Tafsir of Hud 11:41

[And he said: Embark in it] (meaning Noah, peace be upon him, to those with him from among the believers, as is indicated by His saying, the Exalted: "Indeed my Lord is Forgiving, Merciful").

It has been said: The pronoun [in "My Lord"] refers to Allah—the Exalted—but the objection to this is that if it were so, it would be appropriate to say "Your Lord," etc. Perhaps this statement [of Noah] came after having brought into the Ark the pairs he was commanded to carry, as if it were said: "He carried the pairs as he was commanded, or brought them into the Ark, and said to the believers: 'Embark in it' (meaning, enter into it)." This is designated as "embarking" (rukūb) because, being in the water, the Ark is like a mount upon the land; thus, it contains a consequential metaphor (isti‘ārah taba‘iyyah) in terms of likening the entering into it to riding. Some say it is a suggested metaphor (isti‘ārah makniyyah). The usage of the preposition fī (in) is due to the consideration of "entering," otherwise the verb would take its object directly. This is the view of Al-Qadi Al-Baydawi. Some say the preposition is used because it implies the meaning of "enter" (adkhilū). Others say the estimated meaning is "ride upon the water within it," and some say fī is superfluous for emphasis—though the first view is more appropriate.

Some investigators have said: "Riding" (rukūb) is to ascend upon something that is moving, and it takes its object directly. Its usage with fī is not because what is commanded is to be in its interior rather than on top of it, as some have assumed—for the most manifest reports indicate that he—peace be upon him—and those with him rode on the upper part—but rather to respect the sense of locality and place in the Ark. The secret in this is that the meaning of "riding" is to ascend upon something that possesses motion, either voluntary, like an animal, or forced, like a ship, a wheel, and the like. When it is used for the former, the original meaning is fully preserved; hence one says: "I rode the horse," and upon this is His saying, the Exalted: {And the horses, mules, and donkeys for you to ride}. When it is used for the latter, the locality of the object is suggested by the word fī; hence one says: "I rode in the ship," and upon this is the noble verse, and His saying, the Exalted: {And when they ride in the ship...}, and {Until when they had embarked in the ship, he scuttled it}. The external reading suggests that the "riding" here is literal, though some have explicitly stated it is not.

Al-Raghib said: "Riding," in its origin, is the human being on the back of an animal, and it is sometimes used for a ship. This provides confirmation for what some have explicitly stated.

[In the name of Allah] is a circumstantial qualifier (ḥāl) from the doer of "embark" (irkabū), and the letter bā’ is for accompaniment. Since the accompaniment of the Name of Allah—Exalted is His Name—is through mentioning Him, they said: The meaning is "Embark, naming Allah." They permitted that the [actual] circumstantial qualifier be omitted, and this [phrase] stands in its place, which is why they call it a circumstantial qualifier. The original is: "Embark, saying 'In the name of Allah'."

[Its course and its anchorage] are in the accusative case as adverbs of time, meaning "at the time of its running and its anchoring," considering them to be nouns of time, or as verbal nouns (maṣdaran) with the mīm prefix, meaning "the running" and "the anchoring." An implicit genitive is estimated, which is "the time of," as in your saying: "I came to you at the [time of the] setting of the star." For when the possessor is omitted, the genitive noun takes its place and assumes its grammatical state, which is common in verbal nouns. It is also permissible for them to be nouns of place, and their accusative case is governed by the "establishment" (istiqrār) to which the prepositional phrase bismillāh is attached, or by "saying." It is not permissible for them to be governed by "embark," for the meaning is not "Embark at the time of the running and anchoring" or "in their place." Rather, the meaning is [you are] seeking blessing or saying [the name of Allah] during them.

This assertion of their absolute accusative case has been challenged on the grounds that they are definite, and the definite place requires the preposition fī. Some permit the accusative case in such instances due to the inherent ambiguity. Others allowed their nominative case as subjects to the adverb [implied by] the prepositional phrase, due to its reliance on the possessor of the state, or as the two subjects of a nominal sentence, with bismillāh as the predicate (the predicate being omitted, estimated as "verified" or similar). This sentence is either a new, independent statement, separate from what precedes it, because one is declarative and the other imperative—on the premise that Noah, peace be upon him, commanded them to ride the ship, then informed them that its running and anchoring are by the name of Allah, or that its running and anchoring in His name are certainties not to be doubted. In this is an exhortation to embark and a removal of whatever fear of drowning or the like might cross their hearts. It is narrated from Al-Ḍaḥḥāk that whenever he wanted it to run, he would say: "In the name of Allah," and it would run; and when he wanted it to anchor, he would say: "In the name of Allah," and it would anchor.

