What did Ibn Kathir say about Prophet Nūḥ?
Nūḥ preached to his people for 950 years. Ibn Kathir narrates the patience, the rejection, the ark, and the flood — drawing on Qurʾan and authentic traditions.
10 passages from 6 books in the library
Ibn Kathir narrates that Nūḥ stayed among his people "after being sent and before the flood for 1,000 less 50 years" — the Qurʾanic 950 — and lived in total far longer. He describes Nūḥ building the ark while groups of his people mocked him, and scholars debating how many believers boarded with him, citing reports from Ibn ʿAbbās. He stresses that lineage saved no one: "Noah's son was not saved simply because he was Noah's son, and Abraham's father did not" benefit from his — faith, not kinship, was decisive.
Drawn from the classical sources below — in the scholars' own words.
The classical approach.
These passages are drawn from 6 books by Ibn Battuta, Ibn Kathir, and Imam al-Ghazali — part of the classical Sunni tradition that carries over a thousand years of reflection on the Qurʾān, the authentic Sunnah, and the consensus of the early community. Nothing below is a paraphrase. The words are the scholars' own, translated from the original Arabic manuscripts.
14th century · Tangier, Morocco
The Riḥlah — a 30-year, 75,000-mile journey across three continents, and the most important travel account of the pre-modern world.
More on Ibn Battuta →
· Provenance →
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"mentioned in the Book of Allah Almighty, where Noah's ark, upon him be peace, came to rest. It is a tall,"
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"Nearby, connecting to the mosque's southern wall, is an area said to be where Noah's Ark"
14th century · Bosra, Syria
Monumental history Al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah, the world's most widely read Qurʾanic commentary, and the classical Stories of the Prophets.
More on Ibn Kathir →
· Provenance →
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"Noah lived for 1,780 years. Regarding his grave, it is narrated that Noah's grave is at the sacred"
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"Noah stayed among his people after being sent and before the flood for 1,000 less 50 years,"
14th century · Bosra, Syria
Monumental history Al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah, the world's most widely read Qurʾanic commentary, and the classical Stories of the Prophets.
More on Ibn Kathir →
· Provenance →
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"wronged. Indeed, they are to be drowned. As Noah was building the ark, whenever a group of his"
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"believed. Scholars have debated the number of people who were with Noah on the ark. Ibn Abbas"
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"peace be upon him, said, When Noah took two of each kind into the ark, his companions asked,"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"I disobeyed him. Myself, myself, go to someone else, go to Noah. They will approach Noah"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"Noah's son was not saved simply because he was Noah's son, and Abraham's father did not"
14th century · Bosra, Syria
Monumental history Al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah, the world's most widely read Qurʾanic commentary, and the classical Stories of the Prophets.
More on Ibn Kathir →
· Provenance →
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"Another narration states that when the flood occurred, Noah, peace be upon him, carried"
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