Physical Features of 'The Flood'

We opened the gates of the sky with a gushing water and made the earth gush forth in fountains. Then the water gathered together for a purpose destined for it. And We carried it on planks and nails. (Surat al-Qamar: 11-13)

When Our command came and the oven started to roar, We said: ‘Lead him with two pairs of animals, and your family and those who believe, except for those against whom you have spoken.’ And none but a few believed with him. (Surah Hud: 40)

While the ship was sailing with them in waves like mountains, Noah called to his son who had withdrawn to one side: 'O my son, ride with us, and do not be with the unbelievers.' (Surah Hud, 42)

Thus We revealed to him: 'Build an ark under Our supervision and by Our revelation. And when Our command came and the oven was heated, put in it every pair, and your family, except those against whom the word has been spoken. Do not address Me about the wrongdoers, for they will drown.' (Surat al-Mu'minun, 27)

 Placement of the Ship on a High Place
It was said: ‘O earth, swallow your water, and O sky, hold it back.’ The water receded and the work was completed, and it came to a halt on the Judi. And it was said to the wrongdoing community: ‘Far be it!’ (Surah Hud: 44)

The Flood Event Is A Warning
And indeed, when the water overflowed, We carried you in the ship, so that We might make it an example for you, and that those who can remember the truth will remember it. (Surah Al-Haqqa, 11-12)

Allah's Praise of Prophet Noah
Peace be upon Noah among the worlds. This is how We reward the good-doers. He was one of Our believing servants. (Surat as-Saffat: 79-81)

Was the Flood a Local Disaster?
Those who deny the existence of Noah's Flood use the impossibility of a worldwide flood as evidence for their claim. They also use the claim that such a flood never occurred to attack the Qur'an.

However, this claim is not valid for the Quran, the only holy book sent down by Allah that has not been corrupted. Because the Quran brings a very different perspective to the Flood event than the Torah and the Flood legends mentioned in various cultures. The distorted Torah, which makes up the first five books of the Old Testament, says that this flood was universal and covered the entire world. However, no such information is given in the Quran; on the contrary, it is understood from the relevant verses that the Flood was local and that it was not the entire world that was punished, but the people of Noah who were warned and frightened by the Prophet Noah.

This difference is easily evident when we look at the Flood narratives in the Torah and the Quran. The Torah, which has been subject to various alterations and additions throughout history, explains the beginning of the Flood as follows:

And the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that the thoughts of his heart and the thoughts of his heart were only evil all the days. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it was bitter in his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man, whom I have created, and the beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowl of the air, from off the face of the ground; for I regret that I have made them. But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. (Genesis 6:5-8)

However, it is stated in the Quran that only the people of Noah were destroyed, not the whole world. Just like Prophet Hud (Surah Hud, 50) who was sent to the people of 'Ad or Prophet Salih (Surah Hud, 61) who was sent to the people of Thamud and other prophets, Prophet Noah was also sent only to his own people, and the Flood eliminated Noah's people:

And We sent Noah to his people. He said, "I am only a plain warner to you. Worship no one but Allah. I fear for you the punishment of a painful day." (Surah Hud: 25-26)

Those who perished were the people who disregarded the message of Prophet Noah and persisted in their rebellion. The verses on this subject are so clear that they leave no room for debate:

They denied him, so We saved him and those with him in the ship, and We drowned those who denied Our revelations, for they were a blind people. (Surat al-A'raf, 64)

So We saved him and those with him by a mercy from Us, and We destroyed the roots of those who denied Our revelations and did not believe. (Surat al-A'raf, 72)

In addition, Allah says in the Quran that a nation will not be destroyed unless a messenger is sent to that nation. For destruction, the nation must have received a warning and rejected this warning. It is stated in Surah al-Qasas:

Your Lord does not destroy cities until He sends a messenger to their "main cities" who recites Our verses to them. And We do not destroy any but cities whose people are unjust. (Surat al-Qasas: 59)

It is not Allah's Sunnah to destroy a nation to which no warner was sent. However, Prophet Noah, who was a warner, was only sent to his own nation. For this reason, Allah destroyed only the nation of Prophet Noah, not the nations to which no warner was sent.

From these statements in the Quran, it is understood that Noah's Flood was a local disaster, not one that covered the entire world. In addition, excavations carried out in the archaeological region where the Flood is thought to have taken place - which we will examine shortly - also show that the Flood was not a universal event covering the entire world, but a very wide disaster that affected a part of Mesopotamia.

Have All Animals Been Taken on Board?
Bible commentators believe that Prophet Noah took all the animal species on earth into the ark and that the animal race was saved from extinction thanks to Prophet Noah. According to this belief, all the animals on earth were gathered and placed on the ark.

Those who defend this claim are of course in a very difficult situation in many respects. It is of course impossible to answer questions such as how the animal species taken on board were fed, how they were stowed on the ship, how they were isolated from each other. Moreover, it is also a matter of curiosity how animals native to different continents were collected; such as mammals in the poles, kangaroos in Australia or bison native to America. In addition, questions such as how poisonous snakes and scorpions, which are extremely dangerous to humans, and wild animals were caught, and how they were able to survive outside their natural habitat until the Flood, follow one another.

However, these are the difficulties that the Torah faces. However, there is no statement in the Quran that all animal species on earth were taken into the Ark. As we have stated before, the Flood occurred in a specific region. Therefore, the animals taken into the Ark must have been those living in the region where Noah's people were located.

However, it is clear that it is not possible to bring together all the animal species living in that region alone. It is also difficult to think that the Prophet Noah and the believers, who are stated to be very few in number (Surah Hud, 40), gathered pairs from hundreds of animal species around them. It is not even possible to collect only insect species from the animals in the region they lived in; and that too by distinguishing between males and females! For this reason, it can be thought that the animals gathered were domestic animals that could be easily caught and protected, and that would especially benefit people. Accordingly, the Prophet Noah probably took cows, sheep, horses, chickens, roosters, camels and similar animals onto the ark. Because these are the basic animals necessary for the new life to be established in the region that had lost much of its life due to the Flood.

The important point here is this: The wisdom in the command of God to gather the animals given to Prophet Noah should not be to protect the species of animals but to gather the animals necessary for the new life to be established after the Flood. Because the Flood was local, there is no question of the extinction of the animals. In any case, after the Flood, animals from other regions will migrate to this region in time and restore the region to its former vitality. What is important is the life to be established in the region immediately after the Flood, and the animals that were collected must have been collected primarily for this purpose.