A Study of the Quranic Story from an Educational Perspective: Case Study of the Story of Noah

God revealed the Holy Quran to His Messenger Muhammad to guide people to facts and bring them out of darkness into light, and God has addressed people in it according to their perceptions, methods that attract them, and the means that move their feelings, and has taken various means and methods to reach his goals. Among the most important of these methods is using the style of story, as the story has a great impact on education, and is one of the literary methods capable of developing virtues in the soul. The story occupies a wide area in the Holy Quran as it is considered one of the methods of reporting and education. The Quranic story does not come to define a single goal; rather, it has multiple purposes. This is why the Quranic story is one of the important tools that contribute to the education of man, and it works to achieve the goals that Islamic education seeks. One of the most important topics that has occupied a large space in the Holy Quran and has been talked about in many surahs and verses, is the stories of the prophets and facts of the distant past. Because of the value of this topic, the Holy Quran attaches special importance to story, as it is one of the means indicating the oneness of God the Almighty and the proven power of God, the sincerity of the resurrection and the consequent reward or punishment, and the sincerity of God’s messengers, and making it a strong pillar of the Islamic call. The Quranic story has its role in alerting people to the footsteps of Satan and the enemies of God, and it has its effect on achieving emotional education and moral virtues in a Muslim in a manner that provokes emotion, hope and fear of God the Almighty. The stories of the Holy Quran are considered the best stories because they contain great wisdom and benefits and achieve great goals. And the story of Noah is considered one of the Quranic stories full of educational methods.
This paper aims to study the educational methods in the story of the Prophet Noah, through a descriptive-analytical approach. The results of the study indicate that Noah used different methods of calling, in a long perseverance, beautiful patience, and a noble effort that spanned nine hundred and fifty years, with the aim of persuading his people and influencing them, so that they would abandon falsehood and follow the truth. However, those people did not believe except few and God the Almighty destroyed them because of their denial of their Prophet. In calling his people to God, he used various methods such as encouragement, intimidation, endearment, compassion, challenge and dialogue. He took every opportunity to call his people to God, and used three levels in calling to God: aloud, openly, and secretly. Just as he was concerned with reforming his people, he was concerned with reforming future generations. The element of artistic creation in the story of Noah emerged as a method that leads to the achievement of the religious and educational purpose of the story.
Noah applied different practices, perhaps any of them might be a reason for his people to enter the religion of God. He is a wise advocate who gave his people guidance and advice in a variety of ways. The diversity of educational methods is of great importance in the educational process and an interesting factor, and the difference in people’s acceptance of educational methods reinforces the importance of their diversity. Just as he was concerned with reforming his people, he was concerned with reforming future generations. The story of Noah is one of the most repeated stories in the Holy Quran, because it contains many lessons and sermons that benefit the Muslim person. This story contains educational methods that are valid for man in every time and place. The story is one of the well-known and influential educational methods, and it is a successful educational method in achieving the educational goals that Islamic education seeks to achieve in the soul; therefore, the Holy Quran used it in human education. The ultimate purpose of talking about the conditions of the past nations in the Holy Quran is educational. The Quranic stories contain an effective treatment for the religious, psychological and social diseases that humans suffer from, and God has made the conditions of the previous nations in the Holy Quran an example for those who consider it.