No exact birth date, birth year or securely established birthplace for Prophet Nuh is given in the Qur'an or sahih hadith. Classical Muslim histories commonly identify him as Nuh ibn Lamik ibn Mattushalakh and preserve broader genealogical calculations connecting him to earlier generations. Those details belong to classical historical attribution rather than direct revelation. The Qur'an's secure chronological statement is that Nuh remained among his people for 950 years before the Flood overtook the wrongdoers. That period should not be converted into a precise modern birth chronology or assumed to equal his entire lifespan.
Prophet Noah (Nuh)
PER-000364
Prophet
Confirmed
Disputed place
Cross-tradition historical
⚙️ Print, share, and more tools
Prophet Nuh, peace be upon him, is one of the Qur'an's most extensively narrated prophets and a foundational figure in the history of prophetic warning. He was sent to his people to call them to worship Allah alone. Surah Nuh describes a mission pursued night and day, publicly and privately, despite persistent rejection and arrogance. Qur'an 29:14 states that he remained among his people for one thousand years minus fifty before the Flood overtook the wrongdoers. This establishes 950 years among his people; it does not by itself establish his complete lifespan. When rejection reached its appointed limit, Allah commanded Nuh to build the Ark under divine guidance. Only a few believed. Water came from above and from the earth, the vessel moved through waves like mountains, and Nuh's separated son refused to board, trusting instead in a mountain before a wave came between them and he drowned. The Ark finally came to rest on al-Judi.
The Qur'an also establishes an unnamed wife of Nuh who rejected faith and makes clear that family relationship to a prophet did not guarantee salvation. Classical tafsir explains her betrayal as religious opposition, not adultery. Qur'an 37:77 says that Nuh's descendants were made the survivors; Sam, Ham and Yafith are familiar classical identifications, but their hadith grading is not uniform and should remain qualified. Sahih al-Bukhari gives Nuh an important eschatological status as the first messenger sent to the people of the earth, a grateful servant, a prophet whose people will deny his testimony on the Day of Judgment, and one who warned his people about the Dajjal. A graded report also preserves his final counsel to a son on tawhid, remembrance of Allah, rejection of shirk and avoidance of arrogance. His exact total lifespan, death date and burial place remain unresolved. Classical burial traditions range from Makkah and the al-Judi region to India, Babylon and the Biqa region; the al-Masjid al-Haram report is itself mursal, and no exact grave or authenticated modern Ark-discovery location is established.
No exact death year, age at death or place of death for Prophet Nuh is established by the Qur'an or sahih hadith. Qur'an 29:14 says that he remained among his people for one thousand years minus fifty, but this does not necessarily describe his complete lifespan. Classical sources preserve widely differing calculations for his total age and for how long he lived after the Flood. A graded report describes Nuh giving final counsel to a son when death approached, but it does not identify the son by name or state where Nuh died.
Location type: Disputed burial tradition; no exact grave point securely established. No sahih hadith identifies the burial place of Prophet Nuh. Ibn Kathir records a mursal report transmitted through Ibn Jarir and al-Azraqi that his grave was within al-Masjid al-Haram in Makkah and judges this attribution stronger than the later Karak Nuh tradition. Other classical sources preserve competing traditions placing his death or grave near al-Judi, in India, in Babylon or in the Biqa and Lebanon region. Ibn Taymiyya explicitly rejects the grave attributed to Nuh near Baalbek or Mount Lebanon as false and without sound basis. Makkah and al-Masjid al-Haram can therefore be preserved only as the strongest classical attributed locality within an overall disputed burial tradition. No extant exact individual grave, latitude, longitude or Google Maps point is securely established.
Biography and historical profile
Prophet Nuh, peace be upon him, is repeatedly named in the Qur'an and stands at the beginning of one of its longest and most sustained prophetic narratives. Hud 11:25-26 presents him as a clear warner sent to his people, calling them to worship none but Allah.
Surah Nuh deepens that picture by showing extraordinary persistence. Nuh says that he called his people night and day, then openly and privately, yet many responded by turning away, covering themselves and persisting in arrogance. His life is therefore first a story of prolonged tawhid preaching before it becomes a story of the Flood.
Qur'an 29:14 provides the central chronological statement: Nuh remained among his people for one thousand years minus fifty before the Flood overtook the wrongdoers. The verse securely establishes 950 years among his people. It should not be transformed into an exact total lifespan, because classical historians themselves preserve different calculations for how long he lived before and after the Flood.
