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Tafsir

Scholarly commentary explaining a verse — its context, its meaning and how the scholars have understood it.

Hud 11:41

Word by word

۞ وَقَالَ ٱرْكَبُوا۟ فِيهَا بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ مَجْر۪ىٰهَا وَمُرْسَىٰهَآ ۚ إِنَّ رَبِّى لَغَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

And [Noah] said, "Embark therein; in the name of Allāh [are] its course and its anchorage. Indeed, my Lord is Forgiving and Merciful."

Ibn Kathir (Abridged) English Ma'arif al-Qur'an English Tafsir Muyassar Arabic Tafsir Ibn Kathir Arabic All sources

Ibn Kathir (Abridged)

Hafiz Ibn Kathir

The beginning of the Flood and Nuh loads Every Creature in Pairs upon the Ship

This was the promise of Allah to Nuh , when the command of Allah came, the rain was continuous and there was a severe storm which did not slacken or subside, as Allah said, فَفَتَحْنَآ أَبْوَبَ السَّمَآءِ بِمَاءٍ مُّنْهَمِرٍ - وَفَجَّرْنَا الاٌّرْضَ عُيُوناً فَالْتَقَى المَآءُ عَلَى أَمْرٍ قَدْ قُدِرَ - وَحَمَلْنَاهُ عَلَى ذَاتِ أَلْوَحٍ وَدُسُرٍ - تَجْرِى بِأَعْيُنِنَا جَزَآءً لِّمَن كَانَ كُفِرَ (So We opened the gates of the heaven with water pouring forth. And We caused springs to gush forth from the earth. So the waters (of the heaven and the earth) met for a matter predestined. And We carried him on a (ship) made of planks and nails. Floating under Our Eyes: a reward for him who had been rejected!)54:11-14 In reference to Allah's statement, وَفَارَ التَّنُّورُ(and the oven gushed forth.) It is related from Ibn `Abbas that he said, "At-Tannur is the face of the earth." This verse means that the face of the earth became gushing water springs. This continued until the water gushed forth from the Tananir, which are places of fire.

Therefore, water even gushed from the places where fire normally would be. This is the opinion of the majority of the Salaf (predecessors) and the scholars of the Khalaf (later generations). At this point, Allah commanded Nuh to select one pair from every kind of creature possessing a soul, and load them on the ship. Some said that this included other creatures as well, such as pairs of plants, male and female. It has also been said that the first of the birds to enter the ship was the parrot, and the last of the animals to enter was the donkey. Concerning Allah's statement, وَأَهْلَكَ إِلاَّ مَن سَبَقَ عَلَيْهِ الْقَوْلُ(and your family -- except him against whom the Word has already gone forth) This means, "Load your family upon the ship." This is referring to the members of his household and his relatives, except him against whom the Word has already gone forth, for they did not believe in Allah. Among them was the son of Nuh, Yam, who went in hermitage. Among them was the wife of Nuh who was a disbeliever in Allah and His Messenger.

Concerning Allah's statement, وَمَنْ ءَامَنَ(and those who believe.) from your people. وَمَآ ءَامَنَ مَعَهُ إِلاَّ قَلِيلٌ(And none believed with him, except a few.) This means that only a very small number believed, even after the long period of time that he (Nuh) was among them -- nine hundred and fifty years. It is reported from Ibn `Abbas that he said, "They were eighty people including their women."

Ma'arif al-Qur'an

Mufti Muhammad Shafi

Commentary

Etiquette of boarding boats and other modes of conveyance

The first verse (41) teaches the etiquette of boarding boats and other modes of conveyance. One should board by saying: بِسْمِ اللَّـهِ مَجْرَ‌اهَا وَمُرْ‌سَاهَا (With the name of Allah it sails and anchors). The word: مجرے (majra pronounced according to the reading (qira'ah) of Imam Hafs as ` majray' with fathah on the letter mim and a major Imalah [ inclination ] on the letter ra) means to sail or to move, and مرسی (mursa) means to stop or anchor. The sense is that the moving of this mode of transport owes itself to the power of Allah, and is with His name alone, as well as its stopping which is also subservient to nothing but His power.

Every conveyance moves and stops only with the power of Allah Ta` ala

Even a little thought would show that no conveyance, a boat or any other mode of transport that moves on land (or flies in the air) is really within one's own power, neither its creating and making, nor its moving and stopping. A shallow view of things leads man to assume that he is the one who has manufactured it and made it move. The reality lies elsewhere. It does not take much to realize that man has not created iron, wood, brass, aluminum etc. which serve as raw material that go into the making of these modes of conveyance. And it is also clear that it does not lie in his control to create on his own a gram of iron or a foot of wood. Then, who gave them the intelligence to design and pro-duce all sorts of mechanical parts and instruments? How did he do that? Did he create his own intelligence? Had it been within the power of man, no one in this wide world would have remained dumb. Everyone would have been a Plato and Aristotle in his field. So, man puts together wood and iron and mechanical support from all sides, makes the body and frame for the conveyance.

