Transliteration:( Hattaaa izaa jaaa'a amrunaa wa faarat tannooru qulnah mil feehaa min kullin zawjainis naini wa ahlaka illaa man sabaqa 'alaihil qawlu wa man aaman; wa maaa aamana ma'ahooo illaa qaleel )
85. It is clear that by oven is meant the oven used for baking bread. This oven was found at the right hand side of the door of the principal mosque of Kufa. Even today, there are some remains of it. The sign of the coming of the floods was when water begins to boil from this oven by itself. When this happens the believers should immediately take shelter in the Ark. There were many other traditions regarding this event. It was from the time of Hazrat Adam (On whom be peace) and was built of stone. I (the author) had visited this very spot. Today there is no trace of this oven, but water still spurts.
86. This tells us that an infidel is worse than a dog or a cat because these animals were given permission to board the Ark but not the infidels.Â
87. From this we learn that children and wives are part of the family.
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40. (So it was) till when Our command came and the oven gushed forth (water like fountains from the earth). We said: “Embark therein, of each kind two (male and female), and your family — except him against whom the Word has already gone forth — and those who believe. And none believed with him, except a few.”
This was the promise of Allah to Nuh , when the command of Allah came, the rain was continuous and there was a severe storm which did not slacken or subside, as Allah said,
(So We opened the gates of the heaven with water pouring forth. And We caused springs to gush forth from the earth. So the waters (of the heaven and the earth) met for a matter predestined. And We carried him on a (ship) made of planks and nails. Floating under Our Eyes: a reward for him who had been rejected!)﴿54:11-14﴾ In reference to Allah’s statement,
(and the oven gushed forth.) It is related from Ibn `Abbas that he said, “At-Tannur is the face of the earth.” This verse means that the face of the earth became gushing water springs. This continued until the water gushed forth from the Tananir, which are places of fire. Therefore, water even gushed from the places where fire normally would be. This is the opinion of the majority of the Salaf (predecessors) and the scholars of the Khalaf (later generations). At this point, Allah commanded Nuh to select one pair from every kind of creature possessing a soul, and load them on the ship. Some said that this included other creatures as well, such as pairs of plants, male and female. It has also been said that the first of the birds to enter the ship was the parrot, and the last of the animals to enter was the donkey. Concerning Allah’s statement,
(and your family — except him against whom the Word has already gone forth) This means, “Load your family upon the ship.” This is referring to the members of his household and his relatives, except him against whom the Word has already gone forth, for they did not believe in Allah. Among them was the son of Nuh, Yam, who went in hermitage. Among them was the wife of Nuh who was a disbeliever in Allah and His Messenger. Concerning Allah’s statement,
(and those who believe.) from your people.
(And none believed with him, except a few.) This means that only a very small number believed, even after the long period of time that he (Nuh) was among them — nine hundred and fifty years. It is reported from Ibn `Abbas that he said, “They were eighty people including their women.”
(11:40) Thus it was until Our command came to pass and the oven boiled over.[42] We said: ‘Take into the Ark a pair of every species; and take your own family except those who have already been declared (as unworthy);[43] and also take everyone who believes.[44] But those who, along with him, had believed were indeed just a few.
42. Different interpretations have been given of this, but we are of the opinion that the correct one is the one that is based on the plain words of the text. The deluge started from at-tannur, a particular oven from under which water began to boil up. At the same time heavy rain began to fall and springs began to gush up water from many places in the earth. This is given in detail in (Surah Al-Qamar, ayat 11-12): We opened the gates of the sky from which it began to rain heavily and constantly, and We tore open the earth and springs began to gush forth water from every side. Thus the two kinds of water gathered together to fulfill the destined doom.
In this connection, it should also be noted that the prefix al (the) before tannur (oven) shows that a particular oven had been specifically marked by God for the purpose of starting the deluge. This began to boil up water as soon as it was commanded to do so, and afterwards it began to be called the oven. It has been explicitly stated in (Surah Al-Muminun, Ayat 7) that the said tannur was specified before hand.
43. That is, don’t embark in the Ark those who had specifically been marked as unbelievers from your household, for they do not deserve to be shown Our compassion. Most probably they were two persons. One was his son who was drowned (Surah Hud, ayat 43), and the other was his wife. (Surah At-Tahrim, Ayat 10). And if there were any others, they have not been mentioned in the Quran.
44. Incidentally, this refutes the theory of the historians and genealogists who trace the genealogy of the whole human race to the three sons of Prophet Noah (peace be upon him). This wrong theory became prevalent because of the stories in the Bible that none other than Prophet Noah (peace be upon him), his three sons and his wife were rescued from the deluge. (Genesis 6: 18, 7: 7, 9, and 9: 19). But the Quran contradicts this in many places, saying that besides the people of his own household, some other people of his community, though small in number, were also rescued along with him. Moreover, the Quran declares that the generations which came after Prophet Noah (peace be upon him) were his descendants and of all those people who were rescued in the Ark: You are the descendants of those whom We bore in the Ark with Noah. (Surah Al-Isra, ayat 3). They were from the descendants of Adam, and from the seed of those whom we carried in the Ark with Noah. (Surah Maryam, Ayat 58).
[559]- As a sign to Noah of the imminence of the flood. The tannūr is a large, rounded oven. The word can also mean the earth's lowlands.
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