Tafsir of Ar-Ra'd 13:4

And in the earth are tracts (is an initiating sentence containing another group of signs). It means: there are many plots of land in the earth that differ in their qualities; some are fertile and vegetation-bearing, some are saline and barren, some are soft, some are hard, some are suitable for cultivation but not for trees, and some are suitable for trees but not for cultivation, and so on.

Adjacent (meaning conjoined). The intent is to report the variance in the parts of the earth that are adjacent to one another in the manner already known, and this is what has been narrated by the majority. Abu al-Shaykh reported from Qatada that the meaning is: "And in the earth are villages, some of which are close to others." Al-Hasan interpreted this as referring to al-Ahwaz, Fars, Kufa, and Basra. Hence, it is said that the verse involves iktifa (sufficiency in expression), similar to the verse: "garments that protect you from the heat" [16:81]. The intended meaning is: "tracts, adjacent and non-adjacent." In some codices, it is written as (wa quta'an mutajawirat) in the accusative case, meaning: "And He placed in the earth tracts..."

And gardens (meaning many orchards) of grapevines, and crops (of every type of grain). Its singular form is used in consideration of its root, as it was originally an infinitive. Perhaps the mention of gardens was placed before it, despite it being a pillar of livelihood, because in the creation of grapes there is something that dazzles the intellect, which is not hidden. Even if there were nothing in them other than that they are frozen water in delicate containers—to the point that some of them are transparent, not obstructing the sight from perceiving what is within them—that would suffice. Hence, it came in some divine reports: "Do you disbelieve in Me when I am the Creator of the grape?" In Irshad al-'Aql al-Salim, this is explained by the manifest nature of gardens in their diversity and their distinction from others, and the rootedness of this quality within them.

The saying of the Almighty and palm trees was delayed so that it would not create an interruption between it and its description, which is His saying: "growing from one root or otherwise." Otherwise, the separation between the conjoined items would be long. Sinwan is the plural of sinw, which is the branch that shares a single base with another, and its root signifies the "like" or "peer"—from this, an uncle is called a sinw. The sad is damma-vocalized in the plural as it is in the singular, which is the famous linguistic usage and the one read by the majority. The dialect of Tamim and Qays reads it as sunwan with a damma, like dhi'b and dhu'ban; Zayd ibn Ali, al-Sulami, and Ibn Musayyib read it this way, and al-Ja'bari cited it in his commentary on al-Shatibiyya from Hafs.

Al-Hasan and Qatada read it with a fatha (sanwan); in this case, it is a collective noun like sa'dan, not a broken plural, as it does not follow those patterns. Al-Hasan read jannatin in the accusative, as a conjunction—according to some—to zawjayn (the object of ja'ala), and min kulli al-thamarati would then be an adverbial state preceding the object of ja'ala (as the meaning would otherwise be corrupted). That is: "He placed therein two pairs, while it is from every fruit, and gardens of grapes." Here, there is no obligation to qualify the item conjoined to. Some claim that the conjunction is to rawasiya (mountains). Abu Hayyan said: "The most appropriate is to assume an omitted verb due to the distance between the conjoined items, or to read it in the genitive as a conjunction to kulli al-thamarati, on the condition that it is the object (with the addition of min in an affirmative sentence) and zawjayni ithnayni is a state describing it. The estimation is: 'And He placed therein from every fruit, while being of two kinds.' Perhaps the reason for not organizing His saying 'And in the earth are tracts adjacent' in this same thread—despite the fact that the specification of each of those tracts with its conditions and qualities is purely by the creation of the Wise Creator, may His power be glorified, when He spread the earth and leveled it—is to indicate that those conditions are qualities rooted in those tracts."

A group of the seven readers read wa zar'in wa nakhilin in the genitive, as a conjunction to a'nab (grapes). As stated in al-Kashshaf, this is of the category of "girded with a sword and a spear." Or, the intent is that within the gardens there are plots planted between the trees; otherwise, a planted field alone is not called a garden. This is more beautiful in appearance and more pristine. Abu Hayyan claimed that calling a plantation a "garden" is metaphorical, because a garden in reality is the land that contains vines.

