An Introduction
Explaining Certain Points [arising from] This Verse: Consider this: A proof (burhān) is [in the form of] either the argument from material cause to material effect (limmī), or the argument from effect to cause (innī). This latter is sounder
The proof of divine providence (dalīl ‘ināyatī) is the proof of the Maker indicated by this verse and consists of the order included in the universe. For the order is a thread to which is attached all benefits and instances of wisdom. All the Qur’anic verses that enumerate the benefits of things and mention their purposes are ‘the weaver’ of this proof and are where this argument is manifested. For just as the order, with which all the instances of wisdom and benefits comply, proves the existence of the Orderer, so it demonstrates the Maker’s intention and wisdom, and repulses the delusion of blind chance and unseeing coincidence.
Now see! If you cannot encompass this elevated order, adorned with bezels of wisdom, with your sight, and you are incapable of understanding it through inductive reasoning, look through the prying eyes of the sciences – which are the senses of your species and are formed through the meeting of minds and conjunction of ideas, and are like the ideas of the human race – for you will see an order that dazzles the mind.
You will know too that each of the physical sciences discloses through the universality of its principles, the order and harmony, the more perfect than which cannot be conceived of. For there is a science [to study] every area (naw‘) of the universe, or there will be [that is, each could sustain a science]. Science consists of universal principles, and this universality demonstrates the beauty of the order. For there can be no universality in something without order.
Don’t you see that if we say: “All religious scholars wear white turbans,” it is confirming the universality, for there is order among that group (naw‘)? It leads on from this that by reason of the universality of their principles, all the sciences demonstrate through inductive reasoning a total, all‑embracing order; each is a shining proof pointing to the benefits and fruits hanging in bunches from the links of the chains of beings, indicating too the instances of wisdom and advantages concealed in their changing states. The sciences raise the banner of divine unity and testify to the Maker’s purpose and wisdom. Each of them is a shining star piercing the darkness and repulsing the devils of delusion and doubt.
If you like, now disregard the general [order] and consider the following example:
a microscopic organism so small it is invisible to the naked eye comprises an extremely fine and wonderful divine machine. Necessarily and self‑evidently, this machine, which is contingent in both its essence and attributes and states, did not come into existence of itself without a cause. Like the pans of some scales, contingent beings are equal in respect of both existence and non-existence; if one preponderates, they remain in non-existence. Thus, as all reasonable people agree, there has to be a cause to make the choice. It is impossible that this should a natural cause. For the exquisite order of [the machine] necessitates infinite knowledge and perfect intelligence, and it is impossible to conceive of these in such causes, about which [the Naturalists] deceive themselves. The causes are simple, few, and lifeless and cannot specify their course or restrict their motions, hesitant as they are between thousands of possibilities, some of which have no primacy. So how does [a cause] follow a specific course and travel a defined path, and how can it choose certain aspects of the possibilities so that it produces this marvellous, well-ordered machine the subtlety of the instances of wisdom of which leave minds in astonishment? You could only convince yourself and feel happy at it if you ascribed to every single particle the intelligence of Plato and wisdom of Galen and you believed that all these particles communicated with each other. And this is a sophistry that would put even the Sophists to shame.
Although the forces of attraction and repulsion form the basis of physical matter in the smallest indivisible atoms, this appears to be the combining of opposites.
Yes, the law of attraction and that of repulsion and others are the names of the laws of divine practice and the Most High’s Shari‘a of Creation (al‑sharī‘at al-fiṭriyya), which is called nature. Such laws are acceptable on condition they do not cease being principles and become nature, and exist only in the mind and are not ascribed external existence, and do not cease being merely theoretical and become real, and do not cease to be seen as means and are considered effectual.
Now if you have understood this example [of the microscopic organism] and you have seen its vastness despite its infinitesimal size, and its breadth despite its narrowness, raise your head and observe the universe: you will see the clarity of the proof of divine providence (dalīl al‑‘ināya) and that it is as clear and obvious as the universe.
All the Qur’anic verses that recount the bounties of things and recall their benefits manifest this proof. When the Qur’an enjoins reflective thought, it generally directs the one it addresses to the method of this [deductive] reasoning (istidlāl): So turn your vision again; do you see any flaw? As for this verse, how [clearly] it points to this proof: Who has made the earth a resting‑place for you and the sky a canopy, and has sent down water from the sky and thereby brought forth fruits for your sustenance.
