وَإِذَا البِحارُ سُجِّرَت
When the seas are caused to overflow.
EXEGESIS
The word biḥār is the plural of baḥr, which means an ocean, a sea, or a great river; in general, it means a great expanse of water. Another plural used in the Quran for this word is abḥur, as in 31:27. It may also be applied metaphorically to describe a generous person. The word baḥr is also used in the Quran to refer to bodies of water that are both salty and sweet as in 35:13 and 25:53. Another word which appears in the Quran denoting the same meaning as baḥr is yamm (pl. yamūm), which occurs in 7:136, 20:78, 28:40, 51:40, 20:39, 20:96, and 28:7. This latter word is said to be of Syriac, Hebrew, or Coptic origin.
The passive perfect tense verb sujjirat has two meanings suggested for it: to be filled to the point of overflowing, and to be set on fire. This verb is said to have been derived from the verbal noun tasjīr, which means the burning or igniting of fire, and this is the meaning for this word that is attributed to Ibn Abbas, Ubayy ibn Kaʿb, and Imam Ali (a), all of whom are attributed to have understood the verb sujjirat to mean to be ignited and to become burning fire. It was also understood to mean to become like a heated oven.
EXPOSITION
It has been suggested that this verse could be understood in two different ways. The sixth terrible natural phenomenon this surah mentions as occurring prior to the Day of Judgement and indeed heralding it, will be the conflagration of the seas or their inundation and overflowing. Hence if the former meaning is adopted then it means that the seas and oceans on which God has allowed ships carrying men and their merchandise to sail (2:164, 10:22, 10:90, 14:32, 17:66, 17:70, 22:65, 31:31, 44:24, 45:12, 55:24) and from which game, food, ornaments and drinking water (from sweet water bodies) is granted by God as a grace to mankind (5:96, 16:14, 35:13), will be set on fire.
The question is: how will this occur? An exact answer is difficult to venture, yet two possible answers have been suggested. One way that the seas and oceans will become flaming infernos is that it is a well-known scientific fact today that water constitutes of the chemical elements of hydrogen and oxygen which are capable of combustion. Thus, it is possible to surmise that prior to the Day of Judgement, due to the various horrendous phenomena that shall occur then, the oceans will be subjected to intense pressure or perhaps subjected to extreme diverse factors which will cause its chemical composition to disintegrate, igniting and transforming the seas into a burning mass of fire.
The other explanation suggested to help explain the ignition of the seas and oceans into burning infernos is that offered by Mughniyyah, who cites an interesting explanation of this verse from Muhammad ʿAbduh. The latter wrote that this verse may mean the conflagration of the seas into fire due to what is in the depths of the earth becoming manifest on that day due to the splitting apart and cracking open of the earth’s crust – this may seem all the more plausible when understood in light of the third verse which mentions the destruction of the steadfast mountains which are known to function as stabilising anchors – then, at that time the seas will become blazing infernos. Muhammad ʿAbduh writes that some traditions have been transmitted that the seas are a covering of hell. He writes that scientific research has confirmed this as proven by the eruptions of volcanoes which spew boiling lava from the depths of the earth.
As a result of the burning of the ocean waters, it has been suggested that all the water of the oceans will seep away and dry up.
However, if the meaning of inundation and overflow is adopted for this verse then this is also plausible if the events mentioned thus far are taken to occur in sequence. With the collapse of the solid mountains, it is possible to imagine the coming together of the sea waters, there being nothing to keep them in check. And God knows best.
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
Ibn Abbas and Ubayy ibn Kaʿb are attributed to have explained that the passive perfect tense verb sujjirat meant that the oceans would be kindled and lighted up and become fire. Shimr ibn ʿAṭiyyah is attributed to have explained that the verse meant that the oceans would become like an oven, overflowing (with heat). Hasan al-Baṣrī, al-Ḍaḥḥāk, and Qatādah are attributed to have explained this verse to mean that the oceans will inundate the earth such that the depths of the oceans and the peaks of the mountains would be at the same level. It is also suggested that this verse means that the various oceans and seas will burst forth into each other, becoming one huge body of water, or that the sweet and salty waters will be released on each other, becoming mixed. Earlier it was observed that the word baḥr is used in the Quran to refer to bodies of water that are both salty and sweet. 35:13 and 25:53 make mention of these two distinct types of water bodies, while 27:61 and 55:19-20 explicitly mention the existence of a barrier between these two types of waters which is not infringed. Thus it is possible that this verse is alluding to the barrier separating these two types of waters being removed, and consequently the waters will gush forth together.
Another explanation suggested for the overflowing of the oceans is that the oceans will get filled with various debris arising from the various destructive natural events such as rocks and other material from crumbling mountains, fallen trees, meteors, and other materials, which in turn would cause the ocean waters to swell over, inundating the continents and other land masses.
Having understood these two meanings which are equally valid for the verb sujjirat, it is interesting to observe how Ṭūsī combines both meanings and writes that this verse means that the seas and oceans will get filled up/overflow with fire just as an oven gets filled up with heat and fire. He also writes that the original meaning of the verbal noun sajr is to fill up and to inundate. He writes that evidence for such a phenomenon is available in 52:6, which has the phrase al-baḥr al-masjūr, meaning ‘the sea overflowing [with fire]’ which according to him has the same meaning as the verse under discussion.
On the other hand, Ṭabarī gives his preferred opinion regarding the meaning of this verb. He inclined in favour of the meaning of ‘filling up and overflow/gushing forth’ of the seas and the oceans. He further writes that this is similar to the description of the oceans in 82:3: when the seas burst forth. He also writes that the Arabs call a full river, māʾ masjūr. It will be observed that the adjective masjūr is the same as that which appears in 52:6, in which the adjective is understood to mean a full river rather than a fiery river. All this may tilt the balance of opinion towards considering this verse to mean the gushing overflow of the seas and oceans.
[1] Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’ānic Usage, p. 77.
[2] Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’ānic Usage, p. 77.
[3] Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’ānic Usage, p. 77.
[4] Hans Wehr, p. 1109.
[5] Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’ānic Usage, pp. 1058-1059.
[6] Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’ānic Usage, p. 422.
[7] Amthal, 19/448.
[8] Nahj al-Bayān ʿan Kashf Maʿānī al-Qurʾān, 5/323.
[9] Tibyan, 10/282.
[10] Irshād al-Adhhān fī Tafsīr al-Qurʾān, 1/591.
[11] This is also the explanation offered by Qutb in his exegesis Fī Dhilāl al-Qurʾān cited in Fadlallah, 24/90; Amthal, 19/448.
[12] Al-Aṣfā fī Tafsīr al-Qurʾān, 2/1401.
[13] Kashif, 7/525.
[14] Tabari, 30/44.
[15] Mubin, p. 793.
[16] Irshād al-Adhhān fī Tafsīr al-Qurʾān, 1/591.
[17] Amthal, 10/448.
[18] This verse has however generally been translated as By the surging sea (Qarai), And the sea swarming (Arberry), By the ocean ever-filled (Haleem), And the swollen sea (Shakir), And the ocean filled with swell (Yusufali), and And the sea kept filled (Pickthall).
[19] Tibyan, 10/282.
[20] Tabari, 30/44.