Tafsir of Al-Hajj 22:65

"Have you not seen that Allah has subjected for you what is on the earth" (i.e., He has made what is in it from among things subservient to you, prepared for your benefits, so that you may utilize them however you wish). Placing the prepositional phrase (lakum - for you) before the direct object (ma fi al-ard - what is on the earth) is due to what has been mentioned more than once: emphasizing the preceded [phrase] and creating anticipation for the succeeding [term].

"And the ships" (al-fulk—in the accusative case, with the lam quiescent; Ibn Muqassim and al-Kisa'i, on the authority of al-Hasan, read it with a damma). It is conjoined to "what" (ma), a conjunction of the specific to the general, as a warning regarding the strangeness of their subjugation and the abundance of their benefits. It is also permitted that it be conjoined to the Majestic Name (Allah), and His saying—Exalted is He—"sailing upon the sea by His command" is, on the first reading, a circumstantial qualifier (hal) of it, and on the second, a predicate for Anna. Thus, the waw would have conjoined the noun to the noun and the predicate to the predicate, which is contrary to the apparent meaning. In al-Bahr, this is considered an interpretation far removed from eloquence. Al-Sulami, al-A'raj, Talha, Abu Haywah, and al-Za'farani read al-fulk in the nominative case as an initial subject, with what follows as its predicate, rendering the sentence an inaugural one. It is also permitted that it be a circumstantial qualifier. It is said: It is permissible for the nominative case to be by conjunction to the position of Anna and its noun, which is on the model of conjunction to the noun.

"And He holds the sky from falling upon the earth" (i.e., from falling upon it). The speech is based on the omission of a preposition; An and what follows it are in the interpretation of a verbal noun or are in the genitive case, according to the two well-known opinions regarding this. Some placed it in the position of the maf'ul li-ajlihi (causative object), assuming the meaning "out of aversion to it falling," according to the Basrans, while the Kufans assume "lest it should fall." Abu Hayyan said: The apparent meaning is that "to fall" is in the position of an accusative as a badal ishtimal (permutation of inclusion) from "the sky," i.e., "He prevents the falling of the sky upon the earth." This was refuted on the grounds that imsak (holding) in the sense of luzum (adherence) is transitive through ba', and in the sense of kaff (withholding) through an, and likewise in the sense of preservation and stinginess, as in Taj al-Masadir. As for it being in the sense of man' (prevention), it is not well-known. This was criticized by stating that it is nothing, for it is well-known and explicitly stated in language books. Al-Raghib said: It is said "I withheld from him such-and-such," meaning I prevented it. Allah the Exalted says: "Are they holders of His mercy?" and stinginess is alluded to by the word imsak. This was explicitly stated by al-Zamakhshari and al-Baydawi in the interpretation of the verse: "Indeed, Allah holds the heavens and the earth, lest they cease."

Yes, the most apparent is the first interpretation. What is intended by holding it from falling upon the earth is the preservation of its cohesion by the power of Allah—Exalted is He—after He created it cohesive moment by moment, and the non-attachment of His—Glory be to Him—will to its falling, absolutely. It is said: His—Exalted is He—holding it from that is by making it encompassing, neither heavy nor light. This is built upon the unity of the "sky" and the "celestial sphere" (al-fulk), and upon the well-known dictum of the philosophers that the celestial sphere is neither heavy nor light. They built this upon their claim that it is impossible for it to accept linear motion, and they derived from that that it is neither hot nor cold, nor moist nor dry. They reasoned for the impossibility of its accepting linear motion with that which the theologians have refuted in their books.

The known position of the pious predecessors (salaf) of this community is that the sky is not the celestial sphere, and that it has a creaking sound (atit), due to the Prophet's—peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—saying: "The sky has creaked, and it has the right to creak; there is no place in it the size of a footprint except that there is an angel standing or prostrating," and that it is heavy, preserved from falling by the sheer will of Allah—Exalted is He—and His power, which nothing can oppose, not by its own self-retention. Some theologians mentioned, to negate this, that it shares the quality of corporality with all other bodies that accept downward inclination, so it accepts it like others. On the philosophers' premise, there is room for investigation here.

The use of the imperfect tense is to convey continuous renewal, i.e., He holds it moment by moment from falling, "except by His permission" (i.e., by His will). The exception is mufarragh (vacuous/unrestricted) from the most general of causes. This is valid in a positive statement because of the validity of intending generality, or because "holds" here carries the meaning of negation, i.e., He does not leave it to fall due to any cause—such as the passing of ages upon it or its heaviness due to what is within it—except due to the cause of His will for it to fall. It is also said: It is an exception from the most general of circumstances, i.e., He does not leave it to fall in any circumstance except while it is attached to the will of Allah—Exalted is He. Perhaps what we have mentioned is more apparent.

In al-Bahr, it states that the prepositional phrase is connected to "falling." Ibn Atiyyah said: It is possible that it is connected to "holds," because the speech implies "without supports" or similar; so it is as if He intended "except by His permission, by it He holds it." If it were as he said, the construction would be without "except." I swear, what Ibn Atiyyah said is not something said by anyone who has the slightest deliberation, as is not hidden. Furthermore, there is no indication in the verse that the permission for falling will occur. It is said that in it is an allusion to the falling, and that is on the Day of Resurrection, for the sky will then split and fall upon the earth. In my mind, there are no verses or reports that are explicit regarding the falling of the sky upon the earth on that day; rather, they are explicit regarding agitation, splitting, folding, and transformation, none of which indicate falling upon the earth, let alone being explicit about it. The apparent meaning is that what is intended by "the sky" is the genus, which includes the seven heavens. This is supported by what al-Tabarani recorded on the authority of Ibn Abbas, who said: "If you come to a formidable ruler whom you fear might harm you, say: 'Allah is Greater, Allah is Greater than all of His creation, Allah is Greater than what I fear and dread. I seek refuge in Allah, than whom there is no deity, the One who holds the seven heavens from falling upon the earth except by His permission, from the evil of your servant so-and-so, and his soldiers, followers, and associates from among the jinn and mankind. My God, be for me a neighbor against their evil. Glorified be Your praise, mighty is Your protection, and blessed is Your name; there is no deity other than You'" (three times).

It is also apparent that the thrust of the verse is for the purpose of bestowing favor, not for threatening, as some have assumed. This is supported by His saying—Exalted is He: "Indeed, Allah is, to the people, Kind and Merciful."

(65) "...in that He subjected for them what He subjected, and bestowed upon them security from what might intervene between them and the benefit of it, namely the falling of the sky upon the earth." It is said: [It is a context of favor] because He prepared for them the means of their livelihoods, opened for them the doors of benefits, clarified for them the paths of reasoning through the creational and revealed signs, and made the sentence explanatory within "Have you not seen that Allah has subjected..." etc. This is more apparent than what we said. Concerning "Kind" (Ra'uf), it is said that it denotes the warding off of harms, and "Merciful" (Rahim), that it denotes the bringing of benefits. Because warding off harm is more important than bringing benefit, "Kind" was placed before "Merciful." In everything that He—Exalted is He—bestowed as a favor, there is both warding off and bringing. Yes, it is said that holding the sky from falling is more apparent in the warding off, and its delay has an aspect that is not hidden. Some said: "Kindness" is more eloquent than "Mercy," and "Kind" was placed first for the sake of the rhyme. A group held that "Mercy" is more general, and this is perhaps the apparent view. Placing "to the people" first is for the sake of emphasis, and it is said, for the sake of the rhyme. Separation between the two places is something that is not deemed good.