Appearance
Verses 1–4
Introduction
The aim of this chapter is to demonstrate the truth of what was revealed to the Prophet of the Book and to show that it is a mark of his messengership. Furthermore, it aims to reject the argument made by the Prophet’s opponents, ‘Why has not some sign been sent down to him from his Lord?’ (), which they utter while they turn their backs on the Qurʾan and do not count it as a sign. Therefore, the Prophet should not pay any attention to it, nor should they voice it.
This is highlighted by the chapter’s opening, which begins with the phrase, That which has been sent down to you from your Lord is the truth, but most people do not believe. It is also highlighted by its conclusion, which reads, The faithless say, ‘You have not been sent.’ Say, ‘Allah suffices as a witness between me and you, and he who possesses the knowledge of the Book’ (), and by the repetition of their statement, ‘Why has not some sign been sent down to him from his Lord?’ ( and ).
The essence of these verse’s message to the Prophet is that this Qurʾan, which was revealed to you, is pure truth untainted by any kind of falsehood. The call to believe in God’s oneness, which is demonstrated by the signs of the universe such as the raising of the heavens, the spreading of the earth, the harnessing of the sun and the moon, and all the miraculous features of His divine management and extraordinary control that are contained within it.
The truth of his call is also demonstrated by the accounts of past nations and what befell them. Their messengers came to them with clear signs, but they disbelieved and denied, so God punished them for their sins. This is what this Book contains, and it is a sign demonstrating the truth of the Prophetic message.
The Prophet is told to ignore the repeated refrain of his opponents, ‘Why has not some sign been sent down to him from his Lord?,’ which is a subtle dig at the Qurʾan by them, for the following reasons: First, you are only a warner and have no control over the matter to make such a demand of you. Second, guidance and misguidance are not, as they claim, within the power of God’s signs, such that they can hope to be guided by a sign they demanded. Rather, the matter is up to God Almighty. He misguides whom He wills and guides whom He wills according to a system founded on His wisdom. As for their statement, ‘You have not been sent,’ God’s testimony in His speech to your messengership and the evidence of the true knowledge contained in your revelation should suffice as proof for you that they are wrong.
Some of the manifest truths contained in this chapter of the Qurʾan are found in the verse, He sends down water from the sky … (), His statement, Look! The hearts find rest in Allah’s remembrance! (), and His statement, Allah effaces and confirms whatever He wishes and with Him is the Mother Book (), and His statement, yet all devising belongs to Allah ().
The chapter is entirely Meccan in provenance, as indicated by the context of its verses and the contents thereof. Some have reported that it is Meccan except for the last verse, which was revealed in Medina about ʿAbd Allāh bin Salām. This view has been attributed to al-Kalbī and Muqātil, but it is refuted by the fact that the conclusion of the chapter closely corresponds with its opening verse, That which has been sent down to you from your Lord is the truth (), and must therefore have originated in the same context as it.
Some have said that the entire chapter is Medinan, except for two verses, those being, If only it were a Qurʾan whereby the mountains could be moved … () and the verse immediately after it. This view has been attributed to al-Ḥasan, ʿIkrima, and Qatāda. However, this is refuted by the context of the verses and their contents, as these do not correspond with the circumstances in Medina after the Emigration.
It has also been said that the Medinan part of the chapter is God’s statement, The faithless will continue to be visited by catastrophes because of their doings … () and the rest is Meccan. Proponents of this view argue say that this verse matches the context of the early state of Islam after the migration but before the conquest of Mecca. The erroneousness of this view will become clear when we discuss the verse in full, below.
Commentary
المر تِلْكَ آيَاتُ الْكِتَابِ وَالَّذِيَ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِن رَّبِّكَ الْحَقُّ وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ ١
(13:1) Alif, Lām, Mīm, Ra. These are the signs of the Book. That which has been sent down to you from your Lord is the truth, but most people do not believe.
The disconnected letters at the opening of this chapter are a combination of those which open the chapters beginning alif lām mīm and those which open the chapters beginning alif lām rāʾ. This reflects the fact that the teachings expressed in the present chapter appear to be combination of the teachings contained in those two categories of chapter. We will elaborate further on this, below.