The Proof That Things Are Given Existence Out of Nothing (Al‑Dalīl Al-Ikhtirā‘Ī)
The proof that things are given existence out of nothing (al‑dalīl al-ikhtirā‘ī), which is alluded to by the verse who has created you and those [who lived] before you (alladhī khalaqakum wa alladhīna min qablikum), is this:
Allah the Most High gave every species and all the members of each, a particular being which is the source of its particular works and the perfections of which it is worthy. Since all species [and realms of beings] are contingent, as are the never ending chains of causes, none can go back in unbroken succession to pre‑eternity. Also, since there is [constant] change in the world, it proves [the world’s] createdness, sometimes through observation and sometimes through rational necessity.
It has also been demonstrated by biology and botany that there are more than two hundred thousand sorts of species and that each has a progenitor and forefather. Contingency and createdness prove therefore that necessarily these progenitors and forefathers emerged without intermediary from the hand of divine power. Moreover, [causes] cannot be imagined [at the first creation] as they are imagined in the chains of causes. Furthermore, the delusion of the splitting off of some species from others is invalid. For [since either the offspring are barren or the line becomes extinct,] an intervening species mostly does not become the start of new chains through reproduction.
It is most likely therefore that since the origins and beginnings are thus, the successive members will also be thus.
How can it be imagined that simple, lifeless natural causes, which are devoid of intelligence and will, should be capable of bringing into existence these chains [of beings] which astound the mind, and of creating (ikhtirā‘) the individual beings, each of which is a marvel of art and miracle of divine power?
Hence, all beings and the chains of which they are parts testify decisively through the tongues of their createdness and contingency to the necessary existence of their Creator, may His glory be exalted.
If You Were to Ask: Why when there is this decisive testimony do people believe in such misguided [ideas] as the pre‑eternity of matter and its motion?
You Would Be Told: If a person looks at something indirectly he may consider the impossible to be possible, like the old man searching the sky for the crescent moon of the festival (‘īd) saw the white hair resting on his eyelid [and thought it was] the moon.
For by virtue of his lofty essence and noble nature, man pursues truth and right. And if the false and invalid fall into his hand, then involuntarily – so long as he has not sought or searched for it – but because of his superficial, indirect view, he is forced to accept it. Because when he ignores the order [of the universe], which is the thread [to which is tied] all the instances of wisdom, and fails to see the contrariness of the motion [of particles as the source of matter] and the pre‑eternity of matter, it becomes possible in his indirect view to ascribe the unique embroideries and wondrous art to blind chance and unseeing coincidence.
As al‑Jisrī has said, if someone who enters a palace filled with the embellished works of civilization does not see its owner, he will believe that it has none and will be forced to ascribe the building and its decorations to chance, coincidence, and the laws of natural selection.
Moreover, when he ignores the testimony to a total will, all‑encompassing knowledge, and perfect power of all the instances of wisdom and uses and benefits in the order of the world and is heedless of them, it will appear possible to him – since he sees them by the way – to prove the actual effect of lifeless causes.
Now how about this! Disregard the subtleties of the Most High’s art and study the most obvious of the works called “nature” and that is the visible manifestation (irtisām) and reflection [of things], on condition you rend the veil of familiarity: how can your soul be convinced and your reason accept that the properties of the face of a mirror can constitute an effective cause conducive to revealing the face of the skies and attracting [and reflecting] in its glass its image with its altitude and inscribed with stars? And how can your reason be persuaded that in reality the imaginary thing called gravity is an effective cause holding the earth and stars with their motions and rotations in firm order?
In Short: If a person looks at something impossible and invalid superficially and by the way and does not see the true cause, he may deem it to be possible and valid. But if he considers such a thing intentionally and for itself, and studies it as his own, it is impossible that he should accept any of those matters that they drone on about in natural philosophy, unless he is so foolish as to suppose all minute particles possess the intelligence of the philosophers and the wisdom of the politicians!
If You Were to Ask: What are nature and the laws and forces that they mutter about and try to console themselves with?
