Noah global flood

This will be the starting point for all future chapters, each pertaining to certain aspects of Islam, aimed at expanding one’s knowledge and driving a quest for further.

Let’s discuss the argument of people claiming that the Quran addresses the flood in the time of Nooh (A.S) as a global flood where the whole of the world was drowned and destroyed.

But they denied him so We rescued him and those with him in the Ark. And We drowned the people who denied Our Signs. They were a blind people. (Qur'an, 7:64)

Indeed, when the floodwater had overflowed, We carried you in the floating Ark ˹with Noah. (Quran, 69:11)

In the above verse, Allah uses “you” to refer to humanity, which may lead people to believe that all of humanity suffered from the flood. But there are some contradictions.

Firstly, Nooh (A,S) was one of the early prophets of Allah and it is a possibility that at that time there was very little proliferation of human population over the whole Earth. At that time, most of the population may be centered around an area called, “Cradle of the Earth.” If all of the people were present at a common area where the flood came, it makes sense that Allah used the word “you” because all of humanity was present there.

Another argument is that if other populations did exist in other parts of the world and Nooh (A.S) did not come to them, Allah would never have drowned them. This is because for every nation, Allah has sent a messenger with a clear warning and not destroyed them before hearing the message. Take for example the case of Yonus (A.S), He left his nation in anger because of their disbelief and left his mission without the explicit revelation from Allah. Allah then put Younus (A.S) through a severe trial and saved his nation. Never before has an entire nation of a messenger been saved except that of Younus (A.S). This makes it clear that Allah would never unleash punishment on people who have not fully heard the message of Allah.

And We certainly sent into every nation a messenger, [saying], "Worship Allāh and avoid ṭāghūt."1 And among them were those whom Allāh guided, and among them were those upon whom error was [deservedly] decreed. So proceed [i.e., travel] through the earth and observe how was the end of the deniers. (Quran, 16:36)

Allah presents us with the fate of every destroyed nation so that we might ponder and take a valuable lesson from it. So let us travel throughout the Earth, appreciating Allah’s magnificent creation and desiring Allah’s Mercy. To Allah, we have to return.