Tafsir of Hud 11:42

"And it sailed with them..."

Question: To what is the phrase "And it sailed with them" connected?

Answer: It is connected to an omitted element indicated by the command, "Embark therein, in the name of Allah" (Hud: 41). It is as if it were said: "So they embarked therein, saying, 'In the name of Allah,' and it sailed with them," meaning it sailed while they were inside it.

"Amidst waves like mountains" This refers to the waves of the Flood. He likens each wave to a mountain in its density and height.

Question: Waves are what rise above the water when it is agitated and roaring. Since the waters had already met and covered everything between the heaven and the earth, and the Ark was sailing within the body of the water like a fish swimming, what is the meaning of it sailing "amidst the waves"?

Answer: This occurred before the waters had fully converged and before the Flood had submerged the mountains. Do you not see the words of his son: "I will betake myself to a mountain that will save me from the water"?

Regarding the son: It is said his name was Canaan, and it is said it was Yam. Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) recited it as ibnaha (her son), with the pronoun referring to his wife. Muhammad ibn Ali and Urwah ibn al-Zubayr recited it as ibnah (her son), with a fatha on the ha, intending ibnaha (her son), using the fatha as a substitute for the alif. This supports the view of al-Hasan.

Qatadah said: "I asked him, and he said: 'By Allah, he was not his son.' I said: 'But Allah relates that he said, "My son is of my family," and you say he was not his son? The People of the Book do not differ that he was his son.' He replied: 'Who takes their religion from the People of the Book?'" He argued based on the verse, "of my family" (Hud: 45), noting he did not say "of me."

There are two interpretations for his attribution to his mother:

1. That he was his stepson, like Umar ibn Abi Salamah was to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).
2. That he was born of an illicit union, but this is a deficiency from which the Prophets (peace be upon them) are protected.

Al-Suddi recited: "And Noah called out to his son" (ya bunayya) as an expression of lamentation and mourning, meaning: "O my son."

"In a secluded place" (fi ma'zil) Ma'zil is a noun of place from the root 'azala (to isolate/remove). It means he was in a place where he had isolated himself from his father and from the vessel of the believers. It is also said he was isolated from his father's religion.

"O my son" (ya bunayya) It is recited with a kasra on the ya (as a substitute for the ya of possession), and with a fatha (as a substitute for the alif that replaces the ya of possession, as in ya bunayya). It is also possible the ya and alif were dropped due to the meeting of two quiescent letters, as the ra following them is quiescent.

"Except those on whom He has mercy" This means the Merciful One, who is Allah the Exalted. Or, "There is no protector today from the Flood except those on whom Allah has mercy," meaning: except the place of those whom Allah has shown mercy among the believers. He was "Forgiving, Merciful" to them in His saying: "Indeed, my Lord is Forgiving, Merciful" (Hud: 41).

When he made the mountain a protector against the water, He said to him: "There is no protector today—no mountain or the like—that can protect you, except for one protector: the place of those whom Allah has shown mercy and saved," meaning the Ark.

It is also said "no protector" (la 'asim) means "no one possessing protection" (la dha 'isma), except those whom Allah has shown mercy, similar to the phrases "gushing water" (ma' dafiq) and "a pleasing life" ('isha radiya).

It is also said that "except those on whom He has mercy" is an interrupted exception (istithna' munqati'), as if to say: "But whoever Allah has shown mercy to, he is the protected one," similar to the verse: "They have no knowledge of it, except the following of conjecture" (An-Nisa: 157). It has also been recited in the passive voice (illa man ruhiima).