Tafsir of Al-Qamar 54:14

This means within Our sight. It is a metonymy for protection, meaning: it sailed while under Our safeguard and care.

It is also said: by Our guardians, meaning Noah (peace be upon him) and those who believed with him. It is said: "So-and-so is an ‘ayn (eye) of the eyes of Allah the Exalted," meaning a guardian (wali) among His awliya.

Another view: it refers to the springs (a’yun) of water that We caused to gush forth.

Yet another view: it refers to the guardian angels (peace be upon them), whom He labeled "eyes" and attributed to Himself, the Exalted. The first interpretation is the most apparent. Zayd ibn Ali and Abu al-Samal recited it as bi-a’yinna with assimilation.

This means: We did that as a reward for Noah (peace be upon him), for he was a bounty Allah the Exalted bestowed upon his people, yet they denied him. The same applies to every prophet sent by Allah the Exalted to his nation.

It is permissible that the preposition is omitted and the verb is linked to the pronoun, which becomes hidden in the verb after transforming into the nominative case—meaning: for him who was disbelieved in, which is also Noah (peace be upon him), meaning his prophethood was denied; thus, kufr here is the opposite of belief. According to the first interpretation, it means ingratitude for a blessing (kufran al-ni’mah).

From Ibn Abbas and Mujahid, it is narrated that "him" refers to Allah the Exalted, as if it were said: "in anger and victory for Allah the Mighty and Majestic," but this is as you see it [a weak interpretation].

Muslim ibn Muharib recited kufra with the fa quiescent, shortening the verb, as in the saying: "If the ban-tree and musk were squeezed from it, they would be squeezed."

Yazid ibn Ruman, Qatadah, and Isa recited kafara in the active voice. In this reading, "him" refers to the people of Noah (peace be upon him) exclusively. This reading serves as evidence for the occurrence of the past tense without qad as the predicate of kana, which is the position of the Basrans; others argue that qad must be present, either explicitly or implicitly. It is also permitted that kana is pleonastic (extra), as if to say: "a reward for him who disbelieved and did not believe."