These are the signs (āyāt) of the Book—the apparent context of the verse and the three verses that follow it, given their obvious connection with one another, suggest that these āyāt refer to signs of monotheism that can be observed in the cosmos. For example, the raising of the heavens, the spreading of the earth, the harnessing of the sun and the moon, and other things that point to God’s oneness. These verses remind us that contemplating the details of these signs and pondering deeply on them leads us to become certain about the origin of the cosmos and the return to God, and also certain that the knowledge revealed to the Prophet is the truth.
All of this suggests that the signs referred to in the verse, These are the signs of the Book, are the visible signs that exist in the cosmos and externally existing entities that are harnessed within the universal divine order. Hence, the Book refers to the totality of the cosmos, which is, in one sense, the Preserved Tablet (al-lawḥ al-maḥfūẓ). Alternatively, it could refer to the Qurʾan, insofar as it contains signs of the cosmos in a metaphorical or figurative sense.
On this basis, the verse points to two types of evidence: natural evidence embodied in the cosmic signs of the heavens, the earth, and everything in between, and verbal evidence embodied in the Qurʾanic verses revealed by Him to His Prophet. His statement, but most people do not believe, is a qualifying clause related to both sentences, meaning His statement, These are the signs of the Book, and His statement, That which has been sent down to you from your Lord is the truth, and not only the latter sentence in isolation.
Therefore, the meaning of this verse, to the best of my knowledge, is: ‘These cosmic matters…’—which are indicated by the distant demonstrative pronoun (tilka) as a sign of their high status…—‘are the signs of the universal Book of the cosmos. They illustrate that God is one, with no partner in His lordship. The Qurʾan, which has been sent down to you from your Lord, is the truth, not falsehood. These signs are decisive in their indication, and this is the truth in its revealed form, but most people do not believe, neither in these tangible signs nor in this revealed truth.’ There is a tone of blame and reproof in the phrasing of this verse.
It becomes clear from the above that the use of the definite article al- in His statement, the truth (al-ḥaqq) is to denote exclusivity, signifying that what has been revealed to him is only the truth, not falsehood, nor a mixture of truth and falsehood.
Commentators have offered a variety of different views about the structure of this verse and the meaning of its individual parts, such as what is meant by the demonstrative pronoun these, what is meant by signs, what is meant by the Book, the meaning of the exclusivity in His statement, the truth, and what is meant by most people. The most apparent and appropriate reading for the verse based on its context is what we have presented above. Those who wish to delve into the particulars of other commentator’s views should refer to the detailed commentaries.
اللَّهُ الَّذِي رَفَعَ السَّمَاوَاتِ بِغَيْرِ عَمَدٍ تَرَوْنَهَا ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى عَلَى الْعَرْشِ وَسَخَّرَ الشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ كُلٌّ يَجْرِي لأَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى يُدَبِّرُ الأَمْرَ يُفَصِّلُ الآيَاتِ لَعَلَّكُم بِلِقَاء رَبِّكُمْ تُوقِنُونَ ٢
(13:2) It is Allah who raised the heavens without any pillars (ʿamad) that you see, and then presided over the Throne. He disposed the sun and the moon, each moving for a specified term. He directs the command, elaborates the signs that you may be certain of encountering your Lord.
In his Mufradāt, al-Rāghib writes: ‘A pillar (ʿumūd) is that upon which the tent rests (mā taʿtamid ʿalayhi al-khayma). The plural of this term is ʿumud or ʿamad. For example, God says: in outstretched columns (), which is recited both ways … without any pillars that you see.’ Some have said that ʿamad is the collective noun for ʿimād, not the plural of ʿumūd.
