Nabi Nuh (AS) — Rawzat

The Second Natiq

In the Ismaili understanding of the prophetic cycle, Nabi Nuh (AS) is the second Natiq — the second speaking prophet who brings a new divine message to humanity after Adam (AS). Each Natiq brings a divine law (shari’ah), a scripture, and a Wasi who carries the inner meaning.

The Quran: “Indeed, We have revealed to you as We revealed to Nuh and the prophets after him.” (4:163) Nuh stands at the head of a chain of revelation that includes all the prophets — each building on and renewing the message of the one before.

The Arabic name Nuh is connected by tradition to the root nawh (lamentation) — because he wept for his people for so long. The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) called Nuh Shaykh al-Anbiya’ (the Elder of the Prophets) and Adam al-Thani (the Second Adam) — because just as Adam was the ancestor of the first humanity, Nuh became the ancestor of the second humanity after the Flood.

950 Years of Preaching (Surah Nuh, 71)

The Quran says Nuh preached for 950 years: “He remained among them a thousand years, less fifty.” (29:14) This extraordinary number is sometimes read literally in the tradition and sometimes as an indication of vast time. What is consistent across readings: Nuh preached for longer than any other prophet, with less visible success.

Surah Nuh (71) is entirely Nuh’s report back to Allah on his mission — one of the Quran’s most intimate passages:

“My Lord, indeed I invited my people to truth night and day.” (71:5)
“So then I invited them openly. Then I announced to them and confided to them secretly.” (71:8-9)
“And they said: ‘Do not leave your gods and do not leave Wadd or Suwa’ or Yaghuth and Ya’uq and Nasr.’” (71:23)
“My Lord, do not leave upon the earth even one of the disbelievers — for if You leave them, they will mislead Your servants and not beget anyone except every wicked ungrateful one.” (71:26-27)

The escalation from night-and-day preaching, to open public announcement, to private confidential conversation, to final du’a — this is the complete prophetic toolkit exhausted. Nuh tried everything. And only a small number believed.

The Ark (al-Safina)

When it became clear that the people would not change, the divine command came:

“Build the Ark under Our eyes and Our inspiration and do not address Me concerning those who have wronged — indeed, they are to be drowned.” (11:37)

Nuh built the Ark while his people mocked him: “If you mock us, indeed we will mock you just as you mock.” (11:38) The Prophet’s companions and Nuh’s companions faced the same mockery — those who build something new while the world watches and laughs.

When the waters came — “the oven boiled over” (fara al-tannur — 11:40, a mysterious phrase, the oven as the sign that the Flood has begun) — Nuh was commanded: “Load onto it two of every kind, and your family — except those against whom the word has already been given — and those who have believed.” (11:40)

The Ark is one of the Quran’s central images of salvation: the gathering of the faithful on a vessel that carries them through the annihilation of the old world into the beginning of the new. The Prophet (SAW) described the Ahl al-Bayt as Safinat Nuh — the Ark of Nuh — those who cling to them are saved; those who fall away are drowned. See also: Ahl Al Bayt

The Son Who Would Not Board

One of the Quran’s most heart-rending passages: Nuh called to his son who was among those who refused to believe:

“O my son, come aboard with us and do not be with the disbelievers."
"He said: ‘I will go to a mountain that will protect me from the water.’"
"[Nuh] said: ‘There is no protection today from the decree of Allah except for whom He gives mercy.’"
"And the waves came between them, and he was among the drowned.” (11:42-43)

Nuh then called to Allah: “My Lord, indeed my son is from my family, and indeed your promise is true, and you are the most just of judges.” Allah answered:

“O Nuh, indeed he is not of your family — indeed, he is an unrighteous deed. So ask Me not about that of which you have no knowledge. Indeed, I advise you lest you be among the ignorant.” (11:45-46)

This is one of the Quran’s most important teachings: family relationship (nasab) does not guarantee spiritual belonging. Nuh’s son was biologically his son but not spiritually of his household. And conversely, those who are not biologically related to the Imam but who hold walayah with sincere heart are more truly of his household than those who have biological connection without inner commitment.

The Dawat’s teaching: walayah transcends nasab. The Imam’s family are those who live in the Imam’s ‘ilm and love — not merely those who share his blood.

The Settlement and the Covenant

When the Flood subsided and the Ark came to rest on al-Judi (a mountain), Nuh descended with those who had survived. The divine covenant was renewed:

“O Nuh, descend with peace from Us and blessings upon you and upon nations from those with you — and nations We will grant enjoyment, then a painful punishment from Us will touch them.” (11:48)

The Quran says: “And We made his descendants the survivors.” (37:77) All of humanity after Nuh descends from the three sons who survived with him: Sam (Shem), Ham, and Yafith (Japheth) — the ancestors of the Semitic, African, and Indo-European branches of humanity in traditional Islamic genealogical understanding.

Nuh in the Ismaili Prophetic Cycle

Nuh is the second Natiq in the Ismaili sequence after Adam. Each Natiq:

Receives a new revelation appropriate to the era
Has a Wasi (legatee) who carries the batin
Establishes a new covenant between Allah and a community
Prepares the ground for the next Natiq

Adam → Nuh → Ibrahim → Musa → Isa → Muhammad (SAW)

Nuh’s Wasi in the Ismaili tradition is Sam (Shem) — the son who carried Nuh’s inner teaching forward, from whom the chain of prophetic knowledge continued through to Ibrahim. This chain is not merely genealogical but ‘ilm-based: the transmission of the prophetic batin from generation to generation.

The choice of Nuh as the second Natiq (and not one of the intermediate figures between Adam and Nuh) establishes the principle that the prophetic cycle is not continuous or daily but periodic — each Natiq marks a new era with a new divine dispensation for a new human community.

Ta’wil of Nuh’s Story

The zahir of Nuh’s story is the cataclysm narrative: a prophet rejected by his people, a flood that cleanses the world, a new beginning.

The batin of Nuh is the soul’s experience of the old world drowning. Every sincere seeker has a moment when the old world — the world of heedlessness, of comfortable distance from the divine, of floating on the surface of religion without depth — must be submerged. The Flood is not only punishment; it is transformation. The old self must drown for the new self to emerge.

The Ark of walayah is what carries the mumin through this: the Imam’s ‘ilm as the vessel that navigates the waters of ibtila’ (trial), keeping the soul intact while everything that is not essential to the divine relationship is washed away. And like Nuh after the Flood, the mumin who emerges from their trial is not the same person — they carry the memory of what was, the gratitude for what survived, and the renewed covenant of walayah with a clarity that only the passage through the waters can produce.

“Indeed, My mercy is near to the doers of good.” (7:56) — the divine rain that floods the world is the same mercy that fills the vessel that was built in anticipation.

Nabi Nuh (AS) — The Father of Humanity Renewed