Prophet Nuh (Noah) PBUH

Moral Degradation:
The Prophet Adam (peace be upon him) had left his progeny in a state of social and moral health but gradually they began to forget the teachings of Allah. They adopted the wrong path and indulged in corruption and depravity. They became mean, evil-doers and greedy. They cheated and hurt one another. They began to worship idols and forgot to pray to Almighty Allah. The entire society had been split up into different sections and this state of affairs had given birth to oppression and injustice.

The Advent of Prophet Nuh:
Under these circumstances Allah, the Most Merciful, wanted the people to be good again. He sent Nuh as His apostle for the reclamation of the depraved humanity dwelling in that part of the earth which is called 'Iraq in the present era. Those people believed in Allah but they associated other gods with Allah, the Supreme. The priests of these deities exercised great control over all affairs. The people offered sacrifices in the name of their deities to please them. They spent the money lavishly and thus their condition became miserable. The Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him) like other prophets was sincere, pious, patient and trustworthy. He was strong in his will and determination. Angel Gabriel (Jibra'il) conveyed him the teachings from Allah. He was commanded to reform the people who had been led astray by the Satan. He kept on preaching the faith of Allah and directed the people to pray to One God. He advised them to refrain from doing evil deeds. The Holy Qur'an affirms his endeavours to reform his people in the following Verses:

"He (Nuh) said: 0' my people! serve Allah. There is no god other than Him. If you refuse, verily I fear for you chastisement of a grievous day. The Chiefs of his people said: Most certainly we perceive you in clear error. He said: O' my people! There is no error in me but I am an Apostle from the lord of the worlds. I deliver to you the message of my Lord and I counsel you right (7: 59,60)

Again in the following Verses the Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him) warned his people by declaring:

"O' my people! Surely I am a plain warner to you bidding you to serve Allah and be mindful of your duty to Him, and obey me so that He may forgive your faults." (71:2-4)

The Prophet Nuh was opposed:
Most of the people did not believe in the Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him). They made fun of him and ridiculed him as a mad man. Whenever he tried to convey the message of Allah to them, they began to thrust their fingers into their ears. They persisted in their infidelity and proudly disdained his counsel to do good deeds. The people were so stubborn under the influence of their priests that they paid no heed to the message of Allah and their aversion rapidly increased. At last in sheer disgust the Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him) had to cry out:

"My Lord! Leave not upon land any dweller from among the disbelievers. For surely if You leave them, they will lead astray Your servants and will not beget any but immoral ungrateful offspring.

My Lord! Forgive me and my parents and him who enters my house believing, and the believing males and females and do not increase the unjust in aught but destruction." (71: 26-28)

Preparation of an Ark:

Consequently Almighty Allah
answered the prayer of Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him) by asking him to build an ark (a very big boat). The Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him) knew that Allah planned to drown all those sinners who had rejected His Commandments. He began to build the ark with the help of his followers. They went on working constantly from dawn to dusk. When the boat began to take shape, the disbelievers made fun of them. The transgressors thought that the Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him) and his followers were becoming crazy and were losing their balance of mind. The Holy Qur'an says:
"And he began to build the ark and whenever the chiefs among his people passed by him, they deride him but he said: Though you scoff at us now, we will scoff at you in Hereafter." (11:38)



Calamity befalls:
When the big ark was completed, the sky became cloudy. It started to rain in torrents. The streams became bulging with water. The Valleys were in the grip of food. There was water everywhere. The lightning was frightening and the thunder made the hearts pound fast. Every one was scared and worried except the Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him) and his Followers. The Holy Qur'an gives the description of this terrible deluge in the following Verses:

"So We opened the gates of the heavens with water pouring down and We caused the earth to gush forth its springs, so the water of the heavens and the earth gathered together according to measure already ordained." (54: 11, 12)

The Prophet Nuh (peace be upon trim) called on his family and followers to embark the boat. They came rushing to the ark. There was a special place in the boat for all the animates including human beings and their animals. The ark sailed amid waves like mountains while the streams of water were rising fast and filling many houses with water through the windows and the doors. Many houses collapsed and dashed to the ground. Some of them tried to swim but in vain. They were in a pathetic condition but they deserved it. The son of Nuh was separated from him because he was an evil-doer. The Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him) prayed to his Lord and said:

"Surely, my son belongs to my family and Your promise is true. Allah said: Surely, he is not of your family. He is of evil conduct, therefore ask not of Me that of which you have no knowledge." (11:45, 46)

In the meantime the water rose higher and higher. The whole area was under the sway of flood and all the disbelievers were drowned. The Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him) and his followers were safe and sound in the ark which was floating without any obstruction of huge waves. Finally the rain stopped and the water abated. The sky became clear.



