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fa-ʾidhā stawayta ʾanta wa-man maʿaka ʿalā l-fulki fa-quli l-ḥamdu li-llāhi lladhī najjānā mina l-qawmi ẓ-ẓālimīna
‘When you, and those who are with you, are settled in the ark, say, ‘‘All praise belongs to Allah, who has delivered us from the wrongdoing lot.’’
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah al-Mu’minun - Verses 28-30
28.“And when you, and those with you, are settled on the Ark, say: ‘all praise belongs to Allah Who has delivered us from the unjust people!’ ”
29. “And say: ‘My Lord! Cause me to land with a blessed landing, for You are the Best to cause to land’.”
30. “Verily in this there are signs; and indeed We put (men) to test.”
First, we must be grateful to Allah for all His previous blessings then we ask Him for a new favour. The historical subjects of The Holy Qur’an are guiding signs and a cause for our development, they are not for the purposes of entertainment or for simple story telling. In this noble verse, addressing Noah, Allah said:
“And when you, and those with you, are settled on the Ark, say: ‘All praise belongs to Allah Who has delivered us from the unjust people!’ ”
Then in the second verse, Noah is told that after praising Allah for the first great blessing, that is being saved from the clutches of the oppressors, he should beseech Allah in this way:
“And say: ‘My Lord! Cause me to land with a blessed landing, for You are the Best to cause to land’.”
The Arabic word /manzil/ perhaps here is a noun of place, that is to say that after the storm ended Allah would land Noah’s ship on a land that was blessed with abundant favours, so that he could live on it comfortably. It may also be an infinitive, that is to say that Allah would land Noah’s Ark with a good way, because after that the storm ended, many dangers would face the ship when it was about to land, such as the lack of a proper place to live, the shortage of food, and different kinds of diseases, so Noah asked Allah to land the ship with a blessed landing.
Finally, the last verse of this group of verses refers to the whole story in which Noah overcome the oppressors; and the severe punishment of these people is considered as a sign for the possessors of intellect. The verse says:
“Verily in this there are signs; and indeed We put (men) to test.”
The above sentence may indicate that Allah frequently tested the people of Noah and when they could not pass the test, He caused them to perish. It may also point out that Allah tests all mankind in every age, and the verses above are not only peculiar to the people of Noah’s age. Mankind is tested in various forms in all ages and, as a result of them, those who are thorns on the way of human development are removed, so that humanity would continue its journey of perfection unhindered.
It is interesting that in the verses above, only the making the Ark and the embarkation of Noah and his companions are mentioned. Details of what ultimately happened to the wrongdoers is not mentioned in the Qur’an, but by the Divine promise which says:
“...verily they shall be drowned”
It becomes certain that such a fate befell them, for Allah’s promise is always fulfilled. It is also necessary to mention that more information about the story of Noah and his struggle with the unbelieving people of his folk, as well as the events of making Ark, gushing water, the occurrence of the storm, and when Noah’s son was drowned, there are much explanation which can be found in the books about the history of the prophets.