41:10 Fussilat (Explained in detail)

ثم دحاها في يومين، بأن جعل فيها رواسي من فوقها، ترسيها عن الزوال والتزلزل وعدم الاستقرار.فكمل خلقها، ودحاها، وأخرج أقواتها، وتوابع ذلك { فِي أَرْبَعَةِ أَيَّامٍ سَوَاءً لِلسَّائِلِينَ } عن ذلك، فلا ينبئك مثل خبير، فهذا الخبر الصادق الذي لا زيادة فيه ولا نقص.

"وجعل فيها رواسي من فوقها وبارك فيها" أي جعلها مباركة قابلة للخير والبذر والغراس"وقدر فيها أقواتها" وهو ما يحتاج أهلها إليه من الأرزاق والأماكن التي تزرع وتغرس يعني يوم الثلاثاء والأربعاء فهما مع اليومين السابقين أربعة ولهذا قال "في أربعة أيام سواء للسائلين" أي لمن أراد السؤال عن ذلك ليعلمه وقال عكرمة ومجاهد في قوله عز وجل "وقدر فيها أقواتها" وجعل في كل أرض مالا يصلح في غيرها ومنه العصب باليمن والسابوري بسابور والطيالسة بالري وقال ابن عباس وقتادة والسدي في قوله تعالى "سواء للسائلين" أي لمن أراد السؤال عن ذلك وقال ابن زيد معناه وقدر فيها أقواتها فى أربعة أيام سواء للسائلين أي على وفق مراده من له حاجة إلى رزق أو حاجة فإن الله تعالى قدر له ما هو محتاج إليه وهذا القول يشبه ما ذكروه في قوله تعالى "وآتاكم من كل ما سألتموه" والله أعلم.

Some Details of the Creation of this Universe Here

Allah denounces the idolators who worship other gods apart from Him although He is the Creator, Subduer and Controller of all things. He says:

قُلْ أَءِنَّكُمْ لَتَكْفُرُونَ بِالَّذِى خَلَقَ الاٌّرْضَ فِى يَوْمَيْنِ وَتَجْعَلُونَ لَهُ أَندَاداً

(Say: "Do you verily disbelieve in Him Who created the earth in two Days And you set up rivals with Him") meaning, `false gods whom you worship alongside Him'

ذَلِكَ رَبُّ الْعَـلَمِينَ

(That is the Lord of the that exists.) the Creator of all things is the Lord of all the creatures. Here the Ayah;

خَلَقَ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضَ فِى سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍ

(Who created the heavens and the earth in Six Days) (7:54). is explained in more detail; the creation of the earth and the creation of the heaven are discussed separately. Allah says that He created the earth first, because it is the foundation, and the foundation should be built first, then the roof. Allah says elsewhere:

هُوَ الَّذِى خَلَقَ لَكُم مَّا فِى الاٌّرْضِ جَمِيعاً ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى إِلَى السَّمَآءِ فَسَوَّاهُنَّ سَبْعَ سَمَـوَاتٍ

(He it is Who created for you all that is on the earth. Then He rose over (Istawa ila) the heaven and made them seven heavens) (2:29). With regard to the Ayat:

أَءَنتُمْ أَشَدُّ خَلْقاً أَمِ السَّمَآءُ بَنَـهَا - رَفَعَ سَمْكَهَا فَسَوَّاهَا - وَأَغْطَشَ لَيْلَهَا وَأَخْرَجَ ضُحَـهَا - وَالاٌّرْضَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ دَحَـهَا - أَخْرَجَ مِنْهَا مَآءَهَا وَمَرْعَـهَا - وَالْجِبَالَ أَرْسَـهَا - مَتَـعاً لَّكُمْ وَلاًّنْعَـمِكُمْ

(Are you more difficult to create or is the heaven that He constructed He raised its height, and has perfected it. Its night He covers with darkness and its forenoon He brings out (with light). And after that He spread the earth, And brought forth therefrom its water and its pasture. And the mountains He has fixed firmly, (to be) a provision and benefit for you and your cattle.) (79:27-33) This Ayah states that the spreading out of the earth came after the creation of the heavens, but the earth itself was created before the heavens according to some texts. This was the response of Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, as recorded by Al-Bukhari in his Tafsir of this Ayah in his Sahih. He recorded that Sa`id bin Jubayr said: "A man said to Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, saying: `I find some things in the Qur'an which confuse me:

فَلاَ أَنسَـبَ بَيْنَهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ وَلاَ يَتَسَآءَلُونَ

(There will be no kinship among them that Day, nor will they ask of one another) (23:101),

وَأَقْبَلَ بَعْضُهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ يَتَسَآءَلُونَ

