وَالجِبالَ أَوتادًا

And the mountains stakes?

EXEGESIS

Awtād is the plural of watad, meaning a thick nail, pin, peg, or stake. The quality of thickness and rigidity is especially pertinent to mountains.^{‎[1]Tibyan, 10/239.} Apparently the reason mountains are called awtād is because they help fix and secure the earth from vibration and imbalance: He cast in the earth firm mountains lest it should shake with you (16:15; also see 21:31, 31:10). This is a scientific view in the Quran, whereby it considers the mountains as a means of reduced earthquakes and turbulence. It could also be a reference to lava volcanic eruptions capped by mountains.^{‎[2]Mizan, 20/162.} It might also be that the mountains are called nails in accordance with the earth being a cradle: they are like the nails of this cradle that keep it in shape and in place.^{‎[3]Furqan, 30/17.}

EXPOSITION

The earth is our home where we are born, grow, feed, live, and die. Have We not made the earth a receptacle for the living and the dead, and set in it lofty [and] firm mountains? (77:25-27). As the next set of verses say, there will come a day when we will lose the current peace, security, and comfort that we have on this planet: the mountains will be set moving and become a mirage (verse 20). Thus, we must make the most of this limited yet golden opportunity, because it is our only chance to build our eternal life: So let anyone who wishes take resort with his Lord. Indeed We have warned you of a punishment near at hand (verses 39-40).

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. Imam Ali (a) has used the Quranic expressions of the earth as a resting place (mihād) and the mountains as stakes in several sermons in Nahj al-Balāghah. Some examples are: ‘He [God] pegged the earth’s quiver with rocks’;^{‎[4]Nahj, sermon 1.} ‘O God! … O Lord of this earth, which Thou has made stable for Thy servants … O Lord of solid mountains, which Thou has made stakes for the earth and support for Thy creatures’;^{‎[5]Nahj, sermon 171.} ‘He made them [the mountains] pillars for the earth and pierced them as stakes in it. Thus its motion became stable so that it may not shake its inhabitants … Glory be to the one who made it [the earth] a cradle for His servants, and spread it for them as a resting place’.^{‎[6]Nahj, sermon 211.}
2. It has been said that when God created the earth, it started to shake. So God placed the mountains on it, whereby it stabilised. The angels were amazed by the strength of the mountains, so they asked: ‘Our Lord, have You created anything stronger than mountains?’ He said: ‘Yes: iron.’ They said: ‘Our Lord, have You created anything stronger than iron?’ He said: ‘Yes: fire.’ They said: ‘Our Lord, have You created anything stronger than fire?’ He said: ‘Yes: water.’ They said: ‘Our Lord, have You created anything stronger than water?’ He said: ‘Yes: wind.’ They said: ‘Our Lord, have You created anything stronger than wind?’ He said: ‘Yes: the son of Adam! He gives charity with his right but he conceals it [even] from his left hand.’^{‎[7]Ahmad, 3/124; Tirmidhi, 5/124, h. 3428; Kanz, 6/398; Alusi, 15/205.}

Notes: 1. This noble tradition serves to emphasise the merit of giving charity in private and free from show. 2. It may be deduced from this hadith that real strength – in the sight of God and in the eternal life of the hereafter – is different to physical or material strength. According to this hadith, hidden charity will solidify and stabilise one’s character and spirit on the day ‘when there will be much quaking’,^{‎[8]Nahj, sermon 157.} ‘when the earth will be trembling under them, when the most fortunate among them will be he who finds a foothold to stand and a space to breathe’.^{‎[9]Nahj, sermon 102.} This is explicitly confirmed by the Quran: The parable of those who spend their wealth seeking Allah’s pleasure and to confirm themselves, is that of a garden on a hillside … (2:265).

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

At a secondary and mystical level, verse 7 might refer to awtād: a special group of God’s saints and friends (awliyāʾ) who serve as spiritual pillars that keep the world in place and conduct God’s will in the universe.^{‎[10]Bursawi, 10/294.}

This is a subtle observation, for as the stability of the physical world is one of God’s bounties that has its own means, so is the stability of the spiritual world. It might also be strengthened by some narrations concerning verses 13:41 and 21:44 that interpret the diminution of the earth’s edges as the death of scholars.^{‎[11]Kafi, 1/38, h. 6; Faqih, 1/186, h. 560.} Meanwhile, we should bear in mind that Sufi terms like awtād were coined long after the revelation of these verses, although its roots are seen quite early in Islam, in the words of Imam Ali (a).^{‎[12]Nahj, sermon 87.}

[1] Tibyan, 10/239.
[2] Mizan, 20/162.
[3] Furqan, 30/17.
[4] Nahj, sermon 1.
[5] Nahj, sermon 171.
[6] Nahj, sermon 211.
[7] Ahmad, 3/124; Tirmidhi, 5/124, h. 3428; Kanz, 6/398; Alusi, 15/205.
[8] Nahj, sermon 157.
[9] Nahj, sermon 102.
[10] Bursawi, 10/294.
[11] Kafi, 1/38, h. 6; Faqih, 1/186, h. 560.
[12] Nahj, sermon 87.