Tafseer of Hud · Hud · 11:44
And it was said, "O earth, swallow your water, and O sky, withhold [your rain]." And the water subsided, and the matter was accomplished, and the ship came to rest on the [mountain of] Judiyy. And it was said, "Away with the wrongdoing people."
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The exposition of the explanation of the words of Allah the Exalted: وَقِيلَ يَا أَرْضُ ابْلَعِي مَاءَكِ وَيَا سَمَاءُ أَقْلِعِي وَغِيضَ الْمَاءُ وَقُضِيَ الأَمْرُ وَاسْتَوَتْ عَلَى الْجُودِيِّ وَقِيلَ بُعْدًا لِلْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ (44)
Abū Jaʿfar says: Allah the Exalted says: after His command had been carried out in the destruction of the people of Nūḥ by the drowning with which He destroyed them, Allah said to the earth: يَا أَرْضُ ابْلَعِي مَاءَكِ — that is: swallow up your water — derived from the expression "the man swallowed such-and-such down his throat" when he gulps it down. وَيَا سَمَاءُ أَقْلِعِي — that is: cease the rain, hold back from it. وَغِيضَ الْمَاءُ — the earth took it into itself and absorbed it. وَقُضِيَ الأَمْرُ — that is: the command of Allah was carried out and it passed with the destruction of the people of Nūḥ. وَاسْتَوَتْ عَلَى الْجُودِيِّ — that is: the ark — "istawat" means that it came to rest — "ʿalā al-Jūdī", and that is a mountain, as is mentioned, in the region of Mosul or the Jazira. وَقِيلَ بُعْدًا لِلْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ — that is: Allah said: may Allah drive far away the unjust people, the disbelievers in Allah from the people of Nūḥ.
18187 — ʿAbbād ibn Yaʿqūb al-Asadī related to us, he said: Al-Muḥāribī related to us, on the authority of ʿUthmān ibn Maṭar, on the authority of ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn ʿAbd al-Ghafūr, on the authority of his father, who said: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "on the first day of Rajab, Nūḥ boarded the ship; he fasted, and all who were with him fasted too; the ship sailed with them for six months, until that came to an end in al-Muḥarram; the ship came to rest on the Jūdī on the day of ʿĀshūrāʾ; Nūḥ fasted and commanded all who were with him — the wild beasts and the animals — to fast in thanksgiving to Allah."
18188 — Al-Qāsim related to us, he said: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, he said: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, who said: "the upper part of the ship was for the birds, the middle for the people, and the lower for the beasts of prey. Its height was thirty cubits; it departed from ʿAyn Warda on a Friday after ten nights of Rajab and came to rest on the Jūdī on the day of ʿĀshūrāʾ; it passed the House and circled around it seven times — Allah had preserved it from the drowning — then it went to Yemen and returned."
18189 — Al-Qāsim related to us, he said: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, he said: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Abū Jaʿfar al-Rāzī, on the authority of Qatāda, who said: "Nūḥ descended from the ship on the tenth day of al-Muḥarram; he said to those who were with him: whoever of you is fasting today, let him complete his fast; and whoever is not fasting, let him go and fast."
18190 — Al-Qāsim related to us, he said: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, he said: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Abū Maʿshar, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Qays, who said: "in the time of Nūḥ there was not a handsbreadth of land that was not claimed by a human being."
18191 — Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, who said: "it has been mentioned to us that it — that is, the ark — rose up with them on the tenth of Rajab; it was a hundred and fifty days upon the water; it rested for a month on the Jūdī; and it descended with them on the tenth of al-Muḥarram, on the day of ʿĀshūrāʾ."
And in accordance with what we have said concerning the explanation of وَغِيضَ الْمَاءُ وَقُضِيَ الأَمْرُ وَاسْتَوَتْ عَلَى الْجُودِيِّ , the exegetes spoke.
18192 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, he said: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, he said: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: وَغِيضَ الْمَاءُ — he said: "it decreased"; وَقُضِيَ الأَمْرُ — he said: "the destruction of the people of Nūḥ."
18193 — Al-Muthanná related to me, he said: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, he said: Shibil related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid — identical.
18194 — Al-Qāsim related to us, he said: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, he said: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid — identical. Ibn Jurayj said: وَغِيضَ الْمَاءُ — "the earth absorbed it."
18195 — Al-Muthanná related to me, he said: ʿAbdallāh related to us, he said: Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word يَا سَمَاءُ أَقْلِعِي : "hold back from it"; وَغِيضَ الْمَاءُ : "the water was gone."
