As always, there are some varying reports on the size of the ark.
For footnote 1135, I doubt this is some sort of insult, I would assume it’s a way to identify that line of people. God talks about making peoples into tribes to get to know one another. Maybe this is the point of indicating that? (God knows best, and an Islamic historian likely knows better than me, I’m just a learner.) That said, we do find the following:
Thus, from v2 of my al-Tabari translation we find regarding 49:13,
And His statement: “And We made you into nations and tribes that you may know one another.” (Quran 49:13) means: And We made you into groups that are related to each other. Some of you are related to each other through distant lineage, and some of you are related to each other through close lineage. Those who are related through distant lineage are the people of the nations. This is because when a man from the Arabs is asked: “From which nation are you?” He says: “I am from Mudar” or “Rabi’ah.” And those who are related through close lineage are the people of the tribes. They are like Tamim from Mudar, and Bakr from Rabi’ah. The closest of the tribes are the sub-tribes. They are like Shayban from Bakr, and Darm from Tamim, and so on.
For Shem, it’s obvious where that area is, i.e. present-day Palestine and Egypt, down through Sudan, etc. where those waterways and “airways” run through and along. For Ham, using the Nile as a marker this might go from parts of present Egypt/Sudan etc. along the Nile to perhaps Morocco etc. at the opposite side of the African landmass? As for Pishon it seems to be of some debate as to the location. It wouldn’t surprise me (God knows best) that all involved being somewhere within or around the around the famous “cradle of civilization” theory. I don’t know how accurate the below map is, but it’s sufficient as a reminder of approximately that location.
al-Tabari then goes into the major eras:
