Jabbar 1

Saqib Jabbar
21503590
HUM-111 Assignment
Discuss how the story of the great flood on Tablet XI differs from the similar story as told in other
texts with which you are familiar. For this assignment you will need to quote both Gilgamesh and
the other text or texts, not simply rely on summaries or paraphrase.
When I started reading Tablet XI from the Epic of Gilgamesh and came across the great flood
story of Uta-napishti, I automatically started comparing it with the flood story from Quran involving
Hazrat Noah. To say the least, the similarities between the two stories struck me. I kept wondering
throughout how these stories could be connected to each other. There were some very significant
differences between them too. They made me realize how the writer of this epic molded the story of
Hazrat Noah perfectly to fit his theme. In this discussion paper, I will be writing about the differences
between the two stories.
I will start by giving a general idea of how both stories begin. In Tablet XI, the gods meet in a
secret council. Enlil, one of the gods in the council ordered to destroy the whole mankind with a flood.
All the gods swore to keep this a secret but Ea disclosed this information to Uta-Napishti and asked him
to build a boat. In the story quoted in Quran, Hazrat Noah preached Islam in his community for 900 years
and only a few people accepted Islam. After these 900 years, Hazrat Noah complained to Allah about the
unbelievers. Allah told Hazrat Noah to tell his people to worship him and follow his law or otherwise
theyll have to face a flood. The Quran quotes Hazrat Noah by saying:
I have come to you with a clear warning that you worship none but God. Verily I fear for you the penalty
of a grievous day. Holy Quran, 11:25-2
On the other hand, the god Ea told Uta-Napishti to lie to his people since the tablet says:
Ea opened his mouth to speak,

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Saying to me, his servant:
Also you will say to them this:
For sure the god Enlil feels for me hatred.
In your city I can live no longer,
I can tread no more [on] Enlils ground..
He was told to tell the people that gods hate him and once he leaves their city, they will be given plenty
of blessings. I believe Ea didnt want anyone else to survive the flood. Uta-Napishti was his favorite
human being in the city and he wanted only him to get through the disaster. On the contrary, Allah was
very fair on who should survive the flood. In the Quran, he quotes himself:
and address Me not in respect of those who are unjust; for verily they shall be drowned (in the flood).
Holy Quran, 23:27
Only the people who believed in Allah survived. He had no favorites. His extreme of justice can be seen
in the fact that even Hazrat Noahs own son who didnt believe in Allah drowned. Hazrat Noah is quoted
in the Quran saying to his son:
O my son! embark with us and be not with the unbelievers. The son replied: I will betake myself to
some mountain, it will save me from the flood. And Noah said: This day nothing can save you from
what God has decreed, for only those on whom He has Mercy will be saved. And the waves came
between them and the son was among the drowned ones. 11:42-43
I believe the biggest difference between the two stories is that in Tablet XI, Uta-Napishti was able
to deceive the gods. Although he had help from one of the gods themselves but still none of the other
gods knew that Uta-Napishti was preparing to fight the flood until he did it. It also indicates that in Tablet
XI, the gods were basically almost like human beings. They made mistakes and didnt know what was

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going around in the city, just like human beings. The gods were furious with Uta-Napishti. Enlil, even
said that no one was supposed to survive this flood. He is quoted in Tablet XI as saying:
Then at once Enlil arrived,
He saw the boat, he was seized with anger,
Filled with rage at the divine Igigi:
[From] where escaped this living being?
No man was meant to survive the destruction!
On the other hand, Allah claims to know everything that goes around the world. No one was able to
deceive him. The only people who survived were those believed in him and boarded the ship. He quotes
himself in other parts of Quran:
Do they not know, then, that God is aware of all that they would conceal as well as of all that they bring
into the open? Holy Quran, 2:77

Furthermore, the gods in Tablet XI regret their decision of sending down the flood. They feel sympathetic
towards their people. The goddess is quoted in Tablet XI saying:

The olden times have turned to clay

Because I spoke evil in the gods assembly,
How could I speak evil in the gods assembly,
And declare a war to destroy my people?

On the other hand, Allah didnt have any regrets. He was firm by the decision he took neither did he have
any reason for regret. He had only punished the people who did wrong. He had even done everything to

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warn them. I think the goddess main reason for regret here was that everyone, including the good people
drowned too without any warning.

Also, after the flood is already over and Ea convinces the other gods that what they did was wrong and
Uta-Napishti and his wife are given immortality, they are asked to make sacrifices for the god. In the
Quran, Hazrat Noah is quoted as saying:
And O my people! I ask you for no wealth in return: my reward is from none but God. Holy Quran,
11:29
It clearly shows that Allah didnt want any worldly sacrifices from the people. His simple aim was for the
people to believe in him. Contrastingly, they were supposed to be rewarded if they do.
I believe that all the differences that I have mentioned earlier had a similar theme, that the gods in
Tablet XI were not just at all and Allah was. Starting with asking Uta-Napishti to lie to his people and
then choosing only him over all the people in the city to survive, everything indicates that these gods
didnt make punishment fit the crime.