The Second Covenant with Noah (PBUH)

Why did God allow the Flood? Why was the promise made to Noah delayed several times? And why did so many of his companions end up abandoning him?

The story of Noah is one of the best-known accounts of the Abrahamic traditions. Yet behind the image of a prophet building an immense Ark to escape the waters lies a story of trials, patience, betrayal and the renewal of the divine Covenant.

In the second Door of The Goal of the Wise, Abdullah Hashem Aba Al-Sadiq (From Him is Peace) presents a particular reading of these events, notably through the traditions attributed to the Imams of the Family of Mohammed and certain Gnostic texts.

1. Why was a new Covenant necessary?

After Adam, humanity develops, but injustice spreads as well.

According to the interpretation proposed in the book, the descendants of Cain gradually become a dominant force, while the heirs of Adam’s guidance suffer persecution and oppression.

Corruption no longer concerns only a few individuals: it now affects the organisation of society.

Noah appears in this context as a messenger charged with calling people back to God.

His call is in continuity with that of Adam. It is not a matter of creating a religion entirely foreign to the previous one, but of restoring a relationship with the Creator that people had gradually abandoned.

The second Covenant is thus born of a spiritual and moral crisis.

2. Noah, a prophet faced with the refusal of his people

The Quran describes the obstinacy of those whom Noah addresses.

Despite his repeated warnings, many refuse to listen to him. Some go as far as covering their faces and stopping their ears so as not to hear his call.

This refusal reveals a recurring phenomenon in religious history: people may prefer their habits and their interests to a message that calls their way of life into question.

In The Goal of the Wise, Noah embodies perseverance in the face of this resistance.

However, his mission is not limited to convincing the crowds. It also consists in testing the sincerity of those who already claim to believe in him.

3. Why was the Flood delayed?

One of the most striking passages of the chapter concerns the successive delays of the divine promise.

The book reports a tradition according to which Noah was ordered to plant a palm tree, to wait for it to grow and to eat its fruit before the announced punishment would come.

But when the awaited moment arrived, a new period of waiting was imposed on him.

This situation was repeated.

Each postponement provoked different reactions among the companions: some abandoned their faith, others outwardly maintained their loyalty while harbouring doubts, while one group remained firmly attached to the prophet.

The account mentions ten successive trials.

The real question then becomes: did people believe in Noah only because he announced an imminent event, or because they recognised his mission?

This distinction is essential.

A faith conditioned by the immediate fulfilment of a promise risks disappearing when circumstances change. Conversely, true loyalty can pass through uncertainty.

4. Norea and the burnings of the Ark

The second Door also introduces a figure little known in the traditional biblical accounts: Norea.

The book presents her as the wife of Noah and attributes to her a decisive role in the difficulties encountered by the prophet.

By bringing together several traditions and Gnostic writings, notably The Hypostasis of the Archons, it recounts that Norea is said to have set fire to the Ark several times.

According to this interpretation, these acts of destruction contributed to the delays of the Flood.

The Ark had to be rebuilt, and Noah’s companions had to face new trials.

It is important here to distinguish the account specific to the work from the generally known biblical and Quranic versions.

Within the framework of this Door, Norea also represents a spiritual difficulty: that of betrayal coming from the messenger’s immediate circle.

5. The Ark: far more than a means of transport

Noah’s Ark is traditionally presented as the means of preserving life in the face of the Flood.

But in this reading, it also has a meaning linked to the recognition of guidance.

Those who go on board are not simply individuals seeking to escape a catastrophe.

They represent those who agreed to follow the messenger despite the doubts, the delays and the trials.

The Ark thus becomes the symbol of a protection granted to those who remain faithful to the Covenant.

This image raises a timeless question: when divine guidance presents itself in an unexpected form, are we ready to follow it?

6. The mountain and the illusion of another protection

In the Quranic account, a son of Noah thinks he can find refuge on a mountain.

The book develops a symbolic interpretation of this episode.

The mountain notably represents an authority claiming to offer sufficient protection or knowledge independently of the guide designated by God.

This reading sets two attitudes against each other.

The first consists in recognising the authority of the messenger. The second consists in believing that one’s own knowledge or the institutions one trusts will be enough to guarantee salvation.

The teaching presented is clear: religious knowledge devoid of faithfulness to divine guidance can become an illusion of security.

7. The Flood and divine justice

The Flood is the culmination of the crisis.

In the work, it is interpreted both as a consequence of the breaking of the Covenant and as a purification of the Earth.

But this story also raises a moral question: why does destruction become necessary?

The book’s Foreword invites us to consider the Covenants as the stages of a process of correction and restoration.

Divine justice therefore cannot be understood solely through the idea of punishment.

The account also leads us to examine patience, human choices and the collective consequences of injustice.

8. A lesson in patience and faithfulness

The second Door presents a teaching that is particularly important for believers of all eras.

Trials do not always manifest themselves through suffering or persecution.

They can take the form of a delay, of a promise whose fulfilment seems to recede, or of events that contradict human expectations.

What appears to be a failure can become an opportunity to reveal the sincerity of convictions.

Noah’s path thus invites us to distinguish true faith from attachment to immediate results.

Conclusion — Recognising the Covenant in the midst of trials

The Second Covenant with Noah presents us with a humanity confronted with its own choices.

It shows a persevering messenger, a community divided by trials and a promise whose fulfilment demands patience and faithfulness.

The Ark becomes the symbol of a guidance that protects, while the delays reveal the depth of convictions.

The question is therefore not only whether we would have believed in Noah after seeing the Flood, but whether we would have followed him before the first drop of rain fell.

The next stage of our journey leads us to Abraham, Nimrod and the Third Covenant.