Abū Zurʿah ibn ʿAmr ibn Jarīr relates—on the authority of Abū Hurayrah—that the Prophet ﷺ, in the ḥadīth of intercession, said:
“They will come to Adam and say, ‘O Adam, you are the father of humanity. Allah created you with His own Hand, breathed into you of His spirit, commanded the angels and they prostrated to you, and He lodged you in Paradise. Will you not intercede for us with your Lord? Do you not see the plight we are in and what we have come to?’
He will reply, ‘My Lord is angry today with an anger the like of which He has never shown before and will never show again. He forbade me the tree, yet I disobeyed. Myself, myself! Go to someone else—go to Noah.’
They will then come to Noah and say, ‘O Noah, you were the first messenger sent to the people of the earth, and Allah named you “a grateful servant.” Do you not see the plight we are in and what we have come to? Will you not intercede for us with your Lord, exalted is He?’
He will answer, ‘My Lord is angry today with an anger such as He has never shown before and will never show again. Myself, myself!’ ”
The narrator then mentioned the rest of the ḥadīth in full, exactly as al-Bukhārī records it in the story of Noah.
Once Allah sent Noah, peace be upon him, he called his people to devote all worship exclusively to Allah, without partner; never to worship alongside Him any idol, statue, or false deity; and to acknowledge His absolute oneness—that there is no god but He, no Lord besides Him. This same command was laid upon every messenger after him, all of whom were from his descendants, as Allah says:
“We made his offspring the only survivors.”
( al-Ṣāffāt 37:77)
And regarding him and Abraham He says:
“We placed prophethood and the Scripture among their progeny.”
( al-Ḥadīd 57:26)
That is, every prophet after Noah came from his line, and likewise from Abraham.
Allah the Exalted also says:
“We certainly sent to every nation a messenger, saying, ‘Worship Allah and shun the ṭāghūt.’”
( al-Naḥl 16:36)
“Ask those of Our messengers whom We sent before you: Did We ever appoint any deities to be worshipped besides the Most Merciful?”
( al-Zukhruf 43:45)
“We sent no messenger before you without revealing to him, ‘There is no god but I, so worship Me.’”
( al-Anbiyāʾ 21:25)
For this reason Noah, peace be upon him, said to his people:
“Worship Allah; you have no god other than Him. I fear for you the punishment of a tremendous Day.”
( al-Aʿrāf 7:59)
“Serve none but Allah. I fear for you the torment of a painful Day.”
( Hūd 11:26)
“My people, worship Allah; you have no god other than Him. Will you not then be mindful?”
( al-Aʿrāf 7:65)
He also said:
“My people, I am to you a clear warner: (2) worship Allah, be mindful of Him, and obey me; (3) He will forgive you some of your sins and grant you respite until an appointed term. Indeed, when the appointed time of Allah arrives it cannot be delayed, if only you knew. (4) My Lord, I have called my people night and day, (5) but my calling has only driven them further away. (6) Each time I summoned them so that You might forgive them, they thrust their fingers into their ears, wrapped themselves in their garments, persisted, and waxed ever more arrogant. (7) Then I called them openly, (8) and I preached to them publicly and privately, (9) saying, ‘Seek your Lord’s forgiveness—surely He is ever Forgiving; (10) He will pour down abundant rain from the sky for you, (11) reinforce you with wealth and sons, make for you gardens, and make for you rivers. (12) What is the matter with you that you do not fear Allah’s majesty, (13) seeing that He created you in successive stages?’”
( Nūḥ 71:2-14)
Thus Noah explained that he summoned them to Allah by every possible means—by night and by day, in secret and in public—sometimes encouraging and at other times warning