Tafseer Ibn Kathir of QAAF [6]

6. Have they not looked at the heaven above them, how We have made it and adorned it, and there are no Furuj in it 7. And the earth! We have spread it out, and set thereon Rawasi standing firm, and We planted in it every lovely (Bahij) pair. 8. An insight and a Reminder for every servant who turns to Allah in repentance. 9. And We send down blessed water (rain) from the sky, then We produce therewith Jannat and grain that are reaped. 10. And date palms Basiqat, with arranged clusters. 11. A provision for the servants. And We give life therewith to a dead land. Thus will be the Resurrection. Allah the Exalted notifies the servants of His infinite power, which He demonstrated by creating what is bigger than that which they wondered about and whose possibility they discount,

(Have they not looked at the heaven above them, how We have made it and adorned it,) with lamps;

(and there are no Furuj in it) i.e., clefts, according to Mujahid. Others said that Furuj means, rifts, or cracks. All these meanings are close to one another. Allah the Exalted and Most Honored said,

(Who has created the seven heavens one above another; you can see no fault in the creation of the Most Gracious. Then look again: ”Can you see any rifts'' Then look again and yet again, your sight will return to you in a state of humiliation and worn out.) (67:2-4) fatigued, unable to discover any imperfection or shortcomings. The statement of Allah the Exalted, the Blessed,

(And the earth! We have spread it out, ) means, `We made it spacious and spread it out,'

(and set thereon Rawasi standing firm.) which are the mountains to save the earth from shaking along with its inhabitants,

(and We planted in it every lovely (Bahij) pair.) every kind and species of plant, fruit and vegetation,

(And of everything We have created pairs that you may reflect.)(51:49) Allah's saying `Bahij', meaning a beautiful scene,

(An insight and a Reminder for every servant who turns to Allah in repentance.) Allah says that observing the creation of the heavens and earth and all the great things that He has placed in them provides insight, proof and a lesson for every penitent servant who submits in humbleness and repentance to Allah feeling fear, in awe of Him. Allah the Exalted said,

(And We send down blessed water from the sky,) meaning beneficial,

(then We produce therewith Jannat), means special and public parks, gardens, etc.

(and grain that are reaped) grains that are harvested for food and for storage for later use,

(And date palms Basiqat,) meaning, tall and high, according to the explanation reported from Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, `Ikrimah, Al-Hasan, Qatadah and As-Suddi. Allah said,

(with arrranged clusters.) producing fruits arranged in clusters,

(A provision for (Allah's) servants.) for (Allah's) creation,

(And We give life therewith to a dead land.) this is the land that was barren. However, when rain falls upon it, it is stirred to life; it swells and produces all of the lovely pairs such as flowers and the like -- amazing on account of their beauty. All of this comes into existence after the land was without greenery, yet it was stirred back to life and became green. Indeed, this should provide proof of Resurrection after death and disintegration; thus Allah resurrects the dead. This sign of Allah's ability that is seen and witnessed is greater than the denial of those who discount the possibility of Resurrection. Allah the Exalted and Most Honored said in other Ayat,

(The creation of the heavens and the earth is indeed greater than the creation of mankind;) (40:57),

(Do they not see that Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth, and was not wearied by their creation, is able to give life to the dead Yes, He surely is Able to do all things.)(46:33) and,

(And among His signs (is this), that you see the earth barren; but when We send down water to it, it is stirred to life and growth. Verily, He Who gives it life, surely is able to give life to the dead. Indeed He is Able to do all things.)(41:39)