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Narrated to us Muhammad bin Ibrahim bin Ishaq (r.a.) who said: Narrated to us Muhammad bin Hammam, who said: Narrated to us Humaid Ibne Ziyad Kufi who said: Narrated to us Hasan bin Muhammad bin Samaa-a, from Ahmad bin Hasan al-Muthanna, from Abdullah bin Fadl al-Hashmi that he said:
“As-Sadiq, Ja’far bin Muhammad (a.s.) said: When Allah, the Mighty and the High declared the Prophethood of Nuh (a.s.) and his Shias (followers) became sure that the time of deliverance was near the calamities became severe and mental torture kept on increasing and the infidels made all sorts of allegations against them. Nuh (a.s.) had to face such tortures that sometimes he remained unconscious for three days at a stretch and regained consciousness when his ears bled. This happened three hundred years after his appointment. During this period he invited the people towards Allah, day and night, but they fled from him. If he invited secretly he did not get a positive response.
If he called openly they used to flee. After three hundred years he decided to invoke curse upon them and sat down to curse after the Morning Prayer. A delegation of three angels from the seventh heaven came to him and said, ‘O Prophet of Allah, we have a request for you.’ ‘What is that?’ asked Nuh (a.s.). They replied, ‘Postpone the act of cursing the people, because this would be the first instance of divine wrath to descend to the earth.’ Nuh (a.s.) replied, ‘I postpone it for three hundred years.’ He returned to his people and again continued to invite them towards Allah. But the people continued to torment and torture him.
This went on for another three hundred years and at last Nuh (a.s.) lost hope of them ever coming towards faith. One afternoon (Zuhr) he decided to curse them. Suddenly a group of three angels from the sixth heaven came down and after salam said, ‘We started from the sixth heaven in the morning and have reached you at this time and we desire that at present you set aside the curse that you intend to invoke upon your people.’ Again Nuh (a.s.) promised to abstain from cursing them for three hundred years and returned to his people and began preaching among them.
But it had no effect till the second respite of three hundred years expired. In all nine hundred years of propagation passes in this manner. His followers came to him and complained to him about all they had suffered at the hands of the cruel kings and infidels and requested him to pray so that Allah may relieve them from the persecution. Nuh (a.s.) accepted the request and prayed to the Lord. Jibraeel (a.s.) descended and said that the Almighty has accepted his supplication and commands him to tell his followers to consume date and plant its seeds and to take care of the trees till they bear fruit. ‘When the trees bear fruits We will provide them salvation.’
Hearing this Nuh (a.s.) praised Allah, the Mighty and Sublime and gave glad tidings to his followers. They also became happy and waited till the trees bore fruits. They brought the fruits to Nuh (a.s.) and requested him to fulfill his promise. Nuh (a.s.) prayed to the Almighty and the Almighty said, ‘Tell these people to eat these dates too and sow their seeds. And when those trees bear fruits I will bestow give them salvation.’ When the people heard this, they thought that the promise has not been fulfilled and two-third of them renounced faith. Only a third of them remained firm on the faith of Nuh (a.s.).
They ate the dates and sowed the seeds. When they bore fruits they came to Nuh (a.s.) and said, ‘Very few of us have remained on religion and if there is a delay in repelling our hardships, all of us might turn away from religion.’ Hearing this Nuh (a.s.) offered his prayers and supplicated fervently, ‘O Lord, very few followers are left and if they do not receive salvation, I fear that they might also perish.’ It was revealed to him that his prayer has been accepted and that he should start building the Ark. Between the acceptance of his prayers and the Deluge there was a period of fifty years.”
2 – Narrated to us Muhammad bin Ali Majilaway; and Muhammad bin Musa bin Mutawakkil; and Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Yahya al-Attar -may Allah be pleased with them – they said: Narrated to us Muhammad bin Yahya al-Attar, from Husain bin Hasan bin Aban, from Muhammad bin Uramiya from Muhammad bin Sinan from Ismail bin Jabir; and Abdul Karim bin Amr from Abdul Hameed bin Abi Dailam from Abi Abdullah as-Sadiq (a.s.) that he said:
“After embarking from the ship, Nuh (a.s.) lived for fifty years. Then Jibraeel (a.s.) came to him and said, ‘O Nuh (a.s.), your prophethood is ending and your days are now over. So pass on The Greatest Name, the heritage of knowledge and the relics of prophethood to your son Sam, because Allah says that He would never keep the earth devoid of His representative. ‘There will always be a learned one on it because of whom the people would regard Me worthy of worship, so that after passing away of one prophet to the appointment of another, he may be the source of their salvation.
