Surah Al-Qamar (54): The Ark Running Under Our Eyes, a Recompense...

Verse: {تَجْرِي بِأَعْيُنِنَا جَزَاءً} (Running under Our Eyes, as a recompense...)

Translation/Exegesis: And His saying, the Exalted: {تَجْرِي} (Running) refers to the ship with planks (the Ark) that was moving. And His saying, the Exalted: {بِأَعْيُنِنَا} (Under Our Eyes) means either in Our sight or under Our protection/guardianship, because the eye is the instrument for that, so it is used to signify it.

And His saying, the Exalted: {جَزَاءً لِّمَن كَانَ كُفِرَ} (as a recompense for whom was denied/disbelieved). This has several possible interpretations:

1. It is connected to the preceding statement {حَمَلْنَاهُ} (We carried him/it), meaning: We carried it as a recompense (Jaza'an), i.e., for that carrying to be a recompense for the patience shown regarding their disbelief.
2. It is connected to the description of the Ark: {ذَاتِ أَلْوَاحٍ وَدُسُرٍ تَجْرِي بِأَعْيُنِنَا} (with planks and nails, running under Our Eyes), because this implies Our protection/guardianship. Meaning, We did not let it leave Our sight or Our aid, as a recompense for him.
3. It is connected to the sum total of the preceding actions mentioned: as if He said: We opened the gates of the heaven, and We caused the earth to gush forth as springs, and We carried him (the Ark)—and all of this We did as a recompense (Jaza'an).

We mention this because the recompense (Jaza') would not have occurred except through His protection and saving them, so it was necessary for Jaza'an to be in the accusative case (mansub) as an object of purpose (maf'ul lahu) for these actions. We will now mention the subtleties contained therein in several issues:

Regarding the Heaven, He said: {فَفَتَحْنَا أَبْوَابَ السَّمَاءِ} (So We opened the gates of the heaven) (Al-Qamar: 11), because the heaven is characterized by returning (rain) and has no cracks/fissures. He did not say, "We split the heaven." Regarding the Earth, He said: {وَفَجَّرْنَا الْأَرْضَ عُيُونًا} (And We caused the earth to gush forth as springs) (Al-Qamar: 12), because it is characterized by splitting/cracking.

Since the rain was likened to water emerging from wide, open gates, and He did not say regarding the Earth, "We made seas and rivers flow from the earth," but rather said: {عُيُونًا} (springs)—and what emerges from a spring is less in volume than what emerges from a gate—He stated that the Exalted caused the entire earth to burst forth: {وَفَجَّرْنَا الْأَرْضَ}. This is so that the abundance of the Earth's springs corresponds to the vastness of the Heaven's gates, thus achieving the same effect here through abundance as was achieved there through spaciousness.

When describing the punishment (Wrath), the cause of destruction was mentioned: opening the gates of heaven and causing the earth to burst forth as springs. He alluded to the destruction by His saying: {عَلَىٰ أَمْرٍ قَدْ مُقَدَّرٍ} (according to a matter already decreed) (Al-Qamar: 12), meaning the decree of destruction, without stating it explicitly. When describing the Mercy, the salvation was mentioned explicitly by His saying: {وَحَمَلْنَاهُ} (And We carried him/it), and the means of salvation was alluded to by {ذَاتِ أَلْوَاحٍ} (with planks).

Similarly, in another place, He said: {فَأَخَذَهُمُ الطُّوفَانُ} (So the Flood seized them) (Al-'Ankabut: 14), but He did not say, "So they were destroyed." And He said: {فَأَنجَيْنَاهُ وَأَصْحَابَ السَّفِينَةِ} (So We saved him and the companions of the Ark) (Al-'Ankabut: 15), explicitly mentioning salvation but not explicitly mentioning destruction. This is an indication of the vastness of the Mercy and the utmost generosity. It is as if He means: We created the means of destruction, but if they had returned (to faith), that means would not have harmed them, just as the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Get on board with us, my son." (Hud: 42).

At the time of salvation, He saved him and established a path for salvation, which was the building of the Ark. Even if it had broken, it would not have harmed him, as Allah would save him. Thus, the focus during salvation is the deliverance itself, so the location/means (the Ark) is mentioned. The focus during destruction is to manifest the might, so the cause (the flood/opening gates) is mentioned explicitly.

His saying, the Exalted: {تَجْرِي بِأَعْيُنِنَا} (Running under Our Eyes) is more emphatic than saying "under Our protection" (bi-hifdhina). A speaker might say, "Keep this before your eyes (make it your focus)," but they would not typically say, "Protect this," when seeking emphasis.

{بِأَعْيُنِنَا} (Under Our Eyes) can imply "under Our protection," and this is why it is said that sight (Ru'yah) is the language of the eye.

It was said that this (the salvation) was a recompense for what they disbelieved in, not for his (Noah's) faith and gratitude. Therefore, what he was recompensed with was the reward for his patience concerning their disbelief, while the reward for his gratitude to Us remains.

A variant reading (Qira'ah) exists: {جَزَاءً} (Jaza'an) with a kasra on the jim (Jazā'in), meaning "a reciprocal action" (Mujāzaah), similar to qitāl (fighting) and muqātalah (engaging in fighting).

Another variant reading exists: {لِّمَن كَانَ كُفِرَ} (for whom was denied/disbelieved) with a fath on the Kāf (Kufira).

As for the word {كُفِرَ} (Kufira), there are two interpretations:

1. That Kufira is like Shukira (was thanked), which can be transitive (with a direct object) or intransitive (with a preposition). One says Shakartuhu (I thanked him) or Shakartu lahu (I thanked him/for him). Allah says: {وَاشْكُرُوا لِي وَلَا تَكْفُرُونِ} (And be grateful to Me and do not deny Me) (Al-Baqarah: 152), and He says: {فَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِالطَّاغُوتِ وَيُؤْمِن بِاللَّهِ} (So whoever disbelieves in Taghut and believes in Allah...) (Al-Baqarah: 256).
2. That it is derived from al-Kufr (concealment/denial) and not al-Kufrān (ingratitude). Meaning, a recompense for one who concealed the matter and denied the reality, or one who disbelieved in Him and abandoned the intended manifestation.