And for my parents, his father is Lamak ibn Metushalakh, and his mother is Shamhah bint Anush: they were believers. It is said that they are Adam and Eve. Al-Husayn ibn Ali read: 'and for my sons,' meaning: Sam and Ham. My home is my house. It is said: my mosque. It is said: my ship, specifically for those who are connected to him, because they are more deserving of his supplication, then it encompasses the believers, both men and women, in destruction. If you say: what happened to their children when they were drowned? I say: they drowned with them, not as a form of punishment. [Mawlid said: 'What is the reason for their drowning when they were drowned, and he answered that they were not drowned as a form of punishment... etc.' Ahmad said: this question reveals what is in its essence about the necessity of justifying the actions of Allah, the Exalted, and it is based on the principle that it is not permissible to feel pain from Allah except with a prior entitlement, or for expected compensations, or for other interests, based on their principle in what is good and better, and the children have no prior wrongdoing nor any compensation expected from them. Thus, the question is resolved on that basis. As for the people of the Sunnah, Allah, the Exalted, has taken upon Himself to answer them with His saying: 'He is not asked about what He does.' This statement, in regard to the specific incident of the people of Noah, leads to Allah's ruling upon us regarding the enemy if there is fear of fighting them with weapons against their offspring, that this does not necessitate refraining from fighting them with destructive and harmful weapons, and it is evidenced by the Prophet's throwing stones at the people of Ta'if with catapults. He was asked about their offspring, and he said: they are from their fathers. As for throwing them with fire while they have offspring: Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, prohibited it, unless there is fear of their harm, in which case they may be thrown if they cannot be repelled otherwise, and Allah, the Exalted, knows best.] But just as they die from various causes of death, and how many of them die by drowning and burning, and it seems that this is an increase in the torment of the fathers and mothers when they see their children drowning. From it is his saying, blessings and peace be upon him: 'They perish in one destruction and emerge in various sources.' [Narrated by Muslim through Ibn al-Zubair from Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her.] And from Al-Hasan: he was asked about that and said: Allah's knowledge of their innocence led Him to destroy them without punishment. It is said: Allah made the wombs of their women barren and dried the loins of their fathers forty or seventy years before the flood, so there was no child with them when they were drowned. From the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him: 'Whoever recites Surah Noah is among the believers who are answered by the supplication of Noah, peace be upon him.' [Narrated by Al-Thalabi, Al-Wahidi, and Ibn Mardawayh with their chains to Abu ibn Kab.]