He called his people for 950 years. Very few listened. He never stopped.
فَقُلْتُ اسْتَغْفِرُوا رَبَّكُمْ إِنَّهُ كَانَ غَفَّارًا
His story
Nuh lived among his people for nine hundred and fifty years 29:14. He called them by night and by day, in public and in private. They put their fingers in their ears and pulled their clothes over their heads so they would not hear him 71:5-9.
He was told to build the ark, and while he built it, every group that passed laughed at him. He answered, "If you mock us, we will mock you as you mock" 11:38. Then the water came from the sky and from the earth.
His own son refused to board. Nuh called to him across the waves, and a wave came between them 11:42-43. Afterwards Nuh asked Allah about his son, and when he was told, he accepted it and asked for forgiveness for even asking 11:45-47.
On the Day of Judgement people will come to him and say: you are the first of the messengers to the people of the earth Bukhari 4712.
Moments
- 01
950 years of calling
Nuh stayed among his people a thousand years less fifty. He called them night and day, openly and in secret. They put their fingers in their ears and wrapped their garments over their heads. He kept trying a new way: "Ask your Lord for forgiveness, He is ever forgiving. He will send rain upon you in abundance, give you wealth and children, and give you gardens and rivers."
- 02
Building while mocked
Allah told him to build the ark under His eyes and His guidance. Every time a group of his people passed by, they made fun of him. Building a ship on dry land looked foolish. Nuh answered: "If you mock us, we will mock you just as you mock." And he kept building.
- 03
The ark
When Allah's command came and the oven gushed, Nuh was told to carry a pair of every kind, his family except those already judged, and the believers, and only a few believed with him. He said: "Embark in it. In the name of Allah it sails and it anchors. My Lord is Forgiving, Merciful."
- 04
His son
Nuh saw his son standing apart and called to him: "My son, come aboard with us, do not be with the disbelievers." The son said he would climb a mountain to be safe. Nuh said: "There is no protector today from Allah's command except for whom He has mercy." A wave came between them. Later Nuh asked his Lord about his son, and when Allah answered him, he asked forgiveness for asking about what he had no knowledge of.
What he did when…
Every time a group of his people passed by, they laughed at the old man building a ship on dry land. Nuh did not stop to win the argument, and did not stop building. Mockery did not change the plan, because the plan was Allah's.
His own son refused to board the ark, and his own wife is named in the Quran as an example of disbelief. Nuh still called to his son with love: "My son, come aboard with us." After the flood he still asked about him. When Allah answered, Nuh accepted it and asked forgiveness. Loving your family and accepting Allah's decision are not opposites.
After 950 years of calling, "only a few believed with him." By numbers, that looks like failure. In the Quran it is one of the great stories of steadfastness. Success for Nuh was not the size of his following. It was 950 years of not giving up.
If your child carries this name
نوح Nuh
Nuh is a name of endurance. A child named Nuh should know that being right is often lonely, and that patience is measured in years, not days.
Sources on this page
Quran 11:37-38Quran 11:38Quran 11:40-41Quran 11:40Quran 11:42-47Quran 11:45-47Quran 29:14Quran 66:10Quran 71:5-12Quran 71:5-9Quran 71:10
Quran meanings are given in plain English, close to the Arabic. Hadith numbers follow sunnah.com.