The Qur'an also names the idol cult his mission opposed. Surah Nuh 71:23 mentions Wadd, Suwa', Yaghuth, Ya'uq and Nasr among the objects his opponents refused to abandon. Later tafsir expands on their origins, but the names themselves are Qur'anic.
After persistent rejection, Allah informed Nuh that no further people would believe beyond those who already had faith and commanded him to construct the Ark under divine observation and revelation. As he built it, the chiefs of his people mocked him. The Qur'an does not provide the Ark's exact dimensions, timber species or a fixed passenger count.
When the appointed sign came, Nuh was told to carry aboard pairs, members of his household except those against whom the decree had already passed, and the believers. The Qur'an explicitly says that those believers were few. Al-Qamar then describes the gates of heaven opening with pouring water and the earth bursting with springs, while Hud describes the Ark moving through waves like mountains. These texts establish extraordinary water from above and below and catastrophic judgment, but they do not supply a scientifically mappable modern flood perimeter.
The most personal family episode occurs in Hud 11:42-46. Nuh saw a son standing apart and called him to board the Ark. The son replied that he would seek refuge on a mountain. Nuh warned that there was no protection that day from Allah's decree except for one shown mercy, and a wave separated them.
The son drowned. When Nuh then appealed concerning his family, Allah explained that the son was not included in the promised saved household. Ibn Kathir treats him as Nuh's biological son and rejects the idea that he was illegitimate. The Qur'an does not name him; Yam and Kan'an belong to later exegetical naming traditions.
Qur'an 66:10 provides another firm family boundary. Nuh had a wife who rejected faith, and her marriage to a prophet did not save her. Al-Tabari explains the betrayal mentioned in the verse as religious betrayal and opposition to the prophetic mission, not sexual adultery. Her later reported personal names remain uncertain.
The Flood ended with divine command for the earth to swallow its water and the sky to cease. Hud 11:44 states that the Ark came to rest on al-Judi. Al-Judi is therefore secure event geography in the Qur'an, but it is the landing place of the Ark, not evidence for Nuh's burial. Al-Saffat 37:75-82 says that Allah answered Nuh, rescued him and his family from great distress, made his descendants the survivors and left him enduring good remembrance.
Classical tafsir connects the surviving descendants with Sam, Ham and Yafith. Tirmidhi preserves a related ancestry report, but its grading is disputed across routes and critics, so the names should remain qualified rather than treated as an uncontested hadith conclusion.
Sahih al-Bukhari adds major doctrinal and eschatological evidence. In the intercession narrative, humanity comes to Nuh and addresses him as the first messenger sent by Allah to the people of the earth and as a grateful servant. This wording concerns his status among messengers sent to humanity and does not deny the prophetic status of Adam in classical theology.
Another Bukhari report says that Nuh and his people will be brought on the Day of Judgment. Nuh will testify that he conveyed the message, his people will deny it, and Muhammad's community will testify on his behalf. Sahih al-Bukhari also states that every prophet warned his people about the Dajjal and explicitly says that Nuh did so. These are authentic teachings about his prophetic role but remain distinct from the Qur'anic Flood narrative itself.
A graded report preserved through Musnad Ahmad and al-Mustadrak describes Nuh when death approached advising a son. He commanded tawhid and remembrance of Allah and prohibited shirk and arrogance. The report supports a final ethical counsel tradition but does not name the son, date Nuh's death or locate his grave.
The end of Nuh's earthly life remains historically unresolved. Classical historians preserve different total-age calculations and different burial traditions. Ibn Kathir records a mursal report placing his grave within al-Masjid al-Haram and judges it stronger than the later Karak Nuh attribution, while al-Ayni records additional traditions near al-Judi, in India and in Babylon. Ibn Taymiyya explicitly rejects the grave attributed to Nuh near Baalbek or Mount Lebanon. No sahih hadith fixes the burial place, no exact extant grave is securely identifiable, and modern claims of discovering the Ark do not alter those source limits.
Surah Nuh deepens that picture by showing extraordinary persistence. Nuh says that he called his people night and day, then openly and privately, yet many responded by turning away, covering themselves and persisting in arrogance. His life is therefore first a story of prolonged tawhid preaching before it becomes a story of the Flood.