I will never ever leave the world without a proof who will call people towards Me and who would know My commands. This is My order. And I have destined this for every group of people that I will establish a guide through whom I will guide the obedient people and thereby My argument would be exhausted on the wretched.’ Accordingly Nuh (a.s.) handed over The Greatest Name, and the prophetic relics to his son Sam. Ham and Yafith had no knowledge from which one could benefit.
(The Imam said) Nuh (a.s.) gave the glad tidings of Hud (a.s.) to the people and ordered them to obey him. He also urged them to see the will at least once every year. That day would be a festive day for them just like Adam (a.s.) had commanded them. When rebellion and arrogance found roots in the descendants of Ham and Yafith, the descendants of Sam went into hiding with the relics and began to lead a secret life. In this way after Nuh (a.s.) the rulership of Ham and Yafith became effective on Sam. It is for this that Allah, the Mighty and Sublime says:
وَتَرَكْنَا عَلَيْهِ فِي الْآخِرِينَ
And We perpetuated to him (praise) among the later generations.1
That is We gave the wealth of the oppressors to Nuh (a.s.) and Allah will make Muhammad (S) powerful with it. The inhabitant of Sind, India, and Ethiopia are the children of Ham and the inhabitants of Iran and Sind are the children of Yafith and their wealth reached the followers of Muhammad (S) and thereafter according to tradition that (wealth) passed from one learned religious scholar to another until Allah, the Mighty and Sublime sent Prophet Hud (a.s.).”
3 – And narrated to us Ali bin Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Imran as-Daqqaq (r.a.) that he said: Narrated to us Muhammad bin Abi Abdullah Kufi from Musa bin Imran an-Nakhai from his uncle, Husain bin Yazid an-Nawafalli from Ali bin Salim, from his father that he said: As-Sadiq Ja’far bin Muhammad (a.s.) said:
“When the demise of Nuh approached, he summoned his Shias (followers) and said: You should know that after me there shall be an occultation when false deities would appear. And indeed Allah, the Mighty and Sublime would bestow victory upon you through my descendant who would be named Hud. He shall be having awe, tranquility and dignity and in his appearance and manners he shall resemble me.
During his reappearance the Almighty Allah would destroy your enemies through a wind. Thus they began to continuously await and anticipate the reappearance and advent of Hud till the period became prolonged and the hearts of most of them hardened. Then Allah, the Mighty and the High sent His Prophet, Hud when they had become despaired and calamities and hardships had surrounded them fully and the enemies were destroyed by a wind sans benefit, a wind that the Almighty Allah has described as follows in the Holy Quran:
مَا تَذَرُ مِنْ شَيْءٍ أَتَتْ عَلَيْهِ إِلَّا جَعَلَتْهُ كَالرَّمِيمِ
“It did not leave aught on which it blew, but it made it like ashes.”2
After that occultation occurred for him till the advent of Salih (a.s.).”
4 – Narrated to us my father and Muhammad bin Hasan – may Allah be pleased with them – They said: Narrated to us Saad bin Abdullah from Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Isa from Muhammad bin Sinan from Ismail bin Jabir; and Kiram bin Amr, from Abdul Hameed bin Abi Dailam, from As-Sadiq Abi Abdullah Ja’far bin Muhammad (a.s.) that he said:
“When Allah, the Mighty and Sublime sent Hud (a.s.), the descendants of Sam accepted him but others said: Who is stronger than us? Thus they were destroyed through an unblessed windstorm. After that Hud (a.s.) made a bequest to his followers and gave them glad tidings about Prophet Salih (a.s.).”
- 1.Surah Saffat 37:78
- 2.Surah Zariyat 51:42