Alternatively, [the phrase] is in the place of a circumstantial qualifier from the pronoun in "the ship" (al-fulk), meaning: "Embark in it, while it is running and anchoring in the name of Allah." It is a projected state, since there is no running or anchoring at the time of embarking. This is what has been said, and it was countered in Al-Taqrīb by stating that a state is only projected if it is a single term, like "running" (majrātan); whereas if it is a sentence, it is not—because the meaning of "Embark while its running is in the name of Allah" is a reality at the time of embarking. This was answered in Al-Kashf by stating there is no difference between His saying: {Enter it, abiding eternally} and the saying of the speaker: "Enter it while you are abiding" in the lack of simultaneity and the return to the projected state; thus, the same applies here. The responder was challenged by the claim that the speaker only meant to treat "running" as a single noun, similar to the idiom "I spoke to him [mouth to mouth]," arguing that this is an affectation with no necessity, and that it is not conceded in the cited example either.

It seems the meaning of the author of Al-Taqrīb did not become clear to him, for they mentioned that the difference between the state when it is a single noun and when it is a sentence is that the latter requires reality in itself and adherence to it, and perhaps implies its occurrence before the agent and its continuation with it—like when you say: "He came to me while he was riding," for that requires his engagement in riding and his continuation upon it, which contradicts it being "expected."

It is also permitted that it be a projected state from the doer of "Embark." This was objected to on the grounds that there is no referent [linking the pronoun] to the possessor of the state, and the pronoun in "In the name of Allah" [belongs] to the subject—and its estimation, i.e., "Its running is with you or by you," [is] an affectation. The claim that Al-Radi mentioned that a nominal circumstantial sentence may lack both connectors when the association is apparent—like "I went out, [while] Zayd was at the door"—is of no weight due to the weakness of what was mentioned in Arabic, so one should not build upon it.

It is also permissible that the noun be an interpolation, as in the poem of Labīd: "So arise and speak what you have known, and do not scratch a face nor shave the hair until the year passes... then the name of peace be upon you." This is a known apology. By "In the name of Allah" is intended its running and anchoring, meaning by His power, or by His command, or by His permission, and this is what is estimated, or the meaning is intended as such. Some have restricted this permissibility to cases where "naming" or "saying" is not estimated, as the meaning does not appear otherwise. It proceeds according to the estimation of one statement or two, and likewise regarding the estimation of time and place, and the predication is considered metaphorical, of the category of "His day is fasting" and "a virtuous path."

[Recitations of majrahā and marsāhā]: Recited with the fatḥah on the mīm as verbal nouns, or nouns of time/place, derived from the triliteral jarā and rasā. Mujāhid recited mujriy-hā and mursi-hā as active participles. Abū al-Baqā’ explained this as being two descriptions of the Majestic Name. It was objected: the genitive construction of the active participle, if it is in the future tense, is a formal one, thus it is indefinite and cannot properly describe a definite noun. Therefore, the truth is that it is an appositive (badal). The claim that the grammarian intended the conceptual description, not the syntactical adjective, and thus it does not conflict with the appositive, is far-fetched. However, Al-Khalīl reported that a genitive construction that is not purely genitive may sometimes be made pure, thus becoming definite, except for the intensive adjective, which does not become purely genitive and thus does not become definite. Rasū is fixity and stability.

[Indeed, my Lord is Forgiving, Merciful] It has been said: The sentence is a new beginning to explain the cause; i.e., were it not for His forgiveness for your excesses and His mercy toward you, your faith would not have saved you from this calamity. It contains evidence that their salvation was not out of entitlement due to their faith, but by the sheer mercy of Allah—the Exalted—and His forgiveness, which is the position of the Sunnis. [The author] denies the appropriateness of it being a cause for "embark," due to the lack of suitability. Therefore, one estimates what makes the speech valid by saying: "Comply with this ruling so that He may save you from destruction through His forgiveness and mercy," or it is said: "Embark in it, remembering Allah, and do not fear drowning for whatever shortcomings you may have committed, because Allah—the Exalted is His majesty—is Forgiving of faults and sins, Merciful to His servants." Some have made it a causal clause in view of the indication of salvation it contains, as if it were said: "Embark so that Allah—may He be exalted—may save you."