Oaths of Provision

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وَأَقْسَمَ سُبْحَانَهُ بِ وَالسَّمَاءِ ذَاتِ الرَّجْعِ وَالأَرْضِ ذَاتِ الصَّدْعِ

And He, Glory be to Him, swore by 'the sky with its returning rain and the earth with its cracks.'

فَأَقْسَمَ بِالسَّمَاءِ وَرَجْعِهَا بِالْمَطَرِ وَالأَرْضِ وَصَدْعِهَا بِالنَّبَاتِ

So He swore by the sky and its returning rain, and by the earth and its splitting for plants.

قال الفراء تبدى بالمطر ثم ترجع به في كل عام

Al-Farāʾ said: It appears with rain and then returns every year.

وَقَالَ أَبُو إِسْحَاقَ الرَّجْعُ المَطَرُ لِأَنَّهُ يَجِيءُ وَيَرْجِعُ وَيَتَكَرَّرُ

Abu Ishaq said: The returning is the rain because it comes and returns repeatedly.

وكذلك قال ابن عباس ﵄ تبدى بالمطر ثم ترجع به في كل عام

And likewise, Ibn Abbas said: It appears with rain and then returns with it every year.

وَالتَّحْقِيقُ أَنَّ هَذَا عَلَى وَجْهِ التَّمْثِيلِ

The correct understanding is that this is by way of analogy.

وَرَجْعُ السَّمَاءِ هُوَ إِعْطَاءُ الخَيْرِ الَّذِي يَكُونُ مِن جِهَتِهَا حَالًا بَعْدَ حَالٍ عَلَى مُرُورِ الأَزْمَانِ

The returning of the sky is the provision of good that comes from it from time to time over the ages.

تُرَجِّعُهُ رَجْعًا أَي تُعْطِيهِ مَرَّةً بَعْدَ مَرَّةٍ

It returns repeatedly, meaning it grants it time after time.

والخير كله من قبل السماء يجي لما كان أظهر الخير المشهود بالعيان المطر

And all good comes from the sky because evident good is primarily the rain.

فُسِّرَ الرَّجْعَ بِهِ وَمُقَابَلَتُهُ بِصَدْعِ الأَرْضِ عَنِ النَّبَاتِ

Thus, 'returning' was interpreted as rain, and its counterpart was the earth splitting for plants.

وَفُسِّرَ الصَّدْعُ بِالنَّبَاتِ لِأَنَّهُ يَصْدَعُ الأَرْضَ أَيْ يَشُقُّهَا

And the 'splitting' was interpreted as the plant, because it splits the earth, that is, it cracks it.

فَأَقْسَمَ سُبْحَانَهُ بِالسَّمَاءِ ذَاتِ المَطَرِ وَالأَرْضِ ذَاتِ النَّبَاتِ

So He, Glory be to Him, swore by the sky with rain and the earth with plants.

وَكُلُّ مِنْ ذَلِكَ آيَةٌ مِنْ آيَاتِ اللهِ تَعَالَى الدَّالَّةُ عَلَى رُبُوبِيَّتِهِ

And each of these is a sign of the signs of Allah, the Exalted, indicating His Lordship.

وَأَقْسَمَ عَلَى كَوْنِ القُرْآنِ حَقًّا وَصِدْقًا فَقَالَ إِنَّهُ لَقَوْلٌ فَصْلٌ وَمَا هُوَ بِالْهَزْلِ

And He swore that the Quran is true and real, saying, 'Indeed, it is a decisive word, and it is not light talk.'

كَمَا أَقْسَمَ فِي أَوَّلِ السُّورَةِ عَلَى حَالِ الإِنْسَانِ فِي مَبْدَئِهِ وَمَعَادِهِ

As He swore at the beginning of the surah regarding the human condition in its beginning and end.

وَالقَوْلُ الفَصْلُ هُوَ الَّذِي يُفَصِّلُ بَيْنَ الحَقِّ وَالبَاطِلِ فَيُمَيِّزُ هَذَا مِنْ هَذَا وَيُفَصِّلُ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ فِيمَا اخْتَلَفُوا فِيهِ

The decisive word is what distinguishes between truth and falsehood, discerning this from that, and it differentiates between people in their disputes.