The story in short
- Arabic name
- نوح
- English name
- Noah
- Named in the Quran
- 43 times
- Sent to
- His people, who worshipped the idols Wadd, Suwa, Yaghuth, Yauq and Nasr
- In the list of 25
- 3 of 25 · one of the Ulul Azm
In short: Nuh was sent to a people who had begun to worship idols. He called them night and day, in public and in private, for 950 years (29:14), but only a few believed. Allah told him to build an ark. When the flood came, the believers and pairs of animals were carried in it, while the disbelievers drowned, among them Nuh's own son. The ark came to rest on Mount al-Judi.
The story of Nuh
How idol worship began
Ibn Abbas explained that Wadd, Suwa, Yaghuth, Yauq and Nasr, the idols named in Surah Nuh (71:23), were names of righteous men from Nuh's people. When they died, Satan prompted the people to set up statues where they used to sit, in their memory. They were not worshipped at first, but once that generation passed and knowledge faded, the statues were worshipped.1 So Nuh was the first messenger sent to call people back from shirk. The Prophet ﷺ said that on the Day of Judgement people will come to Nuh and say "you are the first of the messengers to the people of the earth".2
Nine and a half centuries of calling
Surah Nuh is Nuh's own account to his Lord: "I invited my people night and day, but my invitation increased them not except in flight" (71:5-6). They put their fingers in their ears and covered themselves with their garments (71:7). He called openly and in private (71:8-9), and promised that if they asked forgiveness, Allah would send rain, wealth and children (71:10-12). The leaders mocked his followers as the lowest of the people (11:27) and said he was only a man like them.
The ark
Allah told Nuh that no more of his people would believe, and commanded him to build the ark "under Our observation" (11:36-37). Each time the chiefs passed by, they ridiculed him, and he answered: "If you ridicule us, then we will ridicule you just as you ridicule" (11:38). When the command came and "the oven overflowed", he was told to load a pair of every kind, his family except those against whom the word had gone forth, and the believers, "But none had believed with him, except a few" (11:40).
The flood and his son
The ark sailed "on waves like mountains". Nuh called to his son, who had stayed apart: "O my son, come aboard with us and be not with the disbelievers." The son said he would take refuge on a mountain. Nuh said: "There is no protector today from the decree of Allah, except for whom He gives mercy", and the waves came between them (11:42-43). Then the earth swallowed its water, the sky withheld, and the ark came to rest on al-Judi (11:44). Nuh asked Allah about his son, and was told: "Indeed, he is not of your family; indeed, he is one whose work was other than righteous" (11:46). Nuh's wife is also given in the Quran as an example of a disbeliever married to a righteous man (66:10).
Key verses
فَقُلْتُ ٱسْتَغْفِرُوا۟ رَبَّكُمْ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ غَفَّارًۭا ﴿١٠﴾ يُرْسِلِ ٱلسَّمَآءَ عَلَيْكُم مِّدْرَارًۭا ﴿١١﴾ وَيُمْدِدْكُم بِأَمْوَٰلٍۢ وَبَنِينَ وَيَجْعَل لَّكُمْ جَنَّٰتٍۢ وَيَجْعَل لَّكُمْ أَنْهَٰرًۭا ﴿١٢﴾
Faqultus taghfiroo Rabakam innahoo kaana Ghaffaaraa Yursilis samaaa'a 'alaikum midraaraa Wa yumdidkum bi am waalinw wa baneena wa yaj'al lakum Jannaatinw wa yaj'al lakum anhaaraa
(10) And said, 'Ask forgiveness of your Lord. Indeed, He is ever a Perpetual Forgiver. (11) He will send [rain from] the sky upon you in [continuing] showers (12) And give you increase in wealth and children and provide for you gardens and provide for you rivers.
