Tafsir al-Sadi - Abd al-Rahman al-Sadi’ - (652)

Tafsir al-SadiAbd al-Rahman al-Sadi’

⦗31–32⦘ “Do you not see that the ships sail through the sea by Allah’s grace, so that He may show you some of His signs? Surely in this are signs for everyone who is steadfastly patient and deeply grateful. * When waves like canopies engulf them, they call upon Allah, devoting their worship sincerely to Him. But when He delivers them safely to land, some of them follow a middle course. None rejects Our signs except every treacherous ingrate.”

That is: Do you not see, among the effects of His power and mercy and His care for His servants, that He has subjected the sea so that ships sail upon it by His decree, [His gentleness, and His beneficence? “So that He may show you some of His signs”—for they contain both benefit and lessons] (1).

“Surely in this are signs for everyone who is steadfastly patient and deeply grateful.” Such people are the ones who benefit from the signs: steadfastly patient in adversity and deeply grateful in prosperity; steadfast in obeying Allah, in refraining from disobeying Him, and in bearing His decrees; and grateful to Allah for His religious and worldly blessings.

Allah Most High then describes the state of people when they embark upon the sea and waves engulf them like a canopy (2) above them: they devote their supplication [to Allah] (3) and their worship sincerely to Him. “But when He delivers them safely to land,” they divide into two groups:

One group follows a middle course—that is, they do not give thanks to Allah as fully as they should; rather, they are sinners who wrong themselves.

The other group disbelieves in Allah’s blessing and denies it. He therefore says, “None rejects Our signs except every treacherous person” (4)—that is, one who betrays his word. Part of his treachery is that he covenanted with his Lord, “If You deliver us from the sea and its perils, we will surely be among the grateful.” Yet he betrayed his word and failed to fulfil it—“an ingrate” for Allah’s blessings. Should those whom Allah delivered from this hardship do anything less than give full thanks for His blessings?

(1) An addition from B. (2) In B: “like canopies.” (3) An addition from B. (4) Thus in B. A adds: The words of the Exalted, “an ingrate.”

﴿٣١ - ٣٢﴾ ﴿أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ الْفُلْكَ تَجْرِي فِي الْبَحْرِ بِنِعْمَةِ اللَّهِ لِيُرِيَكُمْ مِنْ آيَاتِهِ إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لآيَاتٍ لِكُلِّ صَبَّارٍ شَكُورٍ * وَإِذَا غَشِيَهُمْ مَوْجٌ كَالظُّلَلِ دَعَوُا اللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الدِّينَ فَلَمَّا نَجَّاهُمْ إِلَى الْبَرِّ فَمِنْهُمْ مُقْتَصِدٌ وَمَا يَجْحَدُ بِآيَاتِنَا إِلا كُلُّ خَتَّارٍ كَفُورٍ﴾ . أي: ألم تر من آثار قدرته ورحمته، وعنايته بعباده، أن سخر البحر، تجري فيه الفلك، بأمره القدري [ولطفه وإحسانه، ﴿لِيُرِيَكُمْ مِنْ آيَاتِهِ﴾ ففيها الانتفاع والاعتبار] (١) . ﴿إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لآيَاتٍ لِكُلِّ صَبَّارٍ شَكُورٍ﴾ فهم المنتفعون بالآيات، صبار على الضراء، شكور على السراء، صبار على طاعة الله وعن معصيته، وعلى أقداره، شكور لله، على نعمه الدينية والدنيوية. وذكر تعالى حال الناس، عند ركوبهم البحر، وغشيان الأمواج كالظل (٢) فوقهم، أنهم يخلصون الدعاء [لله] (٣) والعبادة: ﴿فَلَمَّا نَجَّاهُمْ إِلَى الْبَرِّ﴾ انقسموا فريقين: فرقة مقتصدة، أي: لم تقم بشكر الله على وجه الكمال، بل هم مذنبون ظالمون لأنفسهم. وفرقة كافرة بنعمة الله، جاحدة لها، ولهذا قال: ﴿وَمَا يَجْحَدُ بِآيَاتِنَا إِلا كُلُّ خَتَّارٍ﴾ (٤) أي غدار، ومن غدره، أنه عاهد ربه، لئن أنجيتنا من البحر وشدته، لنكونن من الشاكرين، فغدر ولم يف بذلك، ﴿كَفُور﴾ بنعم الله. فهل يليق بمن نجاهم الله من هذه الشدة، إلا القيام التام بشكر نعم الله؟

(١) زيادة من ب. (٢) في ب: كالظلل. (٣) زيادة من ب. (٤) كذا في ب، وزاد في أ: قوله تعالى: "كفور".