Noah’s Lost Son in the Qurʾān

Abstract

In Kor 11 (Hūd), 42-47 the Qurʾān has Noah address one of his sons and plead with him to enter the ark. Noah’s son refuses to do so, explaining that he plans to seek refuge from the flood on a mountain. When the son is lost in the flood, Noah turns to God in order to ask that his son be forgiven. In the present article, I discuss the relationship of this Qurʾānic episode with larger themes in the Qurʾān—seen also in the material on Abraham and his father—regarding the believer’s proper disposition towards unbelievers, and unbelieving family members in particular. After a study of earlier theories about this passage, I propose that the account of Noah’s lost son (not found in the Bible) has a particular relationship to Ezekiel 14, a passage which speaks hypothetically of an unrighteous son of Noah. In conclusion, I argue that this passage is an important example of how the Qurʾān applies, and transforms, earlier traditions in order to advance its particular religious arguments. Dans le verset coranique 11 (Hūd), 42-47, Noah s’adresse à l’un de ses fils et le prie d’entrer dans l’Arche. Le fils de Noé refuse de s’exécuter, arguant qu’il a l’intention de trouver refuge dans une montagne contre le Déluge. Quand son fils est perdu dans le Déluge, Noé se tourne vers Dieu afin de Lui demander de pardonner à son fils. Dans le présent article, nous examinerons la relation de cet épisode coranique avec des thèmes plus importants du Coran—que l’on peut également voir dans les récits sur Abraham et son père—concernant la disposition du croyant envers les incroyants et, plus particulièrement, les membres de la famille. Après une étude des théories antérieures à propos de ce passage, nous avancerons que le récit du fils perdu de Noé (qui ne se trouve pas dans la Bible) est particulièrement lié à Ezéchiel 14, un passage qui traite, en toute hypothèse, d’un fils indigne de Noé. En conclusion, nous soutenons que ce passage est un exemple important de la façon dont le Coran emploie et transforme des traditions antérieures afin d’avancer ses propres arguments religieux. This article is in English.

The Mystery of the Drowning of Kan‘ān, the Son of Nūḥ: Criticism of Shahrur’s Thought

“…27 Because Allah had promised to save all of Prophet Nuh's family, Shahrur argued that the wife of Prophet Nuh was one of the survivors of the disaster that occurred. 28 Even though it is known that Nuh's wife is an infidel 29 as explained in Surah Al-Taḥrīm [66]: 10. The safety of the wife of the Prophet Nuh is an indication that faith is not an indicator of salvation for Nuh's family.…”

“…Shahrur's argument that Kan'ān was the child of adultery was built on four important points: 1) the redaction of the Quranic verse suggested that Kan'ān was not part of the family of Prophet Nūḥ as stated in Surah Hūd [11]: 46, 2) Prophet Nūḥ's wife was a treacherous woman as explained in Surah al-Taḥrim [66]: 10. This betrayal was in the form of adultery with another man, 3) because Kan'ān was not the biological child of Nūḥ, so that he is not safe when the flood hits, 4) faith is not the main condition for surviving the disaster as stated in Surah Hūd [11]: 40.…”

“…Religious relations are more important than just kinship relations. 66 This is by the hadith of the Prophet Muhammad which explains that Muslims are like brothers and Muslims to one another are like the composition of one body. If one part of the body is sick, then the other part of the body feels pain too.…”

“…2 If the problem with the drowning of Kan'ān is that he disobeyed against the teachings of Prophet Nūḥ as explained in the article written by Idam Mostofa 3 and included in the category of Surah Nūḥ [71]: 26: "Nūḥ said, "My Lord, do not leave of the unbelievers a single dweller on earth" 4 then a new question arises: why did Nūḥ's wife could be safe from the flood, even though she is one of the antagonist women in the Quran as explained in the article written by Muḥammad Hasnan Nahar. 5 The antagonism of Nūḥ's wife is explained in surah al-Taḥrīm [66]: 10: "God illustrates an example of those who disbelieve: the wife of Nūḥ and the wife of Lot. They were under two of Our righteous servants, but they betrayed them.…”

“…It is said that Nūḥ was unaware that his wife had committed adultery with another man. 7 Shahrur dared to think so, based on the verse of the Quran Surah al-Taḥrīm [66]: 10, right on the sentence "both wives betrayed their husbands", he interpreted that the wife of Prophet Nūḥ betrayed the sacred bond of marriage by committing adultery with another man, so that children resulting from adultery in the perspective of fiqh scholars, should not be related to their biological father. 8 From the explanation above, it is interesting to study and re-examine the causes of the drowning of Kan'ān in the Quran from Shahrur's perspective, after reviewing that Kan'ān is the only Nūḥ's family who did not survive the flood tragedy at that time.…”