خَلَقَ السَّماواتِ بِغَيرِ عَمَدٍ تَرَونَها ۖ وَأَلقىٰ فِي الأَرضِ رَواسِيَ أَن تَميدَ بِكُم وَبَثَّ فيها مِن كُلِّ دابَّةٍ ۚ وَأَنزَلنا مِنَ السَّماءِ ماءً فَأَنبَتنا فيها مِن كُلِّ زَوجٍ كَريمٍ
He created the heavens without any pillars that you see, and cast firm mountains in the earth lest it should shake with you, and He has scattered in it every kind of animal. And We sent down water from the sky and caused every splendid kind [of plant] to grow in it.
EXEGESIS
The word ʿamad is the plural of ʿamūd. It refers to tent posts or tent poles, structures on which a tent relies, and made of wood or such like. They may also be identified as house pillars or house columns. Alternatively, ʿamad is considered a collective noun whose singular is ʿimād, the latter meaning support or prop. Therefore, ʿamad means props, supports, columns, pillars, poles, lofty structures.
The term tamīda is a feminine singular present tense verb and means to sway, to tumble about. This verb is derived from the verbal noun mayd, which means something great shaking vehemently. It occurs in this verse in reference to the mountains.
The term zawj here means type, class, category, kind, variety.
EXPOSITION
The seventh verse of this surah states that those deeply immersed in diversionary talk feign inattentiveness and show themselves as deaf when God’s verses are recited to them. Consequently, God, in various verses such as this and the next verse, draws attention to natural phenomena created by Him, which prove His great power and wisdom, so that perhaps drawing attention to these marvellous and fascinating phenomena would awaken the intellects of those denying His oneness and lordship. In this way, He also draws attention to His attribute of Creator.
He created the heavens without any pillars that you see: the beginning of this verse is similar to the beginning of a similar verse in Sūrat al-Raʿd which reads, It is Allah who raised the heavens without pillars that you see (13:2). Other relevant verses worthy of note are 55:7 and 22:65.
The part of this verse that says without any pillars that you see has garnered two interpretations. The first is that the heavens are not supported by any pillars at all, while the second is that there are pillars holding up the heavens but they cannot be seen. The first interpretation was the choice interpretation of, for example, Ṭūsī and Ṭabrisī from among the earlier Quran commentators, and that of Mughniyyah (d. 1979) from among the contemporary commentators. The former two argued that had there been such pillars for the heavens, they would have been observable, but since they are not observable, this means that the heavens do not have pillars. The latter scholar writes that ‘the verse means that God has raised the heavens by His command. They are indeed elevated as observed clearly, without pillars’. The second interpretation of this part of the verse holds that God created the heavens with indiscernible pillars, meaning ‘with unseen, invisible pillars’. Both Ṭūsī and Ṭabrisī write that this was the opinion of Mujāhid, the famous Quran commentator, but both of them rejected this opinion. According to this interpretation, there certainly are pillars, but their characteristic is that they cannot be seen, or are invisible. This interpretation finds support in a lengthy report of Imam al-Riḍā (a), in which Husayn ibn Khālid asked the Imam: ‘Tell me about [the verse] By the heavens with its pathways [51:7].’ The Imam replied: ‘The heavens are interlaced or intertwined [with pathways connecting them] to the earth,’ and he interlaced his fingers. Husayn ibn Khālid asked: ‘How are the heavens interlaced to the earth when God says It is Allah who raised the heavens without pillars that you see [13:2]?’ Upon which the Imam exclaimed: ‘Glory be to God! Does He not say without pillars that you see?’ Husayn ibn Khālid replied in the affirmative, whereupon the Imam said: ‘So there are pillars but you do not see them.’ These unseen pillars, in light of Imam Riḍā’s (a) report, could be a reference to the forces of gravity which hold the planets and stars in their positions, and if so, this verse could be considered a scientific miracle of the Quran, since at the time of the descent of this verse and thereafter, for many centuries, the astronomical theory prevalent was the Ptolemaic theory, which had no place for the concept of pillars between the heavens and the earth. The second interpretation may be deemed augmented by what is transmitted from Imam Ali (a), who is attributed to have said: ‘These stars, which are in the heavens, are cities akin to the cities on earth. Every city is connected to a column of light.’