Qur'an 29:14 provides the central chronological statement: Nuh remained among his people for one thousand years minus fifty before the Flood overtook the wrongdoers. The verse securely establishes 950 years among his people. It should not be transformed into an exact total lifespan, because classical historians themselves preserve different calculations for how long he lived before and after the Flood.
The Qur'an also names the idol cult his mission opposed. Surah Nuh 71:23 mentions Wadd, Suwa', Yaghuth, Ya'uq and Nasr among the objects his opponents refused to abandon. Later tafsir expands on their origins, but the names themselves are Qur'anic.
After persistent rejection, Allah informed Nuh that no further people would believe beyond those who already had faith and commanded him to construct the Ark under divine observation and revelation. As he built it, the chiefs of his people mocked him. The Qur'an does not provide the Ark's exact dimensions, timber species or a fixed passenger count.
When the appointed sign came, Nuh was told to carry aboard pairs, members of his household except those against whom the decree had already passed, and the believers. The Qur'an explicitly says that those believers were few. Al-Qamar then describes the gates of heaven opening with pouring water and the earth bursting with springs, while Hud describes the Ark moving through waves like mountains. These texts establish extraordinary water from above and below and catastrophic judgment, but they do not supply a scientifically mappable modern flood perimeter.
The most personal family episode occurs in Hud 11:42-46. Nuh saw a son standing apart and called him to board the Ark. The son replied that he would seek refuge on a mountain. Nuh warned that there was no protection that day from Allah's decree except for one shown mercy, and a wave separated them.
The son drowned. When Nuh then appealed concerning his family, Allah explained that the son was not included in the promised saved household. Ibn Kathir treats him as Nuh's biological son and rejects the idea that he was illegitimate. The Qur'an does not name him; Yam and Kan'an belong to later exegetical naming traditions.
Qur'an 66:10 provides another firm family boundary. Nuh had a wife who rejected faith, and her marriage to a prophet did not save her. Al-Tabari explains the betrayal mentioned in the verse as religious betrayal and opposition to the prophetic mission, not sexual adultery. Her later reported personal names remain uncertain.
The Flood ended with divine command for the earth to swallow its water and the sky to cease. Hud 11:44 states that the Ark came to rest on al-Judi. Al-Judi is therefore secure event geography in the Qur'an, but it is the landing place of the Ark, not evidence for Nuh's burial. Al-Saffat 37:75-82 says that Allah answered Nuh, rescued him and his family from great distress, made his descendants the survivors and left him enduring good remembrance.
Classical tafsir connects the surviving descendants with Sam, Ham and Yafith. Tirmidhi preserves a related ancestry report, but its grading is disputed across routes and critics, so the names should remain qualified rather than treated as an uncontested hadith conclusion.
Sahih al-Bukhari adds major doctrinal and eschatological evidence. In the intercession narrative, humanity comes to Nuh and addresses him as the first messenger sent by Allah to the people of the earth and as a grateful servant. This wording concerns his status among messengers sent to humanity and does not deny the prophetic status of Adam in classical theology.
Another Bukhari report says that Nuh and his people will be brought on the Day of Judgment. Nuh will testify that he conveyed the message, his people will deny it, and Muhammad's community will testify on his behalf. Sahih al-Bukhari also states that every prophet warned his people about the Dajjal and explicitly says that Nuh did so. These are authentic teachings about his prophetic role but remain distinct from the Qur'anic Flood narrative itself.
A graded report preserved through Musnad Ahmad and al-Mustadrak describes Nuh when death approached advising a son. He commanded tawhid and remembrance of Allah and prohibited shirk and arrogance. The report supports a final ethical counsel tradition but does not name the son, date Nuh's death or locate his grave.
The end of Nuh's earthly life remains historically unresolved. Classical historians preserve different total-age calculations and different burial traditions. Ibn Kathir records a mursal report placing his grave within al-Masjid al-Haram and judges it stronger than the later Karak Nuh attribution, while al-Ayni records additional traditions near al-Judi, in India and in Babylon. Ibn Taymiyya explicitly rejects the grave attributed to Nuh near Baalbek or Mount Lebanon. No sahih hadith fixes the burial place, no exact extant grave is securely identifiable, and modern claims of discovering the Ark do not alter those source limits.
Historical importance and legacy
Prophet Nuh occupies a foundational place in Islamic sacred history because the Qur'an presents his mission as an extraordinary model of perseverance. His 950 years among his people, repeated public and private preaching, rejection by the majority and continued commitment to tawhid make him one of the clearest Qur'anic examples of prophetic endurance.
