أَأَمِنتُم مَن فِي السَّماءِ أَن يَخسِفَ بِكُمُ الأَرضَ فَإِذا هِيَ تَمورُ
Are you secure that He who is in the sky will not make the earth swallow you while it quakes?
EXEGESIS
Khasafa is used when an object enters in something such that no sign or trace of it remains. Thus, yakhsifa in this verse means God entering the disbelievers into the earth, as He did with Korah (Qārūn) and his properties: So We caused the earth to swallow him and his house (khasafnā), and he had no party that might protect him from Allah, nor could he rescue himself (28:81). This is a punishment that has befallen some of the previous nations, and of which the Quran has warned its audience in many verses (16:45, 17:68, 29:40, 34:9).
Tamūru: rapidly move back and forth, quiver, shake. The swallowing of people by the earth is often through an earthquake. Therefore, this expression makes the aforementioned threat credible by justifying its possibility and explaining how it may come about. Tamūru is in the present tense, which suggests continuity. That is, the verse not only talks about the initial swallowing by the earth, but also follow-up quakes and shakings of the earth, which add up to constant instability and lack of composure. Also, idhā hiya is used when something happens suddenly and unexpectedly. Therefore, the verse warns the disbelievers against a sudden quake which results in the earth swallowing them, and continued disturbance for them after death and in their graves.
EXPOSITION
After talking about the tractability, stability, and suitability of the earth for human life, the Holy Quran asks an awakening question to make its reader reflect: how can you feel so comfortable and secure on the earth? Do you not see the possibility of major earthquakes that can swallow you and all of your businesses and belongings once and for all? Such an event is certainly possible, for it has happened before, as it happened to Korah: So We caused the earth to swallow him and his house, and he had no party that might protect him from Allah, nor could he rescue himself (28:81); among them were those whom We caused the earth to swallow (29:40).
In other words, the verse implies that there should be a cause for the security and tractability of the earth, but that cause is not you, for you have no control over it. It is beyond your power, not something in your hands. Instead, it is in the hands of Him in whose hand is all kingdom, and He is powerful over all things (verse 1). It is out of His blessedness that He does not allow this punishment to befall you.
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
God does not have a physical location, and is not limited by either the heaven or the earth (6:3, 43:84). Yet, this verse refers to Him as He who is in the sky. Certain explanations have been suggested to justify this description: 1. What is meant is: He who you think is in the sky, not that He is really in the sky. 2. Being in the sky is not intended as a description of God, but as a description of His kingdom, power, or Throne. 3. It refers to God’s punishment, which is ordained and sent from above. 4. It refers to God’s angels or Gabriel in particular. That is, man fī al-samāʾ means ‘those who are in the sky’, referring to the angels that direct God’s command (79:5). 5. It would therefore mean: He who is the creator of what is in the sky. 6. In the sky means above and over the sky (as in 20:71), which would be a reference to God’s dominance and kingdom over the heavens. All of these meanings, however, either involve some omission in the verse, for which there is no evidence, or involve an incongruity among the pronouns and verb conjugates in the verse (which all refer to God, not His angels). The Quran explicitly says: It is He who is God in the sky, and God on the earth (43:84).
In contrast to these six implausible explanations, there are at least six plausible explanations for the description of God as He who is in the sky: 1. It suggests that it is the heavenly power of God which would bring about these punishments. 2. It may be an answer to those who think that God is merely sitting in the heavens without the means to reach out to the people or punish them for their wrongdoings: The Jews say: ‘Allah’s hand is tied up’ (5:64). 3. It may be a reference to the fact that God’s command descends from the higher realms (i.e. the supernatural realms) to the corporeal world (32:5). 4. God is described as such in order to convey His might and power. 5. This description conveys God’s transcendence and superiority over the earth, where earth is mentioned as a symbol of the lower planes of existence. 6. It is a means of contrasting God with the idols of the idolaters, which are on the earth and made of earthly material. Such idols do not have the power to bring about any punishment upon the people, whether from the earth or the heavens.
According to Ālūsī, He who is in the sky indeed refers to God, and the verse is among the ambiguous (mutashābih) verses of the Quran. He has quoted the view of many scholars of the past in support of his view – that one has to accept and believe in such verses and leave its knowledge to God. In other words, one should take the apparent meaning of the verse, and not try to reach what is really meant by interpreting this appearance. This is true in terms of having faith in the verses that God has revealed and not imposing one’s personal opinions and conjectures on the Quran. It is certainly true that one who is firmly grounded in knowledge would accept every verse of the Quran, whether it is a solid verse or an ambiguous one, as mentioned in verse 3:7. However, the same verse identifies the solid verses as the source and reference point for the other verses. That is, one can interpret the ambiguous verses by means of the solid ones (muḥkamāt), as the latter group are identified as the root of the book (3:7). Indeed God has never commanded against pondering upon and delving into the verses of the Quran, but has actually encouraged it. As long as one follows the rules of exegesis as established by the Quran, hadith, and reason, one can attempt to find the deeper meanings behind the apparent meaning of the ambiguous verses. The six explanations offered above meet these conditions and are all supported by proof. In short, He is with you wherever you may be (57:4).
[1] Tahqiq, under kh-s-f.
[2] Ayn; Raghib, under m-w-r.
[3] Zamakhshari, 4/580-581.
[4] Razi, 30/592.
[5] Mizan, 19/358.
[6] Qurtubi, 19/215-216.
[7] Murtaza Alidina, series of lectures on the exegesis of Chapter al-Mulk, available at <http://www.dartabligh.org >.
[8] Razi, 30/592.
[9] Qurtubi, 19/216.
[10] Alusi, 15/19.