Nuh and His People

When Allah tells us about how most of the early people went astray from the path of salvation, He starts the detailed explanation of that with the story of Nuh and the rejection of his people. Only a few of Nuh's people believed in him, despite the long period of time he spent among them. He stayed among them for one thousand years less fifty, and after he stayed among them for so long and their disbelief became too much for him to bear -- for every time he called them, they turned away from him even more -- he prayed to his Lord saying, "I have been overcome, so help (me)!" So Allah became angry because Nuh was angry with them. He says:

وَلَقَدْ نَادَانَا نُوحٌ فَلَنِعْمَ الْمُجِيبُونَ

And in verse 77, it was said: وَجَعَلْنَا ذُرِّ‌يَّتَهُ هُمُ الْبَاقِينَ (And [ We ] made his progeny the sole survivors.). According to most commentators, this verse means that the majority of world population was annihilated in the great flood during the time of Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) . After that, all races in the entire world originated from the three sons of Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) . Sam was one of his sons. His children were the forbears of the peoples of Arabia and Persia. The second son was named Ham. The populations in African countries came from him. Some scholars have included the people of India in the same racial stock. Yafith was the third son. From him came the races known as Turk, Mongol and Gog and Magog. Out of the people who had embarked the ark of Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) and had survived the Flood, the three sons of Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) were the only ones whose progeny survived later on.

However, some scholars - whose number is very small - hold the view that the Flood during the time of Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) was not worldwide, instead, it was restricted to the land of ancient Arabia. In their sight, it was only in that land area where the progeny of Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) flourished and survived, and it was through them that the Arab race came. That the race of others spread out in other regions of the world does not go on to contradict this verse. (Bayan-ul-Qur’ an)