You Would Be Told: Nature is a pattern, not a source; it is a printing press, and not the printer; it is a code of laws, and not a power; it is the divine Shari‘a of Creation, which imposes an order on the acts of the limbs of the Manifest World’s body. Just as the Shari‘a is the product and summary of the rules governing voluntary acts, and the system of government is the sum of political principles; so the Shari‘a and order are two theoretical matters that exist only in the mind; and so too nature is a theoretical matter that is the summary of Allah’s external practices in creation.
The delusion of its external existence is like a savage imagining when he sees a military division performing disciplined drill that the soldiers are tied together with [physical strings that have] external existence. It is people with the consciences of savages, therefore, who imagine that because of its continuance nature has effective external existence.
In Short: Nature is the art of Allah the Most High and the code of His creational laws. Its laws are the articles of the code, and its forces, the matters of the articles.
Now for the Proof of Divine Unity:
The Qur’an of Miraculous Exposition has omitted nothing from its proofs of divine unity. Sufficient evidence is the proof [called] burhān al‑tamānu‘ contained in the verse If there had been in them [the heavens and earth] gods other than Allah, they would have caused confusion in both; it is a shining beacon [proving] that independence is a necessary essential and inherent quality of the Godhead.
Now for the proof of divine unity (dalīl al‑tawḥīd), indicated by Worship! (u‘budū), that is, ‘profess Allah’s unity’ (waḥḥadū). According to the commentary of Ibn ‘Abbas it is as follows:
This verse [also] alludes to a subtle proof of divine unity which is [indicated by the following:] the co‑operation of the heavens and earth and their relations in producing the products [to support] the livelihoods of mankind and the animals; the similarity of the works in the world, and all sides of it embracing each other, each taking the other by the hand so to complete the order; the mutual response of its different parts to each other’s needs; all of it looking to a single point; and all being in regular motion on the axis of a single order. All this implies, indeed states clearly that the Maker of this single machine is One. So too it recites the lines:
In everything is a sign indicating that He is One.
Now consider this: the Maker is necessarily existent and one, so too He is qualified by all the attributes of perfection. For whatever the traces of perfection found in an artefact, they are derived from the shadow of the manifestation of its Maker’s perfection. So necessarily, the beauty, perfection, and goodness of the Maker (May His glory be exalted) must be of a degree infinitely higher than all the beauty, perfection, and goodness found in the universe. For beneficence (iḥsān) is derived from the wealth of the Beneficent (al‑Muḥsin) and is evidence for it, and the giving of existence (ījād) proves the existence (vujūd) of the Giver of existence (al‑mūjid), and making necessary proves the existence of one who makes necessary, and making beautiful points to the beauty of one who makes beautiful.
Moreover, the Maker is exempt from all defects, for defects arise from the essential inability of material beings and the Most High is free of materiality.
So too is He free of the attributes necessarily arising from the contingent essences of beings. Glory be unto Him! He is the Necessarily Existent. There is none like unto Him, May His glory be exalted! He alludes to these two truths with His words: Then set not up rivals to Allah (fa‑lā taj‘alū li’llāhi andādan).
Now for the Proof of Contingency
Now for the proof of contingency (al‑dalīl al-imkānī), which is alluded to by the verse, For God is indeed self‑sufficient, whereas you stand in need [of Him]:
You see that in respect of its essence and all its attributes and every one of its states and all its facets, every single atom in the universe [exists] hesitant and wavering amid endless possibilities. Then suddenly one springs to life, stands, and follows a specific path; it is clothed in particular attributes and assumes an orderly state and mounts an apposite law; it is turned to a fixed destination; then it yields wise results and benefits that could be obtained only in that determined way. Does it not proclaim in its particular tongue its Maker’s intention and wisdom, enunciating them clearly?
Just as each particle singly is a proof, so its evidence multiplies as it becomes a part of ever‑growing compounds one within the other. For it has a position in each compound, and it has relations in each position, and it has functions resulting from each of the relations, and each of its functions bears the fruit of benefits and uses. At each degree it recites with its tongue proofs of the necessary existence of its Maker. It resembles a soldier, [who has relations and duties] in his platoon, his regiment, his division, and so on.