The verse intends to remind its audience of the evidence of God’s sole and exclusive lordship over the cosmos. The heavens are raised without pillars upon which they rest that your eyes can see. There is a continuous system with the sun and moon subjugated, running to a specified term. There must be someone who oversees these matters, raising the heavens, organizing the system, subjugating the sun and the moon, managing the affairs of the cosmos, and separating these signs out from one another, in the hope that you will have certainty that one day you will meet your Lord. God Almighty is the one who carries out the aforementioned tasks of raising the heavens, organizing the system, subjugating the sun and the moon, managing the affairs, and separating out the signs. He, exalted be He, is the Lord of all, there is no lord other than Him!
In the passage, It is Allah who raised the heavens without any pillars that you see, the raising of the heavens refers to their separation from the earth; a separation that allows them to overshadow the earth by casting their rays, and sending down their rain and lightning onto it, among other things. Thus, they are elevated above the earth without any tangible pillars that humans can perceive to support them. Therefore, humans must realize that the heavens have a raiser, a preserver who prevents them from moving out of place, a holder who prevents them from disappearing from their position.
Indeed, the stability of the heavens in their high position without pillars is no less astonishing than the stability of the earth in its position, as both require Him, the Exalted. They maintain their position by His power and will, through specific causes assigned to them by His permission. Even if the heavens were elevated and supported by erected pillars, this would not render them without need for God Almighty, or free them from being dependent on His power and His will. All things, in all their states, need Him absolutely with a need that never leaves them, in any situation.
However, while human beings acknowledge the universal law of gravity and submit to the need for all phenomena to have causes, and while their innate nature leads them to search for the causes of things and of contingent beings, when they repeatedly find some events associated with their causes, they no longer wonder at observing them in their state, nor do they investigate it further. When they see heavy bodies falling to the earth, then find a ceiling raised above the earth that does not fall on it, they wonder and investigate it until they find pillars or supports on which the ceiling stands. With this, along with its repetition in their perception, their mind stops investigating every occasion where they observe something elevated that is supported by pillars or supports.
However, when they find something that breaks this familiar routine, such as celestial bodies remaining high above without any pillars to support them, or the flight of birds by the flapping of their wings, then their mind is drawn to investigate the cause of such phenomena, like one who has been awakened from a slumber.
So, when God says, It is Allah who raised the heavens without any pillars that you see, He describes the heavens as being without any pillars that you see. This does not signify the absolute negation of pillars from the heavens. However, if His statement, that you see, is read as a descriptive clarification with no implicit meaning, or to indicate the negation of tangible pillars, this suggests that, since they do not have pillars, it is God, exalted be He, who is the raiser, the holder of them, without the mediation of a cause. If they had pillars like everything else that relies on a pillar, then the pillars would be the raiser, the holder of them, without needing God Almighty, as most people might imagine, namely that the things that depend on God are those things whose cause is unknown, like celestial matters, atmospheric events, the soul, and the like.
The Qurʾan affirms, firstly, that everything, apart from God Himself, is created by Him, and all creation and command depends on Him, as He said, Allah is the creator of all things (Qurʾan ), and also, Look! All creation and command belong to Him ().
Secondly, it affirms that the law of causality is constant and that God is on a straight path. Thus, there is no reason for the law of causality to be applicable to some physical matters and not to others. Some events, such as terrestrial occurrences, are attributed to God through causes, while others, such as celestial matters, are attributed to Him without intermediaries. If a ceiling, for instance, stands on a pillar, it stands due to a cause specific to it, by God’s permission. If a celestial body stands without a pillar to support it, it also stands due to a cause specific to it, such as its particular nature or general gravitation, for example, by God’s permission.
However, the phrase, It is Allah who raised the heavens without any pillars that you see, is meant to awaken people’s innermost nature and inspire it to seek the cause of these phenomena, which inevitably leads them to God. This approach is also followed in the subsequent verse, It is He who has spread out the earth and set in it firm mountains and streams (), which we will explain below.
Given that the objective in this context—as indicated by the sequence of the verses—is to affirm the oneness of God’s Lordship, demonstrate that He is the Lord of all things and that there is no lord besides Him, rather than proving the existence of a creator Creator, God follows the phrase, It is Allah who raised the heavens without any pillars that you see, with: and then presided over the Throne. He disposed the sun and the moon. This shows that the overall management of the cosmos is unified by the connection some of its parts to others, thereby affirming that the Lord and Master of all, who governs its affairs, is One.
