الَّذي جَعَلَ لَكُم مِنَ الشَّجَرِ الأَخضَرِ نارًا فَإِذا أَنتُم مِنهُ توقِدونَ

He, who made for you fire out of the green tree, and behold, you light fire from it!

EXEGESIS

Al-shajar al-akhḍar (the green tree): the definite article prefixing shajar gives the probability that a specific type of green tree with exceptional qualities is meant, which despite being fresh and moist, could be used for setting a fire.

Tūqidūn (you light fire) is from wuqūd, which means to light or ignite a fire. Waqūd (2:24) is the fuel of fire. Tūqidūn signifies that God does not light the fire for man – they have to do it themselves – but He provides the tools for it, such as the green tree.

EXPOSITION

This verse elaborates further on God’s power and ability mentioned in the previous verse. It indicates that life and death are opposites and mutually exclusive, as water and fire. However, God has the power to bring water and fire together in the form of a moist green tree that drips water, and at the same time a human could ignite it with fire. For Him to recreate a human from the decayed and dead bones should not be more surprising than a fire that can be ignited from a green, wet tree.

According to popular opinion, this verse refers to two specific kinds of trees the Arabs used for fire, rubbing them against each other: markh and ʿafār.^{‎[1]Mizan, 17/112.} However, the broader meaning of the verse includes the fire ignited from any green tree. Fire can also be ignited by wood from any tree stroked hard against another piece, regardless of being dry or green. That may be the cause of massive accidental fires observed in huge forests caused by the friction initiated by the tree branches rubbing together due to strong winds.

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. Imam al-Ṣādiq (a): ‘So is the case of fire, had it been as abundant as water and air it would have consumed the world and whatever is in it. Since its emergence is needed on occasions and not for many benefits, it was made to be like what is stored in objects so that it can be used whenever needed.^{‎[2]Mufaḍḍal ibn ʿUmar, Tawḥīd Mufaḍḍal, (Najaf: Ḥaydariyyah Printing, 1955), p. 93.} Thus, it holds to the substance and wood until it is needed so that it does not fade. It would have been inconvenient if it was not preserved in the substance and the wood because it would be loosely scattered and perpetually burn every object that preserves it. Therefore, it is formed and estimated to enjoy its benefits and to be secured from its harm.’^{‎[3]Mufaḍḍal ibn ʿUmar, Tawḥīd Mufaḍḍal, (Najaf: Ḥaydariyyah Printing, 1955), p. 94.}

INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS

1. The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, how is the wood of a vine different from that of a branch from any of the trees in the forest? Is wood ever taken from it to make anything useful? Do they make pegs from it to hang things on? And after it is thrown on the fire as fuel and the fire burns both ends and chars the middle, is it then useful for anything? If it was not useful for anything when it was whole, how much less can it be made into something useful when the fire has burned it, and it is charred? “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: As I have given the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest as fuel for the fire, so will I treat the people living in Jerusalem.”^{‎[4]Ezekiel 15:1-8.}

[1] Mizan, 17/112.
[2] Mufaḍḍal ibn ʿUmar, Tawḥīd Mufaḍḍal, (Najaf: Ḥaydariyyah Printing, 1955), p. 93.
[3] Mufaḍḍal ibn ʿUmar, Tawḥīd Mufaḍḍal, (Najaf: Ḥaydariyyah Printing, 1955), p. 94.
[4] Ezekiel 15:1-8.