Hud: (41) And he said, "Board it..."

Verse 41 Analysis

Regarding His saying: {And he said}, meaning Noah (peace be upon him) said to his people: {Board it} (or embark).

• Rukūb (Boarding/Riding): This means ascending upon the back of something. From this comes riding a beast, boarding a ship, sailing the sea, and anything one ascends upon, it is said that one has "ridden" it. It is said, "Debt rode him" (meaning it overwhelmed him). Al-Layth said: The Arabs call one who rides a ship a rākib al-safīnah (ship rider). As for al-Rukkāb and al-Rukb, they refer to those who ride beasts and camels.

• The preposition fī (in): Al-Wāḥidī said that the word {فِيهَا} (fīhā, in it) in {ارْكَبُوا فِيهَا} cannot be a complement to the verb arkabū (board/ride), because one says rakibtu al-safīnah (I boarded the ship) and not rakibtu fī al-safīnah (I boarded in the ship). Rather, the correct interpretation is that the object of arkabū is omitted, meaning: "Board the water in the ship."

• The benefit of fī: Furthermore, the benefit of this addition might be that it commanded them to be inside the Ark, not on its deck. If he had said irkabūhā (Board it), they might have assumed he commanded them to be on the surface of the ship.

Verse 42 Analysis: {بسم الله مجراها ومرساها} (In the name of Allah is its course and its mooring)

This verse contains several issues:

1. Reading of Majrāhā (Its course): Ḥamzah, Al-Kisā’ī, and Ḥafṣ (from ‘Āṣim) recited it with a fatḥah (open vowel) on the mīm (مَجْرَاهَا - majrāhā). The rest recited it with a ḍammah (closed vowel) on the mīm (مُجْرَاهَا - mujrāhā).
2. Reading of Marsāhā (Its mooring): They all agreed on reciting it with a ḍammah on the mīm (مُرْسَاهَا - mursāhā).

• Al-Kashshāf's View: The author of Al-Kashshāf mentioned that Mujāhid recited it as {مُجْرِيَهَا وَمُرْسِيَهَا} (mujriyahā wa mursiyahā), using the active participle form, in the genitive case, as two adjectives describing God Almighty.

• Grammatical Analysis:
  • Al-Wāḥidī stated that {مَجْرَى} (majrā - with fatḥah) is a maṣdar (verbal noun) like ijrā’ (causing to run). Examples include: {رَبِّ أَنزِلْنِي مُنزَلًا مُبَارَكًا} (My Lord, let me land with a blessed landing) and {أَدْخِلْنِي مُدْخَلَ صِدْقٍ وَأَخْرِجْنِي مُخْرَجَ صِدْقٍ} (Admit me with a truthful entrance and bring me forth with a truthful exit).
  • Those who read {مَجْرَاهَا} (majrāhā - with fatḥah) also take it as a maṣdar, similar to jary (running). They support this reading with the verse: {وَهِيَ تَجْرِي بِهِمْ} (And it sailed with them) [Hud: 42]. If it were mujrayhā (causing them to run), the following clause would logically be wa hiya tujrīhim (and it was causing them to run).
  • The argument for the ḍammah reading (مُجْرَاهَا - mujrāhā) is that jārat bihim (it sailed with them) and ajrat-hum (it caused them to run) are close in meaning. When He says {تَجْرِي بِهِمْ} (it sails with them), it is as if He means tujrīhim (it causes them to run).
  • {الْمُرْسَى} (al-mursā) is also a maṣdar like irsā’ (mooring/anchoring). It is said: rasā al-shay’ yarsū (the thing settled/anchored), and others caused it to settle (arsāhu). God says: {وَالْجِبَالَ أَرْسَاهَا} (And the mountains He has firmly fixed) [An-Nāzi‘āt: 32].

• Ibn ‘Abbās’s Interpretation: He meant: It sails by the name of Allah and His power, and it moors by the name of Allah and His power. It is said that when Noah intended for it to sail with them, he would say: {بِسْمِ اللَّهِ}, and it would sail. When he intended for it to moor, he would say: {بِسْمِ اللَّهِ مُرْسَاهَا}, and it would moor.

