Tafsir of Hud 11:40

{حتى} (Until): This is the particle that initiates a new clause, entering upon a sentence composed of a condition and its consequence.

If you ask: Why is it used as a limit (ghayah)? I say: Because of the phrase "and he was building the ark," meaning: he continued building it until the time of the promised event arrived.

If you ask: If "until" connects to "building," what do you make of the speech between them? I say: It is a state (hal) describing the one building. It is as if he said: He was building it while the state was that whenever a group of his people passed by him, they mocked him.

If you ask: What is the response (jawab) to "whenever" (kullama)? I say: You have two options: Either make "they mocked" the response and "he said" an initiation (isti'naf) in response to an implied question, or make "they mocked" a substitute for "passed" or an adjective for "group," and "he said" the response.

{And your family}: This is conjoined to two [groups], as is {and whoever believed}, meaning: Embark your family and the believers from among others. He excepted from his family those against whom the decree had already been passed that they were among the people of the Fire. This decree was passed only because of the knowledge that he would choose disbelief, not because of a predestination or divine will—God is exalted above that. Al-Dahhak said: He meant his son and his wife.

{Except a few}: It is narrated from the Prophet (peace be upon him) that he said: "They were eight: Noah and his family, his three sons, and their wives." Muhammad ibn Ishaq said: They were ten: five men and five women. It is also said they were seventy-two men and women. Noah’s sons were Sam, Ham, and Yafith, and their wives; the total is seventy-eight: half men and half women.

{In the name of Allah is its course and its anchorage}: This may be interpreted as one statement or two.

• As one statement: "In the name of Allah" connects to "embark" as a state (hal) from the pronoun [in "embark"], meaning: Embark in it while mentioning the name of Allah, or saying "In the name of Allah" at the time of its sailing and at the time of its anchoring. This is either because "sailing" and "anchoring" refer to the time, or because they are verbal nouns (masdar) like "the sailing" and "the anchoring," from which the added time has been omitted, similar to the saying "the setting of the star" or "the arrival of the pilgrim." It is also possible that they refer to the place of sailing and anchoring, with their accusative case derived from the meaning of the verb inherent in "In the name of Allah," or from the implied act of speaking.
• As two statements: "In the name of Allah is its course and its anchorage" is a nominal sentence (mubtada' and khabar) that is muqtadabah (abrupt/independent), meaning: By the name of Allah is its sailing and its anchoring. It is narrated that when he wanted it to sail, he said "In the name of Allah," and it sailed; when he wanted it to anchor, he said "In the name of Allah," and it anchored. It is also permissible for the noun to be redundant, as in the verse: "Then the name of peace be upon you," meaning: By Allah is its sailing and anchoring, i.e., by His power and command.

It is recited as majraha and marsaha with a fatha on the mim, perhaps derived from jara and rasa, either as verbal nouns, times, or places. Mujahid recited it as mujriha and mursiha in the form of an active participle, in the genitive case, as adjectives for Allah.

If you ask: What is the meaning of your saying "an abrupt sentence"? I say: It means that Noah (peace be upon him) commanded them to embark, then informed them that its sailing and anchoring are by the mention of Allah’s name or by His command and power. It is also possible that it is not abrupt, but rather in the position of a state (hal), like the saying: "They came to us with their armor upon us." Thus, it is not a separate sentence, but an extra element of the first sentence. The accusative case of this state is from the pronoun of the ark, as if it were said: "Embark in it, being sailed and anchored by the name of Allah," in the sense of estimation, like His saying: "Enter it, abiding eternally."

{Indeed, my Lord is Forgiving, Merciful}: Were it not for His forgiveness of your sins and His mercy toward you, He would not have saved you.