سُوْرَةُ هُوْدٍ
Surah Hud (11) — Ayah 44
وَقِيلَ يَـٰٓأَرْضُ ٱبْلَعِى مَآءَكِ وَيَـٰسَمَآءُ أَقْلِعِى وَغِيضَ ٱلْمَآءُ وَقُضِىَ ٱلْأَمْرُ وَٱسْتَوَتْ عَلَى ٱلْجُودِىِّ ۖ وَقِيلَ بُعْدًا لِّلْقَوْمِ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ ﴿44﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
And it was said: "O earth! Swallow up your water, and O sky! Withhold (your rain)." And the water was made to subside and the Decree (of Allâh) was fulfilled (i.e. the destruction of the people of Nûh (Noah). And it (the ship) rested on (Mount) Jûdî, and it was said: "Away with the people who are Zalimûn (polytheists and wrong-doers)!"
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
وَقِيلَ
waqīla
And it was said
يَـٰٓأَرْضُ
yāarḍu
O earth
ٱبْلَعِى
ib'laʿī
Swallow
مَآءَكِ
māaki
your water
وَيَـٰسَمَآءُ
wayāsamāu
and O sky
أَقْلِعِى
aqliʿī
Withhold
وَغِيضَ
waghīḍa
And subsided
ٱلْمَآءُ
l-māu
the water
وَقُضِىَ
waquḍiya
and was fulfilled
ٱلْأَمْرُ
l-amru
the Command
وَٱسْتَوَتْ
wa-is'tawat
And it rested
عَلَى
ʿalā
on
ٱلْجُودِىِّ ۖ
l-jūdiyi
the Judi
وَقِيلَ
waqīla
And it was said
بُعْدًۭا
buʿ'dan
Away
لِّلْقَوْمِ
lil'qawmi
with the people
ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ
l-ẓālimīna
the wrongdoers
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim — Hafiz Abdus Salam Bin Muhammad Bhutvi
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim is a 4-volume Quran commentary by Hafiz Abdus Salam bin Muhammad Bhutvi, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar and Sheikh ul-Hadith from Pakistan. Based on over 45 years of teaching and research, this tafsir follows the methodology of Tafsir bil-Ma'thur — interpreting the Quran through authentic Hadith, statements of the Companions, and the understanding of the early generations (Salaf). It is distinguished by its complete avoidance of Israeliyyat (Judeo-Christian narratives) and unverified reports. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
(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.
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.