(And they will turn to one another and question one another) (37:27),

وَلاَ يَكْتُمُونَ اللَّهَ حَدِيثاً

(but they will never be able to hide a single fact from Allah) (4:42),

وَاللَّهِ رَبِّنَا مَا كُنَّا مُشْرِكِينَ

(By Allah, our Lord, we were not those who joined others in worship with Allah) (6:23) But in this Ayah they did hide something. And Allah says:

أَءَنتُمْ أَشَدُّ خَلْقاً أَمِ السَّمَآءُ بَنَـهَا

(Are you more difficult to create or is the heaven that He constructed) until;

وَالاٌّرْضَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ دَحَـهَا

(And after that He spread the earth.) (79:27-30) So He mentioned the creation of the heavens before the earth, then He said:

قُلْ أَءِنَّكُمْ لَتَكْفُرُونَ بِالَّذِى خَلَقَ الاٌّرْضَ فِى يَوْمَيْنِ

(Say: "Do you verily disbelieve in Him Who created the earth in two Days...") until;

طَآئِعِينَ

(We come willingly.) Here He mentioned the creation of the earth before the creation of the heavens. And He says:

وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُوراً رَّحِيماً

(verily, Allah (Kana) is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful) (4:23).

عَزِيزاً حَكِيماً

(Most Powerful, All-Wise) (4:56).

سَمِيعاً بَصِيراً

(All-Hearer, All-Seer) (4:58). It is as if He was and is no longer.' Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, replied:

فَلاَ أَنسَـبَ بَيْنَهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ وَلاَ يَتَسَآءَلُونَ

(There will be no kinship among them that Day, nor will they ask of one another) (23:101), this will happen when the Trumpet is blown for the first time.

فَصَعِقَ مَن فِى السَّمَـوَتِ وَمَن فِى الاٌّرْضِ إِلاَّ مَن شَآءَ اللَّهُ

(And all who are in the heavens and all who are on the earth will swoon away, except him whom Allah wills) (39:68), and at that time there will be no kinship among them, nor will they ask of one another. Then when the Sur will be blown again,

وَأَقْبَلَ بَعْضُهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ يَتَسَآءَلُونَ

(And they will turn to one another and question one another) (37:27). With regard to the Ayat,

وَاللَّهِ رَبِّنَا مَا كُنَّا مُشْرِكِينَ

(By Allah, our Lord, we were not those who joined others in worship with Allah) (6:23) and

وَلاَ يَكْتُمُونَ اللَّهَ حَدِيثاً

(but they will never be able to hide a single fact from Allah) (4:42), Allah will forgive the sincere believers their sins, then the idolators will say, `Let us say that we never joined others in worship with Allah.' Then a seal will be placed over their mouths, and their hands will speak. Then it will be known that not a single fact can be hidden from Allah, and at that point,

يَوَدُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ

(those who disbelieved will wish) (4:42). Allah created the earth in two days, then He created the heavens, then He (Istawa ila) the heaven and gave it its shape in two more days. Then He spread the earth, which means that He brought forth therefrom its water and its pasture. And He created the mountains, sands, inanimate things, rocks and hills and everything in between, in two more days. This is what Allah says:

دَحَـهَا

((He) spread (the earth)) (79:30) And Allah's saying:

خَلَقَ الاٌّرْضَ فِى يَوْمَيْنِ

((He) created the earth in two Days) So He created the earth and everything in it in four days, and He created the heavens in two days.

وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُوراً رَّحِيماً

(verily, Allah (Kana) is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful) (4:23). This is how He described Himself, and this is how He still is. Whatever Allah wills comes to pass, so do not be confused about the Qur'an, for all of it comes from Allah."' This was recorded by Al-Bukhari.

خَلَقَ الاٌّرْضَ فِى يَوْمَيْنِ

((He) created the earth in two Days) means, on Sunday and Monday.

وَجَعَلَ فِيهَا رَوَاسِىَ مِن فَوْقِهَا وَبَـرَكَ فِيهَا

(He placed therein firm mountains from above it, and He blessed it,) means, He blessed it and gave it the potential to be planted with seeds and bring forth produce.

وَقَدَّرَ فِيهَآ أَقْوَتَهَا

(And measured therein its sustenance) means, what its people need of provision and places in which to plant things and grow crops. This was on Tuesday and Wednesday, which together with the two previous days add up to four days.