And it is watered (meaning that which was mentioned: the tracts, gardens, crops, and palms). The majority of the seven read it in the feminine (tughta) in consideration of the word's form; this is also the reading of al-Hasan and Abu Ja'far. It is said: The former is more consistent with the context of stating the unity of all in the state of being watered. With one water (there is no difference in its nature, whether the watering is from rain water or river water). It is said the latter is more consistent with His saying: And We make some of them excel others (meaning: despite the presence of the causes of similarity, by the sheer force of Our power and grace) in the fruit (the eating). Hamza and al-Kisa'i gave the fatha of the qaf an imala (inclination). Al-ukul with a damma on the hamza and kaf—and its quiescence is also mentioned—means that which is eaten, which here refers to fruit and grain. The claim of some that it means "in the fruit in form, size, scent, and taste" is a matter of taghlib (generalization).

Hamza and al-Kisa'i read yufaddilu with a ya in the active voice, in response to yudabbiru, yufassilu, and yughshi. Yahya ibn Ya'mur—the first to place dots on the codex—and Abu Haywa, and al-Halabi from 'Abd al-Warith, read it with a ya in the passive voice, making ba'duha the subject in the nominative. This contains an obvious majesty, indicating that the lack of possibility of attributing the action to another agent makes the passive construction sufficient.

Indeed in that (which has been detailed regarding the conditions of the tracts and others) are signs (many, great, and dazzling) for a people who reason—who act based on the judgment of their intellects. For whoever reasons those wondrous conditions, and the emergence of fruits—different in shapes, colors, tastes, and scents—within those disparate, adjacent tracts, along with the commonality of what they are watered with, and indeed all the causes of their growth, will not hesitate to affirm that this has a Wise, Capable, and Managing Creator for whom nothing is impossible. It is said the meaning is that whoever reasons this will not hesitate to affirm that He who is capable of originating what has been mentioned is capable of restoring what He originated; rather, it is easier by way of analogy. Perhaps what was mentioned first is more appropriate.

Furthermore, the conditions—even if they are the signs themselves and not merely in them—have been abstracted from them as their likenesses, as an exaggeration of them being signs. Thus, there is an abstraction of their likeness in His saying: "For them therein is the abode of eternity," according to the popular view. It is permitted that what is referred to are the universal conditions, and the "signs" are the individual instances happening gradually over time, and the occurrences happening across regions and places witnessed by their people. Thus, fi remains on its meaning. Some interpreted "signs" as "indications," so that fi remains upon that—and this is as you can see.

Since the indication of these conditions upon their indicated meanings is more manifest than what preceded it, the Almighty linked them being "signs" to pure reasoning, as Abu Hayyan and others said. For this reason, as it is said, His Majesty did not concern Himself with anything other than the favoring of some over others in the "eating," which is apparent to every rational person, while the existence of that (the signs) in the properties and qualities—which require a type of reflection and contemplation to discover—is as if there is no need to contemplate those as well. In this is an insinuation that the polytheists do not reason.

Some poets have said regarding what the verse points to:

The earth contains a lesson for the one who reflects, Telling of the craftsmanship of an Omnipotent King. Its trees are watered with one water, And their base is one plot of land. The sun and the air do not differ, Yet their fruits are different, not in harmony. If this were the work of nature, Or the craft of someone other than the Maker, It would not differ, and would be one thing— Does the child resemble anyone but the parent? O stubborn one, the sun, the air, The water, and the soil are one thing. So what caused this superiority, But a Wise One who did not intend it in vain?

Ibn Jarir reported from al-Hasan regarding this verse: "This is a parable God Almighty set for the hearts of the Children of Adam. The earth was, in the hand of the Most Merciful, a single clay; He leveled it and spread it, and it became adjacent tracts. Then the water descends upon it, and one tract brings forth its flowers, fruits, and trees; another brings forth its vegetation; and another brings forth its salt, bitterness, and waste. Both are watered with the same water. If the water were bitter, one would say, 'This became saline due to the water.' Likewise, people were created from Adam (peace be upon him), and from the heaven descends a reminder—some hearts become tender, humble, and submissive, while other hearts become distracted and negligent." Then he said: "By God, no one has sat with the Quran except that he rose from it with an increase or a decrease." God Almighty says: "And We send down of the Quran that which is healing and mercy for the believers, but it does not increase the wrongdoers except in loss."

Abu Hayyan said: "This is similar to the speech of the Sufis."