This is because the polytheists, whom the Qurʾan addresses in its verses, did not deny that the Creator of everything and its Originator is One, without any partner in His creation and origination of the cosmos. Nor do they deny that this creator is the One God. However, they also believed that He had delegated the management of every affair of the universe and each of its categories of entities, such as the earth, the sky, humans, animals, land, war, peace, life, and death, to a powerful being. Therefore, it is appropriate to worship this powerful being to win its favor and ward off its harm. The only effective refutation of them is to restrict lordship to the One God and affirm that He is the Lord, with no lord besides Him. As for affirming the unity of divinity, in the sense of affirming that the Necessary Being is One, and there is no necessary being other than Him, and to Him all existence leads, this is a matter that the polytheists do not deny and does not affect their beliefs in any way.
From this, it becomes clear that the phrase, It is Allah who raised the heavens without any pillars that you see is placed at the beginning of the verse as a prelude and preparation for His statement, and then presided over the Throne, without it being the main focus of the argument to come. The introduction of the verse complements its conclusion, and vice versa, as can also be seen in God’s statement, Indeed your Lord is Allah, who created the heavens and the earth in six days, and then settled on the Throne (, ), and in other similar verses.
It also becomes clear that the phrase, without any pillars, is related to the raising, and that you can see is a description of the pillars. The intention is that they are raised without visible, tangible pillars. As for those who read you can see as a sentence starting a new thought, suggesting a response to an interjection, as if the listener, upon hearing It is Allah who raised the heavens without any pillars, asks, ‘What is the evidence for that?’ and is answered, you can see, the evidence for that is that they are visible to you, this explanation of the verse seems unlikely. Unless the intention of the heavens is to refer to the entirety of the upper direction including the celestial bodies of stars and planets, the accumulated air above the earth, and the clouds and mist, all of which are indeed raised without pillars and visible to humans.
The sentence, … and then presided over the Throne. He disposed the sun and the moon, has been discussed previously in the explanation of verse 54 of Sūrah al-Aʿrāf.
His statement, each moving for a specified term, means that each of them runs to a specific term at which it stops and does not exceed. This is one reading. However, it is also plausible, and even more likely, that the omitted pronoun refers to all, meaning that all of the heavens, sun, and moon run to a specified term. Indeed, the rule of motion and movement is constantly applicable to all these bodies.
The meaning of the phrase, ‘specified term’ has been discussed previously in the explanation of verse 1 of Sūrah al-Anʿām.
His statement, He directs the command, refers to the arrangement of things, which is bringing one thing after another. It implies the ordering of multiple diverse things and organizing them by placing each thing in its specific place so that each of them achieves the intended purpose and benefit, without the situation being disturbed by the disappearance of the original or the corruption and crowding of the parts. For example, one might say: ‘He directed the affairs of the house,’ meaning he organized its affairs and the actions related to it in a way that led to the improvement of its condition and the increased enjoyment of its benefits by its inhabitants.
From this perspective, it becomes apparent that God’s management of the affairs of the universe involves organizing its components in a precise and meticulous manner, so that everything is directed toward its intended purpose, which is the ultimate level of perfection specific to it and the end of the specified term it can reach. The management of everything involves implementing a universal system that directs everything toward its collective goal, which is returning to God and the emergence of the life of the Hereafter following the life of this world.
The passage, He elaborates the signs that you may be certain of encountering your Lord, based on the apparent context in which it occurs, refers to the signs found in the cosmos. Thus, elaborating these means distinguishing some from others and separating them after they were joined together. This is part of God’s practice of distinguishing things, differentiating everything from everything else, and extracting from everything what is hidden within it and concealed in its depths. Through this, light is separated from darkness, truth from falsehood, good from evil, the righteous from the corrupt, and the rewarded from the punished.
