As-Sajdah: (27) "Have they not seen that We..."

(Have they not seen): The discussion regarding this is the same as the discussion regarding ("Have they not been guided"). That is, are they blind and have they not observed? (That We drive the water): By driving the clouds that carry it. It is said: We drive the water itself through floods. It is also said: By causing it to flow in rivers and from springs. (To the barren land): That is, the land whose vegetation has been jurz, meaning cut off, either due to a lack of water or because it was grazed upon and removed, as stated in al-Kashshaf.

In Majma' al-Bayan, it is stated: "The barren (jurz) land is the dry land that has no vegetation due to the cessation of rain upon it." This is derived from the saying: "A jarraz sword," meaning one that cuts, leaving nothing but what it has severed; and a jarraz she-camel, meaning one that eats everything, leaving nothing but what its mouth has cut; and a juruz man, meaning a voracious eater. The Rajaz poet says: "A voracious (juruz) beast, and when it is hungry, it cries."

Al-Raghib says: Jurz is that which has been cut off from its origin, and ard majruzah is land whose vegetation has been eaten. In the proverb, "A fault-finder is not satisfied except with juruzah," it means total extermination. Al-Jarz is also a severe cough, from which the meaning of jurz is imagined, being the cutting as with a sword. From what he said, jurz is applied to land that has ceased to produce vegetation because it is not its nature to produce, such as saline soil, but this is not appropriate here due to the Almighty's saying: (Then We bring forth thereby crops). The apparent meaning is the land described by this quality, whatever land it may be. Ibn Abi Hatim narrated from al-Hasan that it refers to villages between Yemen and the Levant. Ibn Jarir, Ibn al-Mundhir, and Ibn Abi Shaybah narrated from Ibn Abbas that it is a land in Yemen. Mujahid inclined toward the lack of specificity; a group narrated from him that he said: "The barren land is that which does not sprout," and this is clearer and similar to other land. It was also read as (al-jurz) with a quiescent ra.

The pronoun in (thereby) refers to the water, and the discourse is to be taken on its literal meaning according to the righteous predecessors. The Ash'arites said: "The meaning is, We bring forth at it." Az-zar' (crops) is originally an infinitive, and it is used here to refer to that which is cultivated. It signifies whatever grows by rain absolutely, thus including trees and other things. Therefore, the Exalted said: (From which their livestock eat)—such as straw, green fodder, leaves, and some grains specific to them—(and themselves)—such as vegetables and grains that humans consume.

In al-Bahr, it is permitted that az-zar' refers to the known plants, and it was specifically mentioned as an honor, and because it is the greatest intended benefit of plants. It is also permissible for it to mean plants in general. Livestock were mentioned first because their benefit is restricted to that, while humans may nourish themselves with other things; and because their eating from it precedes humans, as they consume it before it bears fruit and puts forth its ears. It is also said: It is to ascend from the lower level to the more noble level, which is the sons of Adam.

Abu Haywah and Abu Bakr, in one narration, read it as (ya'kul - they eat) with the letter ya.

(Do they not then see?): That is, do they not see, and thus fail to perceive that, in order to derive evidence from it for the perfection of His power, Exalted is He, and His bounty, the Mighty and Majestic? The concluding marker here is (they see) because what precedes it is something visible, whereas in the previous [verses] it was (they hear) because what preceded it was something audible. It is also said: This is an ascent to a higher level in admonition, an intensification in reminding, and a removal of excuses.

Ibn Mas'ud read it as (tubsirun - you see) with the letter ta.