It is argued that the second interpretation is linguistically superior to the first and more apparent, for to prefer the first interpretation would require the application of the exegetical principle of advancement and deferment (al-taqdīm wa al-taʿkhīr) to the verse, modifying it as follows: khalaqa al-samāwāti (He created the heavens) tarawnahā bi ghayri ʿamadin (you see them without pillars), rather than the way it appears in the Quran, thereby advancing what is posterior and deferring what is anterior. It is argued that such rendering of the verse is linguistically inferior and less apparent. Perhaps it could be argued that there is an element in the second interpretation that could help reconcile the two apparently divergent understandings of this part of the verse. That is the element of the invisibility of the pillars, which Imam al-Riḍā (a) reiterates. Thus, apparently, there are indeed no visible pillars (as the first interpretation holds), and yet the pillars do exist (as the second interpretation holds), probably in the form of the forces of gravity which are invisible (as the second interpretation insists).
And cast firm mountains in the earth lest it should shake with you. This is a reference to the general stability of the earth’s crust. In the early stages of the earth’s existence, before its crust cooled down, the latter was unstable. The stability of the earth’s crust is not strictly uniform however, since there are zones where earthquakes intermittently occur. Additional verses that reiterate the idea of mountains cast in the earth to prevent shaking are 16:15 and 21:31, while other verses of relevance are 13:3, 15:19, 41:10, 50:7, 77:27, 79:32, and 78:7. Some scientific studies have established that the earth’s crust encounters contraction and expansion caused by the sun and the moon similar to the ebb and flow of the seas and oceans. Thus if the mountains, firmly embedded into the rocky crust of the earth, had been absent, the expansion and contraction of the earth’s crust would have had been stronger than that in the seas and oceans. Therefore, the firm mountains have a role in stabilising the earth and preventing quakes and tumults, and this implies that there is a direct connection between mountains and earthquakes. In addition, strong winds and water stir the soil on the earth’s surface. Thus had it not been for the mountains, the constant movement of the soil would have rendered the earth’s surface unsuitable for agriculture.
And He has scattered in it every kind of animal such as birds, insects, and reptiles, all of which have their specific modes of life, which move on it (2:164).
Thereafter there occurs a sudden rhetorical shift in discourse from third person singular to first person plural when the verse the point, where it says: And We sent down water from the sky and caused every splendid kind [of plant] to grow in it. This is despite the fact that all the actions mentioned in this verse are God’s deeds. Perhaps the reason for the change in person is to demonstrate God’s special care and concern for these two particular acts. It is also suggested that this is from the art of eloquence among the Arabs in that when they wished to mention several different things, they would distinguish mentioning them in two or more styles so that the listener does not experience boredom or monotony.
The verse terminates with, and caused every splendid kind (zawj) [of plant] to grow in it with the water sent down from the sky, bringing about goodly growth, goodly fruit, and goodly fragrance (22:5, 26:7). Therefore, in light of all of these noble signs, is it reasonable to attribute these magnificent creations to idols? Apparently, the term zawj here refers to ‘kind’, ‘type’ or ‘variety’ of plant and not to ‘pair’ of plants, although plants being in pairs was an established fact for the Arabs with regards to some plants such as dates, and admittedly the pairing of plants in the material world is understood from 51:49.
INSIGHTS FROM HADITH
- Imam Ali (a) is attributed to have said: ‘He [God] created the creation by His power, dispersed the winds by His mercy, and made firm the shaking earth with rocks.’
- Imam Ali (a) is attributed to have said: ‘Then the earth’s trembling came to a standstill because of the penetration of mountains in [various] parts of its surface, and due to the mountains being fixed in its deep areas, and their standing on its plains.’
