Tafsir of Al-Anbiya' 21:87

{And Dhu al-Nun, when...}

{Al-Nun}: The whale; he was attributed to it. He became weary of his people because of the length of time he had reminded them, yet they did not remember and persisted in their disbelief. So, he left them in anger (muraghiman), thinking that this was permissible since he had only done so out of anger for the sake of God, zeal for His religion, and hatred for disbelief and its people. However, it was incumbent upon him to persevere and await permission from God to emigrate from them, so he was tested by the belly of the whale.

The meaning of his anger toward his people is that he angered them by leaving them, for they feared that punishment would descend upon them at that moment. Abu Sharaf read it as mughdiban (one who is angered).

Regarding {nuqaddira} (that We would not restrict/decree): It is read as nuqaddira (with a shadda) and naqdiru (without a shadda), as well as yuqaddaru (with a ya, without a shadda), yuqaddiru, and yuqaddaru (passive, with and without a shadda). It has been interpreted as "restricting him" and "God decreeing a punishment upon him."

It is narrated from Ibn Abbas that he entered upon Mu'awiyah and said: "The waves of the Quran struck me last night and I drowned in them, finding no escape except through you." He asked, "What is it, O Ibn Abbas?" He recited this verse and said: "Does the Prophet of God think that We would not have power (qudra) over him?" He replied: "This is from al-qadar (decree), not from al-qudra (power)."

The version without the shadda (naqdiru) can be interpreted as al-qudra (power), meaning: "We would not exercise Our power over him." It may also be a form of metaphorical representation, meaning: his state was like the state of one who thought that We would not restrict him in his anger toward his people, without waiting for God’s command. It is possible that this thought crossed his mind due to the whisperings of Satan, then he was restrained and brought back by proof, just as the true believer does with the promptings of Satan and what he whispers at all times. From this is His saying: {And you thought about God [various] thoughts} (Al-Ahzab: 10), and the address is to the believers.

{In the darknesses}: That is, in the intense, dense darkness within the belly of the whale, like His saying: {God took away their light and left them in darknesses} (Al-Baqarah: 17), and His saying: {He brings them out of light into darknesses} (Al-Baqarah: 257). It is said: the darknesses of the belly of the whale, the sea, and the night. It is also said: a larger whale swallowed his whale, so he ended up in the two darknesses of the bellies of the two whales and the darkness of the sea.

{That there is no deity except You}: Or it is in the sense of "O" (calling upon Him). From the Prophet (peace be upon him): "No distressed person calls upon God with this supplication except that it is answered for him." Al-Hasan said: "By God, nothing saved him except his admission of wrongdoing against himself."

{So We responded to him and saved him from the distress. And thus do We save the believers.}