“And by the sea set ablaze. Indeed, the punishment of your Lord will surely come to pass; none can avert it.”

“And by the sea set ablaze”: Muhammad ibn Kab al-Qurazi and al-Dahhak said: it means the sea that is kindled and heated, like a stoked furnace. This was also the view of Ibn Abbas. It is supported by what has been narrated: that on the Day of Resurrection Allah Most High will turn all the seas into fire, thereby increasing the Fire of Hell, as Allah Most High says: “And when the seas are set ablaze.” (al-Takwir 81:6)

It is related in a hadith from Abdullah ibn Amr that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “No man should sail upon the sea except as one striving in Allah’s cause, or as one performing Umrah, or as a pilgrim; for beneath the sea is a fire, and beneath the fire is a sea.” (1)

Mujahid and al-Kalbi said: “Set ablaze” means filled. One says, “I filled the vessel,” when one has filled it.

Al-Hasan, Qatadah, and Abu al-Aliyah said: it is the dry sea whose water has gone and been depleted.

Al-Rabi ibn Anas said: it is that in which fresh water is mixed with salt water.

Al-Dahhak narrated from al-Nazzal ibn Sabrah, from Ali, that he said concerning the sea set ablaze: It is a sea beneath the Throne, its depth being like the distance between the seven heavens and the seven earths. It contains thick water, called the Sea of Life. After the first blast of the Trumpet, Allah will rain it upon His servants for forty mornings, and they will grow in their graves. (2) This is the view of Muqatil: Allah swore by these things.

“Indeed, the punishment of your Lord will surely come to pass”: it will descend and inevitably occur.

“None can avert it”: none can prevent it. (4) Jubayr ibn Mutim said: I came to Medina to speak to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, concerning the captives of Badr. I came upon him while he was leading his Companions in the Maghrib prayer, and his voice could be heard from the mosque. ⦗141/a⦘ I heard him reciting, “By Mount Tur,” up to His saying, “Indeed, the punishment of your Lord will surely come to pass; none can avert it.” It was as though my heart had been split asunder when I heard it. At that time, I had not yet accepted Islam. He said: So I accepted Islam out of fear that the punishment might descend; I did not think that I would rise from my place before the punishment befell me. (5)