Scholars mentioned several possibilities for the implied verb governing {بِسْمِ اللَّهِ} (In the name of Allah):

1. "Board in the name of Allah" (Irkabū bismillāh).
2. "Begin in the name of Allah" (Ibda’ū bismillāh).
3. "Its sailing and its mooring are in the name of Allah" (Bismillāhi ijrā’uhā wa irsā’uhā).

• Timing: It is narrated that it sailed on the first day of Rajab, or on the tenth day of Rajab, remaining afloat for six months, and settled on the tenth day of Muḥarram upon Mount Judi.

There are two possibilities for the structure of the verse:

Possibility 1: A Single Statement The entirety of {وَقَالَ ارْكَبُوا فِيهَا بِسْمِ اللَّهِ مَجْرَاهَا وَمَرْسَاهَا} is one continuous statement. The implied meaning is: "And he said, 'Board it with the name of the one in whose name is its course and its mooring.'" Meaning, the boarding must be accompanied by this remembrance.

Possibility 2: Two Separate Statements Noah commanded them to board, and then he informed them that its sailing and mooring are only by the name, command, and power of Allah.

• Meaning of Possibility 1 (Remembrance): This indicates that a person should not embark upon any matter unless, at the time of commencing it, they are mindful of the Name of Allah through sacred remembrances, so that the blessing of that remembrance becomes a means for achieving the intended goal.

• Meaning of Possibility 2 (Reliance): This indicates that when they boarded the ship, Noah informed the people that the ship itself is not the means of salvation. Rather, the heart's attachment and reliance must be placed upon the grace of Allah. He informed them that Allah is the one who causes it to sail and moor. Therefore, beware of relying on the ship; rather, your reliance must be upon the grace of Allah, for He is the one who causes it to sail and moor.

• Noah's State: Under the first interpretation, Noah (PBUH) was in the station of Dhikr (remembrance) when boarding. Under the second interpretation, he was in the station of Fikr (contemplation), declaring his detachment from might and power, cutting off reliance on secondary causes, and immersing his heart in the light of the Majesty of the Cause of causes.

• Contemplation on Seeking Knowledge: Know that when a person contemplates seeking knowledge of God through proof and evidence, it is as if he has sat in the ship of contemplation and reflection. The waves of darkness and misguidance have risen high, reaching the peaks of the highest mountains. When the ship of thought and deliberation begins to move, his reliance must be upon Allah, and his supplication must be directed to God, using the language of the heart and the insight of the intellect, saying: {بِسْمِ اللَّهِ مَجْرَاهَا وَمَرْسَاهَا} (In the name of Allah is its course and its mooring), until the ship of his thought reaches the shore of salvation and is delivered from the waves of misguidance.

The Question: This time was one of destruction and the manifestation of overwhelming power; how is this remembrance appropriate?

The Answer: Perhaps the people who boarded the ship believed that they were saved solely by the blessing of their own knowledge. God Almighty alerted them with this statement to remove that self-admiration from them. For a person is never free from various slips and the darkness of desires, and in all circumstances, he is in need of God's help, grace, and benevolence—that He be Merciful regarding His punishment and Forgiving regarding their sins.

Verse 43: {وَهِيَ تَجْرِي بِهِمْ فِي مَوْجٍ كَالْجِبَالِ وَنَادَى نُوحٌ ابْنَهُ وَكَانَ فِي مَعْزِلٍ يَا بُنَيَّ ارْكَبْ مَعَنَا وَلَا تَكُنْ مَعَ الْكَافِرِينَ * قَالَ سَآوِي إِلَى جَبَلٍ يَعْصِمُنِي مِنَ الْمَاءِ قَالَ لَا عَاصِمَ الْيَوْمَ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّهِ إِلَّا مَنْ رَحِمَ وَحَالَ بَيْنَهُمَا الْمَوْجُ فَكَانَ مِنَ الْمُغْرَقِينَ}

And it sailed with them amidst waves like mountains. And Noah called to his son, who was set apart, "O my son, board with us and do not be with the disbelievers." He said, "I will take refuge on a mountain that will protect me from the water." He said, "There is no protector today from the decree of Allah except for whom He has mercy." And a wave came between them, so he became among the drowned.