Surah Al-Ankaboot (29) — Ayah 14

(Ayah 14) ➊ At the beginning of {وَ لَقَدْ اَرْسَلْنَا نُوْحًا اِلٰى قَوْمِهٖ :} Surah, it was stated that We also tested the people before, and for some detail of this, the mention of those prophets is made who patiently endured trials for long periods and, despite countless harms from their people, did not lessen in their goodwill towards them and in inviting them. The purpose is to comfort the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and those who follow in his footsteps. The narration of these events begins with Noah (peace be upon him), because he is the first messenger who was sent to the people of the earth. The mention of Noah (peace be upon him) has come in the Noble Quran forty-three (43) times. In these events, there is mention of the trials of the prophets and the believers, and also that the disbelievers should not remain under the impression that they will escape Our grasp. For more about Noah (peace be upon him), see Surah Al-Imran (33), Nisa (163), An'am (84), A'raf (59 to 64), Yunus (71 to 73), Anbiya (76, 77), Mu'minun (23 to 30), Furqan (37), Shu'ara (105 to 122), Saffat (75 to 82), Qamar (9 to 15), Haqqah (11, 12), and the complete Surah Nuh.

➋ The period during which Noah (peace be upon him) tried to make his people understand was nine hundred and fifty (950) years. Obviously, before being honored with the rank of prophethood, he must have spent a part of his life, and after the flood, he must have remained alive as well. There are different statements from the commentators regarding his total age, but nothing is proven with authentic chain of narration. Here is a question: what is the benefit of mentioning the period Noah (peace be upon him) spent among his people? The answer is that there are two benefits: one is that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) would become distressed due to the disbelievers not accepting Islam and persisting in disbelief, so for his comfort it is stated that Noah (peace be upon him) invited for almost a thousand years, as a result of which very few people from his nation believed, yet he did not become weary, nor did he abandon inviting, so you have even more right to be patient, because you have stayed among them for a much shorter period compared to him, and those who have believed in you are far more. The second benefit is a warning to the disbelievers that they should not be deceived by the delay in punishment, because Allah Almighty can grant even a thousand years of respite, but in the end, punishment comes upon the nation that persists in disbelief, just as when the people of Noah (peace be upon him) did not desist from oppression and transgression, the flood overtook them. From {’’ فَاَخَذَهُمُ الطُّوْفَانُ وَ هُمْ ظٰلِمُوْنَ ‘‘} it is evident that the cause of the flood was their persistence in oppression; if they had repented, punishment would not have come upon them.

➌ Some people are astonished at the long life of Noah (peace be upon him), but there is nothing astonishing in this. The reality is that just as the Noble Quran mentions the long life of Noah (peace be upon him), according to an authentic hadith, at the beginning of human creation, the height of man was also much greater than it is today. With the passage of long periods, both have decreased. Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: [ خَلَقَ اللّٰهُ آدَمَ عَلٰی صُوْرَتِهِ ، طُوْلُهُ سِتُّوْنَ ذِرَاعًا… فَكُلُّ مَنْ يَدْخُلُ الْجَنَّةَ عَلٰی صُوْرَةِ آدَمَ ، فَلَمْ يَزَلِ الْخَلْقُ يَنْقُصُ بَعْدُ حَتَّی الْآنَ ] [ بخاري، الاستئذان، باب بدء السلام : ۶۲۲۷ ] "Allah Almighty created Adam in his form, his height was sixty cubits... so whoever enters Paradise will be in the form of Adam. Then, after that, the creation (height) kept decreasing until now."

1. From the words of the Qur'an, it is understood that this refers to the age of their invitation and preaching. What was their total age? This has not been explicitly stated. Some say forty years before prophethood and sixty years after the flood should be included in this. There are also several other opinions. And Allah knows best.

14. And We sent Noah to his people, and he remained among them for a thousand years less fifty [24]. Then the flood seized them while they were wrongdoers.

[24]
Mention of Noah (peace be upon him):

In the previous verses, the disbelievers who were addressed and opposed to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ during the Prophetic era were being mentioned. Now, the mention of some other prophets and their opponents is coming, and the narration of such events is beginning with Prophet Noah (peace be upon him). Prophet Noah (peace be upon him) was granted prophethood at the age of forty. He preached to his people for nine hundred and fifty years, and after the flood of Noah, he lived for sixty more years. In this way, his total age becomes one thousand and fifty years, and he spent most of his life in advising his people and debating with them. Those people were, as it were, even more wretched than the disbelievers of Makkah. They troubled Prophet Noah (peace be upon him) so much and made his life so difficult that Noah (peace be upon him), being fed up and extremely disappointed with them, prayed to Allah against them, saying: O Allah, send such destruction upon them that not a single household among them remains alive. Thus, Allah destroyed that nation through the flood. And this incident has already been mentioned in detail at several places before.