QIAMAH
The Story of Nuh Will Repeat
THE ARK OF AL-HAQ, THE MIDDLE NATION AND THE YOUTHS OF AL-KAHFI
The story of Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him) is not merely a historical account of an ark, a flood and people who drowned.
It is a recurring pattern of conveying the truth, humanity’s rejection of its bearer, the small number of people who accept it, and the salvation of those who follow before it is too late.
Allah says:
إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَا نُوحًا إِلَىٰ قَوْمِهِ أَنْ أَنْذِرْ قَوْمَكَ مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ يَأْتِيَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ
“Indeed, We sent Nuh to his people: Warn your people before a painful punishment comes upon them.”
— Nuh 71:1
Nuh said:
قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ إِنِّي لَكُمْ نَذِيرٌ مُّبِينٌ
“O my people, indeed, I am a clear warner to you.”
— Nuh 71:2
And:
أُبَلِّغُكُمْ رِسَالَاتِ رَبِّي وَأَنصَحُ لَكُمْ
“I convey to you the messages of my Lord, and I advise you.”
— Al-A‘raf 7:62
Nuh’s initial task was not to build an ark.
His task was:
TO CONVEY THE MESSAGE.
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HUMAN BEINGS WANT THE TRUTH TO ARRIVE IN THE FORM THEY IMAGINE
The problem with human beings throughout history is that they have their own ideas about how a bearer of truth should appear.
Regarding Prophet Nuh, his people said:
مَا هَٰذَا إِلَّا بَشَرٌ مِّثْلُكُمْ
“This is nothing but a human being like yourselves.”
Then they said:
وَلَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ لَأَنزَلَ مَلَائِكَةً
“If Allah had willed, He would certainly have sent down angels.”
— Al-Mu’minun 23:24
This problem recurs.
Human beings imagine that the truth must descend from the heavens in an extraordinary form.
They wait for a radiant face.
They wait for angels.
They wait for something that does not look like an ordinary human being.
Yet the Quran asks:
أَوَعَجِبْتُمْ أَن جَاءَكُمْ ذِكْرٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ عَلَىٰ رَجُلٍ مِّنكُمْ
“Are you astonished that a reminder from your Lord has come to you through a man from among yourselves?”
— Al-A‘raf 7:63
Allah also records:
أَبَعَثَ اللَّهُ بَشَرًا رَّسُولًا
“Has Allah sent a human being as a Messenger?”
— Al-Isra’ 17:94
This is the problem.
Human beings do not necessarily reject something because it contains no truth.
They may reject it because the truth does not arrive in the form they imagined.
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THE PROPHETS AND MESSENGERS THEMSELVES WERE ACCUSED OF MADNESS AND MISGUIDANCE
People today may readily say:
“If it were true, surely everyone would accept it.”
Yet the stories of the Messengers demonstrate otherwise.
Regarding Prophet Nuh:
قَالَ الْمَلَأُ مِن قَوْمِهِ إِنَّا لَنَرَاكَ فِي ضَلَالٍ مُّبِينٍ
“The leaders of his people said: Indeed, we clearly see you in manifest error.”
Nuh replied:
يَا قَوْمِ لَيْسَ بِي ضَلَالَةٌ وَلَٰكِنِّي رَسُولٌ مِّن رَّبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
“O my people, there is no error in me. Rather, I am a Messenger from the Lord of all worlds.”
— Al-A‘raf 7:60–61
Prophet Nuh was accused of being misguided.
Regarding the Messenger of Allah ﷺ:
وَيَقُولُونَ إِنَّهُ لَمَجْنُونٌ
“And they say: Indeed, he is truly a madman.”
— Al-Qalam 68:51
And Allah says:
كَذَٰلِكَ مَا أَتَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِم مِّن رَّسُولٍ إِلَّا قَالُوا سَاحِرٌ أَوْ مَجْنُونٌ
“Likewise, no Messenger came to those before them without their saying: A magician or a madman.”
— Adh-Dhariyat 51:52
This is a very clear pattern.
The bearer of truth is not necessarily welcomed with praise.
Instead, the bearer is:
ACCUSED.
BELITTLED.
MOCKED.
REGARDED AS MISGUIDED.
REGARDED AS MAD.
Therefore, accusations made by human beings are not an absolute measure of truth or falsehood.
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NUH BUILT THE MEANS OF SALVATION BEFORE THE DISASTER
Allah says:
وَاصْنَعِ الْفُلْكَ بِأَعْيُنِنَا وَوَحْيِنَا
“And build the ark under Our watchful care and according to Our revelation.”
— Hud 11:37
The ark was prepared before the destruction reached its peak.
