Muslim scholars disagree about the number of people who were with Noah on the ship, ranging from eighty persons with their wives to ten people. Some claim that Noah’s wife, the mother of his five sons, Ham, Shem, Japheth, Yam, (whom the People of the Book call Canaan), and Aaber, died before the flood because of infidelity. Some said perhaps she became an infidel after that. Ibn Kathir stated that it was said that Noah’s three sons, Ham, Shem, and Japheth, were born after the flood. Then he corrected this information by stating this was not true for Ham, Shem, and Japheth were on the ship with Noah. This shows the amount of chaos concerning the knowledge of Noah by Muslim scholars.
It was also said that Ham had sexual relations with his wife on the ship. Noah cursed him and called on Allah to cause his child to be disfigured. As a result, Ham’s wife had a black child who was named Canaan, son of Ham, the grandfather of the Sudanese people.
Qur’an 11:27-30 states: “So the leaders of those who became infidels from his people said, ‘We do not see you except a human like us, and we do not see any who follow you except they are the lowliest of us at first thought. And we do not see that you have any ...