Quran 71:10-12 · Sahih International · Read in Surah Nuh
وَهِىَ تَجْرِى بِهِمْ فِى مَوْجٍۢ كَٱلْجِبَالِ وَنَادَىٰ نُوحٌ ٱبْنَهُۥ وَكَانَ فِى مَعْزِلٍۢ يَٰبُنَىَّ ٱرْكَب مَّعَنَا وَلَا تَكُن مَّعَ ٱلْكَٰفِرِينَ ﴿٤٢﴾ قَالَ سَـَٔاوِىٓ إِلَىٰ جَبَلٍۢ يَعْصِمُنِى مِنَ ٱلْمَآءِ ۚ قَالَ لَا عَاصِمَ ٱلْيَوْمَ مِنْ أَمْرِ ٱللَّهِ إِلَّا مَن رَّحِمَ ۚ وَحَالَ بَيْنَهُمَا ٱلْمَوْجُ فَكَانَ مِنَ ٱلْمُغْرَقِينَ ﴿٤٣﴾
Wa hiya tajree bihim fee mawjin kaljibaali wa naadaa Noohunib nahoo wa kaana fee ma'ziliny yaa bunai yarkam ma'anaa wa laa takum ma'al kaafireen Qaala sa aaweee ilaa jabaliny ya'simunee minal maaa'; qaala laa 'aasimal yawma min amril laahi illaa mar rahim; wa haala bainahumal mawju fakaana minal mughraqeen
(42) And it sailed with them through waves like mountains, and Noah called to his son who was apart [from them], "O my son, come aboard with us and be not with the disbelievers." (43) [But] he said, "I will take refuge on a mountain to protect me from the water." [Noah] said, "There is no protector today from the decree of Allah, except for whom He gives mercy." And the waves came between them, and he was among the drowned.
Quran 11:42-43 · Sahih International · Read in Surah Hud
وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا نُوحًا إِلَىٰ قَوْمِهِۦ فَلَبِثَ فِيهِمْ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍ إِلَّا خَمْسِينَ عَامًۭا فَأَخَذَهُمُ ٱلطُّوفَانُ وَهُمْ ظَٰلِمُونَ ﴿١٤﴾
Wa laqad arsalnaa Noohan ilaa qawmihee falabisa feehim alfa sanatin illaa khamseena 'aaman fa akhazahumut toofaanu wa hum zaalimoon
And We certainly sent Noah to his people, and he remained among them a thousand years minus fifty years, and the flood seized them while they were wrongdoers.
Quran 29:14 · Sahih International · Read in Surah Al-Ankabut
Lessons from the story
- Calling people to good takes patience measured in years, not days. Results belong to Allah.
- Being related to a prophet saves no one. Faith and deeds do.
- Shirk often begins with good intentions, such as honouring the righteous, and grows when knowledge is lost.
- Istighfar brings mercy in this world too: rain, wealth and children, as Nuh told his people.
- Nuh is called "a grateful servant" (17:3). Gratitude kept him steady.
Where it is in the Quran
The main passages about Nuh, with links to read and listen to each surah:
- Surah Nuh (the whole surah)
- Surah Hud 11:25-49
- Surah Al-Araf 7:59-64
- Surah Al-Muminun 23:23-30
- Surah Ash-Shuara 26:105-122
- Surah Al-Qamar 54:9-17
What is authentic, and what is not
The size of the ark, the list of animals, the length of the voyage and the names of Nuh's sons other than the one who drowned come from Isra'iliyyat and later reports, not the Quran or sahih hadith. Scholars differ on whether the flood covered the whole earth or the land of Nuh's people, and the Quran's focus is on the people who rejected him. The 950 years in 29:14 are the time he stayed among his people. His full age is not given in an authentic source.
We follow Ibn Kathir's Qasas al-Anbiya only where it rests on the Quran and sound hadith. Isra'iliyyat are reports taken from earlier scriptures and storytellers. Scholars allow mentioning them only when they do not contradict the Quran and Sunnah, and they are never treated as certain.
Questions
How long did Nuh preach to his people?
The Quran says he remained among them "a thousand years minus fifty", that is 950 years (29:14).
Where did Nuh's ark land?
On al-Judi (11:44). It is commonly placed in the mountains of south-east Turkey or northern Iraq, but its exact location is not confirmed by any authentic text.
Did Nuh's son drown in the flood?
Yes. He refused to board the ark and drowned (11:42-43). Allah told Nuh that he was not of his family, because of his deeds (11:46).
Which surah tells the story of Nuh?
Surah Nuh (71) is named after him and is entirely about his call. The longest account of the flood is in Surah Hud (11:25-49).
Is Nuh one of the five greatest messengers?
Yes. He is one of the Ulul Azm, the messengers of firm resolve, with Ibrahim, Musa, Isa and Muhammad ﷺ (33:7, 42:13).
Sources
- Sahih al-Bukhari 4920, from Ibn Abbas.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 4712; Sahih Muslim 194.
- Ibn Kathir, Qasas al-Anbiya, chapter on Nuh, and his tafsir of Surah Hud and Surah Nuh.
- Quran: Arabic from the Tanzil Uthmani text, English by Sahih International. In quotations within the text, the prophets' names are given in their Arabic form (Musa for Moses, Ibrahim for Abraham).
The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.