Tafseer of Consultation · Ash-Shura · 42:32
And of His signs are the ships in the sea, like mountains.
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.
The statement concerning the explanation of His saying, the Exalted: وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ الْجَوَارِ فِي الْبَحْرِ كَالأَعْلامِ (42:32) (And among His signs are the ships that sail upon the sea like mountains. (32))
The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: and among the proofs of Allah, O people, against you, that He it is who is powerful over all that He wills, and that it is not impossible for Him to do anything He has willed, are the ships that sail upon the sea. And al-jawārī: the plural of jāriya, and that is whatever moves along upon the sea.
As Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, he said: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, he said: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, he said: al-Ḥasan related to us, he said: Warqāʾ related to us — both — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His saying: الْجَوَارِ فِي الْبَحْرِ (the ships that sail upon the sea), he said: The ships.
Muḥammad related to us, he said: Aḥmad related to us, he said: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ الْجَوَارِ فِي الْبَحْرِ (And among His signs are the ships that sail upon the sea), he said: Al-jawārī: the ships.
And His saying: كَالأَعْلامِ (like mountains), He means: like the mountains; the singular of it is ʿalam. Of this is the saying of the poet:
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As though he were a mountain with a fire upon its summit (1)
He means: a mountain.
And in expressions similar to what we have said concerning this, the exegetes spoke.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, he said: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, he said: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, he said: al-Ḥasan related to us, he said: Warqāʾ related to us — both — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: كَالأَعْلامِ (like mountains), he said: Like the mountains.
Muḥammad related to us, he said: Aḥmad related to us, he said: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, he said: Al-aʿlām: the mountains.
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The footnotes:
(1) This is the second half of a verse by al-Khansāʾ bint ʿAmr ibn al-Sharīd al-Sulamī, from a poem in which she laments her brother Ṣakhr (Maʿāhid al-Tanṣīṣ of al-ʿAbbāsī), and the first half of it is:
And indeed Ṣakhr — the guides follow after him
The author (Ṭabarī) cited it at His saying, the Exalted: وَلَهُ الْجَوَارِ الْمُنْشَآتُ فِي الْبَحْرِ كَالأَعْلامِ (And to Him belong the erected ships upon the sea like mountains), as proof that al-aʿlām in the verse is the plural of ʿalam with the vowel-movement, and that is the mountain. The Arabs used to kindle a fire upon the summits of the mountains, to guide the stranger and the hungry and the like.
