had come to rest, after its momentous voyage, upon the summit of Mount al-Jūdī—a well-known peak in the land of al-Jazīrah, mentioned earlier when we spoke about the creation of the mountains. The divine command, “Disembark in peace from Us,” means: disembark in safety, with blessing upon you and upon the nations that will spring from any of your children. For God did not grant offspring to any of the believers who accompanied him except Noah himself, peace be upon him. The Most High said, “We made his progeny the only survivors” (al-Ṣāffāt 37:77). Thus everyone alive on earth today, from every branch of Adam’s children, is descended from Noah’s three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Imām Aḥmad narrated that ʿAbd al-Wahhāb related from Saʿīd, from Qatādah, from al-Ḥasan, from Samurah, that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Shem is the forefather of the Arabs; Ham is the forefather of the Abyssinians; and Japheth is the forefather of the Romans.” Al-Tirmidhī likewise transmitted it—from Bishr ibn Muʿādh al-ʿAqadī, from Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ, from Saʿīd ibn Abī ʿArūbah, from Qatādah, from al-Ḥasan, from Samurah—as a Prophetic report with similar wording.

Shaykh Abū ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-Barr added that the same statement is reported from ʿImrān ibn Ḥuṣayn, from the Prophet ﷺ. He explained that the “Romans” intended here are the early Romans, namely the Greeks, descendants of Rūmī son of Lubāṭī son of Yūnān son of Japheth son of Noah, peace be upon him. He also cited the report transmitted by Ismāʿīl ibn ʿAyyāsh, from Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd, from Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib, who said: “Noah fathered three sons—Shem, Japheth, and Ham. Each of the three in turn fathered three: from Shem came the Arabs, the Persians, and the Romans; from Japheth came the Turks, the Slavs, and Gog and Magog; from Ham came the Copts, the Sudanese, and the Berbers.”

I say: Ḥāfiẓ Abū Bakr al-Bazzār stated in his Musnad: Ibrāhīm ibn Hānīʾ and Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAbbād—Abū al-ʿAbbās—told us that Muḥammad ibn Yazīd ibn Sinān al-Rihāwī narrated to them, reporting from his father, from Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd, from Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib, from Abū Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of God ﷺ said, “Three sons were born to Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. From Shem came the Arabs, the Persians, and the Romans—and goodness is found among them. From Japheth came Gog and Magog, the Turks, and the Slavs—and no goodness is found among them. From Ham came the Copts, the Berbers, and the blacks.” Al-Bazzār then remarked: “We know of no Prophetic narration on this subject except through this chain; Muḥammad ibn Yazīd ibn Sinān alone reports it from his father. A number of scholars have transmitted from him and accepted his ḥadīths. Others, however, have transmitted it from Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd as a mursal report, not attributing it to the Prophet but treating it as a statement of Saʿīd.”