Therefore, He followed it with the phrase, that you may be certain of encountering your Lord, as the Day of Meeting is the Hour, which God has also called ‘the Day of Separation,’ and promised on it to distinguish the pious from the criminals and the wicked therein. He has said, Indeed the Day of Separation is the tryst for them all (), and He said, ‘Get apart today, you guilty ones!’ (), and He said, so that Allah may separate the bad ones from the good, and place the bad on one another, and pile them up together, and cast them into hell. It is they who are the losers ().
The most well-known explanation of this verse among scholars is that the signs it refers to are, in fact, the signs contained in the scriptures revealed by God. Thus, detailing them for a purpose means explaining and revealing them through the statements in the scriptures revealed to God’s prophets so that people may reflect, contemplate, and understand them. In this, there is hope that they will have certainty about meeting God Almighty and returning to Him. However, the meaning we have presented is more consistent with the themes of this chapter and closer to the immediate context of the verse.
Note that in His statement, that you may be certain of encountering your Lord, instead of saying ‘so that you may be certain of encountering Him,’ the explicit noun ‘your Lord’ is placed where the implicit pronoun ‘Him’ would be. The purpose of this is to further emphasize God’s Lordship and highlight that the one who created the world and managed its affairs, and in doing so becoming its Lord, is also your Lord. Therefore, there is no lord except one Lord, who has no partner in His lordship.
وَهُوَ الَّذِي مَدَّ الأَرْضَ وَجَعَلَ فِيهَا رَوَاسِيَ وَأَنْهَارًا وَمِن كُلِّ الثَّمَرَاتِ جَعَلَ فِيهَا زَوْجَيْنِ اثْنَيْنِ يُغْشِي اللَّيْلَ النَّهَارَ إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ ٣
(13:3) It is He who has spread out the earth and set in it firm mountains (rawāsī) and streams, and of every fruit He has made in it two kinds (zawjayn ithnayn). He draws the night’s cover over the day. There are indeed signs in that for a people who reflect.
Rawāsī is the plural of rāsiya, derived from the verb rasā, which means to be fixed and stable. The noun rāsiya is used to denote a mountain because of how firmly fixed it is in its place.
Zawj (‘pair’) is the opposite of fard, and is used to refer to a set of two things together and each of them individually. Thus, they are both collectively a zawj and they are zawjayn at the same time. Sometimes zawjis specified with the adjective ‘two,’ as in, zawjayn ithnayn (‘two pairs’), to emphasize the indication that the intention is two, not four, as in the present verse.
His statement, It is He who has spread out the earth, means that He expanded it in a manner suitable for animals to live on and for crops and trees to grow. What can be said about attributing the spreading out of the earth to God, and having it serve as a preamble for what follows in His statement, and set in it firm mountains and streams, is similar to the what can be said on His statement in the previous verse, It is Allah who raised the heavens without any pillars that you see.
His statement, and set in it firm mountains and streams, refers back to the earth. The discussion is structured in such a way that some parts of it follow others. The purpose of this, to the best of my knowledge, is to highlight how God has designed the earth to be inhabited by humans and animals, both in their movement to seek sustenance and their rest for comfort. God has spread the earth, and without this, it would not be suitable for the survival of humans and animals. If it had merely been spread flat, without any elevation or depression on its surface, it would not be suitable for the emergence of the water reserves within it onto its surface for the irrigation of crops and orchards. So, God placed firmly set mountains on it and stored within it what descends onto the earth from the water of the sky. He carved rivers from its edges and sprung springs from it onto the plain to water the crops and gardens, thereby producing various kinds of fruits: both sweet and tart, summer and winter, wild and cultivated. He subjected the face of the earth to the cycle of night and day, both of which play a significant role in the maturation of fruits and crops by exposing them to heat and cold, which affect their ripening and growth, and expansion and contraction, and by exposing them to light and darkness, which regulate the movement of creatures and humans, their efforts in seeking sustenance, and their rest for sleep and relaxation.
The outspreading of the earth facilitates the placement of firmly set mountains, which in turn facilitate the carving of rivers, which in turn facilitate the creation of various kinds of fruits. Through the cycle of night and day, God’s intended purpose is fulfilled. All of this is interconnected and unified management that points to a uniquely wise manager who has no partner in His Lordship. Indeed, in this there are certainly signs for people who reflect.
