Tafseer of The Night Journey · Al-Israa · 17:69
Or do you feel secure that He will not send you back into the sea another time and send upon you a hurricane of wind and drown you for what you denied? Then you would not find for yourselves against Us an avenger.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
Allah the Exalted says: "Or do you feel secure, O people, against your Lord — after you have denied Him following His favors toward you — that He should send you back into the sea a second time?" He says: "Once more" — the pronoun in "fīhi" (therein) refers to the sea.
As Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning أَنْ يُعِيدَكُمْ فِيهِ تَارَةً أُخْرَى : that is to say: into the sea, once more. فَيُرْسِلَ عَلَيْكُمْ قَاصِفًا مِنَ الرِّيحِ — that is the wind which breaks, shatters, and splinters everything it passes. From this word one says: "So-and-so broke the back of so-and-so (qaṣafa)" when he broke it. فَيُغْرِقَكُمْ بِمَا كَفَرْتُمْ : he says: "So that Allah may drown you by this crushing wind on account of your unbelief" — he says: "On account of your unbelief in Him." ثُمَّ لا تَجِدُوا لَكُمْ عَلَيْنَا بِهِ تَبِيعًا : he says: "Then you will not find for yourselves against Us any pursuer who pursues Us for what We did to you, nor any avenger who avenges Us for destroying you." One says tabīʿ in the sense of tābiʿ (follower/pursuer), just as ʿalīm in the sense of ʿālim (knowing one). The Arabs call every claimant of blood, debt, or anything else a tabīʿ. Hence the verse of the poet:
They fled away and their gazelles fled away as equals — like pledges held for a debt detained by a claimant (tabīʿ).
In the same sense as what we have set forth concerning al-qāṣif and al-tabīʿ, the people of exegesis spoke.
Mention of who said that:
ʿAlī ibn Dāwūd related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning his words فَيُرْسِلَ عَلَيْكُمْ قَاصِفًا مِنَ الرِّيحِ : he said: "Stormy."
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj — he said: Ibn ʿAbbās said: "A qāṣif is that which causes drowning."
ʿAlī related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning his words ثُمَّ لا تَجِدُوا لَكُمْ عَلَيْنَا بِهِ تَبِيعًا : he said: "A helper."
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: Muḥammad said "an avenger," and al-Ḥārith said "a helper and avenger."
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning ثُمَّ لا تَجِدُوا لَكُمْ عَلَيْنَا بِهِ تَبِيعًا : he said: "An avenger."
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning ثُمَّ لا تَجِدُوا لَكُمْ عَلَيْنَا بِهِ تَبِيعًا : he said: "That is to say: We do not fear that We shall be called to account for it."
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning ثُمَّ لا تَجِدُوا لَكُمْ عَلَيْنَا بِهِ تَبِيعًا : he said: "No one will call Us to account for anything of it." The word tāra (time/occasion) has the plural tārāt and tiyar; and its derived intensive form is atrarta.