Ships of the Quran
The Quran tells of Noah’s ship of planks and nails, the chest of Moses on the river, a ship holed to save it, Jonah’s laden ship and ships as tall as mountains.
This chapter of Sacred Ships holds 5 ships. For each one we give the source, what happens, and only what the text itself says about the vessel. See all 102 ships on one page.
Subject to interpretation, Marea can build any of these ships as a scale model, with the maximum detail the scale permits. We build her as the text describes her: the timber, the oars, the sails. Seventeen of these texts even give her size or her crew.
This database was put together by Ai Refloat™, Marea’s own artificial intelligence, from published translations of the texts and from museum and university sources. Ai Refloat is still young & like any teenager, it can be a little volatile and unpredictable at times, but above all, it is learning fast. So this list may well contain mistakes and we welcome the input of everyone who knows these texts and traditions better than we do.
Have you spotted a mistake? Tell us which ship and which text, and we will amend it accordingly. Tell us here
The ships
Ships of the Quran · Quran
Noah's Ship Ark
Surah Hud 11:37 to 44; Al-Mu'minun 23:27; Al-Qamar 54:11 to 15
Tradition Quran
Noah builds the ship under God's eyes while the chiefs of his people mock him. When the oven gushes water he loads two of every kind, his household and the believers, and his son stays behind. The ship sails amid waves like mountains and comes to rest upon al-Judi (11:44).
The vessel “A thing of planks and nails” (54:13, Pickthall), in Yusuf Ali's rendering broad planks caulked with palm fibre.
Sources Quran.com 11:37 to 44 · 23:27 · 54:11 to 15
Illustration: an AI interpretation of the text, to come.
Ships of the Quran · Quran
The Chest of Moses Chest or basket
Ta Ha 20:39; Al-Qasas 28:7
Tradition Quran
God inspires the mother of Moses to nurse him and, when she fears for him, to cast him into the river without fear or grief. The river casts him up on the bank, where an enemy of God and of Moses takes him up, and God promises to restore him to her.
The vessel A chest (tabut) placed in the river: “Throw him into the ark, and throw it into the river” (20:39, Pickthall). Yusuf Ali renders it “chest”.
Sources Quran.com 20:39 · 28:7
Illustration: an AI interpretation of the text, to come.
Ships of the Quran · Quran
The Ship That Was Holed Voyaging ship
Al-Kahf 18:71 and 18:79 (episode 18:65 to 82)
Tradition Quran
Moses travels with a servant of God, whom tradition names al-Khidr though the text does not. Once aboard a ship, the servant makes a hole in it and Moses protests. He later explains that the ship belonged to poor people working on the river, and he marred it because a king was seizing every ship by force.
The vessel A working river vessel owned by poor men: “there was a king behind them who is taking every ship by force” (18:79, Pickthall).
Sources Quran.com 18:71 to 82 · 18:79
Illustration: an AI interpretation of the text, to come.
Ships of the Quran · Quran
Jonah's Laden Ship Voyaging ship
As-Saffat 37:139 to 148
Tradition Quran
Jonah flees to a laden ship. Lots are drawn and he is among the losers, and the fish swallows him. He is later cast on a desert shore, a gourd tree grows over him, and he is sent to a hundred thousand people or more.
The vessel Only “the laden ship” (37:140, Pickthall).
Sources Quran.com 37:139 to 148
Illustration: an AI interpretation of the text, to come.
Ships of the Quran · Quran
Ships Like Mountains Fleet
Ash-Shura 42:32 to 33; Ar-Rahman 55:24
Tradition Quran
Ships on the sea are named among God's signs. If He wills, He calms the wind so that they lie still on the surface, and herein are signs for every steadfast, grateful heart.
The vessel Ships “smooth-running through the ocean, (tall) as mountains” (42:32, Yusuf Ali); Pickthall renders them “like banners” (55:24).
Sources Quran.com 42:32 · 55:24
Illustration: an AI interpretation of the text, to come.
Explore Sacred Ships by chapter
- The Flood Ships9 ships
- Ships of the Bible15 ships
- Ships of the Quran5 ships
- Ships of the Later Scriptures6 ships
- Boats of the Sun, the Moon and the Dead13 ships
- Greek and Roman Heroes at Sea13 ships
- Celtic Voyages and the Round Table9 ships
- The Northern Seas8 ships
- India, China and Japan13 ships
- The Pacific and the Americas11 ships