فِى أَرْبَعَةِ أَيَّامٍ سَوَآءً لِّلسَّآئِلِينَ

(in four Days equal for all those who ask.) meaning, for those who want to ask about that, so that they might know. `Ikrimah and Mujahid said concerning the Ayah:

وَقَدَّرَ فِيهَآ أَقْوَتَهَا

(and measured therein its sustenance): "He placed in every land that which is not suited for any other land." Ibn `Abbas, Qatadah and As-Suddi said, concerning the Ayah,

سَوَآءً لِّلسَّآئِلِينَ

(equal for all those who ask): this means, "For whoever wants to ask about that." Ibn Zayd said:

وَقَدَّرَ فِيهَآ أَقْوَتَهَا فِى أَرْبَعَةِ أَيَّامٍ سَوَآءً لِّلسَّآئِلِينَ

(and measured therein its sustenance in four Days equal for all those who ask. ) "According to whatever a person who is need of provision wants, Allah measures out for him what he needs." This is like what they said concerning the Ayah:

وَآتَاكُم مِّن كُلِّ مَا سَأَلْتُمُوهُ

(And He gave you of all that you asked for) (14:34). And Allah knows best.

ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى إِلَى السَّمَآءِ وَهِىَ دُخَانٌ

(Then He rose over (Istawa ila) towards the heaven when it was smoke,) i.e., steam which arose from it when the earth was created.

فَقَالَ لَهَا وَلِلاٌّرْضِ ائْتِيَا طَوْعاً أَوْ كَرْهاً

(and said to it and to the earth: "Come both of you willingly or unwillingly.") meaning, `respond to My command and be subjected to this action, willingly or unwillingly.'

قَالَتَآ أَتَيْنَا طَآئِعِينَ

(They both said: "We come willingly.") meaning, `we will respond to You willingly and everything that You want to create in us -- angels, Jinn and men -- will all be obedient to You.'

فَقَضَاهُنَّ سَبْعَ سَمَـوَتٍ فِى يَوْمَيْنِ

(Then He completed and finished their creation (as) seven heavens in two Days) means, He finished forming them as seven heavens in two more days, which were Thursday and Friday.

وَأَوْحَى فِى كُلِّ سَمَآءٍ أَمْرَهَا

(and He decreed in each heaven its affair. ) means, He placed in each heaven whatever it needs of angels and things which are known only unto Him.

وَزَيَّنَّا السَّمَآءَ الدُّنْيَا بِمَصَـبِيحَ

(And We adorned the nearest (lowest) heaven with lamps) means, the stars and planets which shine on the people of the earth.

وَحِفْظاً

(as well as to guard.) means, as protection against the Shayatin, lest they listen to the angels on high.

ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ

(Such is the Decree of Him, the Almighty, the All-Knower) means, the Almighty Who has subjugated all things to His control, the All-Knower Who knows all the movements of His creatures.

And He set wa-ja‘ala the beginning of a new independent sentence and cannot be a supplement to the preceding relative clause containing alladhī ‘Who’ because of the intervening clause that is syntactically unrelated therein firm mountains rising above it and blessed it with an abundance of water crops and stock and ordained divided therein its various means of sustenance for human beings and beasts in four complete days — in other words the ‘setting therein of mountains’ together with what has been mentioned in addition all took place on Tuesday and Wednesday — evenly sawā’an in the accusative because it is a verbal noun in other words the four days were exactly four neither less nor more for all enquirers about the creation of the earth and all that is in it.

it is stated separately: وَجَعَلَ فِيهَا رَ‌وَاسِيَ مِن فَوْقِهَا وَبَارَ‌كَ فِيهَا وَقَدَّرَ‌ فِيهَا أَقْوَاتَهَا فِي أَرْ‌بَعَةِ (He has placed firm mountains in it [ the earth ] towering above it, and put blessings in it, and proportioned its foods therein, in four days - 10). It should be remembered that the four days mentioned in this verse are inclusive of the first two days mentioned in verse 9, according to the consensus of the exegetes. The first two days and the later four days are not separate, otherwise the total period of creation would become eight days which is against the explicit statement of the Qur'an.

It appears that it would have been more proper at this point if, after mentioning the creation of earth in two days, the creation of mountains etc. were also mentioned in two days, and thus it would have been known that the total number of days taken for the creation of earth was four. But by choosing to state that the number of days including the remainder of the earth's creations totals four, Qur'an has probably indicated that the four days were not continuous, but in two parts - two days before the creation of the skies, and two days after it. The creation of mountains etc. mentioned in the verse 10, relates to the period after the creation of the skies. And Allah knows best.

وَجَعَلَ فِيهَا رَ‌وَاسِيَ مِن فَوْقِهَا (He has placed firm mountains in it (the earth) towering above it,...41:10) The mountains have been created to maintain the earth's balance as has been clarified in many verses of Qur'an. It was not necessary for this purpose to raise them above the earth's surface and to make them so high - they could have been placed inside the earth also. But in raising them above and making them so high as to keep them away from the reach of human beings and animals, generally, there were thousands, rather innumerable, benefits for the inhabitants of the earth. Hence the words, "towering above it" in this verse point out to this special blessing.