Here lies a major principle:
THE REMEDY IS PREPARED BEFORE HUMAN BEINGS REALISE THEY ARE AFFLICTED.
Nuh was already building the ark while his society was still laughing at him.
Allah says:
وَكُلَّمَا مَرَّ عَلَيْهِ مَلَأٌ مِّن قَوْمِهِ سَخِرُوا مِنْهُ
“Whenever the leaders of his people passed by him, they mocked him.”
— Hud 11:38
They saw the ark.
But they did not see the need for the ark.
That is the difference between those who see the outward form and those who understand its purpose.
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THE ARK IS NOT MERELY A SHIP
In this symbolic interpretation, the ark does not necessarily have to be understood only as a physical ship.
The ark can be a term for those who are “in the same boat” as Nuh in the role they fulfil:
those who convey warnings,
those who prepare a path to safety,
those who are laughed at before disaster strikes,
and those who continue conveying the Message even when human beings reject it.
Therefore, the “Ark of al-Haq” is not merely an object.
It is a unity of role, Message and direction.
Those who are “inside the ark” are those who follow the same course as Nuh:
conveying the Message,
giving warnings,
preparing protection,
and remaining steadfast when the majority rejects them.
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HUMAN BEINGS WANT A REMEDY — BUT MAY REJECT IT WHEN IT ARRIVES
Human beings always want safety.
Human beings want health.
Human beings want protection from epidemics.
Human beings want knowledge capable of producing proteins, antibodies, medicines, technologies and biological defences.
Yet human beings may become so preoccupied with deciding what a remedy should look like that, when an answer arrives in a form they did not expect, they reject it.
This is the irony:
Human beings ask for safety, yet may reject the path to safety because it does not match their expectations.
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CORONA, SPIKE PROTEIN AND SO₂ — BETWEEN SCIENCE AND REFLECTION ON THE QURAN
In biology, the spike protein is a structural component of coronaviruses such as SARS-CoV-2.
In geology, volcanoes release gases, including sulfur dioxide, or SO₂.
The two are not the same substance.
SO₂ is not a virus.
SO₂ is not a spike protein.
However, SO₂ can enter the respiratory tract when inhaled and can irritate the respiratory system. COVID-19, meanwhile, is an infectious disease that affects the respiratory system through a viral mechanism.
Therefore, their similarity does not lie in the nature of the substances themselves.
Their similarity lies only in the way they can affect human respiration.
In symbolic reflection, this can be viewed as follows:
Human beings want protection against respiratory threats.
Human beings want defences.
Human beings want a “shield” against disease.
Then the Earth itself appears to produce a response through eruptions, smoke and gases.
Not because SO₂ is a virus.
Not because SO₂ is a spike protein.
But as symbolic language:
HUMAN BEINGS ASK FOR SOMETHING,
AND NATURE PROVIDES AN ANSWER IN A FORM THEY DID NOT EXPECT.
This is not a scientific formula.
It is a reflection on the relationship between human desires, nature and consequences.
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WHAT HUMAN BEINGS DESIRE, THEY WILL PURSUE
Allah says:
مَن كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْعَاجِلَةَ عَجَّلْنَا لَهُ فِيهَا مَا نَشَاءُ لِمَن نُّرِيدُ
“Whoever desires the immediate, We hasten for them within it whatever We will, for whomever We will.”
— Al-Isra’ 17:18
And:
مَّن كَانَ يُرِيدُ حَرْثَ الْآخِرَةِ نَزِدْ لَهُ فِي حَرْثِهِ وَمَن كَانَ يُرِيدُ حَرْثَ الدُّنْيَا نُؤْتِهِ مِنْهَا
“Whoever desires the harvest of the Hereafter, We increase their harvest for them; and whoever desires the harvest of this world, We grant them a portion of it.”
— Ash-Shura 42:20
Human beings will obtain results from what they seek, strive for and build.
However, those results will not necessarily take the form they imagined.
This is another recurring pattern:
Human beings ask, but do not necessarily understand the form the answer will take.
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THE STORY OF NUH: SALVATION ARRIVES, BUT HUMAN BEINGS LAUGH AT IT
The ark was the means of salvation.
But before it became the means of salvation, it appeared to be something absurd.
This is the irony of Nuh’s story.
Before the waters rose:
the ark was laughed at.
After the waters rose:
the ark became the one place everyone wanted to reach.
Allah says:
فَكَذَّبُوهُ فَأَنجَيْنَاهُ وَالَّذِينَ مَعَهُ فِي الْفُلْكِ
“They denied him, so We saved Nuh and those who were with him in the ark.”
