The Noble Ark is a community initiative intended to operationalise the very first teaching and a timeless lesson conveyed by the Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace) on entering the resplendent city of Medina. He (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:
We aim to “spread peace” by organising educational programmes that disseminate the message of Islam as understood and practised by the majority of Muslims who are people of the Prophetic way and community[ii] and “feed the hungry” through various food distribution initiatives.
We hope that through partaking in the above, folks—young and old, men and women—will be inspired to “maintain ties of kinship” and “pray at night when people are asleep”, so that we may all “enter Paradise in peace” in the company of the Prophets, veracious, martyrs, and righteous.
In seeking to achieve the above, we are judiciously guided by the command of the Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace) who said:
We fulfil the above by seeking the guidance and blessings of savants and saints who are steeped in the Islamic tradition and who possess an authentic chain of transmission of knowledge and wisdom that leads back to the Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace).
The ark is a symbol of deliverance in the 3 Abrahamic faiths. Allah (or “God” Most High) saved Prophet Noah (peace be upon him) from the Great Flood by ordering him to build an ark and taking refuge in it.
In the Islamic tradition, the ark of Noah is also associated with the pure family of the Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace), who are a means to salvation. He (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:
It is our fervent prayer that The Noble Ark will be a vehicle of deliverance here and a means of salvation in the Hereafter for everyone associated with it.
And success is from Allah, eminent is His Glory.
[i] ‘Abdullah b. Salam (Allah be pleased with him) said: “When the Prophet ﷺ came to al-Madinah, the people rushed to meet him, and it was said: ‘The Messenger of Allah ﷺ has come! The Messenger of Allah ﷺ has come! The Messenger of Allah ﷺ has come!’ three times. I came with the people to see him, and when I saw his face clearly, I knew that his face was not the face of a liar. The first thing I heard him say was when he said: ‘O people, spread peace, feed the hungry, maintain ties of kinship, and pray at night when people are asleep. And you will enter Paradise in peace.’’”
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو أُسَامَةَ، عَنْ عَوْفٍ، عَنْ زُرَارَةَ بْنِ أَوْفَى، حَدَّثَنِي عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ سَلاَمٍ، قَالَ لَمَّا قَدِمَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ الْمَدِينَةَ انْجَفَلَ النَّاسُ قِبَلَهُ وَقِيلَ قَدْ قَدِمَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ ـ قَدْ قَدِمَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ قَدْ قَدِمَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ . ثَلاَثًا فَجِئْتُ فِي النَّاسِ لأَنْظُرَ فَلَمَّا تَبَيَّنْتُ وَجْهَهُ عَرَفْتُ أَنَّ وَجْهَهُ لَيْسَ بِوَجْهِ كَذَّابٍ فَكَانَ أَوَّلَ شَىْءٍ سَمِعْتُهُ تَكَلَّمَ بِهِ أَنْ قَالَ "يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ أَفْشُوا السَّلاَمَ وَأَطْعِمُوا الطَّعَامَ وَصِلُوا الأَرْحَامَ وَصَلُّوا بِاللَّيْلِ وَالنَّاسُ نِيَامٌ تَدْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ بِسَلاَمٍ".
[ii] “People of the Prophetic way and community” or ahl al-sunna wa-l jama’a refers to the adherents of Sunni Islam who form the largest denomination of Muslims. They abide by the ethos of “Traditional Islam”, judiciously guided by the Canons of Islam or Qânûn Islâmî. In practical terms, this means (a) following one of the four schools of Sunni Islamic Law, (b) adhering to one of the two main schools of Sunni Theological Doctrine, and (c) subscribing to Islamic mysticism by being a follower of one of the myriad of Sunni mystic brotherhoods or being a supporter of them.
[iii] Narrated Zaid bin Arqam (Allah be pleased with him): that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Indeed, I am leaving among you, that which if you hold fast to them, you shall not be misguided after me. One of them is greater than the other: (a) the Book of Allah is a rope extended from the sky to the earth, and (b) my family—the people of my house—and they shall not split until they meet at the Fountain, so look at how you deal with them after me.”
حَدَّثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ الْمُنْذِرِ، - كُوفِيٌّ - حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ فُضَيْلٍ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا الأَعْمَشُ، عَنْ عَطِيَّةَ، عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ، وَالأَعْمَشُ، عَنْ حَبِيبِ بْنِ أَبِي ثَابِتٍ، عَنْ زَيْدِ بْنِ أَرْقَمَ، رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا قَالاَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ "إِنِّي تَارِكٌ فِيكُمْ مَا إِنْ تَمَسَّكْتُمْ بِهِ لَنْ تَضِلُّوا بَعْدِي أَحَدُهُمَا أَعْظَمُ مِنَ الآخَرِ كِتَابُ اللَّهِ حَبْلٌ مَمْدُودٌ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ إِلَى الأَرْضِ وَعِتْرَتِي أَهْلُ بَيْتِي وَلَنْ يَتَفَرَّقَا حَتَّى يَرِدَا عَلَىَّ الْحَوْضَ فَانْظُرُوا كَيْفَ تَخْلُفُونِي فِيهِمَا".
[iv] Tabarani narrates from Abu Dhar al-Ghifari (Allah be pleased with him), who said: “I heard the Prophet ﷺ say: ‘The similitude of my family with you is like the ark of Noah with his nation; whoever boarded it was saved and whoever stayed behind was destroyed. It is also the example of the Gate of Hitta of the Israelites.’” [Tabarani in al-Awsat, Vol. 4, Page 283, Hadith 3506 | Mustadrak al-Hakim, Vol. 2, Page 427, Hadith 3312]
حدثنا : الحسين بن أحمد بن منصور سجادة البغدادي ، حدثنا : عبد الله بن داهر الرازي ، حدثنا : عبد الله بن عبد القدوس ، عن الأعمش ، عن أبي إسحاق ، عن حنش بن المعتمر أنه سمع أبا ذر الغفاري يقول : سمعت رسول الله ﷺ يقول : مثل أهل بيتي فيكم كمثل سفينة نوح من ركبها نجا ومن تخلف عنها هلك ، ومثل باب حطة بني إسرائيل لم يروه ، عن الأعمش إلاّ عبد الله بن عبد القدوس. (رواه الطبراني في الصغير والأوسط)
