Investigating the Story of Noah’s Flood According to Qur’anic Verses and Archaeological Researches

Abstract

One meaning of the word āyah in Qur'anic context refers to a sign, which is a divine miracle as we can see in verse15 of Surah Al-Qamar: "Certainly We have left it as a sign; so is there anyone who will be admonished?" The verse refers to the story of Noah’s Ark and his nation’s penalty, which is presented as a sign for posterity. There are various perspectives among interpreters about the reference of pronoun "it" in the verse. Depending on what the pronoun "it" refers to, the verse can be considered as one of the verses expresses divine miracle. The present study tries to investigate the forenamed verse and its miraculous aspects through an interdisciplinary method between Qur'an and archaeology. Based on conducted studies, the word āyah implies to Noah’s Ark or the Flood phenomenon and rescuing a few of his nation whom are the only survivors of humankind. Given archaeological studies, no certain evidence yet to confirm the remains of the Noah’s Ark therefore, the verse cannot be considered as a scientific miracle. As a result, the miraculous aspect of the verse indicates "giving notice of the unseen" which is verified in verse 49 of Surah Hūd.