The Positioning of This Verse and Its Relationship with What Preceded It
Having spelled out the categories of human beings; the pious believers charged with worship, the obdurate disbelievers, and the wavering dissemblers, the Qur’an now addresses all of them with the words: O you people! Worship… It makes this the consequence of what preceded it in the same way that a building follows the plan, and commands and prohibitions pertaining to actions proceed from laws [that exist as] knowledge, and the divine decree (al‑qaḍā’) is executed in accordance with divine determining (al‑qadar), and composition and creation follow on after the story and quotation.
For when [the Qur’an] mentions the three different [groups] and describes their characteristics and outcomes, it is paving the way for the [main] subject and alerting the listener[s]. Then it addresses [them] directly. This regard, I mean its referring to them firstly in the third person, then here addressing them directly, is a device (lit. point) generally [acceptable to the literary science of] al‑bayān. It is this:
When either the virtues or vices of a person are mentioned by degrees, it alerts and excites [the listeners] and increases in [them] feelings of either admiration or disgust. These gradually grow stronger until they drive [the listeners] to speak in person to the person concerned. Here, as required by the context (maqām) and to satisfy those wishes of the listeners, the speaker (al‑mutakallim – the Qur’an) fetches the person, brings him to their presence and addresses him directly.
This contains a point particular to this context, which is to alleviate the burdens of the obligation [of worship] with the pleasure of being addressed directly.
It indicates furthermore that in worship there are no intermediaries between the Creator and His bondsman.
The relationships between the phrases: The phrase O you people! Worship… addresses all the people of every class of the three groups, of the past, present, and future:
O genuine believers who worship surely and regularly!
O middling [worshippers], try to increase your worship!
O disbelievers, perform your worship and all it entails connected to belief and the affirmation of divine unity!
And O dissemblers, worship with true sincerity! Thus, the word Worship here is like a shared word expressing many meanings.
So ponder over this! Your Sustainer and Lord (Rabbakum); that is, worship Him for He is the lord who raises and sustains you! It is encumbent on you to be a bondsman who worships and serves Him.
As for the phrase who has created you (alladhī khalaqakum): Know that when Allah the Most High commands worship, which necessitates three things:
firstly, the existence of the object of worship (ma‘būd);
secondly, His unity;
and thirdly, His fitness to be worshipped,
He replies to these three implied questions by indicating three evidences of them: the evidences of [His] existence, which are of two sorts:
those in the outer world (āfāqī)
and those in man’s self (anfusī). The latter are also of two kinds: evidences in the self (nafsī) and those pertaining to origins (uṣūlī).
[The Qur’an] alludes to evidences in the self (nafsī), which are the nearest and most evident, with the phrase who has created you, and to those pertaining to man’s origins with and those [who lived] before you.
know that since the Qur’an relates worship to [men’s] creation and that of their forefathers, it necessitates two points: The First: [Human beings] being created with a propensity to worship and their having the ability to be conscious of and fear Allah (al‑taqwā), so [much so] that anyone who observes such an ability would expect worship from them. Like someone who sees [an animal’s] claws understands that they are for tearing at or grasping things.
The Second: That the purpose of their creation, and the function with which they are charged and the perfection to which they are turned, is the fear of Allah. This is the most complete and perfect worship.
That is to say, so that you might remain conscious of Him;
that is, the aim of your creation, and your perfection, and that for which your innate disposition has been made, is the consciousness of Allah and fear of Him.
Now for the phrase has made the earth a resting‑place for you (ja‘ala la‑kum al-arḍ firāshan): This points out the most likely evidences of the Most High’s existence furnished by the outer world. It is also an allusive rebuttal of the actual effectiveness of causes, which is the source of a sort of associating partners with Allah (shirk); that is, its ascribing the spreading‑out of the earth, or its preparation as man’s cradle, to the Most High and not to nature.
The phrase and the sky a canopy (wa al‑samā’ binā’an) indicates by mentioning the sky, which is contiguous with the earth, the most elevated of the simple proofs in the outer world.
Then with the phrase and has sent down water from the sky (wa anzala min al‑samā’) [it indicates] the evidence of their Maker’s existence [offered by] compound beings and things animal, vegetable, and mineral.
Moreover, all the previous phrases point to proof of [the Maker’s] existence. Similarly, as a whole they indicate His unity.
