The Story of Noah (peace be upon him)

For many centuries after Adam, humankind remained a single community upon guidance. Then they differed, and the devils introduced into them a variety of evils by many means.

Among the people of Noah there were righteous men who died, and their folk grieved over them. Satan came to them and told them to carve images of those men so that they might take comfort in them and recall their virtues. That was the first seed of corruption.

When the generation that had sculpted those images for that purpose passed away and knowledge had faded, Satan said to those who came after, “These—Wadd, Suwāʿ, Yaghūth, Yaʿūq, and Nasr—were invoked by your forefathers and taken as intercessors; through them rain was sent down and diseases were removed.” He kept at them until they became wholly absorbed in worshipping the images, despite every sincere admonition.

Allah then raised up among them Noah, peace be upon him. They knew him well—his truthfulness, trustworthiness, and noble character. He proclaimed, “My people, worship Allah; you have no deity other than Him” (al-Aʿrāf 59). Urging them toward the good of this world and the next, he said: “My people, I am a clear warner to you: worship Allah, fear Him, and obey me, that He may forgive you your sins and grant you respite until an appointed term” (Noah 2-4).

When he confronted them with devotion to Allah alone, denounced their false notions, and warned them of punishment in this world and the next, they retorted, “We see you only in manifest error” (1), and added, “We see that none has followed you but the lowest of us, rashly; we see no privilege you have over us. In fact, we think you are liars” (Hud 27).