وَفَجَّرنَا الأَرضَ عُيونًا فَالتَقَى الماءُ عَلىٰ أَمرٍ قَد قُدِرَ
And We made the earth burst forth with springs, and the waters met for a preordained purpose.
EXEGESIS
Fajjarnā (we made to burst forth) comes from the infinitive tafjīr and is the second verb form of fajara (to cleave or break up). Infajara is to burst forth, explode, and overflow (2:60).[1] Tafjīr here means splitting of the earth for water.[2]
ʿUyūn (springs; sing. ʿayn) is a water source from where the water originates or gushes forth and then flows.[3] It is in the accusative (manṣub) state because it is used as a disambiguation (tamyīz). The expression in the verse, fajjarnā al-arḍa ʿuyunan indicates great emphasis and exaggeration. Its literal meaning is: We burst the earth as springs; whilst the intended meaning is obviously that the springs were made to burst from the earth. This is a rhetorical tool to indicate that it was as if the whole earth was considered a spring which burst forth.[4]
ʿAlā amrin qad qudir (for a preordained purpose) has been understood in different ways. Some say it means that the water had been destined and preordained to be the source of destruction and annihilation of the faithless.[5] Ibn Ḥayyān opts for this view and adjudicates for it by stating that in all the proceeding stories of people who rejected their prophet Allah mentions how they were destroyed, and in the current set of verses regarding Prophet Noah (a) this seems to be the only plausible indication referring to their destruction.[6]
Others mention that qudir means measured, and thus this indicates that the waters met at a precise measurement, not more or less than what was intended by Allah.[7] Others add that the precision was to such a degree that the amount of water that came from the sky was equal to the amount that flowed from the springs.[8] Lastly, some have said it means the waters met for a purpose that had been ordained for them in the protected tablet (lawḥ maḥfūẓ).[9]
EXPOSITION
This verse declares that not only was there heavy rainfall but springs of water also gushed out from the earth. The two waters, rainwater and spring water, came together and reached such a level that even the largest mountains were completely submerged (11:43).
The matter was measured and preordained precisely, based on time and environmental factors. The flood began at a preordained time, such that had it started earlier Prophet Noah (a) and his followers may also have drowned as they would not have been ready and prepared for it, and had it finished later then perhaps the earth would no longer have been suitable for habitation.[10] That is why Allah assigned a sign for Prophet Noah (a) so that he would make the necessary preparations: We revealed to him: ‘Build the ark before Our eyes and by Our revelation. So when Our edict comes and the oven gushes [a stream of water], bring into it a pair of every kind [of animal], and your family, except those of them against whom the decree has gone beforehand, and do not plead with Me for those who are wrongdoers: they shall indeed be drowned’ (23:27).
INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS
- And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth.[11]
- For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.[12]
- … all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.[13]
[1] Hans Wehr, f-j-r.
[2] Mizan, 19/68.
[3] Lisan, ʿ-y-n.
[4] Munyah, 27/193; Safi, 5/101.
[5] Munyah, 27/193.
[6] Muhit, 10/39.
[7] Sharīf al-Raḍī, Talkhīṣ al-Bayān, p. 318.
[8] Daqaiq, 12/535; Tibyan, 9/448.
[9] Tabrisi, 9/286.
[10] Mudarissi, 14/224.
[11] Genesis, 6:17.
[12] Genesis, 7:4.
[13] Genesis, 7:11-12.