Did everyone on earth drown at the great Flood at the time of Nooh (peace be upon him)?
Question

                Did everyone on earth – apart from those who were with Nooh on board the ark – drown when Allah sent the flood? Can everyone who is on earth now be regarded as descendants of those who were on board the ark (ship)?
Praise be to Allah.
    The clear text of the Qur’an indicates that everyone who was 
    on earth drowned in the flood, and no humans or animals were saved except 
    those whom Nooh took with him on board the ark. 

    Allah, may He be exalted, said (interpretation of the 
    meaning):

    “And We saved him and those with him in 
    the laden ship.

    Then We drowned the rest (disbelievers) 
    thereafter”

    [ash-Shu‘ara’ 26:119-120].

    “(So it was) till 
    then there came Our Command and the oven gushed forth (water like fountains 
    from the earth). We said: ‘Embark therein, of each kind two (male and 
    female), and your family, except him against whom the Word has already gone 
    forth, and those who believe. And none believed with him, except a few.’”

    [Hood 11:40]. 

    “They denied him, 
    but We delivered him, and those with him in the ship, and We made them 
    generations replacing one after another, while We drowned those who belied 
    Our Ayat (proofs, evidences, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.). Then see 
    what was the end of those who were warned”

    [Yoonus 10:73]. 

    The Qur’anic text also indicates that the earth was only 
    populated after that by the descendants of Nooh (peace be upon him). As for 
    the believers who were saved with him in the ark, none of their descendants 
    were left. So all the people on earth now are descended from Nooh (peace be 
    upon him). 

    Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the 
    meaning): 

    “And indeed Nooh 
    (Noah) invoked Us, and We are the Best of those who answer (the request).

    And We rescued him and his family from 
    the great distress (i.e. drowning),

    And, his progeny, them We made the 
    survivors (i.e. Shem, Ham and Japheth).

    And left for him (a goodly remembrance) 
    among generations to come in later times.

    Salamun (peace) be upon Nooh (Noah) 
    (from Us) among the Alameen (mankind, jinns and all that exists)!"

    Verily, thus We reward the Muhsinoon 
    (good-doers)

    Verily, he (Nooh (Noah) ) was one of 
    Our believing slaves.

    Then We drowned the other (disbelievers 
    and polytheists, etc.)”

    [as-Saaffaat 37:75-82]. 

    ‘Ali ibn Abi Talhah narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas: There was no 
    one left except the progeny of Nooh (peace be upon him). 

    Qataadah said concerning the words “And, 
    his progeny, them We made the survivors”: 
    All people are among the progeny of Nooh (peace be upon him). 

    Tafseer al-Qur’an al-‘Azeem by 
    Ibn Katheer, 7/22 

    Al-Haafiz Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

    The scholars differed concerning the number of people who 
    were with him on board the Ark. 

    It was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with 
    him): There were eighty men, accompanied by their wives. It was narrated 
    from Ka‘b al-Ahbaar that there were seventy-two people. It was also said 
    that there were ten people. 

    A number of the commentators said: The water rose until it 
    was fifteen cubits above the top of the highest mountain on earth. This is 
    the view of the People of the Book. It was also suggested that it was eighty 
    cubits, and that it covered the length and breadth of the earth, plains, 
    rugged terrain, mountains, desolate regions and sandy deserts, and there was 
    no one left of those who had been living on earth at all, neither young nor 
    old. 

    Imam Maalik said, narrating from Zayd ibn Aslam: The 
    population at that time filled the plains and mountains… 

    Allah did not give any of those believers who were with him 
    children or descendants, apart from Nooh (peace be upon him). Allah, may He 
    be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): “And, 
    his progeny, them We made the survivors” 
    [as-Saaffaat 37:77]. So everyone on the face of the earth today, of all 
    races, are the sons of Adam who are descended from the three sons of Nooh, 
    namely Saam, Haam and Yaafith (Shem, Ham and Japeth). End quote. 

    Al-Bidaayah wa’n-Nihaayah, 
    1/111-114 

    Al-‘Allaamah at-Taahir ibn ‘Ashoor (may Allah have mercy on 
    him) said: The fact that the phrase “them 
    We made the survivors” begins with the 
    pronoun is to indicate exclusivity. In other words: There was no one left of 
    mankind except those whom Allah saved with Nooh in the ark, of his 
    offspring, then those who were descended from them. There was no one left of 
    the sons of Adam apart from the progeny of Nooh. So all nations are among 
    the progeny of the three sons of Nooh. The apparent meaning of this is that 
    those who believed with Nooh apart from his sons did not have any offspring. 
    Ibn ‘Abbaas said: When Nooh came out of the ark, the men and women who were 
    with him died, except for his sons and his wives. Thus we may respond to the 
    apparent contradiction between this verse and the verse in Soorat Hood (“We 
    said: ‘Embark therein, of each kind two (male and female), and your family, 
    except him against whom the Word has already gone forth, and those who 
    believe. And none believed with him, except a few.’” 
    [Hood 11:40]). This is based on the idea that the 
    flood covered the entire earth and destroyed all humans except those whom 
    Nooh carried on board the Ark. End quote. 

    At-Tahreer wa’t-Tanweer, 23/47 

    With regard to the words of Allah, may He be exalted, 
    (interpretation of the meaning):

    “ ‘O offspring of those whom We carried 
    (in the ship) with Nooh (Noah)! Verily, he was a grateful slave’”

    [al-Isra’ 17:3]

    And

    “Those were they unto whom Allah 
    bestowed His Grace from among the Prophets, of the offspring of Adam, and of 
    those whom We carried (in the ship) with Nooh (Noah), and of the offspring 
    of Ibrahim (Abraham) and Israel and from among those whom We guided and 
    chose. When the Verses of the Most Beneficent (Allah) were recited unto 
    them, they fell down prostrating and weeping”

    [Maryam 19:58],

    These words do not indicate that the offspring of the 
    believers whom Nooh (peace be upon him) carried with him survived; rather 
    what is meant is the sons of Nooh (peace be upon him) whose progeny 
    survived, not the other believers.

    Al-‘Allaamah al-Ameen ash-Shanqeeti (may Allah have mercy on 
    him) said: The verse  “‘O 
    offspring of those whom We carried (in the ship) with Nooh (Noah)! Verily, 
    he was a grateful slave’”[al-Isra’ 17:3] 
    states that none of the offspring of those who were carried on the ark with 
    Nooh survived, apart from the offspring of Nooh, as it says in the verse: “And, 
    his progeny, them We made the survivors” 
    [as-Saaffaat 37:77]. End quote.

    Adwa’ al-Bayaan, 3/13

    And Allah knows best.