Tafsir of Al-An'am 6:63

That is to say: Say unto them as a confirmation of the inferiority of their associates, such that they fall below the rank of divinity. The intended meaning of the "darkness of the land and the sea," as narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), is their severities and terrors which nullify the senses and astound the minds. The Arabs, as Al-Zajjaj said, refer to a day in which one encounters hardship as a "dark day," to the extent that they say: "A day possessing stars," meaning a day whose darkness has intensified until it becomes like the night. One poet recited:

O Banu Asad, do you know our trial, When the day is gray and possesses stars?

Among the ancient proverbs is: "He saw the stars at midday," meaning his day became dark for him due to the intensity of the matter, as if he saw the stars while it was daylight. From this is the saying of Tarafa: "If you attempt to reach it, it may prevent you, and show you the star moving at midday."

It has been said: The intended meaning is the darkness of the night, the darkness of the clouds, and the darkness of the sea. It has also been said: The darkness of the land is by being swallowed up within it, and the darkness of the sea is by drowning in it. The word "darkness" (in the first interpretation) is, as has been said, a metaphor, while in the latter two it is literal. Some have made it a metonymy for being swallowed up or drowning; the discussion regarding metonymy is known. Those who permit the combination of the literal and the metaphorical interpret "darkness" as the darkness of the night, the clouds, the sea, being lost in the wilderness, and fear.

Ya‘qub and Sahl read yunajjikum (delivereth you) with the light form (from inja’), and the meaning is the same. The saying of the Almighty, (Calling upon Him), is in the position of a state (hal) for the object of yunajjikum, as Abu al-Baqa said. The pronoun refers to Him; that is: "Who delivereth you from them, while you are calling upon Him." It is also permitted that it be a state for the subject (the One who delivers); that is: "Who delivers you from them, while He is being called upon by you."

(In humility and in secret), meaning openly and privately, as has been narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) and Al-Hasan. It is in the accusative case as an infinitive (adverbial), or it is interpreted as having an omitted preposition. Openness and secrecy may refer to what is done with the tongue, or it may refer to what is done with both the tongue and the heart. It is also permitted that they be in the accusative case as a state for the subject of tad’unahu (you call), meaning: "You calling upon Him, while being open and while being secretive."

Abu Bakr, narrating from ‘Asim, read khifyah with a kasrah on the kha’; it is a dialectal variant, like iswah and uswah.

His saying, the Almighty: (If You deliver us from this), is in the position of an accusative for an implied verb of saying, which also functions as a state for the subject of tad’unahu; that is: "Saying: If You deliver us..." The Kufans deduce this by what indicates the meaning of saying, such as tad’unahu, without an explicit implication; however, the correct view is that it is implied. It has been said that the oath-like sentence is an explanation of the "calling," and thus has no grammatical position. The people of Kufa read anjana (He delivered us) in the third person, observing the state of tad’unahu rather than narrating their direct address while in the state of supplication. However, ‘Asim read it with the heavy vowel (tafkhim), and the others with imalah (inclination of the vowel).

His saying, the Almighty: (From this), is a reference to that which they are in, expressed as "the darknesses."

(We shall surely be of the thankful), meaning those who are steadfast in gratitude and consistent in it, due to this momentous favor, or [due to] all favors of which this is but one part.