Hud (Hud)

44. “And it was said: ‘O earth! Swallow down your water, and O sky! Withhold (your rain)!’ And the water abated, and the matter was ended, and it (the Ark) rested on the (Mount) Judi, and it was said: ‘Away with the unjust people!’”

The End of an Adventure

Noah left the ship up to Allah to take the rudder in His own hands. The waves had taken the ship in an undesignated direction. It has been quoted that the ship drifted for six months, passing by various places, including Mecca and the area surrounding the House of the Ka‘ba.

Eventually, the decree ending the punishment and the return of the earth to its original state was issued. This verse explains the details and the conditions as well as the ensuing consequences in a concise, and at the same time, extraordinarily beautiful and eloquent manner in a few sentences.

The earth was commanded to absorb all its water and the sky was ordered to stop raining; the water subsisted and the work was accomplished.

The verse says:

“And it was said: ‘O earth! Swallow down your water, and O sky! Withhold (your rain)!’ And the water abated, and the matter was ended...”

The ship came to rest on the slopes of Mount Judi, which is a famous mountain near Mosul and it was at this time that it was proclaimed that off with the oppressors!

The verse says:

“…and it (the Ark) rested on the (Mount) Judi, and it was said: ‘Away with the unjust people!’”

According to a number of Arab men of knowledge this verse is counted as the most eloquent and the most fluent of the Qur’anic verses.

According to the narrations and the books of Islamic history it is said that some unbelievers of the Quraysh, starting a campaign against the Qur’an, decided to fabricate verses like those of the Holy Book.

Their supporters provided them with the best food and drink for forty days including the kernel of a particular type of wheat, mutton, and old wine, so that their minds would be free of every kind of anxiety in order to compose the verses.

However, when they arrived at the above verse, they were so moved by it that they gazed at one another in surprise, saying:

“These are words unsurpassed and unequalled by all means, and they do not resemble those made by human beings.”

Saying this, they abandoned their decision and dispersed in despair.