I say: The wording that Abū ʿUmar cited is indeed the version reliably preserved from Saʿīd as his own statement, and the same has been transmitted from Wahb ibn Munabbih—God knows best. As for Yazīd ibn Sinān Abū Furwah al-Rihāwī, he is extremely weak and cannot be relied upon.

It has been claimed that Noah—peace be upon him—did not father these three sons until after the Flood, and that before the Ark he had only two children: Canaan, who drowned, and ʿĀbir, who died before the deluge. The correct view, however, is that the three sons were with him in the Ark together with their wives and their mother; this is the explicit wording of the Torah.

It is related that Ham had intercourse with his wife aboard the Ark, whereupon Noah prayed that the form of his seed be distorted. A black-skinned child was born to him—Canaan son of Ham, the forefather of the Sudanese. Another report says that Ham saw his father asleep with his nakedness exposed and failed to cover him, whereas his two brothers did; for that reason Noah prayed that Ham’s seed be altered and that his descendants become servants to those of his brothers.

Imām Abū Jaʿfar Ibn Jarīr narrated—through ʿAlī ibn Zayd ibn Judʿān, from Yūsuf ibn Mihrān, from Ibn ʿAbbās—that he said: The disciples said to Jesus son of Mary, “Would you raise for us a man who witnessed the Ark so that he might tell us about it?” Jesus went with them until they reached a mound of earth. He took a handful of that soil and asked, “Do you know who this is?” They replied, “God and His Messenger know best.” He said, “This is Kaʿb, son of Ham, son of Noah.” He then struck the mound with his staff and said, “Rise, by God’s permission!” Immediately the man rose, shaking the dust from his head; his hair had turned grey. Jesus, peace be upon him, asked, “Is this how you died?” He replied, “No. I died while still young, but when I thought the Hour had arrived my hair turned grey.” Jesus said, “Tell us about Noah’s Ark.” He answered, “Its length was one thousand two hundred cubits and its width six hundred cubits. It had three decks: one for beasts and livestock, one for human beings, and one for birds. When the animals’ dung became excessive, God revealed to Noah, peace be upon him, ‘Press the elephant’s tail.’ He pressed it, and out came a male and a female pig, which set about consuming the dung. Later a mouse began gnawing at the planks of the Ark, so God revealed to Noah, ‘Strike the lion between its eyes.’ He struck it, and from its nostrils sprang a tom-cat and a she-cat, and they attacked the mouse.

“Jesus then asked him, ‘How did Noah, peace be upon him, know that the land had been submerged?’ He replied, ‘He sent out a raven to bring news, but it found a carcass and settled on it, so Noah invoked fear upon the bird, and that is why it avoids human dwellings. He then sent out a dove, which returned with an olive leaf in its beak and mud on its feet; Noah thus knew that the land had been inundated. He adorned the bird’s neck with the green ring you see and prayed that it enjoy friendliness and safety; hence the dove is comfortable among people.’

“They said, ‘Messenger of God, may we not take him to our families so that he may sit with us and relate these things?’ He replied, ‘How can someone who has no provision accompany you?’ Then he said to the man, ‘Return, by God’s permission,’ and the man turned back into dust. This is an exceedingly strange tradition.”