Tafsir of Hud 11:48

Then, after his repentance—peace be upon him—[Allah] mentioned the acceptance of it by His saying, the Almighty and Exalted: "It was said: 'O Nuh, descend [from the Ark]...'" and the rest of the verse. This is exceptionally beautiful. The verb is constructed in the passive form because it is self-evident that the speaker is Allah, the Almighty. It is also said that the speakers were the angels—peace be upon them.

"Descending" refers to coming down. It is said: i.e., descend from the Ark. Others say: from the mountain to the earth. It is narrated that the Ark settled on [Mount] Al-Judi on the tenth of Dhu al-Hijjah. He remained there with those who were with him for a month. Then it was said to him, "Descend." He descended to the land of Mosul and built a village near the mountain called "The Village of the Eighty," the number of those who were in the Ark. In a narration from Ibn Abbas, each of them built a house, so it was called "The Market of the Eighty."

Ibn Marduyah narrated from Umar—may Allah be pleased with him—that he said: "When the Ark settled on Al-Judi, Nuh—peace be upon him—remained as long as Allah willed. Then he was given permission to descend. He descended the mountain and called the crow, saying, 'Bring me news of the earth.' It flew down to the earth, where there were the drowned people of Nuh. It landed on a corpse among them and was delayed, so he cursed it. He then called the dove, and it perched on his palm. He said, 'Descend and bring me news of the earth.' It flew down and did not stay long before it returned, shaking its feathers with its beak, saying, 'Descend, for the earth has brought forth vegetation.' Nuh said, 'May Allah the Almighty bless you, and the house that shelters you, and make you beloved to the people. Had it not been that people would overwhelm you, I would have prayed to Allah, the Exalted, to make your head of gold.'"

The most apparent [interpretation] to me is that the descent was from Al-Judi, where the Ark had settled, to the [lower] earth. There is nothing in the text that necessitates this occurring immediately after the settling, such that it would be argued that the area beneath the mountain was still submerged by water at that time. Expressing this as a "descent" is thus perfectly clear. Perhaps that is based on the [assumption] that the Ark was meant for the place of boarding. The story of the dove and the crow has flown across the horizons and narrators have become obsessed with it, and Allah, the Exalted, knows its authenticity. Most likely, it is not authentic. Likewise, the story of the Village of the Eighty in the land of Mosul is famous; [they say] when it became too narrow for them, they moved to Babylon and built it. Ibn Asakir narrated from Ka'b al-Ahbar that he said: "The first wall laid on the face of the earth after the Flood was the wall of Harran and Damascus, then Babylon."

It has been recited: "Descend with peace" (with a damma on the ba), meaning: accompanied by a safety from what you dislike, coming "from Us." It is also permissible that "peace" (salam) means salutation and greeting, i.e., greeting you from Us. "And blessings upon you"—meaning: blessings that grow in your offspring and that which provides for your livelihood and theirs, from the various types of sustenance. Or, "blessed be upon you," i.e., one is prayed for by saying: "May Allah the Almighty bless you." This is appropriate for "peace" meaning salutation, becoming like His saying: "Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings."

The origin of baraka (blessing), as Al-Raghib stated, is the chest of a camel; it is said: "The camel baraka (knelt)" when it puts down its chest. Permanence is implied therein, which is why a pool of water is called a birka. Baraka is the establishment of divine goodness in a thing; it is named as such because of the stability of goodness in it, like the stability of water in a pool. Since divine goodness flows in a way that is neither felt nor measured, it is said of everything in which an unfelt increase is observed: "It is blessed," and "there is blessing in it." Because this implies permanence and an unfelt nature, Tabarak (Blessed is He) is uniquely used for Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, as has been said.

In al-Kashf: "Everything that is established and remains has baraka, and the kneeling of the camel is taken from this. Then barak, meaning the chest, is from the second because it is the instrument of its kneeling."

Abd al-Aziz ibn Yahya narrated from al-Kisa'i that he read "and baraka" in the singular. In the verse, according to the two readings, there is ihtibak (a rhetorical device), as the second part omits what was mentioned in the first, and mentions in it what was omitted from the first. The estimate is: "Peace from Us upon you, and blessings," or "And a blessing from Us upon you." This is an announcement and glad tidings from the Almighty regarding the acceptance of his repentance—peace be upon him—and his salvation from loss, with an indication that the earth has returned to its state of vegetation and otherwise.

"And upon nations [arising] from those with you..." branching out from them. "From" (min) is initiatory (ibtida'iyya). The intended meaning is the believing nations descending from those who were with him until the Day of Resurrection. "Those with you" refers to his offspring, based on the general term used to mean the specific, founded on what is said: that he left no descendants other than them. All people, according to this, are from the lineage of Nuh—peace be upon him. From this, he is called the "second Adam" and the "lesser Adam." This is evidenced by the saying of the Almighty: "And We made his descendants the survivors." It may be said that "from" remains in its generality, based on the view of most commentators that the lineage is not restricted to his children alone, but rather that those who were with him also have descendants who remain. The discussion regarding the argument of the former group will come, if Allah wills.

His saying, the Exalted: "And nations..." in the nominative case—this is, according to what al-Zamakhshari held, a subject (mubtada'), and the sentence of the Almighty's saying, "We will grant them enjoyment," is its descriptor, and the predicate is omitted, i.e., "And among them are nations." This is permissible due to the indication of what preceded it. For the mention of the blessed nations—those branching from them—being indefinite, indicates that some of those who branch from them are not of their character. The meaning is: not everyone who branches from them shares with him in the peace and blessings; rather, among them are nations who will enjoy life in the world, then a painful punishment will touch them therein, or in the Hereafter, or in both.