- Imam Ali (a) is attributed to have said: ‘In this way He raised the mountains above the plains and fixed their foundations in the vast expanse wherever they stood. He made their peaks high and made their bodies lofty. He made them like pillars for the earth and fixed them in it like pegs. Consequently, the earth became stationary; otherwise it might bend with its inhabitants or sink inwards with its burden, or shift from its positions.’
[1] Munyah, 21/127; Amthal, 13/27; Lane, 2/2204.
[2] Lane, 2/2204.
[3] Munyah, 21/127.
[4] Munyah, 21/127; Lane, 2/2204.
[5] Munyah, 21/127; Lane, 2/2204.
[6] Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’anic Usage, p. 642.
[7] Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’anic Usage, p. 907.
[8] Munyah, 21/127; Amthal, 13/28.
[9] Munyah, 21/127; Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’anic Usage, p. 406.
[10] Kashif, 6/156.
[11] Kashif, 6/156.
[12] Munyah, 21/127; Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’anic Usage, p. 406.
[13] Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’anic Usage, p. 406.
[14] Munyah, 21/127.
[15] In this interpretation, it is suggested that the pronominal suffix hāʾ, suffixed to the second person plural present tense verb tarawna (becoming tarawnahā), refers to the heavens (samāwāt). Consequently, the verse would read: He created the heavens without any pillars, and you see them [the heavens] as such. See Kashif, 4/373; Munyah, 21/127, 28/446-447; Razi, 25/117; Mizan, 16/211; Amthal, 13/28.
[16] In this case, it is suggested that the pronominal suffix hāʾ, suffixed to the second person plural present tense verb tarawna (becoming tarawnahā), refers to the pillars (ʿamad), in which case the verse would read: He created the heavens without any pillars that you see. See Safi, 3/56, 4/140; Munyah, 21/127, 28/446-447; Razi, 25/117; Mizan, 16/211; Amthal, 13/27-28.
[17] Munyah, 21/127.
[18] Kashif, 4/373.
[19] Tibyan, 8/273; Tabrisi, 8/491; Mizan, 16/211; Munyah, 21/127.
[20] Kashif, 4/373.
[21] Mizan, 16/211; Munyah, 21/127; Amthal, 13/27-28.
[22] Tibyan, 8/273; Tabrisi, 8/491.
[23] Safi, 3/56; Mizan, 16/211; Munyah, 21/127, 28/446-447; Razi, 25/117.
[24] Munyah, 21/127; Qummi, 2/328; Nur, 4/195; Mizan, 16/213.
[25] Munyah, 21/128; Amthal, 13/28.
[26] Safinah, 2/574, cited in Munyah, 28/446-447.
[27] Munyah, 21/127; Amthal, 13/28.
[28] This verse actually reads as khalaqa al-samāwāt bi ghayri ʿamadin, tarawnahā. However, when modified by the principle mentioned, it would read as follows: khalaqa al-samāwāt, tarawnahā bi ghayri ʿamadin.
[29] Munyah, 21/127.
[30] Amthal, 13/28.
[31] Munyah, 21/128; Amthal, 13/28.
[32] Munyah, 21/128-129; Mizan, 16/211.
[33] Razi, 25/117; Munyah, 21/129; Amthal, 13/28-29.
[34] Tibyan, 8/273; Tabrisi, 8/491.
[35] Mizan, 16/211; Munyah, 21/129; Amthal, 13/29-30.
[36] Mizan, 16/211; Munyah, 21/129; Amthal, 13/29-30.
[37] Amthal, 13/29-30.
[38] Tibyan, 8/273; Tabrisi, 8/491; Safi, 4/140; Munyah, 21/129.
[39] Tibyan, 8/273; Tabrisi, 8/491; Safi, 4/140; Munyah, 21/129.
[40] Munyah, 21/129.
[41] Nahj, sermon 1.
[42] Nahj, sermon 91.
[43] Nahj, sermon 211.