— Al-A‘raf 7:64
Pay attention to:
مَعَهُ
“with him.”
Not merely recognising Nuh’s name.
Not merely knowing Nuh’s story.
But standing with Nuh in the role he fulfilled while others were still rejecting him.
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ONLY A FEW
Allah makes a very striking statement:
وَمَا آمَنَ مَعَهُ إِلَّا قَلِيلٌ
“And none believed with him except a few.”
— Hud 11:40
A few.
Not the majority.
Not the entire society.
Therefore, if the history of the Prophets is used as a measure, the slogan:
“If it were true, surely many people would follow it”
is not a strong argument.
In Nuh’s story, those who were saved were few.
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THE STORIES OF NUH AND MUHAMMAD ﷺ
In Sahih al-Bukhari 3339, Nuh is eventually asked:
مَنْ يَشْهَدُ لَكَ؟
“Who will bear witness for you?”
Nuh replies:
مُحَمَّدٌ ﷺ وَأُمَّتُهُ
“Muhammad ﷺ and his Ummah.”
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then connects this to:
وَكَذَٰلِكَ جَعَلْنَاكُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطًا لِّتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ
“And thus We have made you a middle nation so that you may be witnesses over humanity.”
— Al-Baqarah 2:143
This is where the story of Nuh meets the Ummah of Muhammad.
Nuh conveyed the Message.
Human beings denied it.
Muhammad ﷺ and his Ummah become witnesses.
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THE UMMI PROPHET
Allah refers to Muhammad ﷺ as:
الرَّسُولَ النَّبِيَّ الْأُمِّيَّ
“The Messenger, the Ummi Prophet.”
— Al-A‘raf 7:157
And:
فَآمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ النَّبِيِّ الْأُمِّيِّ
“So believe in Allah and His Messenger, the Ummi Prophet.”
— Al-A‘raf 7:158
Therefore, within the framework of this reflection, those who truly carry Muhammad’s testimony do not merely mention his name.
They carry the Message of the Ummi Prophet.
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THE YOUTHS OF AL-KAHFI — A SMALL GROUP WHO DID NOT FOLLOW THE CROWD
Allah says:
إِنَّهُمْ فِتْيَةٌ آمَنُوا بِرَبِّهِمْ وَزِدْنَاهُمْ هُدًى
“Indeed, they were a group of youths who believed in their Lord, and We increased them in guidance.”
— Al-Kahfi 18:13
And:
وَرَبَطْنَا عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمْ إِذْ قَامُوا
“And We strengthened their hearts when they stood up.”
— Al-Kahfi 18:14
They were few.
They faced a much larger society.
They did not submit to the prevailing current.
Then:
فَأْوُوا إِلَى الْكَهْفِ
“Seek refuge in the cave.”
— Al-Kahfi 18:16
In Nuh’s story:
the ark became a place of refuge.
In the story of the Companions of the Cave:
the cave became a place of refuge.
Two images.
One pattern:
A SMALL GROUP IS SAVED FROM A GREAT TRIAL.
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AL-KAHFI AS THE “MIDDLE” OF THE QURAN
Surah Al-Kahfi is located around the middle of the arrangement of the mushaf.
In symbolic reflection, this position becomes particularly interesting when read alongside the verse:
أُمَّةً وَسَطًا
“A middle nation.”
In the Hadith, “middle” here carries the meaning of just.
However, on another level of reflection, the position of Surah Al-Kahfi around the middle of the mushaf can be read as a sign of transition:
between the beginning and the end,
between the old world and the new world,
between an age of heedlessness and an age of awakening,
between trials and salvation.
And within Surah Al-Kahfi itself, we encounter youths who:
believed,
stood up,
sought refuge,
and were then awakened after a long period.
Therefore, symbolically, Al-Kahfi becomes a surah near the middle that carries the theme of transition.
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THE MIDDLE REALM — THE END TIMES
If Al-Kahfi can be read as the “middle” in the arrangement of the mushaf, then the end times can also be read as the middle realm.
They stand at the boundary:
between the worldly realm and the Hereafter.
This is where Qiamah becomes extremely important.
Qiamah does not merely mean “destruction.”
Its root carries the meanings of:
rising, standing and emerging into a new state.
Therefore, the end times can be understood as:
A ZONE OF TRANSITION FROM THIS WORLD TO THE HEREAFTER.
It is no longer the world in its old form.
Yet the Hereafter has not been fully unveiled.
It is the middle realm:
the world is coming to an end,
the Hereafter is drawing near,
and human beings are being tested at the dividing line between two states.
This is where the concept of the middle nation gains an additional layer of reflection:
not merely a just nation,
but a nation standing in the midst of humanity’s greatest transition.
