http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_view_of_Noah

Noah’s Ark (Hebrew: תיבת נח‎, Teyvat Noaḥ in Classical Hebrew) is a vessel appearing in the Book of Genesis (chapters 6–9) and the Quran (surahs Hud and Al-Mu’minoon). 

These narratives describe the construction of the ark by the Patriarch Noah at God’s command to save himself, his family, and the world’s animals from the worldwide deluge of the Great Flood.

In the narrative of the ark, God sees the wickedness of man and is grieved by his creation, resolving to send a great flood to cleanse the Earth. However, he sees that Noah is a man “righteous in his generation,” and gives him detailed instructions on how to construct a seaworthy ark. When Noah and the animals are safe on board, God sends the Flood, which rises until all the mountains are covered and all life on Earth is destroyed. At the height of the flood, the ark rests on mountaintops, before the waters recede and dry land reappears. Noah, his family, and the animals leave the ark to repopulate the Earth. God places a symbolic rainbow in the sky and makes a covenant with Noah and all living things, by which he vows to never again send a flood to destroy the Earth.

The ark narrative has been extensively studied by adherents of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, as well as other Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic faiths. Such studies have ranged from hypothetical solutions to practical problems (such as the issues of waste disposal and lighting the ark’s interior), to theological and metaphoric interpretations (with the ark being seen as the spiritual precursor of the Church in offering salvation to mankind). Although the account of the ark was traditionally accepted as historical, by the 19th century the growing impact of scientific investigation and biblical interpretation had led many people to abandon a literal view in favour of a more metaphoric understanding. Though there have been many alleged sightings of Noah’s Ark over the years, no concrete physical evidence of the ark has been found. Biblical literalists continue to explore the mountains of Ararat in present-day Turkey, where the Bible says the ark came to rest, in search of archaeological remnants of the vessel.

[IN ISLAM]

Noah (Arabic: Nuh) is one of the five principal prophets of Islam. References to him are scattered through the Qur’an, with the fullest account being found in surah Hud (11:27–51). As a prophet, Noah preached to his people, but with little success; only “a few”[11:40] of them converted (traditionally thought to be seventy). Noah prayed for deliverance, and Allah told him to build a ship in preparation for the coming flood. A son (named either ‘Kan’an’ or ‘Yam’ depending on the source) was among those drowned, despite Noah pleading with him to leave the disbelievers and join him (Surah Hud, 42–43).

In contrast to the Jewish tradition, which uses a term which can be translated as a “box” or “chest” to describe the Ark, surah 29:14 refers to it as a safina, an ordinary ship, and surah 54:13 describes the ark as “a thing of boards and nails”. `Abd Allah ibn `Abbas, a contemporary of Muhammad, wrote that Noah was in doubt as to what shape to make the ark, and that Allah revealed to him that it was to be shaped like a bird’s belly and fashioned of teak wood.

Abdallah ibn ‘Umar al-Baidawi, writing in the 13th century, gives the length of the ark as 300 cubits (157 m, 515 ft) by 50 (26.2 m, 86 ft) in width, 30 cubits (15.7 m, 52 ft) in height, and explains that in the first of the three levels wild and domesticated animals were lodged, in the second the human beings, and in the third the birds. On every plank was the name of a prophet. Three missing planks, symbolizing three prophets, were brought from Egypt by Og, son of Anak, the only one of the giants permitted to survive the Flood.[dubious] The body of Adam was carried in the middle to divide the men from the women.[dubious] Surah 11:41 says: “And he said, ‘Ride ye in it; in the Name of Allah it moves and stays!’”; this was taken to mean that Noah said, “In the Name of Allah!” when he wished the ark to move, and the same when he wished it to stand still.

Noah spent five or six months aboard the ark, at the end of which he sent out a raven. But the raven stopped to feast on carrion, and so Noah cursed it and sent out the dove, which has been known ever since as the friend of mankind. The medieval scholar Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn al-Husayn Masudi (d. 956) wrote that Allah commanded the Earth to absorb the water, and certain portions which were slow in obeying received salt water in punishment and so became dry and arid. The water which was not absorbed formed the seas, so that the waters of the flood still exist. Masudi says that the ark began its voyage at Kufa in central Iraq and sailed to Mecca, circling the Kaaba before finally traveling to Mount Judi (in Arabic also referred to as “high place, hill), which surah 11:44 states was its final resting place. This mountain is identified by tradition with a hill near the town of Jazirat ibn Umar on the east bank of the Tigris in the province of Mosul in northern Iraq, and Masudi says that the spot where it came to rest could be seen in his time.

Noah left the ark, and he and his family and companions built a town at the foot of Mount Judi, named Thamanin (“eighty”) in reference to their number. Noah then locked the ark and entrusted the keys to Shem. Yaqut al-Hamawi (1179–1229) mentions a mosque built by Noah which could be seen in his day. Some modern Muslims, although not generally active in searching for the ark, believe that it still exists on the high slopes of the mountain.

St. Augustin (1890) [c. 400]. “Chapter 26:That the ark Which Noah Was Ordered to Make Figures In Every Respect Christ and the Church”. In Schaff, Philip. Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers [St. Augustin’s City of God and Christian Doctrine]. 1. 2. The Christian Literature Publishing Company. Retrieved 2010-07-10.

Plimer 1994

Browne 1983

Young 1995 Chapter: History of the Collapse of “Flood Geology” and a Young Earth

Riss, Richard M.. “Historical Evidence for Noah’s Ark”. Retrieved 7 November 2011.

John D. Morris (2009). “Noah’s Ark: The Search Goes On”. Institute for Creation Research. Retrieved 2010-07-11.

McCurdy, J.F.; Bacher, W.; Seligsohn, M. et al., eds (2002). “Noah”. Jewish Encyclopedia. JewishEncyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2010-07-11.

McCurdy, J.F.; Jastrow, M.W.; Ginzberg, L. et al., eds (2002). “Ark of Noah”. Jewish Encyclopedia. JewishEncyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2010-07-12.