(11-35)(26-116)(71-21-22)(54-10)(23-39)
In the beginning, the people did not take Noah seriously. Some came to the leaders and asked for their opinion. The leaders said, “Do not take him seriously; he is a mad man. Let some time pass and he will come to his senses.” A lot of time passed but Noah did not come to his senses; on the contrary, with the passing of time he worked more assiduously for his mission.
It was time for the leaders to handle this problem carefully. The first trick was to appeal to the sentiments of mobs. “We are following the footprints of our forefathers and we can’t be wrong. Noah is a liar who says that the earth is created by one God. Moreover, he wants us to sit with those dirty laborers and degrade ourselves.”
When this type of propaganda did not put to rest the enthusiasm of Noah, the rich leaders threatened him: “If you do not cease, you will surely be among those who are stoned to death.” It was not an empty threat: the leaders chose a cunning rich man as their leader and plotted against Noah.
Noah complained to God and said, “My nation has deserted me; they are following one who has great wealth and many sons. This combination of wealth and children has made him so proud that he can only follow the way to ruin. Besides that, they are plotting against me.”
After a long period of fruitless preaching, Noah was so disappointed with his nation that he prayed to God for their destruction. Noah was told not to worry about the criminal nation, which was intoxicated with power and money, and did not care for any value. It was such a primitive time that people had no idea how to build a boat. The plan to build a boat was given by revelation, and Noah built a boat under the guidance of God with wood and nails. He was to take pairs of necessary animals along with those men and women who believed in him.
Noah was busy building the boat. Whenever the leaders of the nation passed by him, they jeered and laughed at him. “There is not a drop of water anywhere in the valley,” they used to say jokingly. “This man is building a unique specimen of an unknown entity.” While they smirked, they completely ignored the fact that the valley was surrounded by tall contiguous mountains.
At the appointed time, the rain started; many fountains poured water into the valley. It was appearing that fountains and clouds were having a competition to pour more water in the valley. The dark clouds were rumbling in the sky when Noah saw his son. “Come into the boat,” he shouted.
“It is only a storm; I will take shelter on the top of the mountain to save myself,” he replied.
“Today, you will find no shelter anywhere except this boat,” said Noah. In the meanwhile, a tall wave soared and the son drowned in the water.
Noah was distressed. He asked God why he had not saved his son when he had promised to save his ahal. God replied that his son was not his ahal because he didn’t follow his path and indulged in every type of bad action.
Like all the good and bad things, this unfortunate ordeal came to an end. The rain stopped pouring water into the valley. The fountains helped the rain and did not contribute any more water. The sky was blue again; the boat of Noah stopped at the top of Al-Judi Mountain. All the people came out of the ark, safe and sound; there was unlimited land in front of them with unlimited opportunities. The proud nation which was intoxicated with the wealth and power was no more to be seen.