His statement, and of every fruit He has made in it two kinds, means that from all the possible fruits, He created various kinds on earth, each different from the other, such as summer and winter fruits, sweet and others, moist and dry.
This is the well-known interpretation of two kinds, so two kinds refers to one kind differing from another kind, whether they are two kinds without a third, or not. This is similar to the instances where the dual is used for repetition, as in God’s statement, Look again, once more (), which means to look again and again, no matter how many times that may be.
In Tafsīr al-jawāhir, al-Ṭanṭāwī says about the phrase, two kinds: ‘He created in it all kinds of fruits, male and female, in their flowers when they form. Recent research has revealed that every tree and plant does not produce its fruit and seed except from a male and a female.
The male organ can be with the female organ in one tree, like most trees, or the male organ can be in one tree and the other in another tree, like the date palm. If both organs are in one tree, they can either be together in one flower, or each of them can be in its own flower. The second case is like the gourd, and the first is like the cotton tree, where the male organ and the female organ are in one flower.’
However, while what al-Ṭanṭāwī has said belongs in the category of scientific facts that are beyond dispute, the apparent meaning of the verse under discussion does not support such a reading. The apparent meaning of the verse is that all of the fruits are of two kinds, not that they are created from two mates. If that were the intention, it would have been more appropriate to say: ‘and from all the fruits, He made in them two mates.’
Of course, there is no problem with inferring this from verses like God’s statement, Immaculate is He who has created all the kinds of what the earth grows (Qurʾan ), and His statement, We sent down water from the sky and caused every splendid kind to grow (), and the verse, In all things We have created various kinds so that you may take admonition ().
Some commentators on the Qurʾan have mentioned that zawjayn ithnayn refers to the male and the female, the sweet and the sour, and all other kinds, so the two mates become four individuals: the male and the female, and each of them is different with characteristics that are more than one, like the sweet and others, and the summer and others. This is as you see.
As for the passage, He draws the night’s cover over the day, this means that God clothes the light of the day with the darkness of the night, so the sky becomes dark after it was illuminated. Some scholars have said that what is meant by it is the covering of each of the night and the day by the other, and the following of the night by the day and the day by the night, but there is no evidence to support this.
He concludes the verse with His statement, There are indeed signs in that for a people who reflect. This is because the contemplation of the systematic order of the earth, its management, the interconnectedness of its parts, and their mutual compatibility, all leading to the ultimate purpose of the whole and each of its constituent parts, reveals a unified, rational order of utmost precision and wisdom. This indicates that the cosmos has a single Lord, with no partner in His Lordship, who is all-knowing, not subject to ignorance, and all-powerful, never overcome in His capability. He is the one who cares for everything, especially humans, guiding them toward their eternal happiness.
وَفِي الأَرْضِ قِطَعٌ مُّتَجَاوِرَاتٌ وَجَنَّاتٌ مِّنْ أَعْنَابٍ وَزَرْعٌ وَنَخِيلٌ صِنْوَانٌ وَغَيْرُ صِنْوَانٍ يُسْقَى بِمَاء وَاحِدٍ وَنُفَضِّلُ بَعْضَهَا عَلَى بَعْضٍ فِي الأُكُلِ إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَعْقِلُونَ ٤
(13:4) In the earth are neighboring terrains and vineyards, farms, and date palms growing from the same root (ṣinwān) and from diverse roots (ghayr ṣinwān), irrigated by the same water, and We give some of them an advantage over others in flavor (ukul). There are indeed signs in that for a people who apply reason.
Al-Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī writes: ‘Ṣinū is a runner that comes out from the roots of a tree… one says they are two sinūs, or so-and-so is a ṣinū of his father. The dual form is ṣinwān, and the plural form is also ṣinwān. God says, growing from the same root (ṣinwān) and from diverse roots (ghayr ṣinwān).’ He adds: ‘Ukul refers to what is consumed from a tree. God says, its fruits (ukul) are everlasting (). Ukla is similar in meaning to luqma (a bite).’
