Tafsir of Nuh 71:17

This means: He originated you from it. The term "causing to grow" (inbat) is used metaphorically for "origination" (insha'), because it is more indicative of coming into existence and being formed from the earth, given that it is a sensory perception whose repetition they have experienced. Even though they did not deny origination itself, by denying the Resurrection, they were treated as though they had denied it. Thus, the speech contains a tasrihiyyah tabaiyyah (explicit dependent) metaphor. The preposition min (from) indicates the beginning of the action, pointing to the distant origin.

Regarding nabatan (growth), Abu Hayyan and a group of scholars stated that it is an infinitive (masdar) emphasizing the verb anbatakum (He caused you to grow), with the excess letters removed—the original form being inbatan. Alternatively, it is in the accusative case due to an implied verb; that is, "You grew a growth."

It is stated in al-Kashf that "causing to grow" (inbat) and "growth" (nabat) relate to the active and passive voice, and in reality, they are one and the same; the difference lies only in whether they are attributed to the agent or the recipient. Therefore, there is no need to incorporate or estimate another verb. Furthermore, if "causing to grow" is interpreted according to its literal established meaning, there is no need for estimation, as it inherently contains the meaning of "growth," as we have pointed out; thus, nabatan is in the accusative case governed by anbatakum due to this implication.

If it is interpreted according to the conventional usage—referring to the process leading to growth, such as placing a seed in the earth—then the intended meaning is: "He caused you to grow, and you grew a growth," so that it may signify the same subtlety as in the Almighty’s saying: "[And We struck the rock with the staff,] and there gushed forth from it..." (referring to the indication of Divine Power and the swiftness of the execution of His decree).

It is also permissible that the original meaning was: "He caused you to grow from the earth a 'inbatan' (origination), and you grew a 'nabatan' (growth)." Then, the infinitive was omitted from the first clause and the verb from the second, as a matter of ihtibak (mutual ellipsis), relying on what was mentioned in the other.

The Judge (al-Qadi) said it was abbreviated based on implied evidence. According to al-Khafaji, this contains the aforementioned subtle indication. So, reflect upon this.