Then He, the Exalted, informed us about the state of human beings on the Day of Judgment: that they will not be able to prevent the punishment of Allah, neither by their own strength nor by any external support, for He is the Helper.
For when the servant falls into distress, he either repels it with his strength or with the strength of one who aids him, and both are absent in his case.
And a similar idea is in His saying, "They are unable to help themselves, nor are they assisted by Us."
Then He, the Exalted, swore by "the sky with its returning rain and the earth with its splitting growth."
So He swore by the sky and its rain, and by the earth and its plants.
Al-Farra' said: It appears with rain and then returns with it every year.
Abu Ishaq said that 'returning' is rain because it comes and returns and repeats.
And Ibn Abbas similarly said: It appears with rain and then returns with it every year.
And the accurate understanding is that this is a form of analogy.
And the sky's return is the provision of good which comes from it continuously over time, returning repeatedly, meaning it gives repeatedly over and over.
And all good comes from the sky, and since the most evident visible blessing is rain, the 'return' is interpreted as such, contrasted with the earth's splitting for plant growth.
And the splitting is explained as the plants, because they split the earth, meaning they break through it.
So He, the Exalted, swore by the sky with its rain and the earth with its plants, and each of these is a sign of Allah's lordship.
And He swore to the truth and authenticity of the Qur'an, saying: "Indeed, it is a decisive word, and it is not a jest."
As He swore at the beginning of the chapter about the human state at creation and return.
The decisive word is that which separates truth from falsehood, distinguishing one from the other.
And it distinguishes between people regarding what they disagreed upon.
And reaches the outcome where the intended meaning is separated and distinguished from others.
