His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

﴿The people of Noah denied before them, so they denied Our servant and said, 'He is a madman,' and he was driven away.﴾ ﴿So he called upon his Lord, 'Indeed, I am overcome, so help me.'﴾ ﴿So We opened the gates of the heaven with water pouring down.﴾ ﴿And We caused the earth to gush forth springs, so the waters met for a matter already predestined.﴾ ﴿And We carried him on a vessel made of planks and nails.﴾ ﴿It was sailing under Our observation as a reward for he who had been denied.﴾ ﴿And We left it as a sign. So is there any who will remember?﴾ ﴿So how was My punishment and My warnings?﴾ ﴿And We have certainly made the Qur'an easy to remember. So is there any who will remember?﴾

The purpose of this story is a warning to Quraysh and a parable for them. His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "and he was driven away" is an indication from Allah, exalted and majestic is He, that they rebuked Noah, peace be upon him, with insults and threats. This was said by Ibn Zayd, and he recited: ﴿If you do not desist, O Noah, you will surely be among the stoned.﴾ [Ash-Shu'ara: 116]. Mujahid went to say that "and he was driven away" is from the words of the people of Noah, as if they said: "He is a madman and he was driven away." The meaning is that he was afflicted with madness and was consumed by madness. This statement is one of excess and imposition. Nafi', Abu 'Amr, 'Asim, Al-A'raj, and Al-Hasan read: "Indeed, I" with the 'alif' pronounced open, meaning: "by saying I," as if his supplication had this meaning. 'Asim also read, along with Ibn Abu Ishaq and 'Isa: "Indeed, I" with the 'alif' pronounced broken, as if his supplication had this wording. Sibawayh said: The meaning is that he said, 'Indeed, I.' The majority of the interpreters went to say that the meaning is: 'Indeed, the disbelievers have overcome me with their denial and threats, so help me against them by destroying them.' It is possible that he meant: 'So help Yourself, as they have denied Your Messenger.' This is supported by the saying of Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both of them: The intended meaning of His saying: ﴿for he who had been denied﴾ is Allah, exalted and majestic is He. Thus, the response occurred in accordance with what Noah, peace be upon him, called for. The Sufis went to say that the meaning is: 'Indeed, my soul has overwhelmed me in my excessive supplication against my people, so help me, O Lord, with punishment if You wish.' The first statement is the truth, if Allah, exalted and majestic is He, wills. This is indicated by His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "So We opened" the verse, and that is the victory over the disbelievers.

The majority of the reciters read: "So We opened" with the 'ta' lightened. Ibn 'Amir, Abu Ja'far, Al-A'raj read: "So We opened" with the 'ta' emphasized for exaggeration. Abu Hatim preferred it by His saying, exalted and majestic is He: ﴿The gates have been opened for them﴾ [Sad: 50]. Abu Hatim said: By the gates, He means the vastness, which is the opening of the sky like the opening of a vessel. Some of the people of interpretation said: The gates are real; gates were opened in the sky from which the water flowed. The majority of the interpreters said: It is a metaphor, as the rain was abundant as if it were from gates. And "pouring down" means heavy falling and abundant.

(p-143) The majority read: "And We burst forth" with a strong جيم, while Ibn Mas'ud and his companions, and Abu Haywah, and Al-Mufaddal from Asim read it with a softened جيم. The majority read: "Then the water met" in the name of the type that includes the water of the sky and the water of the springs. Ali ibn Abi Talib, Al-Hasan, Asim, and Al-Jahdari read: "Then the two waters met," and it is narrated from Al-Hasan: "Then the two waters met."

And His saying, the Exalted: ﴿On a matter that had been decreed﴾, the majority said: the meaning is: on a rank and state that had been decreed in the beginning and was decided. A majority of the interpreters said: the meaning is: on measures that had been decreed and arranged at the time of their meeting. They narrated that the water of the earth rose seventeen cubits, and the water of the sky descended upon it the remaining forty cubits or something like this, because it is from what the narrations have differed about. There is no report that definitively clarifies anything regarding this specification. Abu Haywah read: "decreed" with a strong دال.

