Question:
Was Noah (peace be upon him) sent to his people after they had fallen into polytheism (shirk)?
Answer:
People remained upon the religion of their father Adam, monotheists worshipping Allah the Exalted, until the time of Noah (peace be upon him). There were righteous men among them, who are those mentioned in the verse: “And they have said: ‘You shall not leave your gods, nor shall you leave Wadd, nor Suwa’, nor Yaghuth, nor Ya’uq, nor Nasr (names of the idols);” [Nuh: 23].
These were the names of righteous men who died in the same year, so their people missed them and grieved deeply over them. Then Satan came to them and said, “Portray images of them and set them up in your gathering places so that you may remember them and remember their worship, which will motivate you to worship.” So they portrayed them and set them up in their gathering places.
Then, after a long time had passed—a thousand years had passed—Satan came to them a second time when a generation of ignorant people had arrived. He said, “Your fathers only set up these images in order to worship them besides Allah, and through them, rain was brought down.”
Consequently, they worshipped them—and we seek refuge in Allah—they worshipped those images, and from that exact time, polytheism (shirk) occurred upon the earth.