The meaning is that one of the proofs that this cosmic order rests upon the intentional design of a transcendent wise Creator, to whom things submit in their nature and run as He wills and how He wills, is that on the earth are tracts adjacent to each other, close to each other, similar in the nature of their soil. In it are gardens of grapes, and grapes are among the fruits that greatly differ in shape, color, taste, quantity, delicacy, goodness, and other things. In it are crops different in their genus and type, such as wheat, barley, and others. In it are date palms, growing out two or three from a single stem root, meaning similar ones growing on a common root in it, and not growing out two or three from a single stem root, meaning separate ones. All are watered with one water and some of them are preferred over others in what it has of the desired advantage in something from its characteristics.
Someone might argue that the observed differences we are referring to stem from the inherent nature of each entity, or are due to external factors that influence them, giving each a unique form and color, and distinct characteristics. They might argue that the sciences that study the identification of trees and plants, and describe the nature of their properties in detail, consider each of them to be influenced by factors that interfere in their composition, effects, and properties.
We acknowledge the point, but it raises further questions: What are the causes of these differences in internal and external factors, and why do these causes themselves vary, leading to diverse effects? If a reason for these differences is proposed, we would then inquire about the root cause of that reason’s variability. This line of questioning ultimately leads us to a fundamental substance common to all physical entities, characterized by uniformity in its parts. Yet, such a uniform substance cannot account for the observed variations in the natural world. Thus, we arrive at the conclusion that there must be a supreme cause, transcending all other causes. This ultimate cause not only brought the substance of the universe into existence but also manifested it in diverse forms and myriad effects. Essentially, this points to the existence of a singular cause with consciousness and will. The varied phenomena we observe are the results of its diverse wills. Without these variations in will, there would be no distinguishing features between entities.
Every thoughtful person must pay attention to this and not neglect the point that these verses, which attribute differences in creation to differences in God’s will, do not deny the law of cause and effect, contrary to what some imagine. God’s will is not like our will, a characteristic that is incidental to the essence and therefore the essence changes with changing wills. Rather, these various wills are God’s active attribute and are abstracted from the complete causes and reasons of things and their difference does not cause a difference in the essence. This is a brief summary of the matter, which will hopefully be clarified for the reader in the appropriate place.
Since the argument in this verse is based on intellectual premises without which it will remain incomplete, it is addressed to those who reason, as stated in the verse: There are indeed signs in that for a people who apply reason.
From the above, it is evident that attributing the difference in foodstuffs to God, without mentioning any intermediary cause or causes, is like attributing the raising of the sky without visible pillars, the expansion of the earth, and the creation of the mountains and rivers to God by omitting mention of the intermediaries He used for this. The purpose of this is to awaken the innate understanding of the listeners to search for the cause of these differences and ultimately attribute them to God Almighty, the cause of all causes.
Note that there is a subtle shift in this verse from speaking in the third person (‘He’) to speaking in the first person (‘We’), as in the phrase: and We give some of them an advantage over others in flavor. The essence of this phrase is to identify the real cause in the briefest explanation. It is as if it is said: ‘Some are given an advantage over others in flavor,’ and the one who confers this advantage is none other than God Himself. Then, the speaker identifies Himself and shows, by using the majestic “We”, that He is the cause that the seekers are searching for and that it is from His presence that this advantage ultimately springs. Then, this conferring of advantage is summarized as: … and We give some of them an advantage over others in flavor. The expression in the first person with the third person implies that there are divine causes beneath God that act by His command and ultimately devolve to Him.
As seen from the preceding discussion, the verse is presented as an argument for the unity of God’s Lordship, not for demonstrating the existence of the Creator or establishing the unity of the Divine Essence. In summary, the argument means that the diversity of effects in things, despite their sharing a common origin, reveals that they rely on a cause whose reality lies beyond a shared united nature, and their orderliness points to His will and divine plan. Therefore, the planner for them is God, and He is their Lord, not another lord. So, the reading of the verse by some commentators as an argument for proving the Creator is misplaced.
