وَٱلْبَحْرِ ٱلْمَسْجُورِ 6
Translations
And [by] the sea set on fire,
Transliteration
Wa-l-bahri l-masjur
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah refers to the sea that is 'set on fire' or 'filled/swollen,' which scholars interpret in various ways: Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari suggest it means the sea that is constantly in motion and turbulent, while others interpret 'masjur' as the sea that is filled with water or set ablaze on the Day of Judgment. The ayah is part of a series of oaths (52:1-8) by which Allah emphasizes the truthfulness of the Quran and the certainty of the Day of Judgment, using observable natural phenomena as witnesses to divine power.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of Surah At-Tur, revealed in Mecca during a period when the disbelievers were rejecting the Prophet's message. The surah opens with a series of divine oaths swearing by natural signs (the Mount, the Book, the Guarded Tablet, the sea, and the sky) to affirm the reality of the Quran and the coming Day of Judgment. These oaths serve to convince the disbelievers of divine truth through reference to signs they can observe.
Related Hadiths
While no hadith directly explicates this specific ayah, Sahih Muslim contains hadiths about the signs of the Day of Judgment where the sea will overflow and transform, which relates thematically to interpretations of 'al-bahr al-masjur' as a sign of the Last Hour.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches us to reflect upon the natural phenomena around us—the vastness and power of the seas—as evidence of Allah's majesty and a reminder of our accountability on the Day of Judgment, encouraging humility and mindfulness of the divine.