Juz 12: Hūd 6 to Yūsuf 52
Section 7 of 19 · Tafsir of the Qur’an · Mufti Abdul Rahman Mangera
Mufti Taqi Usmani translation:
“And it was sailing with them amid waves like mountains, and Nuh called out to his son, who was at a distance: ‘O my dear son, embark with us, and do not be with the disbelievers.’”
Despite the overwhelming signs of divine punishment — waves rising like mountains — Nuh (peace be upon him) calls out with tenderness: “يَٰبُنَيَّ” (O my dear son). Even at the moment of divine decree, paternal mercy remains.
His son replies:
﴿قَالَ سَـَٔاوِيٓ إِلَىٰ جَبَلٖ يَعۡصِمُنِي مِنَ ٱلۡمَآءِۚ قَالَ لَا عَاصِمَ ٱلۡيَوۡمَ مِنۡ أَمۡرِ ٱللَّهِ إِلَّا مَن رَّحِمَۚ وَحَالَ بَيۡنَهُمَا ٱلۡمَوۡجُ فَكَانَ مِنَ ٱلۡمُغۡرَقِينَ﴾ (هود 11:43)
“He said, ‘I shall take refuge on a mountain that will protect me from the water.’ He said, ‘There is no protector today from the decree of Allah except the one whom He shows mercy.’ And a wave came between them, and he was among the drowned.”
This exchange teaches a foundational theological principle: lineage does not guarantee salvation. Even the son of a prophet cannot be saved without faith. Nuh’s son trusted material means — a mountain — while Nuh affirmed that protection lies only in Allah’s mercy.
The wave that separates them is not merely physical; it symbolises the separation between belief and disbelief. Proximity to righteousness is not sufficient without personal submission. Salvation is not inherited — it is chosen.