Tafsir of Ad-Dhariyat 51:7

"The sky full of paths" (Al-Hubuk): Meaning the paths, the plural of Habikah—like the plural of Tariqah (path) is Tara’iq—or Hubak—like the plural of Mithal (example) is Muthul. It is said: "The water was hubikat (crinkled/rippled)" due to the movement occurring within it when the wind passes over it. Regarding this, Zuhair said, describing a pool: "Adorned with the roots of the najm (herbage/stars), urged by a violent wind to the exposed parts of its water are hubuk (ripples)." Hubuk of hair refers to its traces, its folding, and its breaking. This interpretation is narrated from Muqatil, Al-Kalbi, and Ad-Dahhak.

The intended meaning is either the sensory paths in which the planets travel, or the intellectual paths perceived by insight—which are those that indicate the ingenuity of the Maker, His power, His work, and His wisdom—exalted is His majesty—when a beholder contemplates them.

Ibn Abbas, Qatadah, Ikrimah, Mujahid, and Ar-Rabi’ said: "It means possessing a straight, good creation." In another narration from Mujahid: "The well-perfected in construction." It is also said: "Possessing density/firmness." These are closely related statements. It is as if Al-Hubuk is derived from their saying: "I habaktu the thing," meaning I perfected it and did its work well. "I habaktu the knot," meaning I tightened it. "A horse with mahbuk joints," meaning its joints are firm. In Al-Kashf, it is stated that the essence of Habakah is density and the quality of the effect.

From Al-Hasan: "Its hubuk are its stars." It is apparent that applying Al-Hubuk to the stars is metaphorical, because they adorn the sky just as the hubuk (pleats/patterns) and the embroidered paths of a patterned garment adorn it. It is as if it were said: "Possessing stars that are like hubuk," meaning like paths in terms of adornment.

It is considered most likely regarding "the sky" that it is a generic term intended to mean all the heavens, and that each one is "full of hubuk" in the sense of being even in creation, well-made, perfectly constructed, dense, or possessing intellectual paths. As for being "full of hubuk" in the sense of possessing sensory paths, it is in consideration that the planets—in whichever heaven they may be—travel through all the heavens; thus, their trajectories relative to alignment are paths. In the sense of possessing stars, it is in consideration that the stars, in whichever heaven they may be, are observed in all the heavens, based on the premise that the heavens are transparent and that none of them prevents the perception of what is behind it.

Ibn Mani’ recorded from Ali—may Allah ennoble his countenance—that he said: "It is the seventh heaven." From Abdullah ibn Amr, a similar report. So contemplate this and do not be heedless.

Linguistic variants: Ibn Abbas, Al-Hasan (with a narration to the contrary), Abu Malik Al-Ghafari, Abu Haywah, Ibn Abi Ablah, Abu as-Sammal, and Nu’aym from Abu Amr read Al-Hubuk with the ba silenced (the weight of al-qufl). Ikrimah read it with a fatha on the ba (as a plural of hubkah, like turfah and taraf).

Abu Malik Al-Ghafari and Al-Hasan (with a narration to the contrary) read it with a kasra on both the ha and the ba (like al-ibil). According to Al-Khafaji, this is a singular noun that came in this weight as an anomaly, not a plural.

Abu Malik, Al-Hasan, and Abu Haywah also read it with a kasra on the ha and a sukun on the ba (like as-silk). This is a lightening of a form that has a kasra on the first and second radicals; it is a singular noun, not a plural, because fi’l is not among the structures of plurals, as stated in Al-Bahr.

Ibn Abbas and Abu Malik also read it with both vowels as fathas (like al-jabal). Abu al-Fadl ar-Razi said: "This is a plural of hubkah, like aqabah and aqab."

Al-Hasan also read it with a kasra on the ha and a fatha on the ba (like an-na’am). Abu Malik also read it with a kasra on the ha and a damma on the ba. Ibn Atiyyah mentioned these two from Al-Hasan, then said: "This is an anomalous reading that is not supported." It is as if, after pronouncing the ha with a kasra, he imagined the reading of the masses (who read dhat), so he pronounced the ta with a damma. This is from the intermingling of dialects. There is no such structure in the speech of the Arabs, meaning it involves transitioning from light to heavy, contrary to the structure of duriba (the passive voice). The author of Al-Lawamih said: "It is unparalleled in the Arabic language in its structures and weights, and I do not know what lies behind it."

Regarding the intermingling (of dialects), grammarians interpreted this reading. Abu Hayyan said: "The best [explanation] in my view is that this is a case where the vowel of the ha was made to follow the vowel of the ta in dhat in terms of kasra, and the silenced lam was not considered, for a silenced consonant is not a formidable barrier."