Hud 11:40

The beginning of the Flood and Nuh loads Every Creature in Pairs upon the Ship

This was the promise of Allah to Nuh , when the command of Allah came, the rain was continuous and there was a severe storm which did not slacken or subside, as Allah said,

(So We opened the gates of the heaven with water pouring forth. And We caused springs to gush forth from the earth. So the waters (of the heaven and the earth) met for a matter predestined. And We carried him on a (ship) made of planks and nails. Floating under Our Eyes: a reward for him who had been rejected!)54:11-14 In reference to Allah's statement,

(and the oven gushed forth.) It is related from Ibn `Abbas that he said, "At-Tannur is the face of the earth." This verse means that the face of the earth became gushing water springs. This continued until the water gushed forth from the Tananir, which are places of fire. Therefore, water even gushed from the places where fire normally would be. This is the opinion of the majority of the Salaf (predecessors) and the scholars of the Khalaf (later generations). At this point, Allah commanded Nuh to select one pair from every kind of creature possessing a soul, and load them on the ship. Some said that this included other creatures as well, such as pairs of plants, male and female. It has also been said that the first of the birds to enter the ship was the parrot, and the last of the animals to enter was the donkey. Concerning Allah's statement,

(and your family -- except him against whom the Word has already gone forth) This means, "Load your family upon the ship." This is referring to the members of his household and his relatives, except him against whom the Word has already gone forth, for they did not believe in Allah. Among them was the son of Nuh, Yam, who went in hermitage. Among them was the wife of Nuh who was a disbeliever in Allah and His Messenger. Concerning Allah's statement,

(and those who believe.) from your people.

(And none believed with him, except a few.) This means that only a very small number believed, even after the long period of time that he (Nuh) was among them -- nine hundred and fifty years. It is reported from Ibn `Abbas that he said, "They were eighty people including their women."

From the fifth verse (40) begins the description of the coming of the flood, related instructions and events as they unfolded. So, first it was said: حَتَّىٰ إِذَا جَاءَ أَمْرُ‌نَا وَفَارَ‌ التَّنُّورُ‌ (At last, when Our command came and the oven overflowed).

The word: (tannur: تَّنُّور oven) is used in more than one sense. The Earth's floor is called an oven. The oven that bakes bread is also a tan-nur. A raised part of the land is also referred to as tannur. Therefore, some of the Tafsir authorities have said that, at this place, ` tannur' means the surface of the land in that water started overflowing from it. Some of them have said that it means the tannur of Sayyidna Adam (علیہ السلام) that was located at ` ainul- wardah' in Syria - and water over-flowed from it. Some others said that Sayyidna Nuh's own tannur was located in Kufah and that was what it means. Most commentators - Sayyidna Hasan, Mujahid, Sha` bi, Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ and others - have gone by this view.

As for Sha` bi, he used to say on oath that this tannur was located in a secluded quarter of the city of Kufah, and that Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) had built his ark in the mosque of Kufah. This tannur was right by the entrance to this mosque. Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ says that Allah Ta` ala had told Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) ، ` when you see water overflowing from the oven in your home, know that the flood has come.' (Qurtubi and Mazhari)

Commentator al-Qurtubi said: The sayings of commentators appear to be different as to the meaning of tannur, but this, in reality, is not a difference. When water began to bulge out, it overflowed from the bread baking oven, and from out of the surface of the land, and from the oven of ` Ainul-Wardah in Syria. The Holy Qur'an has said explicitly: فَفَتَحْنَا أَبْوَابَ السَّمَاءِ بِمَاءٍ مُّنْهَمِرٍ‌ وَفَجَّرْ‌نَا الْأَرْ‌ضَ عُيُونًا (Then We opened the gates of the heaven with rain pouring down and caused the earth to burst out with springs - al-Qamar, 54:11).

In his statement, Sha'bi has also said that this grand mosque of Kufah has its own distinct status after al-Masjid al-Haram, al-Masjid an-Nabawii and al-Masjid al-Aqsa.

Later in the verse, it was said: When the flood had started, Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) was commanded: احْمِلْ فِيهَا مِن كُلٍّ زَوْجَيْنِ اثْنَيْنِ (Load in it a pair of two from every kind).

This tells us that all kinds of animals were not loaded in the ark of Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) . Loaded there were animals born to a pair of male and female and which cannot survive in water. Therefore, all sea life stands excluded from here and so do land based life forms born without male-female conjunction. This leaves only domestic animals like the cow, ox, water buffalo, goat etc.

This removes the possible doubt as to how could the ark hold that many animals.

After that, Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) was asked to have his family members - other than the disbelieving ones - board the ark, as well as those who had believed in him, though they were only a few.

The exact number of those who sailed on the ark has not been determined in the Qur'an and Hadith. It has been reported from Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ that their total number was eighty, which included three sons of Sayyidna Nuh : (علیہ السلام) - Sam, Ham, Yafith and the three of their wives. The fourth son had stayed with the disbelievers and was drowned with them.