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سُورَةُ النَّحۡلِ · 16:14
MeccanRevelation order ٧٠Juzʾ ١٤Page ٢٦٨

وَهُوَ ٱلَّذِى سَخَّرَ ٱلْبَحْرَ لِتَأْكُلُوا۟ مِنْهُ لَحْمًۭا طَرِيًّۭا وَتَسْتَخْرِجُوا۟ مِنْهُ حِلْيَةًۭ تَلْبَسُونَهَا وَتَرَى ٱلْفُلْكَ مَوَاخِرَ فِيهِ وَلِتَبْتَغُوا۟ مِن فَضْلِهِۦ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ

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Saheeh International · EN

And it is He who subjected the sea for you to eat from it tender meat and to extract from it ornaments which you wear. And you see the ships plowing through it, and [He subjected it] that you may seek of His bounty; and perhaps you will be grateful.

IntroductionRevelationTafsirTransmissionDebate
Bio

Introduction

This is āyah 14 of Sūrat An-Nahl (The Bee), the 70th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Meccan period and sits within Juzʾ 14. Meccan verses tend to address faith, the oneness of God, and the hereafter.

This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.

Bio

Revelation & occasion

Asbāb al-Nuzūl
Period
Meccan
Order revealed
70 of 114
Surah
An-Nahl (16)
Occasion of revelation · Al-Wahidi

He it is who subjected the sea so that you may eat from it fresh flesh. Outwardly, He subjected the oceans of the earth to the creatures, ships running upon it and ben- efits appearing from it. Inwardly, He created oceans in the Adamic soul in which the Adamite is drowned: First is the ocean of preoccupation, second the ocean of sorrow, third the ocean of avarice, fourth the ocean of heedlessness, and fifth the ocean of dispersion. These oceans have ships. Whoever sits in the ship of trust on the ocean of preoccupation will reach the shore of detachment. Whoever sits in the ship of approval on the ocean of sorrow will reach the shore of security. Whoever sits in the ship of contentment on the ocean of avarice will reach the shore of renunciation. Whoever sits in the ship of remembrance on the ocean of heedlessness will reach the shore of wakefulness. Whoever sits in the ship of tawḤīd on the ocean of dispersion will reach the shore of togetherness.

Commentary

Tafsir

4 works

Hafiz Ibn Kathir

And He it is Who subjected the sea (to you), that you may eat from the fresh tender meat, and that you bring forth out of it ornaments to wear. And you see the ships plowing through it, that you may seek from His bounty and that you may perhaps be grateful (14)And He has driven firm standing mountains into the earth, lest it should shake with you; and rivers and roads, that you may guide yourselve (15)And (by the) landmarks; and by the stars, they guide themselves (16)Is then He Who creates the same as one who creates, not Will you not then reflect (17)And if you would try to count the favors of Allah, you would never be able to count them. Truly, Allah is Forgiving, Most Merciful (18) Signs in the Oceans, Mountains, Rivers, Roads and Stars Allah tells us how He has subjected the seas, with their waves lapping the shores, and how He blesses His servants by subjecting the seas for them …
Provenance

Chains of transmission

Oral — isnād

  1. ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation

    Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.

  2. 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation

    Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.

  3. TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation

    Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.

Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.

Written — the manuscript record

  1. ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation

    The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).

  2. 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation

    Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.

  3. Modern printModern printawaiting curation

    The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.

A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.

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Provenance

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