Tafsir of Ar-Rahman 55:10

"And the earth, He has set it" means He created it set down, lowered away from the sky, just as is observed. Al-Raghib said: "Setting" here means bringing into existence and creation, and it is as if his intended meaning is what was mentioned. It is also said: It means He flattened it spread out upon the water. The evident view, assuming the consideration of the spreading (dahw), is that there is no need to consider that He, Glorified be He, created it as such; rather, it is not correct, because it was created and then spread out thereafter, according to what has been narrated from Ibn Abbas. Furthermore, its being upon the water is based on what is famously known, that He, Almighty and Majestic be He, created the water before it and created it, Glorified be He, from its foam.

"For the creatures (al-anam)"

Ibn Abbas, Qatadah, Ibn Zayd, al-Sha'bi, and Mujahid—according to what is in Majma' al-Bahrayn—said: It means all living beings. Al-Hasan said: Mankind and jinn. In another narration from Ibn Abbas, it is: Only the children of Adam. I have not seen this specification from him, may Allah be pleased with him, for in the Qamus, al-Anam refers to creation, or jinn and mankind, or all that is upon the face of the earth. It is possible that he intended that the meaning here is that [the children of Adam], based on the premise that the lam (in lil-anam) is for [indicating] benefit, and that it is construed as complete benefit, which is more perfect for mankind than for others. The most appropriate view, in my opinion, is what was narrated from him initially. Abu al-Sammal read "al-ard" (the earth) in the nominative case (as a subject).