سُوْرَةُ هُوْدٍ
Surah Hud (11) — Ayah 40
حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا جَآءَ أَمْرُنَا وَفَارَ ٱلتَّنُّورُ قُلْنَا ٱحْمِلْ فِيهَا مِن كُلٍّ زَوْجَيْنِ ٱثْنَيْنِ وَأَهْلَكَ إِلَّا مَن سَبَقَ عَلَيْهِ ٱلْقَوْلُ وَمَنْ ءَامَنَ ۚ وَمَآ ءَامَنَ مَعَهُۥٓ إِلَّا قَلِيلٌ ﴿40﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
(So it was) till when Our Command came and the oven gushed forth (water like fountains from the earth). We said: "Embark therein, of each kind two (male and female), and your family - except him against whom the Word has already gone forth - and those who believe. And none believed with him, except a few."
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
حَتَّىٰٓ
ḥattā
Till
إِذَا
idhā
when
جَآءَ
jāa
came
أَمْرُنَا
amrunā
Our command
وَفَارَ
wafāra
and overflowed
ٱلتَّنُّورُ
l-tanūru
the oven
قُلْنَا
qul'nā
We said
ٱحْمِلْ
iḥ'mil
Load
فِيهَا
fīhā
in it
مِن
min
of
كُلٍّۢ
kullin
every kind
زَوْجَيْنِ
zawjayni
a pair
ٱثْنَيْنِ
ith'nayni
two
وَأَهْلَكَ
wa-ahlaka
and your family
إِلَّا
illā
except
مَن
man
who
سَبَقَ
sabaqa
has preceded
عَلَيْهِ
ʿalayhi
against him
ٱلْقَوْلُ
l-qawlu
the word
وَمَنْ
waman
and whoever
ءَامَنَ ۚ
āmana
believed
وَمَآ
wamā
And not
ءَامَنَ
āmana
believed
مَعَهُۥٓ
maʿahu
with him
إِلَّا
illā
except
قَلِيلٌۭ
qalīlun
a few
Tafsir Ahsan al-Bayan — Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf
Tafsir Ahsan al-Bayan is a well-known Quran commentary by Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. This tafsir explains the meanings of the Quran in accordance with the methodology of the Salaf (early righteous generations), relying on authentic sources and straightforward language. Due to its reliability and adherence to sound Islamic scholarship, the Saudi government publishes and distributes this tafsir among the Hujjaj (pilgrims) visiting the Haramain. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
40. 1. Some have interpreted this as a bread-baking oven, some as specific places such as Ain al-Wardah, and some as the surface of the earth. Hafiz Ibn Kathir has preferred this last meaning, i.e., the entire earth gushed forth like springs, and the rain from the sky completed what was left.
40. 2. By this is meant both masculine and feminine, i.e., male and female. In this way, a pair of every living creature was placed in the ark, and some say that plants were also included. And Allah knows best.
40. 3. That is, those whose drowning was decreed in the divine decree. By this is meant the general disbelievers, or this exception is from "Ahlak"—that is, have your family members board the ark, except those upon whom Allah's word has already passed, i.e., one son (Canaan or Yam) and the wife of Prophet Nuh ؑ (وَ عِلَۃ)—both of them were disbelievers, and they were excluded from those who boarded the ark.
40. 4. That is, have all the believers board the ark.
40. 5. Some have stated their total number (men and women combined) as 80, and some have mentioned even less than this. Among them were the three sons of Prophet Nuh ؑ, who were among the believers: Sam, Ham, and Yafith, and their wives, and the fourth wife was the wife of Yam, who himself was a disbeliever, but because his wife was a Muslim, she boarded the ark. (Ibn Kathir)
40. 2. By this is meant both masculine and feminine, i.e., male and female. In this way, a pair of every living creature was placed in the ark, and some say that plants were also included. And Allah knows best.
40. 3. That is, those whose drowning was decreed in the divine decree. By this is meant the general disbelievers, or this exception is from "Ahlak"—that is, have your family members board the ark, except those upon whom Allah's word has already passed, i.e., one son (Canaan or Yam) and the wife of Prophet Nuh ؑ (وَ عِلَۃ)—both of them were disbelievers, and they were excluded from those who boarded the ark.
40. 4. That is, have all the believers board the ark.
40. 5. Some have stated their total number (men and women combined) as 80, and some have mentioned even less than this. Among them were the three sons of Prophet Nuh ؑ, who were among the believers: Sam, Ham, and Yafith, and their wives, and the fourth wife was the wife of Yam, who himself was a disbeliever, but because his wife was a Muslim, she boarded the ark. (Ibn Kathir)