Abu Hayyan permitted that "nations" be a subject with an omitted descriptor, and the [following] description is what permits starting with an indefinite noun, the estimate being: "And nations among them," and the sentence "We will grant them enjoyment" is the predicate, just as they say: "The clarified butter is two mann for a dirham." Or that it is a subject without an estimated descriptor, and the predicate is also "We will grant them enjoyment," and the permission to start [the sentence] with an indefinite noun is because the place is a place of detailing, so it is like the poet’s saying: "If from her creation she weeps, one side turns toward her, and a side of ours has not changed." As for al-Qurtubi's saying that "nations" is in the nominative because it implies "there will be," if he meant an explanation of meaning, it is good; but if he meant grammar, it is not sound, because this is not a place for implying "there will be."

Al-Akhfash said: "This is as you say: 'I spoke to Zayd, and Amr is sitting.' It is possible it is of the category of conjunction, and it is possible the waw is for the state (hal), and the sentence here is a state that will occur in the future, because at the time of the command to descend, those nations were not yet in existence."

Abu al-Baqa' said: "'Nations' is conjoined to the pronoun in 'descend,' the estimate being: 'Descend, you and nations.' The separation between them was sufficient to dispense with emphasis." And "We will grant them enjoyment" is an adjective for "nations." In this [interpretation] is [the problem] that those who were with Nuh—peace be upon him—in the Ark were all believers, because of the saying of the Almighty: "And [those] who believed." They were not two factions, disbelievers and believers, to be commanded to descend with him—unless it is insisted that among those believers were those whom Allah, the Exalted, knew would disbelieve after the descent, so He informed of them by the state they would eventually reach, and in this is remoteness [from the literal meaning].

It is permitted that "from" in "from those with you" is explicative (bayaniyya), i.e., "And upon nations who are those who are with you." They were called "nations" because they are divided groups and scattered parties, or because all nations branched out from them, so they are nations metaphorically. Then the meaning of "nations" pointed to in His saying, "And nations We will grant them enjoyment," refers to some of the nations branching from them, which are the disbelieving nations descending from them until the Day of Resurrection.

In al-Kashshaf: The first approach is the correct one. It is said: to contrast with the saying of the Almighty, "And nations We will grant them enjoyment," and because it is more comprehensive, and because the initiatory "from," especially with an indefinite noun, is more frequent. The subtlety in including the [future] descendants among those greeted, and cutting off the [future] enjoyers from them, is an indication of what is clarified by the saying of the Almighty: "Indeed, he is not of your family; indeed, it is a deed other than righteous." For this subtlety, "from them" was omitted in the second instance, and the peace of Nuh—peace be upon him—was sufficient for the peace of the believers of his people, because the Prophet is the leader of his nation, and this honoring and unity with him—peace be upon him—sufficed them.

Thus, it is not desired that the interpretation of "explicative" be more likely, so that it does not necessitate that they are not greeted. Moreover, the term "nations" when applied to those with him—in either of the two considerations—has no majesty in it, because calling a small group a "nation" is not appropriate, so how [is it appropriate] to call them "nations"? There is no hyperbole in this context, so one should not deviate from the literal meaning. If it were made into the category of "Indeed, Ibrahim was a nation," it would not suit the glorification of Nuh—peace be upon him. It has been mentioned that the matter of the believing nations descending from those with him—peace be upon him—remains ambiguous, neither addressed nor indicated, unless it is said: since the intended meaning of "those with you" is the believers, it is known that those who share with them in the attribute of faith are like them in what precedes.

Yes, it is said: in the indication of the mentioned [noun] to the omitted predicate in that way, there is hiddenness, because the mentioned "from" is explicative and the omitted one is partitive or initiatory. It is perhaps answered by also insisting that there is no omission at all, as is one of the aspects we mentioned earlier. So, contemplate everything that has been mentioned.

The transmitted [tradition] is not to restrict the "nations" in both places to specific believers or disbelievers. Ibn Jarir, Ibn al-Mundhir, and others narrated from Muhammad al-Qurazi that he said: "Every male and female believer until the Day of Resurrection enters into this peace and blessing, and every male and female disbeliever until the Day of Resurrection enters into this enjoyment and the painful punishment." Abu al-Shaykh narrated from al-Hasan that he said regarding the verse: "Allah, the Almighty, continued to take our share and portion for us, and remembered us from where we do not remember ourselves. Every time a nation perished, He created us in the loins of those who would be saved by His kindness, until He brought us into the best nation produced for mankind."

It is said: the "nations" who are granted enjoyment are the people of Hud, Salih, Lut, and Shu'ayb—peace be upon them—and the "punishment" is what descended upon them. Some exaggerated the generality of "nations" in the first [instance], making it include all the animals that were with him—peace be upon him—for Allah, the Almighty, placed blessing in them. But this is nothing [substantial], as is not hidden.

Here is a subtlety: a single letter is repeated in this verse many times with extreme lightness, and the letter ra (ر) is not repeated like it in the saying: "And the grave of Harb is in a desolate place, and near the grave of Harb there is no grave." And [this is despite] what you see in it [the poet's line] of extreme heaviness and difficulty in pronunciation. To Allah, the Almighty, belongs the nature of the Revelation; how many are its subtleties!