وَحَمَلناهُ عَلىٰ ذاتِ أَلواحٍ وَدُسُرٍ

We bore him on a vessel made of planks and nails.

EXEGESIS

Dhāt (made of) in possessive construct means the one in possession of something, whether tangible or abstract, such as an attribute or quality. Thus, dhāti alwāḥin wa dusur means a thing made of planks and nails. Referring to the ark of Prophet Noah (a) in this way is to convey the fact that when God destines to do something, He does it with His power, regardless of the insignificance of the means. Dusur (nails) is the plural of disār or dasr and refers to those nails that were used in strengthening the ship.[1] Originally, it means to strongly and forcefully push something through. Disār came to be applied to nails because a nail tends to penetrate the wood after strong pressure is applied to it.[2]

This meaning seems to be the most appropriate based on the context.[3] However, exegetes have suggested other meanings as well. According to Hasan al-Baṣrī, it refers to the bow of the ship, i.e. the front of the ship which ploughed through the waves.[4] Mujāhid says it refers to the sides of the ship, whilst al-Ḍaḥḥāk says alwāḥ refers to the sides of the ship whilst dusur refers to the ends of the ship.[5] Others say it could mean ropes that were used to strengthen the planks.[6]

EXPOSITION

The verse aims to portray how the power of Allah was manifested such that He saved Prophet Noah (a) and his followers using apparently insignificant means. A vessel simply made of only wooden planks and nails, as opposed to complex modern ships which are made of steel, was not expected to survive a massive flood, whereby the waves were like mountains (11:42), whilst carrying pairs of every animal (11:40).[7] The reason it could safely transport everyone through such conditions was because it was directly built under the supervision of Allah (11:37).[8]

[1] Munyah, 27/190.
[2] Amthal, 17/310.
[3] Mizan, 19/68.
[4] Tabrisi, 9/286.
[5] Tabrisi, 9/286.
[6] Alusi, 14/82.
[7] Amthal, 17/311.
[8] Munyah, 27/194.