Tafsir of Hud 11:37

(And construct the Ark under Our eyes) is a conjunctive clause linked to "(Do not) grieve." The command is said to be for obligation, since there is no way to safeguard the soul from drowning except through it; thus, it is obligatory just as the [preservation of the] soul is obligatory. It has also been said that it is for permission, but this holds no weight.

The definite article (al) in "the Ark" (al-fulk) is either for the genus or for specific reference, based on the fact that it was revealed to him, peace be upon him, beforehand that Allah, Glorified be He, would destroy them by drowning and save him and those with him through something he would construct by His command, the nature of which was such-and-such and its name was such-and-such.

"Under" (bi-a‘yunina - literally: "with Our eyes")—the preposition ba denotes accompaniment (mulabasa), and the prepositional phrase is in the position of a state (hal) of the subject. "Eyes" (a‘yun) is literal for the sensory organ, and it functions as a metaphorical representation (tamthil), as if Allah, Glorified be He, possesses eyes that protect him from the transgression of the disbelievers and from deviation in the construction. The plural form is for hyperbole; the original sense of "fewness" has been stripped away due to the genitive construction, and it is intended to denote "abundance." In this case, the hyperbolic intensity is strengthened.

Some have claimed that "eyes" means "watchers" (ruqaba'), and that this involves one of the most eloquent forms of tajrid (abstraction). This is where they extract from the essence of a thing another thing similar in its attributes for the sake of extreme hyperbole, just as Abu Ali recited: Banu Marwan have shed our blood unjustly, and by Allah, if they do not act justly, there is a just judge. Here, he has abstracted from the Essence of the Controller a group of watchers, while He, Glory be to Him, is the Watcher Himself.

It is said that the accompaniment of "eye" is a metonymy for preservation, and the accompaniment of "eyes"—due to the plural form—is a metonymy for perfect preservation and hyperbole therein. Parallel to this is "the stretching of the hand" and "the stretching of the two hands"; the first is a metonymy for generosity, and the second for its hyperbole. It is also permissible that the meaning is "perfect preservation" via a majaz mursal (synecdochic metaphor), since preservation is among the requirements of the sensory organ.

It is also said that the meaning of "under Our eyes" is "under our angels whom We have appointed as eyes over the places of your protection and assistance." The plural in this case is kept to its literal meaning, not for hyperbole. It is understood from the treatment of some that this falls under the mutashabih (ambiguous), and the discussion on it is well-known. In al-Durr al-Manthur, when discussing this verse, al-Bayhaqi recorded from Sufyan ibn ‘Uyaynah who said: "What Allah, Blessed and Exalted be He, has described Himself with in His Book, its recitation is its interpretation; it is not for anyone to interpret it in Arabic or Persian." Abu Talhah ibn Musarrif recited it as bi-a‘yina with idgham (assimilation).

(And Our revelation)—i.e., [Our] teaching you how to construct it. Ishaq ibn Bishr and Ibn ‘Asakir recorded from Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both of them, that he (Noah), peace be upon him, did not know how to construct an ark, so Allah, Exalted be He, revealed to him: "Make its prow like the head of a rooster, its breast like the breast of a bird, and its tail like the tail of a rooster. Place doors in its side and fasten it with pegs." He was commanded to coat it with tar, but there was no tar on earth, so Allah, Exalted be He, caused a spring of tar to gush forth for him where he was carving it; it boiled and boiled until he coated it. The report also states that Allah sent Gabriel, peace be upon him, who taught him how to construct it. It is also said that the angels, peace be upon them, were teaching him.

(And do not address Me concerning those who have done wrong)—that is, do not plead with Me regarding them, and do not call upon Me to ward off the punishment from them. This contains a degree of hyperbole not present if it were said: "Do not address Me regarding them." Since it contains an allusion to what follows it, the causality was emphasized, and thus it was said: (Indeed, they are to be drowned)—that is, a decree of drowning has been passed against them; the matter has been settled, the Pen has dried, and there is no way to restrain it.

It is apparent that the meaning of the relative pronoun [in "those who have done wrong"] is those among his people who did not believe, in an absolute sense. It has been said that it specifically refers to his wife and his son Canaan, but this holds no weight.