Tafseer of The Winnowing Winds · Adh-Dhaariyat · 51:11
Who are within a flood [of confusion] and heedless.
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.
His statement الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي غَمْرَةٍ سَاهُونَ (those who are in an overwhelming flood [of heedlessness] and are negligent) means — the Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: Those who persist in the overwhelming flood of error and its domination over them, and who are negligent concerning the truth with which Allah sent Muḥammad ﷺ, have turned away from it.
And in accordance with what we have said about this, the scholars of exegesis have spoken, even though their wordings differ in the exposition thereof.
* The mention of who said that:
ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, his statement concerning الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي غَمْرَةٍ سَاهُونَ (those who are in an overwhelming flood and are negligent), he says: In their error they persist.
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, his statement concerning الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي غَمْرَةٍ سَاهُونَ (those who are in an overwhelming flood and are negligent), he said: In inattention they are negligent.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي غَمْرَةٍ سَاهُونَ (those who are in an overwhelming flood and are negligent), he says: In overwhelming and confusion.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, concerning غَمْرَةٍ سَاهُونَ (overwhelming flood, negligent), he said: In inattention.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His statement فِي غَمْرَةٍ سَاهُونَ (in an overwhelming flood, negligent), he said: Negligent concerning what has come to them, and concerning what has been sent down to them, and concerning what Allah, blessed and exalted is He, has commanded them. And he recited the statement of Allah, exalted is His praise: بَلْ قُلُوبُهُمْ فِي غَمْرَةٍ مِنْ هَذَا (Nay, their hearts are in an overwhelming flood concerning this) ... the verse. And he said: Do you not see how it is when you take a thing and then submerge it in the water (ghamartahu).
Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us, all on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning فِي غَمْرَةٍ سَاهُونَ (in an overwhelming flood, negligent): His heart is in a quiver (kināna).