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AL-KAHFI AND DAJJAL
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
مَنْ حَفِظَ عَشْرَ آيَاتٍ مِنْ أَوَّلِ سُورَةِ الْكَهْفِ عُصِمَ مِنَ الدَّجَّالِ
“Whoever memorises ten verses from the beginning of Surah al-Kahfi will be protected from Dajjal.”
— Sahih Muslim
Therefore, the connection between Al-Kahfi and the trial of Dajjal is established in a religious text.
If Bani Tamim, the Youths of al-Kahfi and the ark of the end times are subsequently linked to one another, that connection must be presented as reflection and the identification of patterns, not as the direct wording of the Hadith.
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THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT PROPHET NUH WILL RETURN TO EARTH
The repetition of Nuh’s story does not mean that Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him) will descend to Earth again.
What repeats is:
his role, his pattern, his task, the opposition he faced and the form of salvation associated with him.
Throughout prophetic history, patterns can recur without the same individual reappearing.
Therefore, within this framework, the “Nuh of the end times” is not an individual who claims to be Prophet Nuh.
Rather, it refers to the role of Nuh being fulfilled by a small group of human beings:
conveying warnings,
preparing the ark,
offering a remedy,
being accused of speaking nonsense,
being accused of misguidance,
being accused of madness,
being laughed at,
and being followed by only a few people.
This is what is meant by:
THE STORY OF NUH RETURNS,
NOT PROPHET NUH HIMSELF.
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THE END OF THE WORLD
If the pattern of Nuh repeats in the end times, it does not mark a new beginning for the old world.
It marks the end of the old world.
The ark is not intended to allow the old system to continue as usual.
The ark represents a transition.
Al-Kahfi is also not merely a story about people who slept and then returned to the same world.
They awoke in a world that had changed.
Qiamah, too, is not merely an ending.
It is a rising into the next state.
Therefore, these three symbols converge:
NUH — AL-KAHFI — QIAMAH
The ark.
The cave.
The rising.
All carry one message:
THE OLD WORLD IS COMING TO AN END,
AND HUMAN BEINGS ARE BEING BROUGHT INTO ANOTHER STATE.
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THE GREATEST DANGER: REJECTING THE BEARER BECAUSE THEY APPEAR ORDINARY
Perhaps this is the most demanding lesson from Nuh’s story.
Human beings do not necessarily fail because they receive no warning.
They may fail because they have their own conditions for who is qualified to deliver a warning.
If the bearer does not appear extraordinary:
they reject them.
If the bearer holds no position of authority:
they insult them.
If the message contradicts what is familiar:
they accuse the bearer of misguidance.
If it seems too unfamiliar:
they accuse the bearer of madness.
Yet Allah has already informed us that the Messengers themselves experienced this pattern.
سَاحِرٌ أَوْ مَجْنُونٌ
“A magician or a madman.”
— Adh-Dhariyat 51:52
Therefore, do not use human insults as proof that something must be false.
At the same time, do not assume that everyone accused of madness or misguidance must be truthful.
The measure remains:
religious texts, truth, reason, evidence and consistency with the Message.
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THE ARK OF الْحَقّ
In this reflection, the Ark of al-Haq is not merely a ship.
It is a term for those who are in the same boat as Nuh in the role they fulfil.
They carry warnings of the same nature.
They prepare a path to safety.
They are laughed at before human beings understand why that path is needed.
They remain steadfast when the majority rejects them.
And they carry human beings through the middle realm:
from a world that is coming to an end,
towards the Hereafter that is drawing near.
Al-Kahfi is located around the middle of the mushaf.
The end times stand between this world and the Hereafter.
The middle nation becomes a witness.
And the story of Nuh reappears as a pattern of salvation.
Not because Prophet Nuh returns.
But because:
THE ROLE OF NUH RETURNS.
While human beings are still laughing:
the ark is being built.
While human beings are still making accusations:
the warning is being conveyed.
While human beings are still searching for miracles from the heavens:
the truth may be standing before them in a very ordinary form.
Nuh taught one lesson:
THE MEANS OF SALVATION DOES NOT NECESSARILY ARRIVE IN THE FORM HUMAN BEINGS IMAGINE.
And the stories of the Messengers teach a second lesson:
THE BEARERS OF TRUTH ARE OFTEN INSULTED BEFORE THAT TRUTH IS ESTABLISHED.
Before the waters rise, the ark appears absurd.
Once the waters have risen, everyone struggles to reach the ark.
The question is no longer:
“Where is the proof that this ark is needed?”
But:
“WHY DID I NOT BOARD IT WHILE THERE WAS STILL TIME?”