"Having boards and nails" refers to the ship. It was said: its boards and wood were made of cedar. "Nails": one of them is دِسار, and this is the opinion of the majority, and it is, in my view, from the continuous pushing; because the nail always pushes until it is level. Al-Hasan and Ibn Abbas also said: the دَسْر refers to the bow of the ship because it pushes the water, and دَسْر means pushing. Mujahid and others said: دَسْر refers to the sound of the ship. He also said: دَسْر refers to the sides of the ship. And it has been previously mentioned in the explanation of the story of the ship in detail. The majority of people agree that it was in the form of the ships of today like the beak of a bird. It has been reported in some books that it was a long square in the sky, wide at the bottom and narrow at the top. Its upper part was open for air and breathing. They said: because the purpose of it was safety until the water descended, and it was not for the purpose of sailing. (p-144) And it had a course and a mooring, and Allah knows best how it was, and all are possible.

His saying, exalted is He: "By Our Eyes," the majority said: Its meaning is: By Our protection and sufficiency and under Our watchfulness for its people. He named these things eyes as a metaphor, for the protector who is attentive among humans only has that matter in front of his eyes. It was said: The intended meaning of its protection is from the angels, and He called them eyes. Al-Rummani said: It was said that His saying, exalted is He: "By Our Eyes" refers to the springs gushing forth from the earth. This is weak. Abu al-Samali read: "By Our Eyes" with the letters merged. The majority of people read: "Kufira" with the 'kaf' being pronounced with a dammah and the 'fa' with a kasrah, and they differed in meaning. Ibn Abbas and Mujahid said: It refers to Allah, exalted is He, as if He said: In anger and victory for Allah, exalted is He, meaning: He took revenge for Himself, so He saved the believers and drowned the disbelievers. Al-Makki said: It was said: "From" refers to Noah, peace be upon him, and the believers; because they disbelieved in the same way they disbelieved in him, so Allah, exalted is He, rewarded them with salvation. Yazid ibn Ruman, Isa, and Qatadah read: "Kafara" with the 'kaf' and 'fa' both opened.

The pronoun in "We left it" was said by Al-Makki ibn Abi Talib: It refers back to this action and the story. Qatadah, Al-Naqqash, and others said: It refers back to this ship. They said: And indeed Allah, exalted is He, anchored it on Mount Judi when the mountains rose high and He humbled Himself, and it is a hill in the island at a place called "Baqirdi." He left its wood there until some of the early ones of this nation saw it. Qatadah said: And how many ships after it have turned to ashes. And "Mudakkir" is originally "Mudhakkir," they replaced the 'ta' with a 'thal' to match the pronunciation of the 'thal,' then they merged the 'dal' into the 'dal.' This is the reading of the people. Abu Hatim said: It was narrated from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, with a sound chain. Qatadah read: "Mudhakkir" by merging the second into the first. Abu Hatim said: And that is poor, and it necessitates that he reads: "And remember after a nation," and "And what you store in your houses."

And His saying, exalted is He: "So how was My punishment and My warnings" is a stop for Quraysh. And "the warnings" here is the plural of "nadhir," the source, meaning: How was the consequence of My warning for those who did not heed it, as if you, O people, are.

And "We have made the Qur'an easy" means: We have made it easy and brought it close. And "the reminder" is the preservation from the heart. Ibn Jubair said: No one has memorized from the Books of Allah except the Qur'an.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: It is made easy by what is in it of good arrangement and noble meaning. For it has a sweetness in the hearts and a blending with sound minds.

And His saying, exalted is He: "Is there any who would remember?" is a call and encouragement to preserve and remember it so that its deterrents, knowledge, and guidance are present in the soul. Al-Mutrif said: Its meaning is: Is there anyone seeking knowledge who would be aided in it?

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: The verse counts a blessing in that Allah, blessed and exalted, has made guidance easy, and there is no stinginess from Him. So for Allah is the praise of whoever accepts and is guided. And the explanation of: "Mudakkir" has been previously mentioned.