Sura Nuh

“Surely we sent Nuh to his people to warn them before a painful punishment came.”

 It took me a while to memorize this sura. There were a lot of personal lessons I had to learn in order to finish it. I had to learn, again, how important it is to sleep. I had to learn how valuable quiet moments are. And Allah also caused me to remember what a blessing it is to be in good health. Master Yoda and the children were all sick. Or rather they are all sick. They dropped like flies one after the other. And they are enjoying the blessings of delicious cough drops. 

Sickness is beyond our control. We can take all the medicines and wear the masks but what is coming for a person won’t miss him or her. And what was coming to the disobedient people of Noah only missed a few of them. It missed the few who chose to believe.

Allah sends us messages through the messengers because He loves us. He wants to give us the choice and the chance to turn to Him alone. Sura Nuh is the story of a people who were the first to commit the worst sin in history. Their sin was idolatry. In my discussions with Master Yoda about this sura, ( he has done comparative christian research on Nuh/Noah peace be upon him) he mentioned so many pieces of the story that are left out or misconstrued in the Bible. 

So here are some quick facts, for anyone reading, just to have the Quranic story straight,

1. Noah was sent to his people by Allah/God to warn the people and protect them from a painful punishment.
2. He counseled them to worship Allah, to fear Allah, and to obey him.
3. He delivered the message for 950 years.
4. He preached out loud/openly, in secret/privately, day and night.
5. He told them of the rewards of Allah and that Allah would bless and increase them in wealth and children, and give them lush gardens and flowing rivers.
6. He delivered the message to the point that his people put their fingers in their ears and wrapped  themselves in their clothing to avoid him.
7. After 950 years of seeing generation after generation led astray He prayed to Allah that these people would be removed from the earth because of their sins and the fact that they only gave birth to sinning criminals.

I can’t imagine the dedication it must have taken to deliver the message to people who didn’t even want to hear it for 950 years. Perhaps I can have a little more courage in doing the things that I find difficult.