The Flood narrative joins warning, judgment and rescue. The Ark is built by divine command, the believers are saved, the rejecting people are drowned, and the vessel rests on al-Judi. The story also makes family faith morally individual: Nuh's wife rejects belief, and one of his sons refuses the call to board and is lost despite his biological relationship to a prophet.
Sahih al-Bukhari gives Nuh a distinctive place in the wider theology of prophecy. He is remembered in the intercession narrative as the first messenger sent to the people of the earth and as a grateful servant. His testimony on the Day of Judgment and his warning to his people about the Dajjal further expand his canonical memory beyond the Flood itself.
Nuh also became central to later Muslim genealogy and historiography. Qur'an 37:77 states that his descendants were made the survivors, and classical scholars developed major genealogical traditions around Sam, Ham and Yafith. The surviving source disagreement over their hadith grading is important because it distinguishes revealed certainty from later genealogical elaboration.
Finally, Nuh's profile is an important example of source discipline in sacred geography. The Qur'an securely names al-Judi as the Ark's resting place but does not provide an exact modern Ark coordinate or a burial location. Classical grave traditions conflict, the Makkah report is mursal, and later claims of a verified Ark discovery or a certain grave are not established by the strongest Islamic evidence.
The Flood narrative joins warning, judgment and rescue. The Ark is built by divine command, the believers are saved, the rejecting people are drowned, and the vessel rests on al-Judi. The story also makes family faith morally individual: Nuh's wife rejects belief, and one of his sons refuses the call to board and is lost despite his biological relationship to a prophet.
Sahih al-Bukhari gives Nuh a distinctive place in the wider theology of prophecy. He is remembered in the intercession narrative as the first messenger sent to the people of the earth and as a grateful servant. His testimony on the Day of Judgment and his warning to his people about the Dajjal further expand his canonical memory beyond the Flood itself.
Nuh also became central to later Muslim genealogy and historiography. Qur'an 37:77 states that his descendants were made the survivors, and classical scholars developed major genealogical traditions around Sam, Ham and Yafith. The surviving source disagreement over their hadith grading is important because it distinguishes revealed certainty from later genealogical elaboration.
Finally, Nuh's profile is an important example of source discipline in sacred geography. The Qur'an securely names al-Judi as the Ark's resting place but does not provide an exact modern Ark coordinate or a burial location. Classical grave traditions conflict, the Makkah report is mursal, and later claims of a verified Ark discovery or a certain grave are not established by the strongest Islamic evidence.
Family relationships
Sources
The Qur'an | Revelation of Allah | Surah Hud 11:25-49 | https://quran.com/11/25-49 | primary narrative: Nuh's warning, opposition, Ark, believers, drowned son, Flood ending and al-JudiThe Qur'an | Revelation of Allah | Surah Nuh 71:1-28 | https://quran.com/71/1-28 | sustained mission, night/day and public/private preaching, opposition, named idols, prayer and judgment
The Qur'an | Revelation of Allah | Surah al-Ankabut 29:14-15 | https://quran.com/29/14-15 | 950 years among his people, Flood judgment and Ark as sign
The Qur'an | Revelation of Allah | Surah al-Mu'minun 23:23-30 | https://quran.com/23/23-30 | tawhid mission, Ark by revelation, embarkation and blessed landing
The Qur'an | Revelation of Allah | Surah al-Shu'ara 26:105-122 | https://quran.com/26/105-122 | rejection of Nuh, faithful followers, rescue and drowning of rejecters
The Qur'an | Revelation of Allah | Surah al-Saffat 37:75-82 | https://quran.com/37/75-82 | Allah answers Nuh, saves family, makes his descendants survivors and leaves peace upon him
The Qur'an | Revelation of Allah | Surah al-Qamar 54:9-15 | https://quran.com/54/9-15 | sky water, earth springs, Ark of planks/fastenings and preservation as a sign
The Qur'an | Revelation of Allah | Surah al-Tahrim 66:10 | https://quran.com/66/10 | direct evidence for an unnamed disbelieving wife of Nuh
