Are we all descendents of Noah (Nuh AS)?

Sources

• ✓ 25:37 · Al-Furqaan

  25:37 · Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall

  وَقَوْمَ نُوحٍۢ لَّمَّا كَذَّبُوا۟ ٱلرُّسُلَ أَغْرَقْنَٰهُمْ وَجَعَلْنَٰهُمْ لِلنَّاسِ ءَايَةًۭ ۖ وَأَعْتَدْنَا لِلظَّٰلِمِينَ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًۭا

  And Noah's folk, when they denied the messengers, We drowned them and made of them a portent for mankind. We have prepared a painful doom for evil-doers.

• ✓ Tafsir Ibn Kathir on 25:37

  Sunni

  Tafsir Ibn Kathir · 25:37

  Allah Almighty issues a stern warning to those who reject His Messenger Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, including the polytheists of his people and those who oppose him. He cautions them about His punishment and the severe torment that befell earlier nations who denied their prophets. The verse begins by mentioning Moses, peace be upon him, whom Allah sent along with his brother Aaron as his helper, prophet, deputy, and supporter. Pharaoh and his armies rejected them, and Allah destroyed them, setting an example for the disbelievers, as stated: “Allah destroyed them and the like of them for the disbelievers” (Qur’an 47:10). Similarly, the people of Noah denied their messenger Noah, peace be upon him, and whoever denies one messenger is in effect rejecting all messengers, since there is no difference between them. Even if Allah had sent every messenger to them, they would have denied each one. Hence, the mention here is of those who denied Noah’s message, as he was their only prophet, and he remained among them inviting them to Allah and warning them of His wrath for nearly a millennium, minus fifty years. Only a few believed with him, and so Allah drowned all of them, leaving only those saved by the Ark afloat on the earth. The expression “and We made them a sign for mankind” indicates that their story serves as a lesson or admonition for people to learn from, just as Allah said in another verse about the flood and the Ark: “Indeed when the water overflowed, We carried you in the Ark, so that it may be a reminder for you, and a sound ear perceives it” (Qur’an 69:11-12). Allah preserved the Ark as a sign of His mercy in rescuing believers from drowning and made the saved descendants from those who believed and confirmed His message. Regarding the phrase “‘Aad and Thamud,” their stories have already been detailed in other chapters such as Al-A’raf, making repetition unnecessary. As for the “Companions of the Well (Ar-Rass),” different scholarly opinions exist. According to Ibn Jurayj from Ibn Abbas, they were a people from Thamud’s villages. Ikrimah said they lived in Falaj and are the people addressed in Surah Ya-Sin, and Qatadah said Falaj is a village in Yamamah. Ibn Abi Hatim narrated from Ahmad ibn Amr ibn Abi Asim through a chain from Ikrimah via Ibn Abbas that the “Companions of the Well” refers to a well in Azerbaijan. Sufyan ath-Thawri narrated that the “Companions of the Well” are a people who buried their prophet in the well. An account from Muhammad ibn Ishaq via Muhammad ibn Ka’b al-Qurazi reports that the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said the first person to enter Paradise on the Day of Resurrection will be a black servant. This servant was the only one from his people to believe in their prophet, who had been cast into a well by his people with a large stone sealing it. Allah supported him to lift that stone daily to bring him food and drink. One day, he found a wasp and fell asleep; Allah caused him to sleep for seven years, then he woke, stretched, turned to his other side, and fell asleep for another seven years. He then woke, carried his bundle, and went to sell it and buy provisions like before. Returning to the well site, the people saw a sign and extracted him, after which they believed in and confirmed their prophet. When the prophet asked about that black man, they said they did not know, until Allah brought the black man forth from his sleep after the prophet’s death. The Messenger said this black servant would be the first to enter Paradise. Ibn Jarir narrates this similarly through chains of transmission but notes that some aspects are unusual and possibly inserted. He argues that the “Companions of the Well” mentioned in the Qur’an cannot be the same as these people who later believed, as Allah said He destroyed them, so perhaps those later believers emerged after their ancestors’ destruction. Ibn Jarir prefers the interpretation that the “Companions of the Well” refers to the people mentioned in Surah Al-Buruj—the People of the Ditch—whom Allah destroyed. Allah knows best. The phrase “and many generations in between” refers to numerous peoples and communities between those already mentioned who were destroyed in similar fashion. Allah says “and We set forth for them examples” meaning He made clear proofs and evidence for them, removing excuses, as Qatadah said. “And each of them We destroyed thoroughly” means He utterly annihilated them, as He also said, “How many generations did We destroy after Noah” (Qur’an 17:17). The term “generation” denotes a community of people living at one time. Some scholars define a generation as 120 years; others say 100, 80, or 40. The most fitting understanding is that a generation is a community contemporaneous in one era, succeeded by another generation. The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, affirmed that the best generations are his own, then those following, then those after them. Regarding “the town which was showered with a rain of evil,” this refers to the people of Lot—Sodom and its surroundings. Allah destroyed them by the overturning of the city and stones of baked clay raining down upon them, as indicated in the Qur’an: “We rained upon them a rain, and evil was the rain of those warned” (Qur’an 26:173) and “By morning you pass by them and at night, do you not understand?” (Qur’an 37:137-138), and “Verily, it is on a well-established way, and indeed they are on a clear path” (Qur’an 15:76, 79). The warning to “did they not see it” means, did they not reflect on the punishment that befell them and take heed, since they denied their Messenger and disobeyed Allah’s commands. “Rather, they did not expect a Resurrection” refers to the unbelievers passing this story by without considering it because they did not anticipate a Day of Resurrection and recompense. They rejected the truth and so folly persisted among them.

• ✓ Al-Kafi 1:431

  Shia

  Al-Kafi · Book 1, Hadith 431

  The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said, 'The love of a believer for another believer for God’s sake is one of the greatest branches of faith. Indeed, whoever loves in God’s cause, hates in God’s cause, gives in God’s cause, and withholds in God’s cause, he is among God’s chosen ones.' — OR — Noah (peace be upon him) lived five hundred years after the flood. Then Gabriel (peace be upon him) came to him and said, 'O Noah, your prophethood has ended and your days have been completed. Look upon the Greatest Name, the inheritance of knowledge, and the traces of prophetic knowledge with you, and give them to your son Shem. Truly, I will not leave the earth unless there is a scholar known by my obedience and recognized by my guidance, and who will be a salvation between the passing of one prophet and the coming of another prophet. I do not leave people without a proof, a caller to me, a guide to my path, and one who knows my matter. Indeed, I have decreed to appoint for each people a guide who guides the fortunate and is a proof against the unfortunate.' Noah (peace be upon him) then handed over the Greatest Name, the inheritance of knowledge, and the traces of prophetic knowledge to Shem. As for Ham and Japheth, they did not have knowledge from which they benefited. Noah (peace be upon him) also gave glad tidings to them about Hud (peace be upon him) and commanded them to follow him, instructing them to open the will annually, examine it, and celebrate it as a feast.