Enlightenments from the Call of Noah pbuh

In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Intensely Merciful

Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds. May His blessings and prayers be upon Muhammad and his progeny, the Imams, and the Mahdis.

Enlightenments from the Call of Noah pbuh

1. Noah pbuh is the first prophet from Uli Al-Azem^[1] to be dispatched, and his call for his people had some leniency and kind preachment. And as is apparent, even the warning in the call of Noah pbuh fits into this mold, ﴾“I am but a clear warner.”﴿.^[2] Thus Noah was not strict with them even in the warning, although they were oppressors and tyrants, ﴾They said, “If you do not desist, O Noah, you will surely be of those who are stoned to death.”﴿.^[3]

And this is what he pbuh said in Surat Al-Araf (The Heights), ﴾“Then do you wonder that there has come to you a reminder from your Lord unto a man from amongst you, that he may warn you and that you may fear Allah and so that you might receive mercy?”﴿.^[4]

And he pbuh also said, ﴾²⁵And We have verily sent Noah to his people, [saying], “Indeed, I am to you a clear warner ²⁶that you do not worship except Allah. Indeed, I fear for you the torment of a painful day.”﴿.^[5]

And he pbuh said, ﴾He said, “O people, have you seen that if I should be upon clear evidence from my Lord while He has given me mercy from Himself but you were too blind to see it, should we force it upon you while you are averse to it?﴿.^[6]

So the warning is associated with mercy at a time and with [his] fear for them of the torment at a time. And this leniency from Noah pbuh was either for the purpose of taqiyyah^[7] and avoiding the intense collision with the disbelievers, and the harm that it would cause for the believers, or it was in pursuit of softening their hearts, and eventually in eagerness of their faith. And the latter standpoint is more likely than the taqiyyah; and this is because when he knew from Allah that none of his people would believe other than those who already had, he became strict with them, ridiculed them, threatened them sternly and coarsely. The Almighty said, ﴾³⁶And it was inspired to Noah that, “No one will believe from your people except those who have already believed, so do not be distressed by what they have been doing. ³⁷And construct the ship by Our Eyes and Our inspiration and do not address Me concerning those who have oppressed; indeed, they are to be drowned.”

³⁸And he constructed the ship, and whenever the eminent of his people passed by him, they ridiculed him. He said, “If you ridicule us, then we will ridicule you just as you ridicule. ³⁹And you will know who will receive a torment that will embarrass him and upon whom will descend an enduring torment.”﴿.^[8]

2. Patience and protraction: ﴾⁵He said, “O Lord! I have called unto my people night and day … ⁸Then I have called unto them openly. ⁹Further, I have spoken to them in public and appealed to them in private.”﴿.^[9]

Patience and protraction are required for whoever wishes the faith of those to whom he calls, as for many of the people, you would call them to the Truth but they do not believe in the first instance; rather, they face you sternly and coarsely. However, as days pass, they are supported [by Allah] to believe in the Truth and perhaps become of the sincere callers to the Truth.

3. Taking refuge in Allah swt, leaning on Him and relying on His planning and management swt, and moreover requesting victory from Allah after despairing from the belief of whoever is left upon disbelief. My Lord, ﴾“Indeed, I am overpowered, so take victory.”﴿.^[10]

4. Mercy upon the believers, and treating them with humility, and overlooking their past before their entry to the call, regardless of what this past was, and moreover defending this small group and taking pride in them. ﴾¹¹¹They said, “Should we believe you while you are followed by the lowest?” ¹¹²He said, “And what is my knowledge of what they used to do? ¹¹³Their account is only upon my Lord, if you perceive. ¹¹⁴And I am not one to drive away the believers. ¹¹⁵I am but a clear warner.”﴿.^[11]

5. Hard work for surviving the flood, and that is by making the blessed ship and preparing food for people and animals, and preparing the equipment and the number. And this is a matter which should not be imagined to be easy; rather, on the contrary, it is a difficult matter. And the one who performs this will certainly face many problems especially if he is an outcast to his people, thus not having much facilities to perform this large task. Hence, we imagine how great Noah’s patience was, and how great was his reliance and dependency upon Allah the One, the Conqueror, and how great were the Divine mercy and favor which covered Noah, as he pbuh worked with a hand that was almost empty except from the mercy of Allah. And he also worked in a community which did not know anything except ridicule of him, mockery, and sarcasm.

6. Certitude, and I do not mean the certitude in the existence of Allah swt or his prophecy pbuh, I rather mean certitude in victory against the disbelievers and authority over their lives.

This certitude made Noah pbuh of strong determination, delivering the message of the Sky and having patience upon harm, and not minding the ridicule of the people; rather he ridiculed them, as he is confident in His saying swt, ﴾¹⁷¹And Our word has already preceded for Our sent servants, ¹⁷²Indeed, they are the ones victorious. ¹⁷³And indeed, Our soldiers are the ones who overcome.﴿.^[12]

Summary:

Calling for the Truth with leniency, mercy, and softness, then amplification in mercy towards he who believes in the Truth, and patience with those who do not believe in the beginning, recognizing that perhaps later they will believe in the truth, and working day and night, in secret and in public, to deliver the Truth without boredom or exhaustion: ﴾And do not confer favor to acquire more﴿.^[13] And in all these situations, there must be certitude in the Divine Victory, and taking refuge in Allah and being fortified by Him and relying on Him by genuine reliance, meaning that the servant is a confirmation of the holy verse, ﴾There is no strength save in Allah.﴿.^[14]