فَأَوْحَيْنَآ إِلَيْهِ أَنِ ٱصْنَعِ ٱلْفُلْكَ بِأَعْيُنِنَا وَوَحْيِنَا فَإِذَا جَآءَ أَمْرُنَا وَفَارَ ٱلتَّنُّورُ فَٱسْلُكْ فِيهَا مِن كُلٍّ زَوْجَيْنِ ٱثْنَيْنِ وَأَهْلَكَ إِلَّا مَن سَبَقَ عَلَيْهِ ٱلْقَوْلُ مِنْهُمْ وَلَا تُخَٰطِبْنِى فِى ٱلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوٓا۟ إِنَّهُم مُّغْرَقُونَ
fa-awḥaynā ilayhi ani'ṣnaʿi'l-fulka bi-aʿyuninā wa waḥyinā, fa-idhā jāʾa amrunā wa fāra'l-tannūru fa'sluk fīhā min kullin zawjayni'thnayni wa ahlaka illā man sabaqa ʿalayhi'l-qawlu minhum, wa lā tukhāṭibnī fi'lladhīna ẓalamū, innahum mughraqūn
"We revealed to him: 'Build the ship under Our eyes and by Our revelation. When Our command comes and the oven boils over, put into it two of every kind, and your family — except those of them against whom the word has already gone forth. And do not address Me concerning those who have done wrong; they are to be drowned.'"
The construction was treated at al-Qamar 54/14 (tajrī bi-aʿyuninā) and occurred at al-Ṭūr 52/48 (fa-innaka bi-aʿyuninā). I rely on that treatment.
| Place | Sentence | What bi-aʿyuninā attaches to |
|---|---|---|
| al-Qamar 54/14 | tajrī bi-aʿyuninā | The ship's running — while it is on the water |
| al-Muʾminūn 23/27 | iṣnaʿi'l-fulka bi-aʿyuninā | The ship's making — while it is being built |
The same construction, once for the voyage and once for the building. This is an overlap that can be verified from the two texts.
And bi-aʿyuninā + wa waḥyinā must be recorded together: two things are given at once — oversight and instruction. The ship, that is, is built both under watch and by description. I give this as an observation about the word order.
An entry, per the method (Method): no modality is produced about the construction aʿyun (eyes). The lexicographers and the exegetes generally explain the construction as watching over and protection; I pass the explanation on as it is transmitted and go no further.
The root ف-و-ر: to boil, to gush, to overflow. Fāra'l-qidr — the pot boiled; fawr — at once, the moment it comes to the boil (min fawrihim — Āl ʿImrān 3/125).
تَنُّور — an oven, a baking pit. The word was cited in this connection in al-Mulk (Hūd 11/40 — wa fāra'l-tannūr). The word occurs in only two places in the Qurʾān: Hūd 11/40 and this verse.
| Reading | Explanation |
|---|---|
| 1 | An oven in the literal sense — the gushing of the water began there; a sign |
| 2 | The earth — the word is used figuratively for every part of the earth |
| 3 | A particular place — place names are transmitted |
| 4 | An idiom — an expression like "things came to the boil" |
I pass the disagreement on; I do not impose a preference. And I do not repeat the place names that are transmitted, since I am not certain of their source. Per the method (Method), I do not add to the narrative a detail the Qurʾān does not give.
The root س-ل-ك was cited at the eighteenth verse: to send into a path, to make pass. The same root is used there for making water pass into the ground, here for putting living things into the ship.
A variant reading must be recorded: the readings min kullin zawjayni'thnayn (with tanwīn) and min kulli zawjayni'thnayn (as a genitive construction) are transmitted.
| Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|
| min kullin zawjayni'thnayn | "Of everything, two of a pair" |
| min kulli zawjayni'thnayn | "Of every pair, two" |
The word زَوْج must be recorded: in Arabic zawj is one member of a pair — not both together, as English "pair" is. For this reason the construction zawjayni'thnayn means "two spouses, that is, two of them". The lexicographers record this nicety consistently.
The exception must be recorded: part of the family is left outside. And the ground for being left outside is not a kinship but a word that has already gone forth: sabaqa ʿalayhi'l-qawl.
I record this as an observation: in the language of the verse, deliverance is settled not by lineage but by a decree. Who is meant is not said here; at Hūd 11/42-46 a son is spoken of. This verse itself gives no name, and I add none.
The root خ-ط-ب: to speak, to address. Khiṭāb — speech exchanged; khuṭba — an address; khiṭba — a proposal of marriage (the giving of one's word).
The scope of the prohibition is worth recording: lā tukhāṭibnī — "do not address Me", that is, do not raise the matter. The verse does not say "do not pray" or "do not ask"; it forbids the addressing itself.