The Prophet Nuh and his followers Remain Safe:
The Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him) and his believers sheltered in a safe place. They built new houses and worked hard in the fields. The next generation which sprang up from the survived believers included God-fearing persons. They worshipped one God and acted according to His teachings. The Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him) lived for about 950 years. After this dreadful destruction the people abstained from committing sins for sometime. Afterwards they began to be loose in their actions.


http://www.islam101.com/history/people/prophets/nuh.htm

(نوح Nūḥ), is a prophet and messenger in the Qur'an. He is a highly important figure in Islamic history, as he is counted amongst the earliest prophets sent by God to mankind.[1] According to Islam, Noah's mission was to a wicked world, plunged in depravity and sin. Although he preached the Message of God with immense zeal, his people refused to mend their ways, leading to his building of the Ark and the famous event of the Deluge, the Great Flood in which all the evil people of his time perished.
Noah's mission had a double character: he had to warn his people, asking them to call for repentance and, at the same time, he had to preach about God's mercy and forgiveness, promising them the glad tidings God would provide if they led righteous lives. References to Noah are scattered throughout the Qur'an, and there is even an entire chapter carrying his name, Noah.[2]

Background

Little is known of Noah's personal history before his call to prophecy. However, tradition records him to have been the son of Lamech,[1] one of the patriarchs from the Generations of Adam. Noah was neither the leader of the tribe nor a very rich man but, even before being called to prophecy, he worshiped God faithfully and was, in the words of the Qur'an, "a devotee most grateful".[3]
[edit]Historical narrative in Islam

Islamic literature recounts that in the Generations of Adam, many men and women continued to follow Adam's original teachings, worshiping God alone and remaining righteous.[4] Among Adam's descendants there were many brave and pious men, greatly loved and revered by their respective communities.[4] Exegesis goes onto narrate that, upon the death of these elders, people felt enormous grief and some felt prompted to make statues of these people in remembrance of them.[4] Gradually, however, many forgot what such statues were for and began to worship them, along with many other idols. It was to guide the people that God raised up Noah to be the next prophet to mankind.[4]
[edit]Early preaching
Noah began preaching to his people both verbally and by example. He would praise God consistently and he urged his people to do the same, warning his tribe of the punishment they would face if they did not mend their ignorant ways. The Qur'an states that Noah repeatedly told his people:
"O my people! Worship God! You have no other god but Him. I fear for you the punishment of a dreadful day!".[5]
Early on, a few were moved by Noah's words but the powerful and wealthy members of the tribe refused to hear his call. The unbelievers at the time were impelled to rebel by various evil motives. Firstly, they were extremely envious and jealous of men superior to them in any way.[6] Secondly, the people were ignorant of the weak and lowly, who were frequently superior intellectually, morally and spiritually.[4] As a result of their ignorance, they were arrogant and mocked all who they felt were inferior to them. When Noah preached the faith of God to them, all they did was revile the messenger, abuse the message and call the whole warning a lie.[4] He then went on to explain the Message in greater depth, ensuring them that it was not a message of destruction but it was a message with the mercy from God, and that their acts would lead to destruction if they did not accept the faith. He questioned them, asking why they would not accept what would benefit them in the near future.[4] Noah went onto further, and told his community that he asked of no reward from them, telling them his only reward would be from God.
[edit]Accusation
As time passed, Noah became firmer in his preaching.[4] When the unbelievers began insulting those who accepted God's message, believing that Noah would send those faithful away to attract the wealthy unbelievers, Noah revealed that they - the arrogant and ignorant rich - were the wicked and sinful ones.[7] His people accused him of being soothsayer[8] or diviner. Noah declared that he was by no means a mere fortune-teller, pretending to reveal secrets which are not worth revealing. Noah also denied accusations claiming Noah was an angel, always maintaining that he was a human messenger.[4] When the people refused to acknowledge their sinfulness Noah told them that it was not Noah, but God that would punish them - however He pleased.[4]
[edit]Noah's prayer
Noah prayed to God,[1] telling Him that his preaching only made his people disbelieve further.[9] Noah told God how they had closed their minds to accepting the message, so that the light of the truth should not affect their thinking.[10] Noah told God how he had used all the resources of the classical preacher, conveying the message both in public places and with individuals in private.[11] Noah spoke of how he had told the people the rewards they would receive if they became righteous, namely that God would supply plentiful rain[12] as a blessing, and that God would also guarantee them an increase in sons and wealth.

Differences from Judeo-Christian teachings

The Quran does not say that the entire world was submerged in water unlike the Bible. According to Islam, only certain parts of the world were submerged under water, one of them being the region of Noah and his people. Islam differentiates from Christianity on the account of the animals loaded in the ark. According to Islam, Noah's ark was a flat watercraft made of logs, tied together with primitive ropes, the flood was local, around the Dead Sea area, and the animals were Noah's domesticated [16] animals.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_view_of_Noah