36. Sura YaSin
(O Thou Human Being) Mecca 41
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَآيَةٌ
لَّهُمْ أَنَّا
حَمَلْنَا
ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ
فِي الْفُلْكِ
الْمَشْحُونِ ﴿٤١﴾
36:41[Ali] And a Sign for them is that We bore their race (through the flood) in the loaded Ark;
C3988. Besides the beauty of the Night, with the stars and the planets "swimming" in their rounded courses according to perfect Law, suggesting both symmetry and harmony, there are other Signs touching closely the life of man himself, projected through Time, in the past history of his race and in his own personal experience.
The past history of his race takes us to the story of the Flood, which is symbolical of Allah's justice and mercy. Noah's Ark was a "Sign to all People": 29:15.
Man's own personal experience is appealed to in every ship afloat:
see next note.
وَخَلَقْنَا
لَهُم مِّن
مِّثْلِهِ مَا
يَرْكَبُونَ ﴿٤٢﴾
36:42. And We have created for them similar (vessels) on which they ride.
C3989. The stately ships sailing through the seas, heavier than air, yet carrying man and his goods safely and smoothly across the waters, are another Sign for man.
Ships are not mentioned, but (vessels) like the Ark: they would cover all kinds of sea-craft, but also the modem aircraft, which "swims" through air instead of through water.
وَإِن
نَّشَأْ نُغْرِقْهُمْ
فَلَا صَرِيخَ
لَهُمْ وَلَا
هُمْ يُنقَذُونَ ﴿٤٣﴾
36:43. If it were Our Will, We could drown them; then would there be no helper (to hear their cry), nor could they be delivered.
C3990. Were it not that Allah gives man the intelligence and ingenuity to construct and manage sea-craft and air-craft, the natural laws of gravity would lead to the destruction of any who attempted to pass through sea or air. It is the gift (mercy) of Allah that saves him.
إِلَّا
رَحْمَةً مِّنَّا
وَمَتَاعًا
إِلَى حِينٍ ﴿٤٤﴾
36:44. Except by way of Mercy from Us, and by way of (worldly) convenience (to serve them) for a time.
C3991. Cf. 16:80.
Allah has given man all these wonderful things in nature and utilities produced by the skill and intelligence which Allah has given to man.
Had it not been for these gifts, man's life would have been precarious on sea or land or in the air.
It is only Allah's Mercy that saves man from destruction for man's own follies, and that saving or the enjoyment of these utilities and conveniences he should not consider as eternal: they are only given for a time, in this life of probation.
Asad’s Version:
36:41 And [it ought to be] a sign for them that We bear their offspring [over the seas] in laden ships, 22
(36:42) and [that] We create for them things of a similar kind, on which they may embark [in their travels]; 23
(36:43) and [that,] if such be Our will, We may cause them to drown, with none to respond to their cry for help: and [then] they cannot be saved,
(36:44) unless it be by an act of mercy from Us and a grant of life for a [further span of] time
[[ Asad’s notes – 22 Lit., "in the laden ship": a generic singular with a plural significance. The term "offspring" denotes here the human race as a whole (cf. the recurring expression "children of Adam").
23 Cf. 16:8 and the corresponding note 6. In both of these passages man's ingenuity is shown to be a direct manifestation of God's creativeness. ]]