Tafsir of Luqman 31:10

(He created the heavens without pillars)—this is an initiation brought forth to testify to His Mighty-Power—Exalted is He—which is the perfection of capability, and His Wisdom, which is the perfection of knowledge and precision in action. It serves to lay the foundation of Tawhid (monotheism), establish it, invalidate the act of associating partners with God, and confound the proponents of that.

Al-‘amad (pillars) is the plural of ‘imad, like ahab is the plural of ihab, meaning that upon which one leans or relies. It is said, "I supported (‘amadtu) the wall," meaning I propped it up. Thus, it means He created them without supports. The plural is used due to the plurality of the heavens.

His saying, —that you see— is an initiation in response to a silent question—as if one asked, "What is the proof of that?" It is presented to establish that they are indeed without pillars, for had they possessed pillars, they would be visible. Thus, the sentence has no syntactical place. The pronoun (the suffix in tarawnaha) refers to the heavens, and the vision is visual, not intellectual, lest it necessitate the deletion of one of its two objects. It is also permissible that it is an adjective for "pillars," meaning: He created them without visible pillars, restricted as such to indicate that He, the Exalted, has supported them with pillars that are not seen—these being the pillars of Power. Mujahid narrated this.

As for the claim that their pillar in every age is the "Perfect Man" (al-insan al-kamil) of that era, and that when the Perfect Man ceases to exist—which occurs at the end of the human species—the heavens will be rolled up like the rolling of a scroll for writings, this is speech that has no pillar—neither from the Book nor the Sunnah—to our knowledge. And every possessor of knowledge has one above him who is All-Knowing.

(And He has cast into the earth firm mountains)—this is an explanation of His—Exalted is He—wondrous craftsmanship in the stabilization of the earth, following the explanation of His Wise craftsmanship in the stabilization of the heavens. It means He cast into it towering or firm mountains, —lest it should sway with you— or "so that it does not sway," meaning shake. If He, the Glorified, had not cast firm mountains into it, wisdom necessitated its creation in a state where, had it been devoid of mountains, it would have swayed due to the encompassing waters that overwhelm most of it, or the violent winds that wisdom dictates must blow, or by similar causes. Some include therein the movement of heavy objects upon it.

Some philosophers have stated that, based on the sphericity of the earth and the necessity of its center of gravity coinciding with the center of the world, it must move with the mountains upon it due to the movement of heavy objects from one side to another, because the center of gravity shifts at that moment. However, this has not been observed, for the heavy objects moving upon it are as nothing in relation to it and what it contains. Perhaps those who count the movement of heavy objects upon it as one of the causes of swaying—had it been void of mountains—would say: It is not far-fetched for a heavy object upon it, such as water flowing from one place to another until it gathers into a great sea, combined with the vast amount of sand and dust transported by the winds—which has a weight that is significant relative to an earth void of mountains—to cause it to move in the opposite direction.

Moreover, swaying in the absence of firm mountains—via water and winds—is conceivable under the assumption that the earth is spherical, as al-Ghazali held. He also held that the sky is spherical, and it came in a narration from Ibn Abbas that which necessitates this. Most philosophers have taken this view, citing as evidence what is in at-Tadhkirah and its commentaries and elsewhere; it is that which sense and intuition testify to. As for the assumption that it is not spherical, as held by those who hold that view—and they differed on its shape—details of that are to be sought in their proper places. There is no indication in the verse that the wisdom behind casting the mountains into it is limited to its safety from swaying, for its wisdoms are beyond counting.

Likewise, there is no indication in it that it does not move via metaphorical motion eternally, as the Pythagoreans held. Beyond that are doctrines that are more evidently false. Indeed, the transmitted and rational proofs for this are many.

(And He dispersed therein)—meaning He brought into existence and manifested; the root of al-bath is incitement and dispersal, hence: —and it became dust dispersed— and —like moths dispersed. The postponement [of this phrase] contains a sign that this was dependent upon the removal of the swaying. —of every creature— from every type of its various kinds.

(And We sent down from the sky rain)—this is rain, and the intended meaning of "the sky" is the direction of height. It is permissible to interpret it as "the canopy," but considering the descent to be from it requires a type of figurative interpretation, and abandoning the literal meaning should not be relied upon unless there is evidence that compels us to it, for that is contrary to what is observed.

(And We caused to grow therein)—meaning, by means of that water—(every noble pair)—meaning every kind, karim meaning honorable and of great benefit. The shift to the pronoun of majesty in the two verbs ("We sent down," "We caused to grow") is to highlight the greater concern for them, due to their recurrence, alongside the upright state of animals and the civilization of the earth that they contain, which is not hidden.