Tafsir of Hud 11:42-43

Surah Hud (11:42-43)

{وَهِيَ تَجْرِي بِهِمْ فِي مَوْجٍ كَالْجِبَالِ} (And it sailed with them through waves like mountains)

There are several points concerning this verse:

Issue 1: The phrase {وَهِيَ تَجْرِي بِهِمْ} (And it sailed with them) is connected to an implied preceding statement.

• The implied meaning is: "And he said, 'Embark in it,' so they embarked in it, saying, 'In the Name of Allah, while it sailed with them through waves like mountains.'"

Issue 2: Great waves only occur when strong, violent storms arise.

• This indicates that a severe, violent wind occurred at that time.
• The purpose here is to clarify the intensity of the terror and fright.

Issue 3: Sailing in the wave (i.e., inside the trough of the wave) would cause sinking.

• The intended meaning is that when the waves surrounded the Ark from all sides, the Ark was likened to something sailing within those waves (i.e., completely enveloped by them).

Then, Allah the Exalted recounts that Noah called out to his son. This involves several issues:

Issue 1: There is a difference of opinion regarding whether this person was truly his son. There are several views:

The First View: He was his actual son.

• Evidence: Allah explicitly stated it by saying {وَنَادَىٰ نُوحٌ ابْنَهُ} (And Noah called his son), and Noah also confirmed it by saying {يَا بُنَيَّ} (O my son). To interpret this word to mean "one he raised" and thus call him "son" is to divert the speech from its literal meaning to a metaphor without necessity, which is impermissible.
• Those who oppose this apparent meaning do so because they find it unlikely that the son of an infallible Prophet would be a disbeliever. This is a weak objection, as it is established that the father of our Prophet (peace be upon him) was a disbeliever, and the father of Abraham (peace be upon him) was a disbeliever, according to the explicit text of the Qur'an.
• Those who hold this view also debated: Since Noah said, {رَبِّ لَا تَذَرْ عَلَى الْأَرْضِ مِنَ الْكَافِرِينَ دَيَّارًا} (My Lord, leave not upon the earth from among the disbelievers a single inhabitant), how could he call out to his son while he was a disbeliever?
  • Answers to this:
    1. He was feigning faith to his father (hypocritical), so Noah thought he was a believer, which is why he called out to him, otherwise he would not have wished for his salvation.
    2. The Prophet (peace be upon him) knew he was a disbeliever, but he hoped that upon witnessing the drowning and the great horrors, the son would accept faith. Thus, his statement {يَا بُنَيَّ ارْكَب مَّعَنَا} (O my son, embark with us) implies a call for him to accept faith, reinforced by {وَلَا تَكُن مَّعَ الْكَافِرِينَ} (and do not be with the disbelievers), meaning, do not follow them in disbelief, but embark with us.
    3. Perhaps the compassion of fatherhood compelled him to make that call. What preceded regarding {إِلَّا مَن سَبَقَ عَلَيْهِ الْقَوْلُ} (except one against whom the Word has already passed) was like a general statement, and perhaps Noah (PBUH) thought that his son might not be included in that decree.

The Second View: He was the son of his wife (i.e., his stepson). This is the view of Muhammad ibn Ali al-Baqir and Hasan al-Basri.

• It is narrated that Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) recited {وَنَادَىٰ نُوحٌ ابْنَهُ} (Noah called his son) with the pronoun referring to his wife. Muhammad ibn Ali and 'Urwah ibn al-Zubayr recited {نُوحٌ ابْنَهُ} (Noah his son) with a fathah on the ha' (meaning the son of his wife), but they sufficed with the fathah instead of the alif.
• Qatadah asked Hasan about it, and Hasan replied, "By Allah, he was not his son." Qatadah said, "But Allah recounts that he said, {إِنَّ ابْنِي مِنْ أَهْلِي} (Indeed, my son is of my family), and you say he was not his son?" Hasan replied, "He did not say 'he is from me,' but rather 'from my family,' and this supports my view."

The Third View: He was born on his bed from an adulterous union.

