Tafseer of The Moon · Al-Qamar · 54:13
And We carried him on a [construction of] planks and nails,
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 explanation of His — exalted is His mention — word: وَحَمَلْنَاهُ عَلَى ذَاتِ أَلْوَاحٍ وَدُسُرٍ ("And We carried him on a vessel of planks and nails") (54:13).
The Exalted — exalted is His mention — says: and We carried Nūḥ, when the waters met one another according to a matter that had already been decreed, on a ship of planks and dusur. And al-dusur is the plural of disār, and for the singular one may also say: dasīr, just as one says: ḥabīk and ḥibāk. Al-disār is the nail with which the ship is fastened; one says of it: dasartu al-safīna, when you fasten it with nails or something else.
And the exegetes differed about this. Some of them said about it in accordance with what we have said about it.
* Mention of those who said that:
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said: Ibn Lahīʿa informed me, on the authority of Abū Ṣakhr, on the authority of al-Quraẓī — and he was asked about this verse وَحَمَلْنَاهُ عَلَى ذَاتِ أَلْوَاحٍ وَدُسُرٍ — he said: the dusur are the nails.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word وَحَمَلْنَاهُ عَلَى ذَاتِ أَلْوَاحٍ وَدُسُرٍ: we have been told that its dusur are its nails with which it is fastened.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word ذَاتِ أَلْوَاحٍ ("of planks"), he said: the breadth-planks of the ship; and he said: and the dusur — he said: it is fastened with nails (dusirat).
Yūnus related to us, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said, concerning His word وَدُسُرٍ, he said: the dusur are the nails with which the ship is fastened, driven into it and made fast with them.
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, concerning His word وَدُسُرٍ, he says: the nails.
And others said: no, the dusur is the prow of the ship. They said: and it is described only by this because it pushes the water away and thrusts it aside (yadsuruhu).
* Mention of those who said that:
Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Abū Rajāʾ, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning His word وَحَمَلْنَاهُ عَلَى ذَاتِ أَلْوَاحٍ وَدُسُرٍ, he said: it thrusts the water away with its breast, or he said: with its bow.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, he said: al-Ḥasan used to say concerning His word وَدُسُرٍ: its bow with which it thrusts the water aside.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, that he said: it thrusts the water away with its breast.
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, concerning His word وَدُسُرٍ, he said: the dusur are the keel of the ship.
And others said: the dusur are the cross-beams of the ship.
* Mention of those who said that:
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of al-Ḥuṣayn, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning ذَاتِ أَلْوَاحٍ وَدُسُرٍ, he said: the planks are those of the ship, and the dusur are its cross-beams.
And others said: the planks (al-alwāḥ) are its two sides, and the dusur are its two ends.
* Mention of those who said that:
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd related to us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His word ذَاتِ أَلْوَاحٍ وَدُسُرٍ: as for the planks, those are the two sides of the ship; and as for the dusur, those are its two ends and its two base-pieces.
And others said: no, the dusur are the ribs of the ship.
* Mention of those who said that:
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, concerning His word وَدُسُرٍ, he said: the ribs of the ship.