And the way they are set out indicates the order [of the universe] and alludes to the bounties. With the evidence [offered by] for your sustenance (rizqan la‑kum), it establishes the fitness of the Most High to be worshipped, for it is compulsory to thank the bestower of bounties.
For your sustenance also indicates that just as the earth and things animal, vegetable and mineral have been made to serve you, so you should serve the One who subjugated them to you.
Now the positioning [and relationships] of then set not up rivals to Allah (fa‑lā taj‘alū li’llāhi andādan): Know that extending from its position are lines to O you people! Worship your Sustainer and Lord; and to who has created you; and to who has made … for you; and to and has sent down. That is, when you worship your Lord, associate no partners with Him, for it is He who is the Lord and Sustainer,
and is your Creator and the Creator of the human race;
and because it was He who created the heavens and made them the roof to your dwelling‑place, so do not believe that natural causes have an actual effect, which is the source of idolatry;
and because it is He who sends down rain to the earth for your food and livelihoods. There is no bounty but His, so thanks and worship are due to Him alone.
The positioning and relationships of the parts of the phrases:
Consider this: The interjection [introductory to the vocative] Yā ayyuhā in the phrase Yā ayyuhā al‑nās u‘budū – O you people! Worship appears frequently in the Qur’an since it contains [a number of] fine points. Here the address is corroborated in three respects: by the yā – O, which is to arouse;
by the ayyū, [the purpose of] which is to distinguish;
and by the ‑hā, [the purpose of] which is to alert.
For the address here alludes to three benefits:
The replacing of the hardship of the obligation [of worship] with the pleasure of [being] address[ed],
and [informing that] the only means of man’s progress from the depths of absence to the [high] station of presence is worship.
It indicates too that those addressed are charged in three respects: in respect of their hearts, with submission and obedience; in respect of their intellects, with belief and affirming divine unity; and physically, through action and worship.
[The address] infers too that those addressed consist of three groups [the believers, the unbelievers, and the dissemblers].
It hints too at the three classes of the elite, the middle class, and the mass of the people.
It betokens too the familiar manner and order of things, which is that a person first of all calls out to a person to stop him, then he recognizes his features and turns to him, then he addresses him and gets him to do something.
In Short: The above subtle points [in the use of the vocative case] corroborate and reinforce the address [by] establishing the mentioned aspects [and meanings].
Concerning the interjection yā – O!, since it is addressing the people and they consist of various classes including the heedless, the absent, the idle, the ignorant, and so forth,
it both arouses the heedless, and summons the absent, and calls the idle to action, and informs the ignorant, and arrests the busy, and gives direction to those who turn away, and excites the lovers, and encourages the seekers, and urges the perfected to increase [their worship], and it also gives people a jolt.
The distance [inferred] by the yā – O!, although the context (maqām) is one of propinquity [and worship],
indicates the grandeur and sublimity of the obligation and its trust (amāna al‑taklīf).
It alludes too to the distance from when and where the address appeared, of the times and places of those on whom the obligation has been laid.
So too it is an allusion to the depths of mankind’s heedlessness.
As for the ayyu, it is used to single out [a person or a group] from the mass and infers that the whole universe is being addressed, and humankind is specified since men bear the trust in the form of “farḍ kifāya” [that is, it is human beings that are charged with performing worship]. So if they are lax [in doing this], they transgress against the rights of all [other] beings.
Also, in ayyu is an eloquent subtlety in that its conciseness is followed by the descriptive people (al‑nās).
Then the hā being a substitute for the second part of the genitive construction indicates that [its purpose] is to alert those summoned with the vocative interjection yā – O!
People (al‑nās): Being an active participle derived from [the verbal noun] nisyān, meaning forgetfulness, it indicates censure or reproof. That is, “O you people! How can you forget the pre‑eternal covenant (al‑mithāq al-azalī)? It indicates too an excuse; that is: “O you people! Your neglect can be due only to a mistake or forgetfulness; it can’t be deliberate or serious!”
As for Worship! (u‘budū), since it is the conclusion (or apodosis) of the general summons to all the classes [of people] mentioned above, it points to obedience, and indicates sincerity, and hints at continuance, and alludes to divine unity. That is, obey! Be sincere and constant [in worship]! Increase [your worship]! Profess the divine unity!