• Those who hold this view cite the verse regarding the wives of Noah and Lot: {فَخَانَتَاهُمَا} (so they betrayed them both). This is an objectionable view that must be rejected as it compromises the high status of the Prophets, especially since it contradicts the explicit text of the Qur'an.
• As for the verse {فَخَانَتَاهُمَا}, it does not specify that the betrayal occurred through the means they mentioned. When Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) was asked about the nature of that betrayal, he said: The wife of Noah used to say, "My husband is mad," and the wife of Lot used to inform people about his guests when they arrived.
• The decisive proof against this doctrine is Allah's statement: {الْخَبِيثَاتُ لِلْخَبِيثِينَ وَالْخَبِيثُونَ لِلْخَبِيثَاتِ وَالطَّيِّبَاتُ لِلطَّيِّبِينَ وَالطَّيِّبُونَ لِلطَّيِّبَاتِ} (Impure women are for impure men, and impure men are for impure women. And pure women are for pure men, and pure men are for pure women). Also, {الزَّانِي لَا يَنكِحُ إِلَّا زَانِيَةً أَوْ مُشْرِكَةً وَالزَّانِيَةُ لَا يَنكِحُهَا إِلَّا زَانٍ أَوْ مُشْرِكٌ وَحُرِّمَ ذَٰلِكَ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ} (The adulterer marries not except an adulteress or a polytheist, and the adulteress, none marries her except an adulterer or a polytheist, and that has been forbidden to the believers).
• In summary, we have demonstrated that the truth lies with the First View.

As for {وَكَانَ فِي مَعْزِلٍ} (and he was in a place of retreat/isolation):

• In the language, al-ma'zal means a place separated from others. Its root is al-'azl, which means setting aside or distancing. One says, "I was bi-ma'zil from such-and-such," meaning, in a place that was isolated from it.
• The phrase {وَكَانَ فِي مَعْزِلٍ} does not specify what he was isolated from. Therefore, scholars mentioned several interpretations:
  1. He was isolated from the Ark, perhaps because he believed the mountain would protect him from drowning.
  2. He was isolated from his father, brothers, and people.
  3. He was isolated from the disbelievers, as if he separated himself from them. Noah (PBUH) thought this isolation was because he preferred to part ways with them.

Regarding {يَا بُنَيَّ ارْكَب مَّعَنَا وَلَا تَكُن مَّعَ الْكَافِرِينَ} (O my son, embark with us and do not be with the disbelievers):

• Hafs, from 'Asim, recited {يَا بُنَيَّ} (O my son) with a fathah on the ya' throughout the Qur'an, while others recited it with a kasrah.
• Abu Ali stated that the kasrah is the preferred reading. This is because the lam of ibn (son) is either a ya' or a waw. When diminutive form is used, the ya' of diminution is added. Thus, the omitted lam must be restored, otherwise the ya' of diminution would have to take the case endings. However, it cannot take case endings because if it did, it would transform like other long and soft letters when they are grammatical particles (like 'asa or qafa). If it transformed, its indication of diminution would be lost. Furthermore, if you add the ya' of addition (for the first person), three *ya'*s would accumulate: one for diminution, one for the verb's lam, and one for addition. This results in bunayya. When you call him, there are two possibilities: affirming the ya' or omitting it. The preferred option is to omit the ya' of addition and retain the kasrah as an indication of it, similar to ya ghulam.
• Whoever recites {يَا بُنَيَّ} with a fathah intended addition just like the one who recited with a kasrah, but he substituted the fathah for the kasrah and the alif for the ya' as a form of lightening, resulting in ya bunayya, similar to the line:

  "O daughter of 'Amma, do not blame and stay awake." Then the alif is omitted for lightening.

When Allah the Exalted recounted that Noah (PBUH) invited him to board the Ark, He recounted the son's reply: {سَآوِي إِلَىٰ جَبَلٍ يَعْصِمُنِي مِنَ الْمَاءِ} (I will take refuge on a mountain that will protect me from the water).