وَقَدَّرَ‌ فِيهَا أَقْوَاتَهَا فِي أَرْ‌بَعَةِ أَيَّامٍ سَوَاءً لِّلسَّائِلِينَ (and proportioned its foods therein, in four days, equal for those who ask…… 41:10) (Aqwat) is plural of Qut قُوت which means food, sustenance, including common necessities of human life. (Abu ` Ubaid - Zad-ul-Masir by Ibn-ul- Jauzi)

Hasan ؓ and Suddi have said in its explanation that Allah Almighty has predetermined the sustenance and maintenance for the inhabitants of every region according to their need and expedience in the sense that He issued directions that such and such items be produced in such and such qualities in this region of the earth. This predetermination has caused every region of the earth to have characteristics of its own, and different kinds of minerals, different kinds of vegetation, trees and animals have been created according to the needs, nature and preferences of that zone.

This arrangement results in every region having different products and different dresses - Asb in Yemen, Saburi in Sabur, Tayalisah in Ray, wheat in some region, rice and other grains in other regions, cotton in some areas, jute in some others, apples and grapes in some areas, mangos in others; these differences in items accord with the differences in the nature of the different regions. ` Ikrimah and Dahhak state that these differences in the products in different regions have opened ways for international trade and for mutual cooperation between different regions and countries of the world. No region is independent of other regions for the fulfillment of its needs; mutual wants are the only firm basis for mutual cooperation. ` Ikrimah has stated that in some areas salt is sold for an equal weight of gold.

In fact, Allah Almighty has made this earth, so to say, such a great store of all necessities such as food, shelter, clothes, etc. of all its inhabitant, including billions and billions of humans and innumerable animals that are to come in this world up to Doomsday. These necessities have been kept inside it, and they will keep on growing and being supplied as needed until the Last Day of this world. All a man has to do is to take the necessities out of the earth according to his need and use them.

Further on, the text states: سَوَاءً لِّلسَّائِلِينَ (equal for those who ask -10). Most of the commentators (mufassirin) have related this sentence to the four days. It means that all these great creations took place in exactly four days. Generally ` four' does not always mean exactly four - it may be slightly more or slightly less, but the fractions are disregarded in such cases, and it is still called ` four'. The addition of the word ` equal' here in the verse has eliminated this possibility, and clarified that the creation of the earth and the skies and what is placed in them took place in exactly four days. And the word ` for those who ask' means those people who asked the Holy Prophet ﷺ regarding the creation of the earth and the skies, as the Jews did according to Tafsir Ibn Jarir and Ad-Durr-ul-Manthur. They have been told that all this creation took place in exactly four days. (Ibn Kathir, Qurtubi, Ruh)

And some exegetes Ibn Zayd, etc., have linked the words ` for those who ask' with the foregoing sentence ` proportioned its foods therein" and held ` those who ask' to mean the needy people who ask for food. The meaning in this case would be that Allah Almighty has created all these different kinds and species of foods and necessities for the benefit of those who need and seek them, and since needy people usually ask for food, they have been called ` those who ask'. (A1-Bahr-ul-Muhit)

Ibn Kathir has quoted this explanation and said that it is like the statement of the Qur'an وَآتَاكُم مِّن كُلِّ مَا سَأَلْتُمُوهُ (And He gave you whatever you asked for. - 14:34) ` you asked for' in this verse means ` you were in need of' even though it has not been asked literally, because Allah Almighty has bestowed those things even to those who did not ask for them.

He set in it unshakables from above it and He blessed it. In form the unshakable mountains are the pegs of the earth, but in reality the friends are the pegs of the earth. It is through their blessing that rain comes from heaven and plants from the earth, and through their supplicating God trial is repelled from the people. The mountains are the pegs of the earth in terms of form, but God's friends are the pegs of the earth in terms of reality. The arrangement of the work of the world is tied to the towering mountains, but the straightness of the states and means of people in terms of meaning is tied to the blessedness and supplication of the friends. In body they are present with the people, but in heart they are absent from the people and present with the Real. Abū Yazīd BasṬāmī said, “It is forty years that I have not spoken to anyone. Whatever I have said, I have said to the Real, and whatever I have heard, I have heard from the Real.” It is from here that MuṣṬafā said, “I spend the night at my Lord; He gives me to eat and drink.” He was present with the people in his person for the sake of discharging the Shariah and expanding the creed, but in his secret core he was with the Real because of the overpowering force of love and the continuity of contemplation. When love overpowers, the lover does not become separate from the beloved. Master Abu ʿAlī Daqqāq said, “Paradise has no business with me, and hell has nothing to do with me, for there is nothing in my heart but joy in the Real's subsistence.” Whatever is other than the Friend, break its snare! Whatever is other than passion, name it “sorrow”! * In my love for Buthayna I desired that we two be alone on a raft in the ocean.