Your Lord and Sustainer (rabbakum) indicates that just as worship should be desired and sought since it is an elevated relation, an illustrious connection; it should be sought too since it is [a way of] serving and offering thanks to the One who nurtures and raises you, of whom you are in need.
Now for the parts of the phrase: Who created you (alladhī khalaqakum): As a relative pronoun, who (alladhī) is known only in so far as it is qualified by the relative clause.
[For instance, all that is known about “the one who went” is that he has gone.] Thus, [here Lord and Sustainer being governed by who] it infers that knowledge of Allah the Most High can only be in respect of His actions and works, and not His essence.
Then by virtue of its signifying determined, regular creation rather than the [mere] giving of existence (ījād) or giving rise to (inshā’), created (khalaqa) indicates that by nature the human being is turned toward the obligation [of worship].
It infers too that worship is a duty, for it is the result and ‘wage’ of creation. But [this wage is not the reward for worship;] the reward is purely a favour of Allah the Most High.
Because of the uncertainty of [who or what is governed by] those [who] (alladhīna) it is as though hinting: “Nothing is now known of those who came before you and have died and departed. You are tottering on the brink of the grave, so take a lesson and don’t be deceived by this world. Be steadfast in worship, the means to everlasting happiness.”
Concerning so that you might remain conscious of Him (la‘allakum tattaqūn); la‘alla signifies hope, and when it precedes something desirable it is used to increase eagerness, and when it precedes something repugnant, its function is to put [the listener] on his guard. Here, the hope cannot refer literally to the Speaker [that is, to Allah], so it is either figurative (majāz), or refers either to the addressee or to observers or listeners.
If If Refers to the Speaker, It Is a Parabolic Metaphor (Isti‘Āra Tamthīliyya):
[For instance,] if one equips a person with the gear for a job, one hopes and expects that he will do it. In the same way, Allah has decked out humanity with the potentiality to be perfected, and the capacity [to perform the religious] obligations, and the means of will. The metaphor indicates too that the purpose (ḥikma) of man’s creation is fear of Allah and consciousness of Him (taqwā).
It also infers that worship results in the degree (al‑martaba) of fear of Allah.
So too it is a sign that the fear of Allah is the highest degree. Moreover, in the style of kings, the metaphor suggests encouragement and the holding out of hopes and [the making of] certain promises.
If [the Hope Signified by La‘Alla] Refers to Those Addressed, It Is as Though Saying:
“Worship seeking [to aspire to] the fear of Allah, between fear and hope.” This implies that man should not feel confident about his worship. It suggests too that he should not suffice with his [present degree of worship], but should confirm the saying “it is incumbent on you to act without cease” and look beyond the degree at which he is found [and aspire to more].
And If [the Hope Signified by La‘Alla] Refers to Observers and Listeners:
It is as though whoever observes human beings equipped with such abilities and potentialities will hope and expect worship from them – just as a person who sees the claws and fangs of a predator will expect it to be rapacious. It indicates too that worship is required by man’s inborn nature.
Since the fear of Allah results from the worship of all the classes [of men] mentioned previously, the words they may fear Allah (tattaqūn) allude to all [types and] levels of taqwā. That is, taqwā [preventing] the association of partners with Allah (shirk), taqwā [preventing the committing of] grievous sins, taqwā [causing one] to preserve one’s heart from [attachment to] things other than Allah the Most High, and taqwā [causing one] to avoid [things leading to] punishment, and taqwā [causing one] to restrain oneself from anger.
It is also a hint that [true] worship is that which is [performed] with sincerity. And it indicates that worship should be the sole aim, and not a means, and suggests too that worship should not be [performed in the hope of] reward or [to avoid] punishment.
Now the elements of the phrase Who has made the earth a resting‑place for you and the sky a canopy (Alladhī ja‘ala la‑kum al-arḍa firāshan wa al-samā’ binā’an):
Consider this: By describing the vastness of the Maker’s power, this indicates that it is spurring [the people] on to worship, and by mentioning His favours encouraging [them]. It is as though saying:
“O man! The One who subjugates the earth and heavens to you deserves your worship.”
