Tafsir of An-Naml 27:60

The particle am (or) in His saying, "Or who created the heavens and the earth," is disjunctive, not conjunctive, just like the one preceding it. It represents an implied bal (nay), according to the first reading—which is the reading of al-Hasan, Qatadah, ‘Asim, and Abu ‘Amr—for the purpose of transitioning from allusive reproach to explicit reproach, addressing them directly in a manner more manifest for the sake of greater emphasis and severity.

As for the second reading, it serves to duplicate the reproach and reiterate the binding argument, as in its counterparts that follow. The interrogative hamza is used to urge them toward acknowledging the truth, which no one possessing even the slightest discernment can avoid admitting. The word man (who) is in the position of a subject whose predicate is omitted, along with the am that equates to the hamza, relying upon what preceded in the first interrogative. However, the verb tushrikun (you associate) is implicitly in the second person on both readings, and this holds for the four places that follow.

The meaning is: "Or who created the two poles of the corporeal world and the origins of the benefits between them?"

And His saying, "And sent down for you," is an act of turning the address to the disbelievers in the first reading to intensify the reproach and the binding argument. The lam is causative; meaning, He sent it down for your sake and your benefit.

"From the sky water": meaning, a type of it, which is rain.

"And We caused to grow thereby": according to the dictates of wisdom, not that the act of causing growth is logically dependent upon it; it is also said that it means "We caused to grow at its presence."

"Gardens": the plural of hadiqah, which, as in al-Bahr, is a garden, whether or not a wall surrounds it. This is evident from the breadth of Ibn ‘Abbas’s interpretation, where he interpreted hadiqah as encompassing, which is also narrated from al-Dahhak. Al-Raghib said: It is a piece of land containing water, named hadiqah by analogy to the iris (hadaqat) of the eye in form and the presence of water within it. Perhaps the view in al-Bahr is more manifest; the reason a garden is called hadiqah seems to be that it is its nature to be encircled by walls, or that eyes turn toward it and gaze upon it.

"Of beauty": that is, possessing goodness and radiance that delights the observer and brings joy.

"It was not for you": meaning, it was not correct nor possible for you to cause its trees to grow, let alone create their fruits and their other marvelous qualities. "Better [is He] or what they associate?" The estimation of the predicate is as such. This is what al-Zamakhshari chose, and others followed him.

Ibn ‘Atiyyah said: The predicate should be estimated as "he disbelieves in His bounty and associates others with Him," and other meanings of this sort. Abu al-Fadl al-Razi said in his book al-Lawami‘: "It is necessary to provide an implied equivalent, and that implied term is like the explicitly stated one due to the indication of the context. The estimate is: 'Or who created the heavens and the earth [is like one] who did not create?'" This is also how it should be estimated in its counterparts. He explicitly stated in other places what is implied here, such as His saying, "Is he who creates like him who does not create?" (Quran 16:17). This is the end of his words. Perhaps the former view, chosen by Jar Allah (al-Zamakhshari), is better, and the same is said regarding what follows.

Al-A‘mash read aman with a lightened nun, based on the hamza being for interrogation and man being a substitute for the Majestic Name. The delaying of the objects of the two actions of "sending down" and "causing to grow" (relative to the mention of "water") is due to what has been mentioned repeatedly regarding the suspense created by delaying the object. The shift to the first-person plural (nun of Majesty) is to emphasize the exclusivity of the action to His Divine Essence, and to signal that the causing of such gardens—varied in species, descriptions, colors, tastes, scents, and shapes, along with their manifest beauty and brilliant splendor—to grow by one [type of] water is a tremendous matter that none but He, the Almighty and Majestic, could possibly perform. This is supported by His saying, "It was not for you," etc., whether it is an adjective for the gardens, a state (hal), or an independent initiation of speech. The singular form of its description, "of beauty" (dhat bahjah), is because the meaning is "a collection of gardens of beauty," which is common in the broken plural, as in His saying, "Purified spouses." The same applies to the pronoun in "its trees." Ibn Abi ‘Ablah read dhawat as a plural, and bahjah with a fatha on the ha.

"Is there any deity with Allah?": meaning, is there any other deity existing alongside Allah, the Almighty, who has mentioned some of His actions that none other than He could perform, such that one might imagine Him being made a partner to Him in worship? This is a reproach to them, negating divinity from what they associate with Him, within the comprehensive negation, following the demonstrative method, after having reproached them by negating their excellence through the previously mentioned dilemma. For anyone possessing the slightest discernment, just as he cannot deny the negation of excellence from them entirely, he can hardly deny the negation of divinity from them at its core, especially after observing the absence of its attributes in anything other than Him, the Almighty and Majestic. The same is the case in the four subsequent locations.

It is also said: The intent is to negate that there is any other deity with Him in creation and what is linked to it. However, this is not because the reproach lies in that negation alone—for they do not deny it, as evidenced by His saying, "And if you ask them who created the heavens and the earth, they will surely say, 'Allah'"—but rather it is because of their associating with Him that which they acknowledge does not share with Him the necessities of divinity mentioned. It is as if it were said: "Is there another deity with Allah in the attributes of divinity, such that it should be made a partner to Him in worship?"

Others said: The meaning is, "Is there other than Him who is coupled with Him, the Glorified, and made a partner in worship, despite His being unique, may He be glorified, in creation and bringing into existence?" The denial here is for the sake of rebuke and reproach, while the denied object is acknowledged, rather than a negation [of existence], as in the previous two views. This is considered more likely to be correct, as it is consistent with His saying, "And there was not with Him any deity," and it fulfills the requirements of the context better by signifying the negation of the existence of any other deity with Him at all, not just the negation of his being with Him in creation and its branches.

Hisham, from Ibn ‘Amir, read a-ilah with a medial vowel between the two hamzas, pronouncing the second as an intermediate sound (tashil). Abu ‘Amr, Nafi‘, and Ibn Kathir read a-ilahan with an accusative case, assuming an implied verb that suits the context, such as "Do you set up," "Do you invoke," or "Do you associate."

"Nay, they are a people who deviate."

This is a disjunction and a transition from reproaching them through the mode of address to explaining their wretched state and reporting it to others. Ya‘dilun is derived from ‘udul, meaning turning away; that is, "Nay, they are a people whose habit is to deviate entirely from the path of truth and to deviate from uprightness in every matter of affairs." Therefore, they do what they do by turning away from the clear truth—which is the Oneness of God—and persisting in the manifest falsehood—which is polytheism.

It is also said to be from ‘adl (justice), meaning equality; that is, they equate others from their deities with Him, the Almighty. This is reported from Ibn Zayd, but the first is more appropriate for what precedes. Others have said that the speech [in this case] would be devoid of benefit.