—and they would drown. (1)
This was reported by al-Wālibī (2) from Ibn ʿAbbās, and it is likewise the position of al-Suddī and others. It is corroborated by the ḥadīth recorded by Imām Aḥmad:
“Yazīd narrated to us; al-ʿAwwām narrated to us; a shaykh who was stationed as a coastal sentinel narrated to me. He said: I met Abū Ṣāliḥ, the freedman of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, who said: ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb related to us from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, who said:
‘There is not a single night in which the sea does not rise three times, seeking permission from Allah, Mighty and Majestic, to burst forth upon the people; yet Allah restrains it.’” (4)

Isḥāq ibn Rāhwayh also transmitted it—from Yazīd ibn Hārūn, from al-ʿAwwām ibn Ḥawshab—who said:
“A ribāṭ guard narrated to me: One night I went out to my post—no one else from the watch had gone. I made my way to the harbor and climbed up, and it seemed to me that the sea was surging till its crest was level with the mountain tops. It did this repeatedly while I was wide awake. I then met Abū Ṣāliḥ, who said: ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb narrated to us that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
‘There is no night in which the sea does not rise three times, asking Allah for permission to inundate the people; but Allah, Mighty and Majestic, restrains it.’” (5)
In this chain there is an unidentified narrator, and Allah knows best.

Such is one of Allah’s favors to His servants: He has kept the harm of the sea from overwhelming them and has subjected it to them so that their ships can carry them to distant regions for commerce and other purposes. He has guided them upon it by means of what He created in the heavens and the earth—stars and mountains He made as landmarks by which they steer their course. He has also placed within it beautiful, priceless pearls and rare, precious gemstones found nowhere else, along with wondrous marine creatures whose flesh He has declared lawful for them—even when found dead. Allah the Exalted says, “Lawful for you is the game of the sea and its food” (al-Māʾidah 96). The Prophet ﷺ said, “Its water is purifying and its dead creatures are lawful.” (7) He also said, “Two kinds of carrion and two kinds of blood have been made lawful for us: fish and locusts, and the liver and the spleen.” This was narrated by Aḥmad (8) and Ibn Mājah (9), though its chain of transmission requires further examination. (10)