The verses, as they appear in their context, are aimed at arguing against the polytheists who deny the unity of God’s Lordship and affirm the existence of multiple lords. They acknowledge the unity of the necessary being, God, in His essence. So, there’s no point in arguing against them with arguments to establish that this world has a creator. Some have noted this and suggested instead that the verse is intended as an argument against the pre-Islamic Arab atheists who deny the existence of a creator, but this is refuted by the fact that there’s no evidence from the context of the verses that supports this claim.
It also appears that the difference between the two arguments—namely the argument contained in the verse: It is He who has spread out the earth … () and the one contained in the verse: In the earth are neighboring terrains … ()—is that the first one proceeds from the perspective of unity in multiplicity and the connection and continuity evident in the management related to these diverse things, which points to the unity of their Manager. The second one proceeds from the perspective of multiplicity in unity and the difference in effects and properties in things that have a single origin, which reveals that the initiator who brings forth these diverse and scattered effects and properties is a something that exists beyond their natures and a cause above these causes that return to a single origin. He is the Lord of all, and there is no lord save Him.
As for the first argument mentioned before the two arguments quoted above—namely, the argument contained in His saying: It is Allah who raised the heavens … (), it is like one that proceeds from both perspectives. It mentions the management of the cosmos, which implies the unity of the many and the underlying harmony of what appear to be disparate matters, while also invoking the details of the cosmos, which calls attention to the multiplicity that emerges from unity and the separation of aggregates. In short, the argument asserts that the matter of the world, despite its dispersion and separation, is under one system of management, so it has one Lord, who is God. It is He who distinguishes the signs, differentiates everything from everything else, separates the fortunate from the unfortunate, and the truth from falsehood, which is a reference to the Resurrection and Final Judgment. This is why, from both the Lordship and the Resurrection together, he derived the following conclusion: … that you may be certain of encountering your Lord ().
Examining Narrations
- In Tafsīr al-ʿAyyāshī, al-Khaṭṭāb al-Aʿwar reported via an incomplete chain of narrations from the scholars and jurists of the Household of Muhammad, who said: ‘In the earth are neighboring terrains—this means that this fertile land is adjacent to this salty land, but it is not part of it—just as one tribe neighbors another tribe without being part of them.’
- In Tafsīr al-Burhān, al-Baḥrānī narrates from Ibn Shahrāshūb, from al-Kharkūshi’s Sharaf al-Muṣṭafā, al-Thaʿlabī’s al-Kashf wa al-Bayān, and al-Faḍl b. Shādhān’s Amālī (which provides the precise wording of the tradition in this case), with his chain of narration from Jābir b. ʿAbd Allāh, who said: ‘I heard the Messenger of God say to Ali: ‘People are from various trees, but you and I are from the same tree,’ then he recited the verse: and vineyards, farms, and date palms growing from the same root and from diverse roots, irrigated by the same water—‘Meaning by the Prophet and you!’ Al-Naṭanzī reported this in al-Khasāʾis from Salmān, and in another narration we read: ‘I and ʿAlī are from the same tree, and people are all from different trees.’
- Al-Baḥrānī writes: ‘Jābir b. ʿAbd Allāh’s tradition is also narrated by al-Ṭabarsī and ʿAlī b. ʿĪsā in Kashf al-Ghammah.
Author’s comment: It was also narrated in Al-Durr al-manthūr, from al-Ḥākim al-Nīshābūrī and Ibn Mardawayh from Jābir, who said: ‘I heard the Messenger of God say: ‘O ʿAlī! People are from different trees, but you and I, O ʿAlī, are from the same tree,’ then the Prophet recited: and vineyards, farms, and date palms growing from the same root and from diverse roots ().
- In Al-Durr al-manthūr, al-Suyūṭī narrates from al-Tirmidhī—who rated it as good (ḥasan)—al-Bazzāz, Ibn al-Mundhir, Abū al-Shaykh, and Ibn Mardawayh from Abū Hurayra from the Prophet, concerning the verse, and We give some of them an advantage over others in flavor (): ‘Different species of date: Some are sweet and some are sour.’