In recent years there have been some
renewed attempts to locate the Ark. These attempts will perhaps continue until we have the
answers we wish to have. Among the researchers is an American who is obtaining aerial
photos of Mt. Ararat from the CIA collection. The Holy Quran describes the story of
Prophet Noah (peace be on him), his building of the Ark, the people who joined him and the
Flood in detail. The water started gushing out from a particular oven, followed by a large
number of other springs as well as a heavy downpour from the sky. The following is note 46
to the verse 44 of Surah Hud 11 in A. A. Maududi's text, "Towards Understanding the
Quran", vol. IV, pp. 102-4. Page 103 has the map of the Land of Noah's people and
Mount Judi.
Mount Judi is situated to the north-east of the Island of Ibn
'Umar in Kurdistan. According to the Bible, the Ark's resting place was Ararat, which is
the name of a particular mountain as well as of a whole range of mountains in Armenia.
Ararat, in the sense of a mountain range, extends from the Armenian plateau to southern
Kurdistan. The mount called Judi is part of this range and is known even today by the same
name. In ancient historical accounts, Mount Judi is mentioned as the place where the Ark
rested. Around 250 B.C., a Babylonian priest, Berasus, wrote a history of his country
based on Chaldean traditions. He mentions Judi as the resting-place of Noah's Ark. The
history written by Abydenus, a disciple of Aristotle, also corroborates this. Abydenus
further remarks that many people in Mesopotamia possessed pieces of the Ark which they
used as a charm. They ground those pieces in water and gave the preparation to the sick so
as to cure them of their ailments.
In connection with this great incident one is also faced with the
question of whether the Flood was universal or whether it was limited to the area
inhabited by the people of Noah. This question remains unanswered to this day. Under the
influence of Israelite traditions, it is believed that it was a universal Flood (Genesis
7: 18-24). The Qur'an, however, does not explicitly say so. There are several allusions in
the Qur'an which indicate that subsequent generations of mankind are the descendants of
those who were saved from the Flood. But that does not necessarily mean that the Flood
covered the whole world. For, it is quite plausible that at that point in history the
human population was confined only to the area which was overtaken by the Flood, and that
those born after the Flood gradually dispersed to other parts of the world. This view is
supported by two things. Firstly, ancient historical traditions, archaeological
discoveries and geological data provide evidence that a great flood took place at some
period in the distant past in the Tigris-Euphrates region. There is no such evidence for a
universal flood. Secondly, traditions about a great flood have been popular among all
communities of the world down the ages. Such traditions are found even in the folklore of
such distant regions as Australia, America and New Guinea. One may thus conclude that at
some time in the past the ancestors of all these communities lived together in some region
which was overtaken by the Flood. Since presumably their descendants subsequently
dispersed to, and settled down in, different parts of the world, they transmitted and
preserved the traditions of this great Flood.
(For details see 'Towards Understanding the Quran, vol. III, al-Araf 7, n. 47,
pp.37-8.) {End Note 46}
For relevant verses, see Surahs Hud and Al-Qamar in the Holy Quran.
