qur'an throws a light on the character of those sinning people. It says:

"What? Do you not come to males and commit robbery on the highways and do evil deeds in your meeting?" (29: 29)

The Prophet Lut Preaches and is Opposed:

The Prophet Lut (peace be upon him) was an alien to those people. He began to preach the religion of God energetically. He advised the people to guard themselves against the punishment from God. He exhorted them to abandon sinful ways. He told them that God had created woman for them to satisfy their lust. They did not listen to the admonitions of their Prophet. They ridiculed and threatened him of dire consequences. They retorted that he would be expelled from that town in case he did not stop preaching and rebuking them. The Holy Qur'an affirms:

"And the answer of his people was only that they said (to one another): Turn them out of your township. They are folk who seek to keep pure." (7:82)

The same idea is expressed in the following Verses:

"They said: If you desist not, 0' Lut, you will soon be of the outcast. He said: I am, in fact, of those who hate your conduct. My Lord! save me and my household from what they do." (26: 167-169)

Gradually time passed by and the Prophet Lut (peace be upon him) did not achieve remarkable success on reforming those sinful persons. They were shamelessly addicted to grave sins and his warnings simply exasperated them.

Angels Appear as Guests:

One day three angels in the disguise of handsome young boys came to Prophet Lut (peace be upon him) and they conveyed to him a special message from Almighty Allah. The Prophet Lut (peace be upon him) and his followers were directed to leave the town because something very dreadful was going to happen. When the people got wind of the visit of charming boys they tried to invade the house of Prophet Lut(peace be upon him) and demanded of him to deliver the guests to them. The Prophet was much upset and he said:

"O' my people! Here are my daughters! They are purer for you! Beware of Allah and degrade me not in (the presence of) my guests. Is there not among you any upright man ?" (11: 78)

They rejected this appeal of the Prophet and said:

"Well, you know that we have no right to your daughters and well, you know what we want." (11:79)

The Prophet was much disappointed and said:

"Would that I had strength to resist you or had some strong support." (11: 80)

The Angels Convey Message:

The Prophet Lut (peace be upon him) warned the people of the inevitable punishment in case they insisted on committing indecency. They laughed and doubted his character. When all efforts were ended in smoke, the angels who were in the form of human beings, said:

"O' Lut, Lo! We are messengers of thy Lord; they shall not reach thee. So travel with thy people in a part of the night and not one of you turn round all save thy wife." (11:81)

The Prophet Lut is Delivered and his Nation Destroyed:

The Prophet Lut (peace be upon him) and his adherents left the city in the fagging part of the night and took shelter in a place of safety. Soon after an uproar took place. A sudden tremendous noise shock the earth. It was a scary and dreadful earthquake. The houses crumbled down and lofty buildings smashed to nothing but rubble. The rocks that went up in the air hit those who tried to escape. All arrogant sinners were completely destroyed. The Prophet Lut (peace be upon him) and his followers were saved but his wife could not survive because she sympathised with the sinners. The Holy Qur'an gives a brief description of this mishap in the following Verses:

"Then the (awful) cry overtook them at the sunrise: And We utterly confounded them, and We rained upon them stones of heated clay. Lo! therein verily are portents for those who read the signs." (15:73-75)

The Prophet Lut (peace be upon him) was admitted to God's mercy and was declared to be one of the righteous. He died in Palestine and was buried at Bani Na'ima near Hebron.