Sailing Ship in the Deep Sea
اَللّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلى مُحَمَّدٍ و َآلِ مُحَمَّدٍ الْفُلْكِ الْجارِيَةِ فِى اللُّجَجِ الْغامِرَةِ
Oh Allah! Bestow Your Blessings on Muhammad and his progeny who are a boat sailing in the deep waters of fathomless sea.
The parable of the Prophet (SA) and his purified progeny is that of a boat or ship that is sailing in a vast immeasurable ocean الفلك الجارية في اللُجج الغامرة To understand the meaning of this expression, one has to understand the nature of an ocean and its characteristics. When we think about the great seas out there like that of the Atlantic or Pacific ocean, we get a mixed feeling of peace and also apprehensiveness.
The feeling of peace is followed by praise to the Creator for allowing us to enjoy the beautiful creation of Allah (SWT) that is appreciated by our physical senses, and that is, water. Water generally symbolizes purity and the bounty of water is indeed greater than we imagine such that Allah (SWT) states in the Qur’an:
وَجَعَلْنَا مِنَ الْمَاءِ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ حَيٍّ
And We have made of water everything living. [21:30]
The animal kingdom is conceived from a sperm which is a substance composed of water and is the cause of his creation. Today, the scientists have discovered that plants and animals live on water as its main resource which descends in the form of rain:
وَاللَّهُ أَنْزَلَ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً فَأَحْيَا بِهِ الْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا
And Allah has sent down water from the cloud and therewith given life to the earth after its death. [16:65]
It is narrated that water is the spring of God’s mercy and according to Rasulullah (SA), “A believer is like water; he purifies all those surrounding him.”
On the other hand, we tend to feel a sense of apprehensiveness when we gaze at the darkness of the vast ocean due to its seemingly endless body of water which symbolizes the unknown of the world and the secrets that lie beneath this ocean which we are oblivious to. Just like the water has benefits for creation, it can also be a source of destruction.
For example, there is the story of Prophet Nuh (AS) and the punishment of the flood which overcame his disbelieving people. The cause of their destruction was none other than water which drowned them completely and wiped them off this earth!
As mentioned in the Qur’an,
فَكَذَّبُوهُ فَنَجَّيْنَاهُ وَمَنْ مَعَهُ فِي الْفُلْكِ وَجَعَلْنَاهُمْ خَلَائِفَ وَأَغْرَقْنَا الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِنَا
But they rejected him, so We delivered him and those with him in the ark, and We made them rulers and drowned those who rejected Our Signs. [10:73]
So it is clear from this verse that the cause for their punishment was because theyكذبوا بأياتِنا rejected the signs of God”. This begs us to question what or who represents the signs of God? Furthermore, how important are these “signs of God” such that Allah (SWT) destroys populations due to their disbelief in them?
These signs of God are further emphasized in another verse,
وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنْ ذُكِّرَ بِآيَاتِ رَبِّهِ ثُمَّ أَعْرَضَ عَنْهَاۚ إِنَّا مِنَ الْمُجْرِمِينَ مُنْتَقِمُون .َ
And who is more unjust than he who is reminded of the Signs of his Lord, then he turns away from them? Surely We will give punishment to the transgressors. [32:22]
In the explanation of this verse, Sheikh Al Tabarsi states in his Majma’ Al Bayan fi Tafseer Al Qur’an that there is no person that does more injustice to himself than one who is shown the guidance who are the Proofs of Allah who would lead him to His Ma’refat (recognition) and proximity, but then turns away from that purified source of guidance.
These proofs of Allah (SWT) are the Infallible Imams from the progeny of the Prophet (SA), and so we can correlate this verse with the previous [10:73] and conclude that those who dispute the signs of Allah (SWT) who are the Infallible guides from the Prophet’s household will be punished severely like those who were drowned in the flood during the time of Prophet Nuh (AS).
When we read this words in the supplication of Salawat Sha’baniyyah which talks about the “boat sailing in the deep waters of fathomless sea”, we can now reflect on the that Arc of Salvation of Prophet Nuh (AS) and remember the punishment of those who dispute the signs of God. Taking it further, can we conclude that a similar consequence will fall upon those who desert the Arc of Salvation of Prophet Muhammad (SA) who is the best of creation and the Seal of Messengers?
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