سُوْرَةُ الإِسۡرَاءِ
Surah Al-Israa (17) — Ayah 66
رَّبُّكُمُ ٱلَّذِى يُزْجِى لَكُمُ ٱلْفُلْكَ فِى ٱلْبَحْرِ لِتَبْتَغُوا۟ مِن فَضْلِهِۦٓ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ بِكُمْ رَحِيمًا ﴿66﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
Your Lord is He Who drives the ship for you through the sea, in order that you may seek of His Bounty. Truly He is Ever Most Merciful towards you.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
رَّبُّكُمُ
rabbukumu
Your Lord
ٱلَّذِى
alladhī
(is) the One Who
يُزْجِى
yuz'jī
drives
لَكُمُ
lakumu
for you
ٱلْفُلْكَ
l-ful'ka
the ship
فِى
fī
in
ٱلْبَحْرِ
l-baḥri
the sea
لِتَبْتَغُوا۟
litabtaghū
that you may seek
مِن
min
of
فَضْلِهِۦٓ ۚ
faḍlihi
His Bounty
إِنَّهُۥ
innahu
Indeed, He
كَانَ
kāna
is
بِكُمْ
bikum
to you
رَحِيمًۭا
raḥīman
Ever Merciful
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim — Hafiz Abdus Salam Bin Muhammad Bhutvi
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim is a 4-volume Quran commentary by Hafiz Abdus Salam bin Muhammad Bhutvi, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar and Sheikh ul-Hadith from Pakistan. Based on over 45 years of teaching and research, this tafsir follows the methodology of Tafsir bil-Ma'thur — interpreting the Quran through authentic Hadith, statements of the Companions, and the understanding of the early generations (Salaf). It is distinguished by its complete avoidance of Israeliyyat (Judeo-Christian narratives) and unverified reports. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
(Ayah 66) ➊ The meaning of {رَبُّكُمُ الَّذِيْ يُزْجِيْ لَكُمُ … : ’’ أَزْجٰي يُزْجِيْ إِزْجَاءً‘‘} is to drive slowly. {’’ أَزْجٰي فُلاَنٌ الْإِبِلَ‘‘} means so-and-so drove the camels slowly. The same word is used for driving the clouds slowly. (See Nur: 43) {’’الْفُلْكَ ‘‘} is used for singular, plural, and all; it means a very large ship, i.e., a sea vessel. {’’ مِنْ فَضْلِهٖ ‘‘} In the Quran, sustenance is often called bounty, because all the blessings that are available to man in this world, or will be granted in the Hereafter, are purely Allah’s bounty; no one has any obligatory right over Allah, and if somewhere the right of the servants is mentioned, that too is Allah’s bounty, as He has made it obligatory upon Himself.
About seventy percent of the earth’s surface is sea, in which there is countless sustenance for human consumption and use. The ability of the sea water to carry ships weighing thousands of tons, and to drive ships for hundreds and thousands of miles merely by wind, is only due to Allah’s subjugation. Now, when His bounty increased further, engines were invented, which Allah Almighty mentioned in «وَ يَخْلُقُ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُوْنَ» [ النحل : ۸ ] (And He will create what you do not know). In this, Muslims are also encouraged to benefit from the countless profits of the sea, such as the facility of travel for education, trade, and other purposes through a very easy and low-cost means, obtaining meat, ornaments, minerals, gas, and oil, etc., from which the disbelievers are benefiting, because they have dominance over the seas, and obviously, the one who dominates seventy percent of the sea will also dominate the thirty percent of the land, and the Muslim Ummah, due to abandoning land and sea jihad, has become content with lagging behind in both religion and the world, although the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) greatly encouraged his Ummah to learn archery, horse riding, and swimming. For details, see Silsilah Sahihah (1/625, H: 315), and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stated the very purpose of his Prophethood as making Islam prevail over all the religions of the world.
➋ { اِنَّهٗ كَانَ بِكُمْ رَحِيْمًا:} The first reason for running ships in the sea is stated as seeking Allah’s bounty; this is the second reason, that Allah Almighty has always been exceedingly merciful to His servants. The meaning of always is indicated by {’’ كَانَ ‘‘}. Tantawi’s words are: {’’وَلِأَنَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ كَانَ أَزَلاً وَ أَبَدًا بِكُمْ دَائِمَ الرَّحْمَةِ وَالرَّأْفَةِ ‘‘} “That Allah Almighty has always been gentle and merciful with His servants.”
About seventy percent of the earth’s surface is sea, in which there is countless sustenance for human consumption and use. The ability of the sea water to carry ships weighing thousands of tons, and to drive ships for hundreds and thousands of miles merely by wind, is only due to Allah’s subjugation. Now, when His bounty increased further, engines were invented, which Allah Almighty mentioned in «وَ يَخْلُقُ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُوْنَ» [ النحل : ۸ ] (And He will create what you do not know). In this, Muslims are also encouraged to benefit from the countless profits of the sea, such as the facility of travel for education, trade, and other purposes through a very easy and low-cost means, obtaining meat, ornaments, minerals, gas, and oil, etc., from which the disbelievers are benefiting, because they have dominance over the seas, and obviously, the one who dominates seventy percent of the sea will also dominate the thirty percent of the land, and the Muslim Ummah, due to abandoning land and sea jihad, has become content with lagging behind in both religion and the world, although the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) greatly encouraged his Ummah to learn archery, horse riding, and swimming. For details, see Silsilah Sahihah (1/625, H: 315), and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stated the very purpose of his Prophethood as making Islam prevail over all the religions of the world.
➋ { اِنَّهٗ كَانَ بِكُمْ رَحِيْمًا:} The first reason for running ships in the sea is stated as seeking Allah’s bounty; this is the second reason, that Allah Almighty has always been exceedingly merciful to His servants. The meaning of always is indicated by {’’ كَانَ ‘‘}. Tantawi’s words are: {’’وَلِأَنَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ كَانَ أَزَلاً وَ أَبَدًا بِكُمْ دَائِمَ الرَّحْمَةِ وَالرَّأْفَةِ ‘‘} “That Allah Almighty has always been gentle and merciful with His servants.”
