سورة هود

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): حَتَّی إِذا جاءَ أَمْرُنا وَ فارَ التَّنُّورُ [Until when Our command came and the oven boiled over]; by Allah! That oven was not an oven for baking bread. Then he pointed to the sun. And what is meant is the rising of the sun.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Mufaddal ibn Umar said: When I was with Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) in Kufa... I said to the Imam (peace be upon him): "Inform me about the interpretation of the word of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, حَتَّی إِذا جاءَ أَمْرُنا وَ فارَ التَّنُّورُ [Until when Our command came and the oven boiled over]. Where was its location and how was it?" He said: "That oven was in the house of a believing old woman, situated behind the qibla on the right side of the mosque." I said to him: "That place today is the location of the corner of Bab al-Fil." Then I said: "Was the beginning of the gushing of water from that oven?" In reply he said: "Yes! Indeed Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, loved to show the people of Nuh (peace be upon him) a sign and miracle. Then Allah the Blessed and Exalted poured down on them a torrential rain, and the Euphrates river and all the springs also gushed forth, and Allah the Exalted drowned them and saved Nuh (peace be upon him) and his companions in the ship." I said: "How long did Nuh (peace be upon him) remain in the ship until the waters subsided and they came out of it?" The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "Seven days and seven nights, and the ship went around the House of the Ka'ba seven times, and then it settled on Mount Judi, which is on the bank of the Euphrates in Kufa." I said: "Is the mosque of Kufa ancient?" He said: "Yes, it is the place of prayer of the prophets, and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) also prayed there during the journey of Mi'raj to the heavens, and Jibril said to him: 'O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), this is the mosque of your father Adam (peace be upon him) and the place of prayer of the prophets. Descend and pray there!' So he descended and prayed there, and then Jibril took him up to the heavens."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): The mosque of Kufa is a garden from the gardens of paradise; one thousand and seventy prophets have prayed in it. Its right side is mercy and its left side is nobility and honour. The staff of Musa (peace be upon him), the gourd tree, and the signet ring of Sulayman (peace be upon him) are in it. From it the oven boiled over and in it the ship of Nuh (peace be upon him) was built, and it is the choicest [spot] of the region of Babil and the gathering place of the prophets.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): When Allah willed to destroy the people of Nuh (peace be upon him), He made the wombs of their women barren for forty years, so that during this period no children were born among them. When Nuh (peace be upon him) completed the building of the ark, Allah commanded him to call out in the Syriac tongue to summon the creatures towards the ark. So all the animals and beasts gathered, and Nuh took aboard the ark two of a pair from every animal, and the number of people from all over the world who had believed in him was eighty. Then Allah the Exalted said: احْمِلْ فِیها مِنْ کُلٍّ زَوْجَیْنِ اثْنَیْنِ وَ أَهْلَکَ إِلَّا مَنْ سَبَقَ عَلَیْهِ الْقَوْلُ وَ مَنْ آمَنَ وَ ما آمَنَ مَعَهُ إِلَّا قَلِیلٌ [Carry in it two of all things, a pair, and your own family — except those against whom the word has already gone forth, and those who believe. And there believed not with him but a few]. Nuh (peace be upon him) carried out the building of the ark in the Masjid of Kufa, and on the day on which the Lord willed to destroy them, the wife of Nuh (peace be upon him) was baking bread in that part of the Masjid of Kufa which is called Far al-Tannur.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Then Allah revealed to Nuh (peace be upon him) that he should carry aboard it two of every pair, and what is meant is the eight pairs which came out of Paradise with Adam, so that the livelihood of Adam might be provided from them; and it is these same pairs that Nuh (peace be upon him) took aboard the ark, since the earth and all that is upon it was on the verge of drowning. And these eight pairs are mentioned in the Quran, where Allah says: "And He sent down for you of the cattle eight pairs" (Zumar/6): of the sheep, male and female; and of the goat, male and female (An'am/143); and of the camel, male and female; and of the cow, male and female (An'am/143). What is meant by the pairs is two pairs — wild and domestic. Furthermore, Nuh (peace be upon him) also took with him aboard the ark two groups from among the birds — wild and domestic. And after that, the earth was drowned.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Allah commanded Nuh (peace be upon him) "that he should carry aboard the ark two of every kind, and he loaded the date-palm and the ajwa, and they were a pair."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The first animal among these livestock to die was Ya'fur. The account is this: when the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) departed from this world, this animal cut its tether and fled, and kept running until it reached the well of Banu Hatmah in Quba and threw itself into it, and that very well became its grave. This donkey (Ya'fur) spoke with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and said: 'May my father and mother be ransomed for you. My father narrated to me from his father, from his grandfather, that he was with Nuh (peace be upon him) in the ark. One day Nuh (peace be upon him) looked at him and passed his hand over his face, [and said]: From the loins of this donkey a donkey will come forth upon which the master of the prophets and the seal of the prophets (peace be upon him and his family) will ride, and I praise and thank Allah that He made me that donkey.'

