قُلْ مَن يُنَجِّيكُم مِّن ظُلُمَـٰتِ ٱلْبَرِّ وَٱلْبَحْرِ تَدْعُونَهُۥ تَضَرُّعًا وَخُفْيَةً لَّئِنْ أَنجَىٰنَا مِنْ هَـٰذِهِۦ لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ ٱلشَّـٰكِرِينَ 63
Translations
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.'"
Transliteration
Qul man yunajjikum min zulumati al-barri wa-al-bahri tadAAoonahu tadarruAAan wa-khufyatan la-in anjana min hathihi lanakoonanna min al-shakirin
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah presents a rhetorical question challenging the polytheists: Who can save you from the darknesses of land and sea when you call upon Him in supplication and in secret, with the condition that if He saves you from this distress, you will surely be among the grateful? According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, this ayah demonstrates that only Allah has the power to deliver from danger, yet people instinctively turn to Him alone in times of extreme peril, revealing the emptiness of their polytheism. The ayah highlights the hypocrisy of those who associate partners with Allah in prosperity but return to monotheism in adversity.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of Surah Al-An'am (Meccan period) which addresses fundamental Islamic beliefs and refutes polytheism. The passage contextualizes human behavior during crises, illustrating how natural instinct compels people toward monotheism (fitrah) when facing mortal danger, serving as evidence against the polytheists' practices in pre-Islamic Arabia.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'The best supplication is that made during distress' (related to concepts in Sunan Ibn Majah). Also relevant is the hadith in Sahih Muslim where the Prophet taught that du'a (supplication) at sea is particularly accepted, as people turn to Allah with sincerity in such circumstances.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah reminds us that authentic faith is demonstrated through consistent gratitude and devotion, not merely crisis-driven supplication. It invites reflection on our own spiritual consistency: do we remember Allah's favors and express gratitude in times of ease as sincerely as we call upon Him in times of distress?
Related Ayahs
وَلَوْ شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ مَآ أَشْرَكُوا۟ ۗ وَمَا جَعَلْنَـٰكَ عَلَيْهِمْ حَفِيظًا ۖ وَمَآ أَنتَ عَلَيْهِم بِوَكِيلٍ
But if Allāh had willed, they would not have associated. And We have not appointed you over them as a guardian, nor are you a manager over them.
وَمِنَ ٱلْإِبِلِ ٱثْنَيْنِ وَمِنَ ٱلْبَقَرِ ٱثْنَيْنِ ۗ قُلْ ءَآلذَّكَرَيْنِ حَرَّمَ أَمِ ٱلْأُنثَيَيْنِ أَمَّا ٱشْتَمَلَتْ عَلَيْهِ أَرْحَامُ ٱلْأُنثَيَيْنِ ۖ أَمْ كُنتُمْ شُهَدَآءَ إِذْ وَصَّىٰكُمُ ٱللَّهُ بِهَـٰذَا ۚ فَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنِ ٱفْتَرَىٰ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ كَذِبًا لِّيُضِلَّ ٱلنَّاسَ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِى ٱلْقَوْمَ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ
And of the camels, two and of the cattle, two. Say, "Is it the two males He has forbidden or the two females or that which the wombs of the two females contain? Or were you witnesses when Allāh charged you with this? Then who is more unjust than one who invents a lie about Allāh to mislead the people by [something] other than knowledge? Indeed, Allāh does not guide the wrongdoing people."
۞ قُلْ تَعَالَوْا۟ أَتْلُ مَا حَرَّمَ رَبُّكُمْ عَلَيْكُمْ ۖ أَلَّا تُشْرِكُوا۟ بِهِۦ شَيْـًٔا ۖ وَبِٱلْوَٰلِدَيْنِ إِحْسَـٰنًا ۖ وَلَا تَقْتُلُوٓا۟ أَوْلَـٰدَكُم مِّنْ إِمْلَـٰقٍ ۖ نَّحْنُ نَرْزُقُكُمْ وَإِيَّاهُمْ ۖ وَلَا تَقْرَبُوا۟ ٱلْفَوَٰحِشَ مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَمَا بَطَنَ ۖ وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا۟ ٱلنَّفْسَ ٱلَّتِى حَرَّمَ ٱللَّهُ إِلَّا بِٱلْحَقِّ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ وَصَّىٰكُم بِهِۦ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ
Say, "Come, I will recite what your Lord has prohibited to you. [He commands] that you not associate anything with Him, and to parents, good treatment, and do not kill your children out of poverty; We will provide for you and them. And do not approach immoralities - what is apparent of them and what is concealed. And do not kill the soul which Allāh has forbidden [to be killed] except by [legal] right. This has He instructed you that you may use reason."
وَكَذَٰلِكَ زَيَّنَ لِكَثِيرٍ مِّنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ قَتْلَ أَوْلَـٰدِهِمْ شُرَكَآؤُهُمْ لِيُرْدُوهُمْ وَلِيَلْبِسُوا۟ عَلَيْهِمْ دِينَهُمْ ۖ وَلَوْ شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ مَا فَعَلُوهُ ۖ فَذَرْهُمْ وَمَا يَفْتَرُونَ
And likewise, to many of the polytheists their partners have made [to seem] pleasing the killing of their children in order to bring about their destruction and to cover them with confusion in their religion. And if Allāh had willed, they would not have done so. So leave them and that which they invent.