• This indicates that the son was persistent in his disbelief, obstinate, and disbelieving of what his father informed him.
• At this point, Noah (PBUH) said: {لَا عَاصِمَ الْيَوْمَ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّهِ إِلَّا مَن رَّحِمَ} (There is no protector today from the command of Allah except for whom He has mercy).
• A question arises here: The one whom Allah has mercy upon is protected (infallible). How is it appropriate to make an exception of the protected one from the Protector (the one who protects), as in {لَا عَاصِمَ الْيَوْمَ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّهِ} (There is no protector today from the command of Allah)?
• Scholars provided many ways to answer this:

The First Way: Allah said before this verse: {وَقَالَ ارْكَبُوا فِيهَا بِسْمِ اللَّهِ مَجْرَاهَا وَمُرْسَاهَا إِنَّ رَبِّي لَغَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ} (And He said, "Embark in it. In the Name of Allah is its course and its mooring. Indeed, my Lord is Forgiving and Merciful").

• Thus, Allah clarified that He is Merciful, and by His Mercy, He will save those who board the Ark from the calamity of drowning.
• Knowing this, when Noah's son said, "I will take refuge on a mountain that will protect me from the water," Noah (PBUH) replied, "You have erred: {لَا عَاصِمَ الْيَوْمَ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّهِ إِلَّا مَن رَّحِمَ}."
• The meaning is: Except for that one whom I mentioned, whom Allah will save by His Mercy from drowning. The meaning of the verse becomes: There is no protector today from the command of Allah except the Merciful One (Allah). Or, there is no escape from Allah except to Allah, which is similar to the Prophet's supplication: "I seek refuge in You from You." This is an excellent interpretation.

The Second Way (Interpretation): Mentioned by the author of Ḥall al-'Uqad. This exception is made from an implied subject that is understood from the context.

• The meaning is: There is no protector today for anyone from the command of Allah except for the one upon whom mercy is shown. This is like saying, "We will not strike today except Zayd," meaning, "We will not strike anyone except Zayd," but the explicit mention of "anyone" is omitted because the context implies it.

The Third Way (Interpretation): The word {لَا عَاصِمَ} means "no possessor of protection" (like rāmiḥ meaning possessor of a spear, or lābān meaning possessor of milk). Allah says {مِن مَّاءٍ دَافِقٍ} (from a forcefully ejected fluid) and {عِيشَةً رَّاضِيَةً} (a pleasing life).

• Thus, here, the Protector (al-'āṣim) means the possessor of protection (dhū al-'iṣmah). The protected one (al-maḥmūm) is included in this category, making the exception {إِلَّا مَن رَّحِمَ} valid.

The Fourth Way: {لَا عَاصِمَ الْيَوْمَ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّهِ إِلَّا مَن رَّحِمَ} means: Except for the one whom He has caused to be merciful to himself (i.e., the one who sought refuge in Allah's mercy).

• This refers to Noah and his company, whom Allah specifically favored with His Mercy. The meaning is: There is no protector for you except Allah, meaning that through Him, the Mercy of Allah is attained, just as bringing the dead to life was attributed to Jesus (PBUH) in {وَرَسُولًا إِلَىٰ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ} (and a messenger to the Children of Israel), because the bringing to life occurred through his supplication.

The Fifth Way: The phrase {إِلَّا مَن رَّحِمَ} is a disconnected exception (istithnā' munqaṭi').

• The meaning is: But the one whom Allah has shown mercy to is protected. This is analogous to {مَّا لَهُم بِهِ مِنْ عِلْمٍ إِلَّا اتِّبَاعَ الظَّنِّ} (They have no knowledge of it except conjecture).
• Furthermore, Allah clarified that {وَحَالَ بَيْنَهُمَا الْمَوْجُ} (And the wave came between them), meaning, because of this separation, he was excluded from Noah's address, and thus {فَكَانَ مِنَ الْمُغْرَقِينَ} (so he was among the drowned).

{وَقِيلَ يَا أَرْضُ ابْلَعِي مَاءَكِ وَيَا سَمَاءُ أَقْلِعِي وَغِيضَ الْمَاءُ وَقُضِيَ الْأَمْرُ وَاسْتَوَتْ عَلَى الْجُودِيِّ وَقِيلَ بُعْدًا لِّلْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ} (And it was said, "O earth, swallow your water," and "O sky, withhold [your rain]," and the water subsided. And the command was fulfilled, and it settled upon the [mountain of] Judi. And it was said, "A far removal for the wrongdoing people.")