Surah Hud (11) — Ayah 44

(Ayah 44) ➊ {وَ قِيْلَ يٰۤاَرْضُ ابْلَعِيْ مَآءَكِ …: ’’ بَلَعَ يَبْلَعُ ‘‘} (Fa) means to swallow, and humans or any animal generally swallow a whole morsel at once. The wisdom in using this word seems to be that the earth did not absorb the water gradually, but swallowed it all at once like a morsel. Meanwhile, the sky was commanded to stop, so the rain ceased. All the water was drained beneath the earth, and the task for which the flood had come—to destroy all the polytheists—was completed.

➋ {وَ اسْتَوَتْ عَلَى الْجُوْدِيِّ :} Mount Judi is located in the region between Iraq and Turkey (known as Kurdistan), towards Mosul. In the Torah, the resting place of Noah’s (peace be upon him) Ark is mentioned as "Ararat," which is the name of a mountain range in Armenia and is still famous by that name today. A few years ago, Western explorers also discovered broken planks of a large ship on this mountain, although it cannot be said with certainty whether these are the planks of Noah’s (peace be upon him) Ark or of some other ship. It should be noted that the people of Noah (peace be upon him) were settled in the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates, which later became famous as Iraq.

➌ { وَ قِيْلَ بُعْدًا لِّلْقَوْمِ الظّٰلِمِيْنَ : ’’ بُعْدًا ‘‘} The word 'bu'dan' means distance, destruction, and curse; the meaning is that all the wrongdoers were destroyed. According to the Bible (Genesis 18:24), the common belief is that this flood came upon the whole earth, but some scholars say that the flood came only in the region where the people of Noah (peace be upon him) lived. Although there is no explicit statement about this in the Qur’an and Hadith, it is quite possible that at the time of the flood, there was no population anywhere in the world except in the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates.

44. 1. "To swallow" is used for animals, as they swallow their food with their mouths. Here, describing the drying up of water as swallowing implies the wisdom that the water did not dry up gradually, but by Allah's command, the earth swallowed all the water at once, just as an animal swallows a morsel.
44. 2. That is, all the disbelievers were drowned.
44. 3. Judi is the name of a mountain, which according to some is near Mosul. The people of Prophet Nuh (AS) were also settled near it.
44. 4. "Bu‘dan" means destruction and the curse of Allah, and the Noble Quran has used it in several places especially for those nations who became deserving of Allah's wrath.

Then it was said, "O earth, swallow your water, and O sky, withhold (your rain)." The water subsided, the matter was settled, and the Ark came to rest upon (Mount) Judi [50]. And it was said, "Away with the wrongdoing people!"

[50]
The End of the Flood:

For six months, the water level kept rising until even the mountains were submerged. The criminals met their fate, and none of them could escape this punishment. Then Allah commanded the earth to absorb its water once again, and by Allah’s command, the rain also stopped. Some of the water was dried up by the winds, and the ark came to rest upon Mount Judi. This mountain is located at some distance from the city of Mosul in Iraq and is still famous by this name today.

How Much of the World Did the Flood Cover:

There are two matters regarding the flood of Noah that are still open to investigation. One is whether this flood covered the entire face of the earth or only the region of the people of Noah ؑ. Most historians believe that it covered the whole earth, and the evidence for this can be that the flood of Noah is mentioned in the ancient history of all nations of the world. However, the Quran is silent on this matter, and from a rational perspective, it seems more appropriate that the flood only came to the region where the criminals were to be punished and where the argument for Allah’s punishment had been completed. It is also quite possible that at that time, only this region of the earth was inhabited. As for the mention of the flood of Noah ؑ in the ancient history of all nations, this is possible in both cases.

Is the Theory of Noah Being the Second Adam Correct?

The second matter open to investigation is whether, after the flood of Noah, humanity spread only from the descendants of Noah ؑ, or from all those who were aboard the ark? Most historians believe that after this flood, humanity spread only from the three sons of Noah ؑ: Ham, Shem, and Japheth, and this view is also supported by this verse of the Noble Quran: ﴿وَجَعَلْنَا ذُرِّيَّتَهٗ هُمُ الْبٰقِيْنَ﴾ [77: 37]
And We left only the descendants of Noah in the world. In this sense, Noah ؑ is also called the second Adam. However, there are two verses in the Noble Quran from which it is understood that after the flood of Noah, humanity spread from all those who were aboard the ark, for example:
(1) ﴿ذُرِّيَّةَ مَنْ حَمَلْنَا مَعَ نُوْحٍ﴾ You are the descendants of those whom We carried with Noah.
(2) ﴿مِنْ ذُرِّيَّةِ اٰدَمَ ۤ وَمِمَّنْ حَمَلْنَا مَعَ نُوْحٍ﴾ [58: 19] From the children of Adam and from those whom We carried with Noah. From this second verse, it is also incidentally understood that the flood of Noah did not cover the whole world. And Allah knows best what is correct. It is more likely that after this flood, humanity spread from all those who were aboard the ark.
The commentary of verse 45 should be seen along with the next verse.