وَقِيلَ يَـٰٓأَرْضُ ٱبْلَعِى مَآءَكِ وَيَـٰسَمَآءُ أَقْلِعِى وَغِيضَ ٱلْمَآءُ وَقُضِىَ ٱلْأَمْرُ وَٱسْتَوَتْ عَلَى ٱلْجُودِىِّ ۖ وَقِيلَ بُعْدًا لِّلْقَوْمِ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ 44
Translations
And it was said, "O earth, swallow your water, and O sky, withhold [your rain]." And the water subsided, and the matter was accomplished, and it [i.e., the ship] came to rest on the [mountain of] Jūdiyy. And it was said, "Away with the wrongdoing people."
Transliteration
Wa qīla yā arḍu ablʿī māʾaka wa yā samāʾu aqlʿī wa ghīḍa al-māʾu wa quḍiya al-amru wa astawat ʿalā al-jūdiyy wa qīla buʿdan li-al-qawm al-ẓālimīn
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah describes the conclusion of the Great Flood during Prophet Nuh's time, when Allah commanded the earth to swallow its waters and the sky to cease raining, causing the waters to recede and the ark to rest upon Mount al-Judi. Classical exegetes like Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari explain that this marked the end of Allah's judgment upon the disbelieving people, with the final phrase pronouncing destruction upon those who rejected Nuh's message. The sequence demonstrates Allah's complete control over creation and His decisive judgment against those who persist in disbelief.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of the narrative of Nuh (Noah) in Surah Hud, a Meccan chapter that emphasizes the stories of the prophets and divine punishment of disbelievers. The context involves the flood narrative that serves as a warning to the Meccan disbelievers of the Prophet Muhammad's time about the consequences of rejecting divine guidance.
Related Hadiths
Sunan Ibn Majah and other sources contain reports about the location of Mount al-Judi, which some scholars identify with mountains in the region of Cizre in modern-day Turkey. While not a direct hadith commentary, Al-Nawawi's work on Islamic geography discusses this mountain's significance in Islamic tradition.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah reminds believers that Allah's judgment is absolute and inevitable—those who reject divine guidance will face consequences, while the believers (represented by those on the ark) are saved. For modern readers, it emphasizes the importance of heeding prophetic warnings and maintaining faith, knowing that Allah's justice encompasses all of creation.
Related Ayahs
قَالُوٓا۟ أَتَعْجَبِينَ مِنْ أَمْرِ ٱللَّهِ ۖ رَحْمَتُ ٱللَّهِ وَبَرَكَـٰتُهُۥ عَلَيْكُمْ أَهْلَ ٱلْبَيْتِ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ حَمِيدٌ مَّجِيدٌ
They said, "Are you amazed at the decree of Allāh? May the mercy of Allāh and His blessings be upon you, people of the house. Indeed, He is Praiseworthy and Honorable."
قَالُوا۟ يَـٰشُعَيْبُ أَصَلَوٰتُكَ تَأْمُرُكَ أَن نَّتْرُكَ مَا يَعْبُدُ ءَابَآؤُنَآ أَوْ أَن نَّفْعَلَ فِىٓ أَمْوَٰلِنَا مَا نَشَـٰٓؤُا۟ ۖ إِنَّكَ لَأَنتَ ٱلْحَلِيمُ ٱلرَّشِيدُ
They said, "O Shuʿayb, does your prayer [i.e., religion] command you that we should leave what our fathers worship or not do with our wealth what we please? Indeed, you are the forbearing, the discerning!"
وَأَخَذَ ٱلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا۟ ٱلصَّيْحَةُ فَأَصْبَحُوا۟ فِى دِيَـٰرِهِمْ جَـٰثِمِينَ
And the shriek seized those who had wronged, and they became within their homes [corpses] fallen prone
وَيَـٰقَوْمِ لَا يَجْرِمَنَّكُمْ شِقَاقِىٓ أَن يُصِيبَكُم مِّثْلُ مَآ أَصَابَ قَوْمَ نُوحٍ أَوْ قَوْمَ هُودٍ أَوْ قَوْمَ صَـٰلِحٍ ۚ وَمَا قَوْمُ لُوطٍ مِّنكُم بِبَعِيدٍ
And O my people, let not [your] dissension from me cause you to be struck by that similar to what struck the people of Noah or the people of Hūd or the people of Ṣāliḥ. And the people of Lot are not from you far away.