أَوَلَم يَرَوا إِلَى الطَّيرِ فَوقَهُم صافّاتٍ وَيَقبِضنَ ۚ ما يُمسِكُهُنَّ إِلَّا الرَّحمٰنُ ۚ إِنَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيءٍ بَصيرٌ
Have they not regarded the birds above them spreading and closing their wings? No one sustains them except the All-Beneficent. Indeed He sees best all things.
EXEGESIS
Ṣāffāt means to be in a straight line. When used for birds, it refers to their state of spreading out their wings without moving them.
Yaqbiḍna: closed, gathered. Qabḍ is the opposite of basṭ (to spread, to extend). When used for birds, it refers to their state of flapping their wings, whereby their wings are closed and gathered, as opposed to being extended and spread out.
The reason why the extended state of the wings is mentioned before the closed state may be that the former is the main state of flying; the latter is only to sustain the former. It may also be that holding the birds while they do not even flap their wings is more astonishing than when they do. The same may be said about the use of ṣāffāt as an adjective versus yaqbiḍna as a verb in the present tense, because an adjective is used when a trait is more established or inherent in the subject.
EXPOSITION
This verse provides another evidence for God’s power as well as His blessedness. It is also in line with the overall trend of the verses before and after: threat and warning. Not only is your peaceful life on the earth established by God’s power and mercy, but also the birds that fly very high in the sky are sustained by the All-Beneficent. The verse also proves God’s knowledge to everything, as discussed in verses 13 and 14. That is, He has dominance over the birds in the sky; thus He encompasses you from the above and is not ignorant of what you do. Certainly We created above you the seven tiers [that is, heavens] and We have not been oblivious of creation (23:17).
In fact, not only does God keep the birds from falling on the earth, He also sustains the heavens and keeps them secure and in place (22:65, 35:41). Of course, this does not mean that there is some miraculous or supernatural means of sustaining the birds (or the heavens). Rather, it means that the current natural forces that we take for granted are established by God. The verse itself alludes to how they are sustained in the sky: by their act of spreading and closing their wings. That is God’s way of sustaining them. Have they not regarded the birds disposed in the air of the sky: no one sustains them except Allah. There are indeed signs in that for a people who have faith (16:79). Matching verse 16:79 with the verse being discussed here also clarifies that al-raḥmān is sometimes used synonymously with allāh in the Quran.
Of course, every force and event in the world of nature goes back to God and is a sign of His power. However, the human mind may realise and accept this fact more readily in certain events that have hidden means and forces behind them, such as the flying of the birds.
[1] Raghib; Tahqiq, under ṣ-f-f.
[2] Raghib; Tahqiq, under q-b-ḍ.
[3] Zamakhshari, 4/581; Furqan, 29/43.
[4] Mizan, 19/359.