A discourse on what was bestowed upon Noah—peace be upon him.

Allah, the Exalted, says:
“So he called upon his Lord: ‘I am overpowered, so help me.’
So We opened the gates of heaven with water pouring down in torrents,
and We burst the earth with springs, so the waters met according to a decree already ordained.
We carried him upon a vessel of planks and nails,
sailing under Our watchful eyes—­a recompense for one who had been rejected.
And We left it as a sign; so is there anyone who will take heed?” (Qur’an 54:10–15)

I have already recounted the episode in detail at the beginning of this book: how he invoked against his people, how Allah delivered him and the believers who followed him—so that not one of them perished—and how He drowned the unbelievers who opposed him, sparing none of them, not even his own child. (1)

Our shaykh, the distinguished scholar Abū al-Maʿālī Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Anṣārī, known as Ibn al-Zamlakānī (2)—and I copy here from his own handwriting—said:

“To prove that every miracle granted to any prophet has its counterpart for our Prophet ﷺ, once treated fully, would require lengthy discussion and details enough to fill many volumes. Instead, let us point to some matters by means of others. We shall list the great miracles of the prophets—peace be upon them. Among them is Noah’s salvation in the Ark together with the believers. Beyond doubt, for water to carry human beings without an ark is greater than for them to travel upon it in an ark. Many saints have walked on the surface of water, and the story of al-ʿAlāʾ ibn Ziyād, a Companion of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, attests to this.

Sahm ibn Minjāb related: ‘We campaigned with al-ʿAlāʾ ibn al-Ḥaḍramī toward Dārīn (3). He made three supplications, each of which was answered. We halted at a place, sought water, and found none. He rose, prayed two rakʿahs, and said: “O Allah, we are Your servants, on Your path, fighting Your enemy. O Allah, send us rain with which we may perform ablution and drink, and let no one besides us have a share of it.” We travelled a short distance and suddenly came upon water after the sky had cleared. We performed ablution, took provisions, and I filled my water-skin, leaving it there to see whether his supplication had indeed been answered. We moved on briefly, then I said to my companions, “I have forgotten my water-skin.” I returned to that spot and found it as though no water had ever touched it.

‘We continued until we reached Dārīn, with the sea between us and them. Al-ʿAlāʾ said, “O All-Knowing, O Wise, O Mighty! We are Your servants, on Your path, fighting Your enemy; so provide us a way to reach them.” We entered the sea, yet the water did not rise above our mounts’ fetlocks. We walked across the surface of the water and nothing of ours became wet …’—and he mentioned the rest of the story.

He concluded: ‘This is more extraordinary than riding in an ark, for it is common for water to bear an ark. It is even more wondrous than the parting of the sea for Moses, for in that instance the water merely withdrew so that they walked on dry land—the miracle was the recession of the water. Here, however, the water itself became a solid body upon which they walked as on land. All of this is attributed to the Prophet ﷺ …’