18196 — Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: وَغِيضَ الْمَاءُ — and ghayḍ means the disappearance of the water; وَاسْتَوَتْ عَلَى الْجُودِيِّ .
18197 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: Ibn Numayr related to us, on the authority of Warqāʾ, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: وَاسْتَوَتْ عَلَى الْجُودِيِّ — he said: "a mountain in the Jazira; the mountains arrogantly defied the drowning, but it submitted itself to Allah and did not drown, and it came to rest upon it."
18198 — Al-Muthanná related to me, he said: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, he said: Shibil related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: وَاسْتَوَتْ عَلَى الْجُودِيِّ — he said: "the Jūdī is a mountain in the Jazira; on that day the mountains arrogantly defied the drowning and raised themselves up, but it submitted itself to Allah and did not drown, and the ship of Nūḥ came to rest upon it."
18199 — Al-Qāsim related to us, he said: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, he said: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid — identical.
18200 — Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, he said: my father related to me, he said: my uncle related to me, he said: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word وَاسْتَوَتْ عَلَى الْجُودِيِّ : "upon the mountain; its name is al-Jūdī."
18201 — Al-Ḥārith related to me, he said: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us: وَاسْتَوَتْ عَلَى الْجُودِيِّ — he said: "a mountain in the Jazira; the mountains arrogantly defied, and it submitted itself when the ship of Nūḥ wished to come to rest upon it."
18202 — Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: وَاسْتَوَتْ عَلَى الْجُودِيِّ — "Allah left it for us in the valley of the land of the Jazira, as a warning and a sign."
18203 — It was related to me on the authority of Al-Ḥusayn, who said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say, he said: ʿUbayd ibn Sulaymān related to us, he said: I heard Al-Ḍaḥḥāk say: وَاسْتَوَتْ عَلَى الْجُودِيِّ — "that is a mountain near Mosul."
18204 — Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, who said: "it has been mentioned to us that Nūḥ sent out the raven to scout the water; the raven found a carcass and settled upon it; then he sent out the dove, and it brought him an olive leaf; as a reward she was given the ring around her neck and the dyeing of her legs."
18205 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, who said: "when Allah willed to make the flood cease, He sent a wind over the face of the earth; the water subsided; the springs of the earth and the gates of heaven were closed" — Allah the Exalted says: وَقِيلَ يَا أَرْضُ ابْلَعِي مَاءَكِ وَيَا سَمَاءُ أَقْلِعِي up to بُعْدًا لِلْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ — "and it began to descend, to dry, and to recede. As for the resting of the ark upon the Jūdī, according to what the people of the Torah claim: in the seventh month, on the seventeenth night of it. On the first day of the tenth month the mountain tops became visible. Then when forty days had passed, Nūḥ opened the skylight of the ark that he had made in it; then he sent out the raven to scout for him what the water had done, but it did not return to him. Then he sent out the dove; it returned to him, but found no resting place for her legs, and he stretched out his hand to the dove and took her up. Then he waited seven days and sent her out again; she returned at nightfall with an olive leaf in her beak; Nūḥ knew that the water had subsided from the face of the earth. Then he waited seven days and sent her out; she did not return, and Nūḥ knew that the earth had come forth. When the year was completed — the period between the time Allah sent the flood and the time Nūḥ sent out the dove — and one day of the first month of the second year had begun, the face of the earth had dried and the dry land become visible; Nūḥ took the roof off the ark and saw the face of the earth. In the second month of the second year, on the twenty-seventh night of it, it was said to Nūḥ: اهْبِطْ بِسَلامٍ مِنَّا وَبَرَكَاتٍ عَلَيْكَ وَعَلَى أُمَمٍ مِمَّنْ مَعَكَ وَأُمَمٌ سَنُمَتِّعُهُمْ ثُمَّ يَمَسُّهُمْ مِنَّا عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ ."
18206 — It was related to me on the authority of Al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Faraj, who said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say, he said: ʿUbayd ibn Sulaymān related to us, he said: I heard Al-Ḍaḥḥāk say: "some people claim that the children drowned together with their fathers; that, however, is not the case. The children are equal to the birds and the rest of the creatures that Allah drowned without a sin of their own; but their terms had arrived and they died at their appointed times. As for the adult men and women, however: the drowning was for them a punishment from Allah in the worldly life, and thereafter their final destination is the Fire."
