Tafsir of An-Nahl 16:79

(Have they not looked) Hamza, Ibn ‘Amir, Talha, al-A‘mash, and Ibn Hurmuz read it with a ta (tara'u – "Have you not looked"), addressing the general public. These are the same people addressed previously in His saying, “And Allah brought you out of the bellies of your mothers,” rather than the specific individuals mentioned in the preceding verse, “And they worship instead of Allah,” by shifting the mode of address. This shift is appropriate for an interrogative of denial (inkari); hence, the reading of the majority with the ya (yaraw – "Have they not looked") is based on the third-person reference in “they worship” (ya‘budun), and they did not consider this a shift (iltifat). In that case, the denial is based on their inclusion within the general public.

Looking here refers to visual observation. That is, have they not looked at the birds (al-tayr), the plural of ta'ir, like rakb and rakib. It can also apply to a single bird, though that is not intended here. One may also say tuyur and atyar for the plural.

(Subjugated) meaning they are made subservient for flight. In this, there is an indication that their flight is not a requirement of their nature. (In the atmosphere of the sky) meaning in the air, which is distant from the earth—the [upper] soul and the heavens are more distant still. It is said: the jaw (atmosphere) is the space between the sky and the earth, and jawwah is a linguistic variation of it. Attributing it to the sky is because it is in the direction of the sky from the perspective of the onlooker, and to demonstrate the perfection of [Divine] power. According to al-Suddi, jaw is interpreted as the hollow (jawf), and the sky here is interpreted as the direction of height; birds may fly in this direction until they disappear from sight, and no one knows the limit of their ascent in flight except Allah, the Almighty. It is related from Ka‘b that birds do not ascend more than twelve miles.

(None holds them) in the atmosphere from falling (except Allah), the Mighty and Majestic, through His vast power. For the weight of their bodies and the thinness of the air necessitate their falling, yet there is no link from above them nor a support from beneath them. This sentence is either a circumstantial clause (hal) describing the pronoun implied in “subjugated,” or it describes “the birds,” or it is a new, independent sentence.

(Indeed, in that) which has been mentioned regarding the subjugation [of the birds] in the atmosphere and their being held therein—though it is said that what is referred to is what is contained in this verse and the one preceding it—(are signs) indicating the perfection of the power of the Almighty, (for a people who believe).

(i.e., whose nature it is to believe). This is specified for them because they are the ones who benefit from these signs. The Imam limited the reference to what is in this verse alone, saying: This is proof of the perfection of Allah’s power and His wisdom—glory be to Him. For He, the Almighty, created the bird with a composition that makes flight possible for it, giving it a wing that it extends at one time and retracts at another, similar to what a swimmer does in water. He also created the atmosphere with a composition that makes flight possible, creating it as a subtle substance so that it is easy to pierce and move through. Were it not for that, flight would not be possible.

The master Abu al-Sa‘ud likewise said: Indeed, in that which was mentioned regarding the subjugation of the birds for flight—by creating them with a composition that enables them to do so, such as giving them light wings and similarly light tails, and making their bodies of such lightness that when they extend their wings and tails, their weight is unable to pierce the air beneath them, which is thin in consistency, while they pierce the air in front of them because they do not meet it with a large volume—are manifest signs. He mentioned that their subjugation is through the wings and the assisting causes created for them. Abu Hayyan countered this, saying: "What we say is that it would have been possible for the bird to fly even if no wings were created for it, and it would have been possible for it to pierce a dense object; this is by the power of Allah. We do not say that were it not for the wing, the lightness of the air, and the [physical] instruments, flight would not be possible."

I do not think anyone denies the intrinsic possibility of flight without wings, for example, but it is not far-fetched to deny it without the lightness of the "medium of flight." Whenever a dense object is pierced, the medium of flight must be light; so understand this.

The verse has been used as evidence that the servant is the creator of his own actions, but the Qadi [al-Jabbar] interpreted it away. This is an engagement in a departure from the literal meaning without evidence.