Tafseer of The Cattle · Al-An'aam · 6:63
Say, "Who rescues you from the darknesses of the land and sea [when] you call upon Him imploring [aloud] and privately, 'If He should save us from this [crisis], we will surely be among the thankful.' "
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 discourse on the exposition of His statement: قُلْ مَنْ يُنَجِّيكُمْ مِنْ ظُلُمَاتِ الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ تَدْعُونَهُ تَضَرُّعًا وَخُفْيَةً لَئِنْ أَنْجَانَا مِنْ هَذِهِ لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الشَّاكِرِينَ (63) ("Say: Who delivers you from the darknesses of the land and the sea, when you call upon Him in humble supplication and in secret: If He delivers us from this, we shall surely be among the thankful?") (6:63)
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose praise is proclaimed, says to His Prophet — Allah's blessing and peace be upon him: Say, O Muḥammad, to these people who ascribe equals to their Lord and who call to the worship of their idols: Who is it that delivers you "from the darknesses of the land," when you go astray therein and fall into confusion and the right guidance and the way are obscured from you — and from the darknesses of the sea, when you traverse it and miss the correct course and the way is obscured from you therein, so that you do not find it — who other than Allah, to whom you then take your refuge with supplication — "in humble submission," on your part toward Him and in lowly subjection, openly — "and in secret," He says: and with the concealing of the supplication at times, and with making it open and visible, while you say: If You deliver us from this, O Lord — that is to say: from these darknesses in which we find ourselves — "we shall surely be among the thankful," He says: then we shall surely be among those who acknowledge You with thankfulness as One and devote worship purely to You, without those whom we associated with You in Your worship.
* * *
And in accordance with what we have said about this, the exegetes have spoken.
* Mention of those who said that:
13342 - Muḥammad ibn Saʿīd 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 statement: "Say: Who delivers you from the darknesses of the land and the sea, when you call upon Him in humble supplication and in secret" — he says: when the man loses his way, he calls upon Allah: "If He delivers us from this, we shall surely be among the thankful."
13343 - Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His statement: "Say: Who delivers you from the darknesses of the land and the sea" — he says: from the distress of the land and the sea.
