Tafsir of Ya seen 36:42

[It refers] to camels, for they are the ships of the land due to how much they carry and their lack of fatigue in travel. Applying the term "ships" to them is common, as it is said: "Ships of the land, and the mirage is their seas." This has been narrated from al-Hasan and Abdullah ibn Shaddad, while Mujahid interpreted it as livestock—camels and others.

From Abu Malik, Abu Salih, and others—and it is also a narration from Ibn Abbas—is that the intended meaning of "the ships" (the ark) is the ship of Noah (peace be upon him), provided the definite article is for the covenant [i.e., referring to a specific, known object]. "That which" (ma) then refers to what you have heard according to some. According to others, it refers to the ships and vessels that existed after that ship.

Carrying their descendants in the ship of Noah (peace be upon him) was raised as a difficulty. The response is that this was by carrying their ancient forefathers, while these [subsequent] people and their descendants were in their loins. Specifying the "descendants," even though they were carried as a consequence, is more eloquent in expressing favor, as it entails the preservation of their lineage. It is also more astonishing, as it entails carrying an uncountable multitude in a single ship, while achieving conciseness; for the apparent [meaning] would have been to say, "We carried them and those with them so that their lineage might remain." Thus, mentioning the descendants indicates the preservation of the lineage, which necessitates the safety of their ancestors. Consequently, a great meaning is indicated by few words.

The Imam said: "In my view, it is possible that the specification [of descendants] is because those present [at the time of the flood] were disbelievers in whose existence there was no benefit; meaning, the carrying was not a carrying of them, but rather a carrying of the believers who were in their loins."

It has been said that the speech contains an omission of a genitive; meaning, "We carried the descendants of their kind," but this is as you see it [to be weak].

It has also been said that the pronoun "for them" refers to the people of Mecca, and the pronoun "their descendants" refers to the past generations from whom they originate. This was related from Ali ibn Sulayman, but it is of no weight. The Imam allowed for the pronoun to refer to the "servants" in the Almighty's saying, "Oh, the regret of the servants," and that it does not intend specific individuals in every instance, but rather is in the manner of "these people killed themselves," meaning they killed one another. So the meaning is: "A sign for every one of them is that We carried the descendants of every one of them," or "the descendants of some of them." This contains a degree of remoteness.

The interpretation of "that which" (ma) as camels and the like from livestock, rather than ships, is favored on the basis that the literal implication of "creation" (khalq) is origination and invention, so it is unlikely to relate to that which is crafted by the hands of servants. This was countered by the fact that the actions of servants are created by Allah (The Almighty) according to the People of Truth, and the [presumption of] the literal implication of "invention" being forbidden is rejected. Upon this view, there is a refutation in the verse against the Mu'tazilah, as was said regarding the Almighty's saying: "And Allah created you and what you do," assuming "what" (ma) is a relative pronoun.

"From" (min) can be for clarification or for partition. Some have permitted its being an extra [particle] based on the view of al-Akhfash.

The apparent meaning is that the second pronoun "for them" returns to that which the first pronoun returned to. It is also permissible for it to return to "the descendants." It is also permissible for the pronoun in "the likes of it" (mithlihi) to return to a known [entity] that is not mentioned, meaning: "The likes of what We mentioned of the created beings in His saying—Glorified be He—'Exalted is He who created all pairs from what the earth grows.'" This is even more remote.

Be that as it may, the relevance of this verse to the Almighty's saying, "All in an orbit are swimming," is not hidden. It was not presented in the style of its counterparts—by saying, "And a sign for them is the ship; We carried their descendants in it," as the Almighty said, "And a sign for them is the dead land; We have brought it to life," and "And a sign for them is the night; We strip the day from it"—because the ship itself is not the wonder; rather, the carrying of them within it is the wonder.

Nafi', Ibn Amir, al-A'mash, Zayd ibn Ali, and Aban ibn Uthman read it as "dhurriyatihim" (descendants—plural). Zayd and Aban vocalized the dhal with a kasra.