It also indicates man’s virtue and his high worth and his nobility in Allah’s sight, as though saying:
“You should show through worshipping the One who has ennobled you by making the heavenly and lowly bodies [in such a way] that you might benefit from them despite their vastness, that you are worthy of His favour.”
Moreover, it is a hint rebutting chance, coincidence, and the [actual] effect of nature. That is:
“All the attributes you see [in nature exist] through the making of a Maker, the intention of an Intender, the specification of a Specifier, and the order of an Orderer. How sublime is His wisdom!”
Furthermore, it draws attention to the fact that the attributes of bodies point through their contingency to the Maker. For their atoms are equal in that they can assume [an infinite number of] general states and modes, and all contingent attributes are hesitant amid a great many possibilities. So in respect of their attributes and states all [physical] bodies are in need of intention, purpose or wisdom, and the specifying of one to specify [these].
As for the precedence of for you (la‑kum), it indicates that the earth has been spread out for man; as though it is only man who benefits from it, and the rest [in this respect] are superfluous.
A resting‑place (firāshan) indicates a fine point of eloquence which is the strange fact that although the earth’s nature requires that it should have been submerged in water, [it was not] and this implies that it was spread out contrarily to its nature. For according to this, the water should have overrun the [whole] globe. But in His wisdom and mercy, the Maker drew out a part of it and spread it out and laid on it the table of His bounties.
Similarly, in accordance with the rule “If a thing is proved, it is proven together with the things it necessitates,” the word resting‑place [derived from the verb farasha to spread out] indicates that the earth is like the carpeted floor of a house, and the species of plants and animals it contains like its furniture, placed in it intentionally and purposively.
It suggests also that intentionally and purposively [the state of] the earth is a middling one; it is neither so liquid that it cannot be walked upon, nor is it so hard that it cannot be utilized or tilled. For if it had been thus it would have been useless even if made of gold. Its intermediate [state] therefore indicates that it has been specified, made, and intended by one [who acts] with wisdom and purpose.
And the sky a canopy (wa al‑samā’ binā’an) indicates this, that when the Most High made the heavens a canopy and roof for you, its stars became your lamps, so don’t imagine that chance [has any part] in their dispersal, as you might imagine it does if you scatter some jewels on the ground. In this verse is the hint, the suggestion, the intimation of a wondrously subtle and precious mystery, which is as follows:
If You Were to Ask: Man is a mere atom in relation to the earth, and the earth is an atom in relation to the universe. Similarly, a human individual is an atom relatively to the human race, and the human race is an atom compared with its partners in benefiting from this lofty home. Moreover, the extent to which mankind utilizes the house’s advantages and aims is [only] an atom’s [worth]. And its aims that the human intellect can perceive are a [mere] atom in relation to the uses [existent] in pre‑eternal wisdom and divine knowledge. So how is it that [the Most High] created the earth for humankind and made man’s utilizing it its ultimate aim?
You Would Be Told: Yes, that’s right, but despite all that, on account of the breadth of man’s spirit and the expanse of his intellect and extent of his abilities, and the many, far‑flung ways in which he utilizes the universe;
and because of the absence of overcrowding and fragmentation and resistance in respect of its utilization, like the relation of the whole with its parts – for the whole is present in its entirety in all its parts and there is therefore no crowding and no fragmentation; the Qur’an made man’s utilization the ultimate aim although it is only one out of the myriad aims of the heavens and earth, and that is how it appears to man. That is, man benefits from the earth as though it were the courtyard of his house and the heavens were his roof. The stars are lamps for him and the plants, his food, so each [person] has the right to say: “My sun, my skies, my earth.” Now think about this together with your reasoning faculty!
Now for the particulars of and has sent down water from the sky and thereby brought forth fruits for your sustenance (wa anzala min al‑samā’ mā’an fa-akhraja bi-hi min al-thamarāti rizqan la-kum):
Consider this: The [implied] pronoun in has sent down (anzala) [referring to Allah] indicates that the raindrops are sent down with an intentional balance and with wisdom [and purpose]. In fact, each droplet is encompassed by a particular order, as is suggested by none of them ever colliding with its brothers during its long descent despite the buffeting of the air. This announces that the raindrops are not left to their own devices, but that the reins of each are held by an angel representing the order and reflecting it.
