Was Noah's Son Drowned or Saved?
In a single verse in the Quran, Allah tells us that Noah's son was drowned in the flood, as a result for his arrogance and disobedience:
And it sailed with them amid waves like mountains, and Noah cried unto his son and he was standing aloof: "O my son! Come ride with us (on the ark), and be not with the disbelievers." He said: "I shall betake me to some mountain that will save me from the water." (Noah) said: "This day there is none that saveth from the commandment of Allah save him on whom He hath had mercy." And the wave came in between them, so he was among the drowned.
11:42-43
However, in other verses, there may seem to be a contradiction against the above verse by saying that Noah's entire household were saved from the flood on the ark:
And Noah, when he cried of old, We heard his prayer and saved him and his household from the great affliction.
21:76
And Noah verily prayed unto Us, and gracious was the Hearer of his prayer. And We saved him and his household from the great distress. And made his seed the survivors.
37:75-77
To reply to this, only one verse is sufficient:
(Thus it was) till, when Our commandment came to pass and the oven gushed forth water, We said: "Load therein two of every kind, a pair (the male and female), and thy household, save him against whom the word hath gone forth already, and those who believe. And but a few were they who believed with him.
11:40
Therefore, Allah's promise to save Noah's household didn't include those whom the decree of drowning had been passed already, so Noah's son was excluded from His household. The following verses talk in very specific detail about what Noah asked Allah after his son was drowned:
And Noah cried unto his Lord and said: "My Lord! My son is of my household! Surely Thy promise is the truth and Thou are the Most Just of Judges." He said: "O Noah! He is not of thy household. He is of evil conduct, so ask not of Me that whereof thou hast no knowledge. I admonish thee lest thou be among the ignorant."
11:45-46