In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful and Compassionate
Do not assume that the narrative of the flood of Noah in the
Quran is the same as the narrative in the Bible.
The verses of Quran regarding Prophet Noah (as) must be studied to answer this question. We find the following verses related to the issue in the Quran:
"We sent Nuh to his people and he remained among them for
fifty short of a thousand years; yet the Flood engulfed them while they were
wrongdoers." (Qur'an, 29:14)
"We sent Nuh to his people: "I am a clear warner to you. Worship none but Allah. I fear for you the punishment of a painful day." (Qur'an, 11:25-26)
"But they denied him so We rescued him and those with him in
the Ark. And We drowned the people who denied Our Signs. They were a blind
people." (Qur'an, 7:64)
"And the people of Noah: when they rejected the
messengers, We drowned them, and made them a lesson for mankind. We have
prepared for the wrongdoers a painful retribution."
Allah drowned disbelievers from Noah (as)'s own people and made them a lesson for mankind. The Quran never said that God drowned mankind. Noah (as) was sent to just his own people, not to all nations. And Noah presented Allah's revelations to just his own people, not to all nations. And those who rejected the revelations were from Noah's own people, not all nations. So God drowned disbelievers from Noah's own people, not all nations. But the flood may be also effected in other places on the earth because it caused Sea levels to Rise. There are Many Ancient Civilizations that have recorded a Story of the Great Flood. And we don't know how many people was drowned. It may be few because we know Noah (as) was lived nearly after the ages of Idris (as) & Adam (as) and we know that human population was only increased in very recent ages.
Above Quran verses also indicate that Noah(as) was not sent as a Prophet to
all the world but to a specific group of people. This is also supported by the
evidence of the hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (saw) where he (saw) said:
"Every Prophet used to be sent to his nation only but I have been sent to all mankind." (Bukahri)
This is evidence enough that Noah (as) was not sent to the whole mankind and but to a specific group of people. When these people denied him, Allah punished them with a massive flood which engulfed all the land inhabited by these people. We do not know the extent of the flood but it was wide spread, however, it was a localized event restricted to the area of the people who did not believe in Prophet Noah (as).
Pair of animals in Noah's Ark:
The Quran indicate that the flood was local or a particular area on earth, And we know that Noah's people are mainly farmers. So the pair of animals may be every kind of animal that they needed or the animals that are within the geographical area of Noah(as).
"And when Our command came and the oven burst ˹with water˺, We said ˹to Noah˺, “Take into the Ark a pair of every kind [of animal] along with your family—except those against whom the decree ˹to drown˺ has already been passed—and those who believe.” But none believed with him except for a few." (Quran 11:40)
Before the Flood, the Prophet Noah (as) and those who believed in him were commanded to construct an Ark. When the flood began, they were commanded to board the Ark and to take with them “a pair of every kind [of animal]” (Quran, 11:40). Inclusive expressions in the Quran such as “every” or “all” are frequently used to refer to a restricted kind of inclusion for rhetorical emphasis. Since it is impossible for the Prophet Noah (as) to have boarded a million species of animals onto the Ark, we infer that “every kind [of animal]” means “every kind of animal that they needed”, meaning those domesticated animals that they farmed, milked, ate, or rode on. In the ancient Arabic language, the rhetorical effect of the inclusive expression here is to emphasize that they should board absolutely every kind of animal that they needed and not leave any kind of animal behind.
Allah knows best.
New Discovery of Noah’s Ark was Revealed in the Quran:
The Quranic account of the Flood and Noah’s Ark agrees with that given in the Bible, with a few variations. One of these concerns the final resting place of the Ark. According to Genesis, the Ark grounded on the “mountains of Ararat”; while according to the Quran, the final resting place of the vessel was called Mount Judi.
"When the word went forth: ‘O earth swallow up thy water and O sky withhold (thy rain)!’ and the water abated and the matter was ended. The Ark rested on Mount Judi and the word went forth: ‘Away with those who do wrong!" (Quran 11: 44)
In recent years, there have been several attempts to find the Prophet Noah (PBUH), Ark. These attempts will possibly continue until we have the precise answers we wish to have. Mount Judi refers to a Place of Descent the location where the Prophet Noah (PBUH) Ark came to rest after the Great Flood by the command of Allah. Mount Judi is also called, Cudi, Guti, and Kutu have significant history in Islam and Christian. The Mount is situated in south-east Turkey, nearby Syrian and Iraq Borders. This mountain is more than 7,000 feet high and near the edge of the Ararat mountain region.
