His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "And a sign for them is that We carried their offspring in the laden ship." "And We created for them from like it what they ride." "And if We will, We drown them, so there will be no cry for them, nor will they be saved." "Except as a mercy from Us and enjoyment for a time." "And when it is said to them, 'Fear what is before you and what is behind you, perhaps you will receive mercy.'" "And no sign comes to them from the signs of their Lord except that they are turning away from it."

"And a sign" means: a mark and evidence. Its raising is by beginning, and its news is in His saying: "for them." And "that We" is a substitute for "a sign," and there is consideration in it. It is permissible that "that" is explanatory and has no place for it in the grammatical structure. And "carrying" means preventing something from going down. He mentioned the offspring due to their weakness in traveling, so the blessing in them is more possible.

Nafi', Ibn 'Amir, and Al-A'mash read: "their offspring" in the plural, while the others read in the singular. This is the reading of Talhah and 'Isa. The attached pronoun to the offspring is the pronoun of the genus, as if he said: the offspring of their kind or type. This is the most correct interpretation in this matter. Some people mixed this up until they said: the offspring refers to the fathers, and this is not known linguistically.

As for the meaning of the verse, it can be interpreted in two ways: one of them was said by Ibn 'Abbas - may Allah be pleased with him and his father - and a group, which is that he means by the offspring those who were carried, the companions of Noah, peace be upon him, in the ship. And he means by his saying: "from like it" the ships that exist in the kind of the children of Adam until the Day of Resurrection. This is what he intended by his saying: "And if We will, We drown them." The second interpretation was said by Mujahid and Al-Suddi, and it was also narrated from Ibn 'Abbas, which is that he means by his saying: "that We carried their offspring" the verse, the ships that exist among the children of Adam until the Day of Resurrection. And he means by his saying: "And We created for them" the verse, the camels and other things that are ridden. So the similarity is in that it is a means of transport reaching the lands only. And his saying: "And if We will, We drown them" refers to the ships that exist among the people. As for those who mixed the two sayings, they made the offspring in the ship among the people of Noah, peace be upon him, in his ship, and made "from like it" in the camels, for this is a corrupt view that contradicts his saying: "And if We will, We drown them." So contemplate this.

And "the ship" is plural, and the singular is on its weight. However, the movements of the plural are not the movements of the singular. And "laden" means: heavy-laden. And "from" in His saying: "from like it" can be directed in one of the interpretations to indicate part of it, and in the other interpretation, it can be directed to indicate the genus, so look at it. It is said: camels are the means of transport of the land.

And "the cry" here is in the form of the doer, meaning: the one who cries out. This is because you say: a cry means one who seeks help, and a crier means one who helps. And the term "cry" can come once meaning this and once meaning that; because "fa'il" is from the structures of the name of the doer. So it can come once from "saraqa" if he sought help, and once from "asraqa" if he helped.

And His saying: ﴿Except as a mercy﴾ Al-Kisai said: It is an accusative for exception, as if he said: except that We have mercy on them. And Al-Zajjaj said: He made 'mercy' accusative for the purpose of it, as if he said: except for the sake of Our mercy upon them. And His saying: 'a provision' is connected to His saying: ﴿'a mercy'﴾, and 'until a time' means until their appointed terms are set for them.

And the statement is complete in His saying: ﴿And if We will, We can drown them﴾. And His saying: ﴿Then there will be no one to cry out for them﴾ is a new report about those who are in the sea, whether they are saved or drowned. They have no salvation except by the mercy of Allah. And His saying: ﴿Then there will be no one to cry out for them﴾ is not connected to the drowned, and it may be valid to connect it to them, but the first is better, so reflect.

Then He began to report about the arrogance of Quraysh with His saying: ﴿And when it is said to them﴾ the verse. And 'what is before them' said Muqatil and Qatadah: It is the punishment of the nations that preceded them in time. And 'what is behind them' is the punishment of the Hereafter that will come after them in time. And this is the view. And Al-Hasan said: They were warned about what has passed of their sins and what will come from them. And this is similar to the first in meaning; for the warning about sin is indeed from its punishment and retribution for it. 'What is before them' is the Hereafter, and 'what is behind them' is the punishment of the nations.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

He made the arrangement as if they are moving from one thing to another, and he did not consider the existence of things in time. And this view compels him to say: ﴿Confirming what is before it of the Torah﴾ [Al-Ma'idah: 46]. And it is only consistent to measure what is before and behind by what time brings forth, so reflect on it. And the answer to 'when' in this verse is omitted, its estimation is: they turned away, and He explains it: ﴿Except that they were turning away from it﴾. And 'the signs' are the indications and proofs.