Tafsir of Al-Isra 17:69

"Or do you feel secure..."—meaning, are you secure—"that He will return you into it"—that is, into the sea from which He saved you, and from which you turned away by boarding the ship. The pronoun refers to the sea, not the ship, because the latter is feminine. The preposition fi (in) was preferred over ila (to), which merely indicates arrival, to signify their being established and settled within it.

"...another time"—meaning a time other than the first. It is in the accusative case as an adverbial of time, and its plural forms are tarat and tiyar, as in the saying: "He stands at times (tarat) and walks at times (tiyar)." Sometimes they omit the ha (ta'marbuta), as in the saying: "With woe at one time (taran) and destruction at another (taran)." The attribution of the "return" to Him, the Exalted, even though the return is by their own choice and is among the things attributed to them—though it is created by Him, glory be to Him, like all their other actions—is in consideration of His creating the motives within them that compel them to do so. In this, there is an allusion to the extreme intensity of the terror they encountered during the first time, such that if it were not for this "return," they would not have returned.

"...and send upon you..." while you are in the sea, "...a qasif (crushing wind)"—which is a violent wind that breaks what it passes, such as trees and the like, or which has a qasif, meaning a loud, intense sound, as if it were breaking itself. Ibn Jarir and Ibn al-Mundhir recorded from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, that he said: "The qasif from the wind is the wind that causes drowning." It has been said: The wind that destroys on land is the hasib (stone-pelting wind), and the wind that destroys at sea is the qasif. The ‘asif (stormy wind) is the same as the qasif, as narrated from Abdullah ibn Amr; and in a narration from Ibn Abbas, qasif is interpreted as ‘asif. Abu Ja‘far read it as "from the winds" (min al-riyah) in the plural.

"...and drown you"—Allah, the Exalted, through that which the qasif inflicts upon your ship. Abu Ja‘far read it as fatughriqakum (with a ta), attributing the action to the wind. Al-Hasan and Abu Raja read it as fayughriqakum (with a ya), with the ghayn vocalized with fatha and the ra emphasized (shadda). A narration from Abu Ja‘far is the same, except with a ta instead of a ya. Humayd read it with a nun, with the ghayn silent and the qaf assimilated into the kaf. This has also been narrated from Abu ‘Amr and Ibn Muhaysin.

"...for what you disbelieved"—meaning, because of your previous disbelief, which was their turning away when they were saved the first time. It is also said: because of your disbelief, which is your constant habit.

"...then you will not find for yourselves regarding Us an avenger"—meaning a helper, as narrated from Ibn Abbas, or a blood avenger who seeks retribution from Us for what we have done, or one who pursues vengeance on our part. This is like the saying of the Exalted, "And He fears not the consequence thereof." This is as narrated from Mujahid. It is said that the pronoun "it" (bihi) refers to the sending of the wind, or to the drowning, or to both, in light of what occurred and the like, as was indicated. It is as if He, the Exalted, when He made the drowning—upon returning to the sea—a retribution in response to their disbelief, followed it by denying them the finding of an avenger. It is as if it were said: We shall take retribution without there being anyone to stand up for your help. Thus, it is a threat upon a threat. Some have considered the preceding mention—the touching of harm in the sea—to be followed by the denial of finding a guardian (wakil), as if it were said: You will find no one to rely upon to push it away other than Him, the Exalted, because of His saying, the Exalted: "Those you call upon will vanish, except Him." This is the choice of the author of al-Kashshaf, so do not be heedless.