And among His signs is that the heaven and the earth stand by His command.

That is, by His saying, "Stand," or by His will, may He be exalted. It is expressed as "command" to indicate the perfection of [His] power and independence from means and causes. The intention behind their standing is not their initial creation, for He has already clarified that state with His saying: "And among His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth." Nor is it their standing without a perceptible sustainer, as some have said, for that is among the completion of their creation—even if it is not explicitly stated, relying upon what was mentioned in another place in His saying: "He created the heavens without pillars that you see." Rather, it refers to their standing and remaining as they are until their appointed term, which is indicated by His saying, as some have said: "God did not create the heavens and the earth and what is between them except in truth and for a specified term."

Since their remaining is in the future, with respect to its latter parts and what occurs after the revelation of this verse, the word an (that) was used here, which is a marker for the future. The Imam held that al-qiyam (standing) means to persist and not descend. He then said—based on what some have summarized—that an was mentioned here, unlike in His saying, "And among His signs is that He shows you the lightning," because since standing is unchanging, the verb was removed by an, which is a marker for the future, and it was made an infinitive (masdar) to indicate permanence. As for showing the lightning, since it is among the changing things, the future verb form was brought, and that which indicates an infinitive was not mentioned with it.

"Then when He calls you a call from the earth, then you emerge." The first idha (when) is conditional, and the second is for suddenness, taking the place of the fa (then) in the response due to their sharing the meaning of immediate consequence. It is said that the conditional sentence is conjoined to "that the heaven and the earth stand" by interpreting it as a singular noun, as if it were said: "And among His signs is the standing of the heaven and the earth by His command, and then your emergence from your graves quickly when He calls you." The author of al-Kashshaf says that it is placed in the position of a singular noun in terms of meaning, but in terms of form, it is a sentence conjoined to His saying, "And among His signs is that...", following the style of: "The station of Ibrahim, and whoever enters it shall be safe." Its benefit is what you heard earlier. The apparent speech of some of the elite suggests that the conjunction upon it is clear in that there is no intention to count what was mentioned as a sign. Abu al-Sa‘ud—may mercy be upon him—chose the view that the conjunction is of sentences, and that what is mentioned is not from the signs. He said: Since the sign of the heaven and earth standing by His command is delayed in existence compared to the other mentioned signs, and is connected to the Resurrection, it was delayed from them and made connected to it in speech as well. Thus it was said, "Then when He calls you," and the speech is driven toward informing of the occurrence of the Resurrection and its existence after the expiration of the term of their standing, based on the multiplicity of His signs that indicate it; it is not organized into their string, as it is said. It is as if it were said: "And among His signs is the standing of the heaven and earth in their form by His command until an appointed term that God has decreed for their standing, then when He calls you—that is, after the term has passed—from the earth while you are in your graves, a single call, by His saying: 'O you dead, emerge,' you then emerge from them." Perhaps what the author of al-Kashshaf pointed to is more subtle and distant in significance, so reflect upon it.

"From the earth" is linked to "He calls," and min is for the beginning of the boundary. It suffices in that, if the caller is God Himself—not an angel by His command—that the one called is within it. It is said: "I called him from the bottom of the valley, so he ascended to me," not that he was called out of it, for if the river of God comes, the river of Ma'qil is invalidated. Yes, it is permitted that it be a description of them, or a state from the pronominal object—not of "you emerge," because what follows idha does not act upon what precedes it. Ibn ‘Atiyyah said: "In my view, min is for the end of the boundary," and Sibawayh affirmed this. Abu Hayyan said: "It is a rejected statement among our colleagues." The apparent meaning of the narrations is that the dead are truly called to emerge from the graves. It is said that the intention is to liken the sequence of the occurrence of the emergence upon the attachment of His will—without delay or need for the exertion of labor, and with speed—to the sequence of the responder’s answer to the caller who is obeyed upon his call. Thus, in the speech is a metaphorical representation, or an imaginary and metonymic one, by likening the dead to a people who want to go to the place of a great king, prepared for that, and the affirmation of the call to them is its accompaniment; or it is an explicit secondary metaphor in His saying, "He calls you" to the end of it.

"Then" (thumma) is either for delay in time or for delay in rank. The intention is the greatness of what is in the conjoined clause—the reviving of the dead—in itself and in relation to what it is conjoined to. Therefore, it does not contradict His upcoming saying, "And it is easier for Him," and its being greater than the standing of the heaven and earth, because it is the goal of creation and origination, and through it the blessed and the wretched are settled in their degrees and depths. It is the purpose behind the creation of the earth and heavens. Thus, what Ibn al-Munir said is refuted—that the rank of what is conjoined to here is the highest—since the condition that the conjoined item in such a case be of a higher degree is common, not universal, as al-Tayyibi has explicitly stated. There is no obstacle to considering the delay in rank even if the conjoined item were not of a higher degree. It is also permissible to interpret the delay as an absolute distance encompassing both time and rank.

The seven [reciters], except for Hamzah and al-Kisa'i, read "tu'rajun" (you emerge) with a damma on the ta and a fatha on the ra. It is mentioned that this verse is among those read over one who is afflicted. Ibn Abi Hatim narrated from al-Azhar ibn ‘Abdullah al-Jarazi that he said: "It is read over the afflicted one when he is seized: 'And among His signs is that the heaven and the earth stand by His command; then when He calls you a call from the earth, then you emerge.'" The Imam and Abu Hayyan mentioned long discussions regarding the order of the verses and the way each of them is concluded; if you need that, return to it.