Now he needs to haul tons of weight easily and quickly on the land or in the air. He needs power to do that. It may come through petrol, gas or hydro-electricity. Has man created any of these? Did he create the petrol or gas, or water, or oxygen, or hydrogen?

If we were to look at things impartially, we will realize that even in this age of great scientific advancement, the helplessness of man is still visible and it is true that the moving and stopping of every conveyance rests within the ultimate control of the creator of this uni-verse.

The process of inventing things and making them work makes inventors self-centered. They start living in a hall of mirrors. They congratulate themselves to the limit that they lose touch with the reality of things on a canvass larger than what they invent. Allah Ta` ala tells them through his prophets that there is more to their making that they fail to see: بِسْمِ اللَّـهِ مَجْرَ‌اهَا وَمُرْ‌سَاهَا (With the name of Allah it sails and anchors). This is the reality. A brief statement but very comprehensive. In fact, it is a key to a door. Once he enters it, he lives in this mortal world but turns into a citizen of the spiritual universe - seeing the beauty of the Lord everywhere in it.

From here unfolds the difference between the world of a believer and the world of a disbeliever. Both ride. But, when a believer steps in there, the conveyance does not simply shorten his travel distances on the land, it introduces him to the one higher, more sublime.

Tafsir Muyassar

Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Saudi Arabia

وقال نوح لمن آمن معه: اركبوا في السفينة، باسم الله يكون جريها على وجه الماء، وباسم الله يكون منتهى سيرها ورُسوُّها. إن ربي لَغفور ذنوب من تاب وأناب إليه من عباده، رحيم بهم أن يعذبهم بعد التوبة.

Tafsir Ibn Kathir

Hafiz Ibn Kathir

يقول تعالى إخبارا عن نوح - عليه السلام - أنه قال للذين أمر بحملهم معه في السفينة : ( اركبوا فيها بسم الله مجراها ومرساها ) أي : بسم الله يكون جريها على وجه الماء ، وبسم الله يكون منتهى سيرها ، وهو رسوها .وقرأ أبو رجاء العطاردي : " بسم الله مجريها ومرسيها " .وقال الله تعالى : ( فإذا استويت أنت ومن معك على الفلك فقل الحمد لله الذي نجانا من القوم الظالمين وقل رب أنزلني منزلا مباركا وأنت خير المنزلين ) [ المؤمنون : 28 ، 29 ] ; ; ولهذا تستحب التسمية في ابتداء الأمور : عند الركوب على السفينة وعلى الدابة ، كما قال تعالى : ( والذي خلق الأزواج كلها وجعل لكم من الفلك والأنعام ما تركبون لتستووا على ظهوره ثم تذكروا نعمة ربكم إذا استويتم عليه وتقولوا سبحان الذي سخر لنا هذا وما كنا له مقرنين وإنا إلى ربنا لمنقلبون ) [ الزخرف : 12 - 14 ] ، وجاءت السنة بالحث على ذلك ، والندب إليه ، كما سيأتي في سورة " الزخرف " ، إن شاء الله وبه الثقة .وقال أبو القاسم الطبراني : حدثنا إبراهيم بن هاشم البغوي ، حدثنا محمد بن أبي بكر المقدمي ، وحدثنا زكريا بن يحيى الساجي حدثنا ، محمد بن موسى الحرشي ، قالا حدثنا عبد الحميد بن الحسن الهلالي ، عن نهشل بن سعيد ، عن الضحاك ، عن ابن عباس ، عن النبي - صلى الله عليه وسلم - قال : " أمان أمتي من الغرق إذا ركبوا في السفن أن يقولوا : باسم الله الملك ، ( وما قدروا الله حق قدره والأرض جميعا قبضته يوم القيامة والسماوات مطويات بيمينه سبحانه وتعالى عما يشركون ) [ الزمر : 67 ] ، ( بسم الله مجراها ومرساها إن ربي لغفور رحيم ) .وقوله : ( إن ربي لغفور رحيم ) مناسب عند ذكر الانتقام من الكافرين بإغراقهم أجمعين ذكر أنه غفور رحيم ، كما قال : ( إن ربك لسريع العقاب وإنه لغفور رحيم ) [ الأعراف : 167 ] ، وقال : ( وإن ربك لذو مغفرة للناس على ظلمهم وإن ربك لشديد العقاب ) [ الرعد : 6 ] ، إلى غير ذلك من الآيات التي يقرن فيها بين انتقامه ورحمته .

Tafsir is provided for educational reference. Paragraph breaks are added for readability — the wording of each commentary is unchanged. For religious guidance, consult a qualified scholar.