According to the majority, the word “tannūr” refers to the face of the earth, meaning that water gushed from every part of the ground until even the ovens—normally used for fire—overflowed. Ibn ʿAbbās said the tannūr was a spring in India; al-Shaʿbī held it was in Kūfah; Qatādah said it was in al-Jazīrah. ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib maintained that the tannūr is the breaking of dawn and the brightening of daybreak, that is, its radiance and light—implying: at that moment, “carry aboard a pair of each species.” This last view is unusual.

Allah the Exalted says: “When Our command came and the tannūr overflowed, We said, ‘Carry in it a pair of every kind, together with your family—except those against whom the decree has already passed—and whoever has believed; but none believed with him except a few’” (Hūd 11:40). Thus, when the punishment descended, he was ordered to take on board a pair of every species.

The scripture of the People of the Book states that he was commanded to take seven pairs of every edible animal and two—male and female—of what is not eaten. This differs from the purport of Allah’s statement in our true Book: “two,” if we treat it as the direct object. If, however, we regard “two” as an emphatic restatement of “a pair,” with the direct object omitted, the two accounts are not at odds. Allah knows best.

Some relate—and it is narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās—that the first bird to enter was the turtledove, and the last land animal was the donkey; Iblīs clung to the donkey’s tail as he entered.

Ibn Abī Ḥātim recorded: My father related to us, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, al-Layth related to me, Hishām ibn Saʿd related to me, from Zayd ibn Aslam, from his father, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

“When Noah loaded onto the Ark two of every kind, his companions said, ‘How can we—or the cattle—feel secure when the lion is with us?’ So Allah afflicted the lion with fever, and it was the first fever ever to descend upon the earth. They then complained about the mouse, saying, ‘This little corrupter is ruining our food and belongings.’ Allah inspired the lion, which sneezed, and the cat came forth from it; the mouse then hid from the cat.” This report is mursal.

Allah’s words, “and your family, except the one against whom the decree has already passed” (Hūd 11:40), refer to those for whom the decisive supplication had been answered among the disbelievers—among them his son Yām, who drowned, as will be explained. The phrase “and whoever has believed” means: also take aboard those of your community who have believed in you. Allah says: “and none believed with him except a few” (Hūd 11:40), despite the long period he lived among them, calling them night and day with every manner of discourse and gentle appeal—at times threatening and warning, at times encouraging and promising.

The scholars disagreed about how many were with him on the Ark. Ibn ʿAbbās said they were eighty souls, together with their wives. Kaʿb al-Aḥbār said they were seventy-two. Others said they were ten. Still another opinion holds that only Noah, his three sons, and their four wives—along with Yām’s wife, who turned aside and separated, taking a path other than the path of salvation, and thus deviated when she deviated—were on board. This view, however, conflicts with the plain wording of the verse, which clearly states that a group other than his immediate family embarked with him.