The use of the noun in from the sky (min al‑samā’) although a pronoun would have been in place [since it is repetition], infers that what is intended is the direction of the sky, not from the sky itself (cirmahā).
The use of the word water (mā’an) although what falls is snow, hail, and rain, indicates that water is the source nearest and most useful. Indeed, And [that] We made out of water every living being.
While its being indefinite suggests that it has wondrous properties and a strange structure and that its chemical compound is unknown to you.
The conjunction fa‑ in fa‑akhraja – has thereby brought forth is so positioned as to follow on without break, but there is a [considerable] delay between the falling of the rain and the bringing forth of the fruits. This implies such [missing] sentences as
… the earth trembled and swelled, then grew green and produced every sort of plant in pairs, and has thereby brought forth‥
[With it] (bi‑hi): Since the true meaning of [this preposition of instrument qualifying ‘water’], that is, to affix or bring close (ilṣāq), has absorbed [the meaning of] causality, it indicates the luscious freshness of the fruits. For contrary to its nature, the water rises to them and fills their goblets at close quarters.
[Some] fruits (min al‑thamarāt): According to Sibawayh, since [the partitive] min [some] does not entirely lack the meaning of a subject [it cannot be the object of has brought forth] and this indicates that the object will vary according to the understanding of the listener[s];
that is, “such various fruits as you feel appetite for.”
As for the ‘nunation’ (indefiniteness) of sustenance (rizqan), it indicates that the causes by which you obtain this sustenance are unknown to you, for it comes to you from where you would not expect.
And for your (lit. you) (la‑kum) is a hint strengthening the meaning of gracious bestowal. It infers too that the sustenance is for you, but there is no harm if others profit from it after you.
Also it implies that the Most High has singled you out for His bounties, so you should offer thanks to Him alone.
The positioning [and relationships] of the parts of then set not up as rivals to Allah (fa‑lā taj‘alū li’llāhi andādan): The fa‑ (then or so) [of fa‑lā] looks to the four sections [above]:
that is, He is the true Object of Worship, so associate none other with Him; He is absolutely Omnipotent and the heavens and earth are in the grasp of His power, so don’t believe that He has any partners; He is the Bestower of [all] bounties so offer your thanks to none but He; and He is your Creator, so don’t imagine that He has any partners.
The use of set up (taj‘alū) instead of believe (ta‘taqidū) indicates the meaning of the verse These [allegedly divine beings] are nothing but empty names you have invented. That is, meaningless names you imagine exist and are of your own making.
The precedence of to Allah (li‑llāh): By drawing immediate attention to [Allah] shows on the one hand the necessity of [remembering Him]; while on the other it infers that the reason for the prohibition is the fact that partners are associated with Him.
Rivals (andād): [The singular] nidd has the meaning of like, equal, or peer, and anything ‘like’ the Most High will be His exact opposite; between them will be contrariety. In this is a subtle hint that the [term] rival or equal is essentially futile.
Then the use of the plural indicates the utter ignorance of those who associate partners with Allah (al‑mushrikīn), and infers derision of them:
“How can you ascribe to Allah, who is without like, hordes of equals and opposites?”
It also infers the rejection of all sorts of partners; partners in His essence, in His attributes, and His actions.
It intimates too rebuttal of every type of associator of partners with Allah: the pagans (al‑wathaniyyūn), the Sabeans, the Christians (ahl al‑tathlīth), and the Naturalists, all of whom believe that causes have an actual effect.
Note: The source of paganism or idolatry is either the deification of the stars or the indwelling or incarnation of Allah.
Now that you know (wa antum ta‘lamūn): Like similar concluding phrases of verses (fawāṣil), this indicates that the source of Islam is knowledge (al‑‘ilm) and its basis is reason (al‑‘aql), and that it accepts the truth and rejects sophistry and delusion.
Moreover, through its conciseness in attaching no object to the verb “know”, [the Qur’an] prolongs the speech. That is, “You know now that other than Him there is no true object of worship and no creator or possessor of absolute power or bestower of bounties.
And you know too that all gods and idols are nothing and are incapable of doing anything. They are all created, mere inventions you have fancied.” You should give this due thought!