Surah Al-Isra: Verses (66 - 69)

Your Lord is He Who makes the ships sail...

Know that the Almighty has returned to mentioning the proofs indicating His Power, Wisdom, and Mercy. We have previously stated that the primary objective in this Noble Book is to establish the proofs of Monotheism (Tawhid). Thus, when the discourse extends in one section, it returns afterward to mentioning the proofs of Tawhid. What is mentioned here are the aspects derived from the blessings concerning the conditions of seafaring.

This is His saying: {Your Lord is He Who makes the ships sail for you in the sea} (17:66).

• Yuzji (يزجي) means to drive something gradually, step by step. We have explained this previously in the exegesis of the verse: {a meager commodity} (Surah Yusuf, 12:59).
• The meaning is: Your Lord is He Who causes the ships to move upon the surface of the sea so that you may seek His bounty through trade. Indeed, He has always been Merciful to you.
• The address in {Your Lord} and {Indeed, He has always been} is general, encompassing all people. The Mercy intended here refers to the benefits and welfare of this world.

This is His saying: {And when distress touches you at sea} (17:67).

• "Distress" (al-ḍurr) here means intense fear, such as the fear of drowning.
• {vanished are those whom you invoke except Him}. This means that in that state, a person does not supplicate to idols, the sun, the moon, angels, or the ships themselves. He supplicates only to Allah Almighty.
• When He saves you from drowning and the sea and brings you safely to the land, you turn away from faith and sincerity: {And man is ever ungrateful} (17:67). This is because when in hardship, he clings to His grace and mercy, but when in ease and comfort, he turns away from Him and clings to others.

This involves His saying: {Do you then feel secure that He will not cause a part of the land to sink with you} (17:68).

• Al-Layth said that khasf (خسف) and khusūf (خسوف) mean the sinking of something into something else. It is said of an eye that is khāsifah (خاسفة) when its pupil has sunk into the socket, and of a spring of water that is khāsifah when its water is sunken/recessed. The sun is said to be khusifat when it becomes veiled, as if it has fallen behind a screen or entered a hole.
• Therefore, {that He will not cause a part of the land to sink with you} means He will not cause you to disappear from the side of the land (the earth). He specified "the side of the land" because the sea was mentioned in the previous verse, making the sea one side and the land another side.
• This is a divine warning that just as He is capable of submerging them in water, He is also capable of submerging them in the earth. Drowning is submersion under water, just as sinking (khasf) is submersion under the soil.
• The context is: Allah mentioned in the first verse that they feared the terror of the sea. When He saved them from it, they felt secure. He then asks: Suppose you were saved from the terror of the sea, how can you feel secure from the land? For Allah is capable of inflicting upon you the calamities of the land, either from below or from above.
  • From below, it is through sinking (khasf).
  • From above, it is by raining stones upon them, which is meant by {Or send against you a shower of stones} (17:68).
• Just as they supplicate only to Allah when sailing, they must supplicate only to Him in all circumstances.
• The meaning of ḥaṣb (حصب) in the language is throwing. It is said: ḥaṣabtu aḥṣabu ḥaṣban if one throws. Al-ḥaṣab (الحصب) is what is thrown. Hence His saying: {the fuel of Hell} (ḥaṣab jahannam), meaning they will be thrown into it.
• The meaning of {a shower of stones} (ḥāṣiban) is a punishment that strikes them (yaḥṣibuhum), meaning He throws stones at them. The wind that carries dust and gravel is called ḥāṣibah (حاصبة), and the cloud that throws snow and hail is called ḥāṣibah because it throws them forcefully.
• Al-Zajjaj said: Al-Ḥāṣib is dust containing gravel. On this basis, al-Ḥāṣib (the one throwing) is like al-lābin (the one throwing milk) or al-tāmir (the one throwing dates).
• {Then you will not find for yourselves any agent} (17:68). This means you will not find a helper to aid you and protect you from the punishment of Allah.
• Then He said: {Or do you feel secure that He will return you to it [the sea] once more} (17:69).
• {and send against you a devastating wind} (qāṣifan). Qāṣif means shattering or breaking. It is said: qaṣafa al-shay’a yaṣifuhu qaṣfan if one breaks something severely. Al-qāṣif of the wind is that which breaks trees. Here, He means a violent wind that shatters the ships and drowns them.
• {and drown you because of your disbelief} (17:69). Meaning, because of your disbelief.
• {Then you will not find for yourselves against Us any avenger} (17:69). Al-Zajjaj said: This means you will not find anyone to follow up with Us to deny what has befallen you by turning it away from you. Tabī‘ means follower.

Know that this verse contains five terms: {that He will sink} (nakhsifa), {or send} (nursila), {or return you} (nu‘īdakum).

• Ibn Kathir and Abu ‘Amr read all five with the first-person plural pronoun (Nun: ن), i.e., "We."
• The rest of the reciters read them with the third-person singular pronoun (Ya’: ي), i.e., "He."

The justification for reading with Ya’ (He) is that what precedes it is in the third-person singular absent form, such as {whom you invoke except Him} (17:67) and {when He saves you} (17:67).

The justification for reading with Nun (We) is that this section of speech sometimes shifts its perspective, which is permissible because the meaning remains the same. Do you not see that He said: {And We made it a guidance for the Children of Israel. [And commanded:] Take no guardian besides Me} (17:7), where the discourse shifts from plural to singular? Similarly here, it is permissible to shift from the third person (absent) to the first person (addressed), as the meaning is identical, and both readings are valid. And Allah knows best.

| Surah Al-Isra (17): 66 - 69

{Your Lord is He Who makes the ships sail for you in the sea that you may seek of His bounty. Indeed, He has always been Merciful to you.} (17:66)

{And when distress touches you at sea, vanished are those whom you invoke except Him. But when He delivers you to the land, you turn away. And man is ever ungrateful.} (17:67)

{Do you then feel secure that He will not cause a part of the land to sink with you or send against you a shower of stones? Then you will not find for yourselves any agent.} (17:68)

{Or do you feel secure that He will not return you to it [the sea] once more and send against you a devastating wind and drown you because of your disbelief? Then you will not find for yourselves against Us any avenger.} (17:69)

| Surah Al-Isra (17): 70

{And We have certainly honored the children of Adam and carried them on the land and sea and provided for them of the good things and preferred them over many of those whom We have created with [definite] preference.} (17:70)