Did everyone on earth drown at the great Flood at the time of Nooh (peace be upon him)?

Question

Praise be to Allah.

The clear text of the Qur’an indicates that everyone who was
on earth drowned in the flood, and no humans or animals were saved except
those whom Nooh took with him on board the ark.

Allah, may He be exalted, said (interpretation of the
meaning):

“And We saved him and those with him in
the laden ship.

Then We drowned the rest (disbelievers)
thereafter”

[ash-Shu‘ara’ 26:119-120].

“(So it was) till
then there came Our Command and the oven gushed forth (water like fountains
from the earth). We said: ‘Embark therein, of each kind two (male and
female), and your family, except him against whom the Word has already gone
forth, and those who believe. And none believed with him, except a few.’”

[Hood 11:40].

“They denied him,
but We delivered him, and those with him in the ship, and We made them
generations replacing one after another, while We drowned those who belied
Our Ayat (proofs, evidences, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.). Then see
what was the end of those who were warned”

[Yoonus 10:73].

The Qur’anic text also indicates that the earth was only
populated after that by the descendants of Nooh (peace be upon him). As for
the believers who were saved with him in the ark, none of their descendants
were left. So all the people on earth now are descended from Nooh (peace be
upon him).

Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the
meaning):

“And indeed Nooh
(Noah) invoked Us, and We are the Best of those who answer (the request).

And We rescued him and his family from
the great distress (i.e. drowning),

And, his progeny, them We made the
survivors (i.e. Shem, Ham and Japheth).

And left for him (a goodly remembrance)
among generations to come in later times.

Salamun (peace) be upon Nooh (Noah)
(from Us) among the Alameen (mankind, jinns and all that exists)!”

Verily, thus We reward the Muhsinoon
(good-doers)

Verily, he (Nooh (Noah) ) was one of
Our believing slaves.

Then We drowned the other (disbelievers
and polytheists, etc.)”

[as-Saaffaat 37:75-82].

‘Ali ibn Abi Talhah narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas: There was no
one left except the progeny of Nooh (peace be upon him).

Qataadah said concerning the words “And,
his progeny, them We made the survivors”:
All people are among the progeny of Nooh (peace be upon him).

Tafseer al-Qur’an al-‘Azeem by
Ibn Katheer, 7/22

Al-Haafiz Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

The scholars differed concerning the number of people who
were with him on board the Ark.

It was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with
him): There were eighty men, accompanied by their wives. It was narrated
from Ka‘b al-Ahbaar that there were seventy-two people. It was also said
that there were ten people.

A number of the commentators said: The water rose until it
was fifteen cubits above the top of the highest mountain on earth. This is
the view of the People of the Book. It was also suggested that it was eighty
cubits, and that it covered the length and breadth of the earth, plains,
rugged terrain, mountains, desolate regions and sandy deserts, and there was
no one left of those who had been living on earth at all, neither young nor
old.

Imam Maalik said, narrating from Zayd ibn Aslam: The
population at that time filled the plains and mountains…

Allah did not give any of those believers who were with him
children or descendants, apart from Nooh (peace be upon him). Allah, may He
be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): “And,
his progeny, them We made the survivors”
[as-Saaffaat 37:77]. So everyone on the face of the earth today, of all
races, are the sons of Adam who are descended from the three sons of Nooh,
namely Saam, Haam and Yaafith (Shem, Ham and Japeth). End quote.

Al-Bidaayah wa’n-Nihaayah,
1/111-114

Al-‘Allaamah at-Taahir ibn ‘Ashoor (may Allah have mercy on
him) said: The fact that the phrase “them
We made the survivors” begins with the
pronoun is to indicate exclusivity. In other words: There was no one left of
mankind except those whom Allah saved with Nooh in the ark, of his
offspring, then those who were descended from them. There was no one left of
the sons of Adam apart from the progeny of Nooh. So all nations are among
the progeny of the three sons of Nooh. The apparent meaning of this is that
those who believed with Nooh apart from his sons did not have any offspring.
Ibn ‘Abbaas said: When Nooh came out of the ark, the men and women who were
with him died, except for his sons and his wives. Thus we may respond to the
apparent contradiction between this verse and the verse in Soorat Hood (“We
said: ‘Embark therein, of each kind two (male and female), and your family,
except him against whom the Word has already gone forth, and those who
believe. And none believed with him, except a few.’”
[Hood 11:40]). This is based on the idea that the
flood covered the entire earth and destroyed all humans except those whom
Nooh carried on board the Ark. End quote.

At-Tahreer wa’t-Tanweer, 23/47

With regard to the words of Allah, may He be exalted,
(interpretation of the meaning):

“ ‘O offspring of those whom We carried
(in the ship) with Nooh (Noah)! Verily, he was a grateful slave’”

[al-Isra’ 17:3]

And

“Those were they unto whom Allah
bestowed His Grace from among the Prophets, of the offspring of Adam, and of
those whom We carried (in the ship) with Nooh (Noah), and of the offspring
of Ibrahim (Abraham) and Israel and from among those whom We guided and
chose. When the Verses of the Most Beneficent (Allah) were recited unto
them, they fell down prostrating and weeping”

[Maryam 19:58],

These words do not indicate that the offspring of the
believers whom Nooh (peace be upon him) carried with him survived; rather
what is meant is the sons of Nooh (peace be upon him) whose progeny
survived, not the other believers.

Al-‘Allaamah al-Ameen ash-Shanqeeti (may Allah have mercy on
him) said: The verse “‘O
offspring of those whom We carried (in the ship) with Nooh (Noah)! Verily,
he was a grateful slave’”[al-Isra’ 17:3]
states that none of the offspring of those who were carried on the ark with
Nooh survived, apart from the offspring of Nooh, as it says in the verse: “And,
his progeny, them We made the survivors”
[as-Saaffaat 37:77]. End quote.

Adwa’ al-Bayaan, 3/13

And Allah knows best.