Tafsir of Ash-Shura 42:33

"If He wills, He stills the wind" — that is, the wind by which the ships sail. He eliminates the cause of its surging, which is the condensation of air in the location to which it has blown, with parts of it accumulating upon others. The cause of this condensation is either a decrease in the air temperature, causing its expansion to diminish so that it contracts, condenses, and leaves most of the space it previously occupied vacant; or a sudden gathering that occurs in the vapors dispersed in the air, leaving their place empty. This, according to what has been said, is the strongest of the causes. When the air finds a vacuum before it due to this, it rushes with force to occupy it, thus creating wind, which continues until the space is filled. What has been mentioned regarding the cause of the surging is what the philosophers of the current era have stated; as for the predecessors, they mentioned other things. Perhaps there are causes beyond all of this that none knows except Allah, the Exalted and Majestic. Asserting the existence of causes for movement and stillness does not contradict the attribution of events to the Choosing Agent—may His majesty be glorified and His bounty be universal.

Nafi’ read it as al-riyah (winds) in the plural. "And they remain stationary upon its surface"—meaning, they become fixed upon the surface of the sea, that is, non-running, though not necessarily devoid of any movement at all. Some interpreted "remain" (yazlalan) as "they continue," with "stationary" (rawakid) as the first state. Qatada read "remain" (yazlilan) with a kasra on the lam, whereas the analogy is for it to be with a fatha, because the past tense has a kasra on the middle letter, and thus the kasra in the imperfect tense is irregular. Al-Zamakhshari said: It is from zalla and yazillu, and the kasra is like dalla—yadullu and yadillu. Abu Hayyan countered this, stating it is not as he mentioned, because yadallu with a fatha is from dalilta (with a kasra), and yadillu with a kasra is from zalilta (with a fatha), and both are analogical.

"Indeed, in that"—that is, what was mentioned regarding the ships subjected in the sea under His command, glory be to Him, and according to His will—"are signs"—great and many, testifying to the greatness of His affairs, may He be exalted—"for every patient, grateful one."

For every one who restrains their self from turning toward what is improper and commits their concern to contemplating the signs of Allah Almighty and reflecting upon His favors, glory be to Him. Patience here is a specific restraint for the purpose of examining His favors; gratitude [is the other]. It is also permissible that these two qualities serve as a metonym for the perfect believer, for faith is half patience and half gratitude. The Imam mentioned that the believer is never devoid of being in either prosperity or adversity; if they are in adversity, they are among the patient, and if they are in prosperity, they are among the grateful.