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): He placed truth, prophethood, the Book and faith in his (Nuh's) progeny, and not all the children of Adam who live on the earth are from the descendants of Nuh. Allah in His Quran says: 'احْمِلْ فِیها مِنْ کُلٍّ زَوْجَیْنِ اثْنَیْنِ وَ أَهْلَکَ إِلَّا مَنْ سَبَقَ عَلَیْهِ الْقَوْلُ وَ مَنْ آمَنَ وَ ما آمَنَ مَعَهُ إِلَّا قَلِیلٌ [Carry in it a pair of every kind, along with your family — except those against whom the word has already gone forth — and those who have believed; and none had believed with him except a few].' And He also said: 'ذُرِّیَّةَ مَنْ حَمَلْنا مَعَ نُوحٍ [[O] descendants of those whom We carried [in the ark] with Nuh].'

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): When he raises the banner of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), thirteen thousand and thirteen angels will descend from the sky upon him, and all of them will gaze upon al-Qa'im (may Allah hasten his noble relief); they are those who were with Nuh (peace be upon him) in the ark.

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): O Hisham ... Allah has praised the few, and said: وَ مَنْ آمَنَ وَ ما آمَنَ مَعَهُ إِلَّا قَلِیل [And those who believed; and none had believed with him except a few].

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Forty men of the Jews of Medina said, "Let us go to this lying sorcerer and reproach him and call him a liar. He claims: I am the Messenger of the Lord of the Worlds! How can he be a messenger when Adam and Nuh (peace be upon them) are better than he is?" And they named the prophets one by one. The Noble Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said to Abdullah ibn Salam, "Let the Torah be the judge between me and you." The Jews agreed... They said, "Nuh (peace be upon him) is better than you." He said, "On what basis?" They said, "Because he boarded the ark and it came to rest on al-Judi." He said, "I have been given something better than Nuh (peace be upon him)." They said, "What is it?" He said, "Allah has granted me a river in the sky whose course is beneath the Throne. Upon it are one million palaces, with one brick of gold and one brick of silver. Its grass is saffron, its pebbles are pearls and rubies, and its earth is white musk. This is better for me and my ummah. And the noble verse: إِنَّا أَعْطَیْناکَ الْکَوْثَرَ [Indeed, We have granted you al-Kawthar] (al-Kawthar/1) refers to this very matter." They said, "That is correct! This matter is written in the Torah, and this river is better than that." The Noble Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said, "Nuh (peace be upon him) remained among his people for nine hundred and fifty years and called them to the religion of Allah, yet Allah counted the believers with him as few and said: وَ ما آمَنَ مَعَهُ إِلَّا قَلِیلٌ [And there believed not with him but a few]. But in my short age and brief lifetime, as many followed me as did not follow Nuh (peace be upon him) throughout his long life and old age. In Paradise there are one hundred and twenty rows, of which eighty rows are from my ummah. Allah the Mighty has made my book the ruler and abrogator over their books. I have made lawful things which they had forbidden, and I have forbidden some things which they had considered lawful."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Humran said: Imam Baqir (peace be upon him), regarding the interpretation of the word of Allah: وَ ما آمَنَ مَعَهُ إِلَّا قَلِیلٌ [And there believed not with him but a few], said: "[They] were eight persons."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Allah, by making these verses clear and by sending the messengers, has left no excuse or pretext for creation, so that people would have no argument against Allah after the messengers. He has not left the earth without a scholar whom creation needs, or a learner on the path of salvation, even though they are very few in number. Allah has explained these matters in the nations of the prophets and has made it a lesson for those who came later — like the verse He revealed about the people of Nuh (peace be upon him): وَ ما آمَنَ مَعَهُ إِلَّا قَلِیلٌ [And there believed not with him but a few], and His words about those from the people of Musa (peace be upon him) who believed in him: "There is a group from the people of Musa who guide people by the truth and act with justice." (al-A'raf/159) And the verse He revealed about the disciples of Isa (peace be upon him), addressed to the rest of the Children of Israel: "Who are my helpers in the way of Allah? The disciples said: We are the helpers of Allah. We have believed in Allah. Bear witness that we are Muslims." (Al Imran/52) The point of Isa (peace be upon him) was that it should become clear to him which of them submits his own merit to the people of merit and does not act arrogantly against the command of the Lord.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Zayd ibn Sallam al-Ju'fi said: "I came before Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) and said: 'Khaythama al-Ju'fi has said that he asked you about the interpretation of this verse: وَ ما آمَنَ مَعَهُ إِلَّا قَلِیلٌ [And there believed not with him but a few] and you replied: This verse applies to the Shia of the family of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family).' He said: 'By Allah! Khaythama has spoken the truth; that is exactly what I told him.'"