وَإِلَى الأَرضِ كَيفَ سُطِحَت

And the earth, how it has been surfaced?

EXEGESIS

Suṭiḥat is from saṭaḥa: to spread out, unroll, unfold, and even to flatten, smoothen, level, and throw to the ground.^{‎[1]Hans Wehr, under s-t-ḥ.}

And the earth, how it has been surfaced means how the earth has been rolled out like a carpet so how excellent spreaders We have been! (51:48), and it functions as a cradle, a receptacle (77:25), and a resting place for its inhabitants (78:6).^{‎[2]Ibn Kathir, 8/378; Safi, 5/322.}

EXPOSITION

Makārim Shīrāzī draws our attention to the earth’s perfection in its texture and layout. Let man look at the earth, he says, how weathering and rain erode the mountains and land away continually, and spread their soil into furrows, making the land both level and fertile for man to farm and build houses on. Supposing the earth was covered with hills and valleys, how difficult would it be to live on?^{‎[3]Nemuneh, 26/431.} Likewise, the earth is neither all icy and slippery nor hard and impermeable to farm. It is neither all thorny nor all too soft and muddy to make it impossible to tread upon. It perfectly supports the life that grows from it and survives on it. It is He who made the earth tractable for you; so walk on its flanks and eat of His provision (67:15).

As mentioned under verse 17, there are numerous ecological, agricultural, and industrial gains from all the four groups of creation given in these verses. Their mention is to bring about contemplation and gratitude in man toward his Creator, as stepping stones to gaining knowledge and realisation of the one and only almighty God. They serve to demonstrate that God alone is the sustainer of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them. Creation – and mankind in particular – has no choice but to acknowledge His unicity and worship Him; for ahead of them lies an overwhelming event (see Exegesis of verse 1 for alternative meanings of al-ghāshiyah) that is the Day of Accounting and Recompense (yawm al-ḥisāb wa al-jazāʾ), when all falsehood will vanish and denial of the truth will be impossible.

[1] Hans Wehr, under s-t-ḥ.
[2] Ibn Kathir, 8/378; Safi, 5/322.
[3] Nemuneh, 26/431.