Son of Prophet Noah (a)

The Son of Noah whose name is famously Kan'an was the son of prophet Noah (a) who did not believe in his father and was drowned in the Flood of Noah together with other unbelievers. The Qur'an has referred to the story of the Son of Noah in verses 40 to 47 of Sura Hud. Many exegetes of the Qur'an hold that these verses appear to show that Noah (a) was not aware of his son's disbelief and this was the reason why he called his son to board on the ship.

The Story of the Son of Noah

Noah (a) had four sons: Shem, Ham, Japheth, and Kan'an. Kan'an was the only son of Noah (a) who ignored his father's preaching and did not believe in him. Eventually, he and other unbelievers were drowned in the flood that was sent down as a divine punishment. There is a dispute over the name of the fourth son of Noah (a). Many people hold that his name was "Kan'an", but others believe that his name was "Yam". The story of the son of Noah (a) is cited in the Qur'an similarly to other Quranic stories. Thus, the details of the story and the characteristics of the son of Noah (a) are not provided therein.

The only characterization of the son of Noah (a) in the Qur'an is concerned with the moment when the storm had begun and the son of Noah (a) was outside the ship. According to the Qur'an, Noah (a) sees his son at this time and tells him: "O my son, come aboard with us and be not with the disbelievers". The son tells Noah: "I will take refuge on a mountain to protect me from the water". Noah (a) replies: "There is no protector today from the decree of Allah, except for whom He gives mercy". At this time, waves came between them and the conversation between Noah (a) and his son was disrupted. Then, the son of Noah (a) was drowned in the flood.

At the end of the story of the son of Noah (a) in the Qur'an, there are verses whose interpretation is a matter of disputes among the exegetes. In verses 45 to 48 of Sura Hud, the story ends like this: "And Noah (a) called to his Lord and said, "My Lord, indeed my son is of my family; and indeed, Your promise is true; and You are the most just of judges!" He said, "O Noah! Indeed, He is not of your family. Indeed, he is [personification of] unrighteous conduct, so ask Me not for that about which you have no knowledge. Indeed, I advise you, lest you be among the ignorant."

Doubts about Kan'an being Noah's (a) Son

The verse 46 of Sura Hud, "O Noah, indeed he is not of your family", led some exegetes to doubt about Kan'an being Noah's (a) son. According to Tafsir al-Qurtubi, the son who was drowned was not Noah's (a) son; rather he was an illegitimate son of Noah's (a) wife, since in verse 46 of Sura Hud, God says: "O Noah! Indeed, He is not of your family. Indeed, he is [personification of] unrighteous conduct.". Also, in verse 10 of Sura al-Tahrim, Noah's (a) wife is characterized as a betrayer: "the wife of Noah (a) and the wife of Lot (a). They were under two of Our righteous servants but betrayed them". However, many Shiite and Sunni exegetes have appealed to hadiths regarding the interpretation of verses 45 and 46 of Sura Hud to show that this remark is unfounded. They believe that the phrase, "betrayed them" in the Qur'an does not imply that Noah's (a) wife was an adulterer or that the "Son of Noah (a)" being her illegitimate child.

'Allama Tabataba'i maintains that the son of Noah (a) who was drowned in the storm was Noah's (a) true and legitimate son. This can be inferred from an address in the verse 42 of Sura Hud: "Oh my son, come aboard with us", since such an address implies the addressor's kindness and passion—Noah (a) wanted to convey to his son that he loved him and wanted the best for him. Thus, when God says about the son that "O Noah!(a) Indeed, He is not of your family. Indeed, he is [personification of] unrighteous conduct", it means that he is not among people who God had promised to rescue from the storm as in the verse "load upon the ship … your family", because only the righteous members of Noah's (a) family were promised to survive. So, although the son was Noah's (a) son and family, he was not the family of Noah (a) who could survive. The view that the "Son of Noah (a)" was Noah's (a) true son is also accepted in Tafsir nemune, Majma' al-bayan, and Tafsir al-Tabari.

Al-Tabrisi also holds that "family" in this verse means religion, that is, the Son of Noah (a) was not his family because he did not believe in Noah (a).

Noah's Ignorance of His Son's Disbelief

Many exegetes of the Qur'an believe that Noah (a) did not know that his son was an unbeliever; and this was the reason why he called him to go on the ship. For if Noah (a) knew by certainty that his son was an unbeliever, he would not call him to go aboard and would not ask God to let him get on the ship, because Noah (a) himself had already cursed the unbelievers and asked God not to leave any unbelievers on the Earth. And it is not plausible to say that he had excluded his son from this request.

Some exegetes appeal to the way Noah's (a) conversation with his son is narrated in the Qur'an as evidence that Noah (a) was unaware of his son's disbelief. They say that if Noah (a) knew about his son's disbelief, then instead of saying: "be not with disbelievers", he would say: "be not a disbeliever". The former sentence—which appears in the Qur'an—implies mere companionship with unbelievers; thus, it shows that Noah (a) was unaware of his son's disbelief. 'Allama Tabataba'i believes that Quranic verses appear to imply that God had promised Noah (a) to save his family from the storm, and since Noah (a) was not aware of his son's disbelief, he appeals to God's promise in the verse 45 of Sura Hud, and in fact he wants to say: "Oh my Lord! My son is my family and Your promise is true, so You will not punish him as You punish the disbelievers and You will not drown him. However, the verdict is up to You and You are the best of all judges".

See Also

• Noah (a)
• The Flood of Noah (a)
• Ark of Noah (a)
• Sura Nuh

References

• The material for this article is mainly taken from پسر نوح in Farsi WikiShia.