Sahih al-Bukhari | Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari | Hadith 3337, Book 60, Hadith 12 | https://sunnah.com/bukhari:3337 | authentic report that Nuh warned his people about the Dajjal
Sahih al-Bukhari | Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari | Hadith 3339, Book 60, Hadith 14 | https://sunnah.com/bukhari:3339 | Nuh's testimony on Judgment and Muhammad's community witnessing that he conveyed the message
Sahih al-Bukhari | Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari | Hadith 3340, Book 60, Hadith 15 | https://sunnah.com/bukhari:3340 | intercession narrative: Nuh described as first messenger to people of earth and grateful servant
Musnad Ahmad / al-Mustadrak | Ahmad ibn Hanbal / al-Hakim; report from Abd Allah ibn Amr | Ahmad 6583; Mustadrak 1/112 | https://dorar.net/h/aOHKYKcp?osoul=1 | deathbed counsel to a son: tawhid and dhikr, prohibition of shirk and arrogance; route graded sahih li-ghayrihi by al-Albani
Jami' al-Tirmidhi | Muhammad ibn Isa al-Tirmidhi | Hadith 3231, Tafsir of al-Saffat | https://sunnah.com/tirmidhi:3231 | Sam/Ham/Yafith ancestry tradition; displayed Darussalam grading is da'if and must remain qualified
Hadith grading dossier | al-Iraqi and parallel Ahmad/Tirmidhi transmission | Mahajjat al-Qurb p. 80; Tirmidhi 3231; Ahmad 20099 | https://dorar.net/hadith-category/cat/59eec4f7675a3f247aac93643809a7e1?new=&page=10 | demonstrates stronger grading exists for a parallel Sam/Ham/Yafith tradition; grading disagreement preserved
Tafsir Ibn Kathir | Isma'il ibn Umar Ibn Kathir | Tafsir of Hud 11:46 | https://quran.ksu.edu.sa/tafseer/katheer/sura11-aya46.html | drowned son treated as Nuh's biological son excluded from saved household because of disbelief; rejects adultery interpretation
Tafsir Ibn Kathir | Isma'il ibn Umar Ibn Kathir | Tafsir of Hud 11:40 | https://quran.ksu.edu.sa/tafseer/katheer/sura11-aya40.html | classical son-name Yam and Sam/Ham/Yafith household traditions; passenger-number variants remain tafsir-level
Jami' al-Bayan | Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari | Tafsir of al-Tahrim 66:10 | https://quran.ksu.edu.sa/tafseer/tabary/sura66-aya10.html | wife's betrayal explained as disbelief/religious opposition rather than adultery
Tafsir Ibn Kathir | Isma'il ibn Umar Ibn Kathir | Tafsir of al-Saffat 37:77 | https://quran.ksu.edu.sa/tafseer/katheer/sura37-aya77.html | classical explanation of surviving descendants and Sam/Ham/Yafith reports
Jami' al-Bayan | Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari | Tafsir of al-Saffat 37:77 | https://quran.ksu.edu.sa/tafseer/tabary/sura37-aya77.html | early tafsir tradition that Nuh's descendants survived and names Sam/Ham/Yafith
Al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya | Isma'il ibn Umar Ibn Kathir | Vol. 1, story of Nuh, displayed p. 237 | https://islamweb.net/ar/library/content/59/25/ | classical Nuh ibn Lamik genealogy and chronology traditions, explicitly below Qur'anic certainty
Al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya | Isma'il ibn Umar Ibn Kathir | Vol. 1, Nuh's testament and grave | https://islamweb.net/ar/library/content/59/24/ | Qur'anic 950-year limit versus total-age variants; mursal al-Masjid al-Haram grave report preferred over Karak Nuh
Umdat al-Qari Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari | Badr al-Din al-Ayni | Vol. 15, chapter on Nuh | https://www.islamweb.net/ar/library/content/303/13839/ | preserves competing death/burial traditions: al-Judi region, India, Makkah, Babylon and Karak Nuh
Majmu' al-Fatawa | Ahmad ibn Taymiyya | Vol. 4, discussion of falsely attributed prophetic graves | https://www.islamweb.net/ar/library/content/22/472/ | explicitly rejects the grave attributed to Nuh near Baalbek/Mount Lebanon as false
CAND-0001 source-controlled research corpus | Internal project research | CAND-0001 / PER-000364 | internal project Library | confirms project identity mapping and Qur'anic Flood/Ark core; prior audit found no authenticated modern Ark-discovery source
Gallery
No approved images yet.
📤 Submit a photo of this person or place
The image will remain private until approved.
💬 Visitor comments
No approved comments yet. Be the first to comment.
Comments are published after administrator approval.