Tafsir of An-Nazi'at 79:30

The manifest [interpretation] is that this is a reference to what has preceded regarding the creation of the heaven, the veiling of the night, and the bringing forth of the day, rather than merely the creation of the heaven alone. The accusative case of "the earth" (al-arda) is [governed by] an implied verb. It is said that this is a case of "conditional interpretation" (sharitat al-tafsir), and it is also said that the implied [verb] is "remember," "ponder," or "mention." You will come to know what lies within that, God Almighty willing.

The meaning of His saying, "He spread it out" (dahaha), is that He flattened it and extended it for the habitation of its inhabitants and for their movement across its regions. It is derived from adhu or al-dahi, meaning to spread. To this refers the statement of Umayyah ibn Abi al-Salt:

It is said that dahaha means "He leveled it." They cited the poem of Zayd ibn 'Amr ibn Nufayl:

I have submitted my face to Him to Whom submitted The earth, which carries heavy rocks. He spread it out, and when it was leveled, He secured it With strength, and anchored the mountains upon it.

Most scholars hold the former view, and the Imam cited the verse of Zayd in support of it.

It is apparent that the spreading (dahu) was after its creation. However, it is said that it was with its creation, meaning that it was created in a state of being spread out. The first [view] is narrated from Ibn Abbas, through which he refuted the perceived contradiction between two verses. Abd ibn Humayd and Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that a man said to him, "There are two verses in the Book of God Almighty, one of which contradicts the other." He replied, "You have been led to this by your own opinion. Read!" He mentioned [the verse], "Say: Do you indeed disbelieve in Him who created the earth in two days..." until he reached, "Then He directed Himself to the heaven," and [the verse], "And the earth, after that, He spread out." He said, "God Almighty created the earth before He created the heaven, then He created the heaven, and then He spread out the earth after He had created the heaven." His saying, "He spread it out," means He flattened it.

The Imam rebutted this by stating that a great body has an exterior that is like a flat surface, and it is impossible for such a massive body to be created without its exterior being spread out and flattened. It was answered that perhaps the meaning of the one who says it was created first and then spread out is that its matter was [created] first, then its composition and its manifestation in this form and shape as a spread-out, flat [object]. This is similar to what is said regarding His saying, "Then He directed Himself to the heaven while it was smoke, and fashioned them as seven heavens"—that the matter of the heaven was created first, then it was fashioned and manifested in its form today. From al-Hasan, there is an indication that on the day it was created, before the spreading, it was like the shape of a hand-mill stone (fihr), and it is implied that it was not of its current magnitude.

Some rebutted this with another point: that it is invalidated by His saying, "He created for you everything that is on the earth, then He directed Himself to the heaven," as this implies that the creation of what is in the earth was before the creation of the heavens. It is known that the creation of what is in it is only after the spreading (dahu). So how can the spreading be after the creation of the heavens?

It was answered that "creation" in this verse means "to destine" or "to intend the creation," and it is impossible that it means "actual bringing into existence" (ijad bil-fi'l), because all earthly benefits are brought into existence repeatedly. Even if we conceded that it meant actual existence, it is possible that it refers to the creation of the matter [of the earth] in reality. Some people have taken the "then" (thumma) here to denote a delay in rank (tarakhi rutbi), because the heaven is more wondrous than the creation of the earth.

Isam al-Din stated that "after that" here is like in His saying, "a transgressor, and after that, an outcast (zanim)," meaning He did to the earth what He did after what you have heard regarding the heaven. The intention is a delay in reporting. Thus, the creation of the earth, its spreading, the bringing forth of its water and pasture, and the anchoring of mountains upon it were, according to him, before the creation of the heaven, as the apparent meaning of the verse in al-Baqarah and the apparent meaning of the verse in Fussilat (al-Dukhan) imply. The interpretation of "afterness" based on what was mentioned is supported by the fact that taking it at its literal meaning—while interpreting the reference ("after that") as pointing to the totality of what preceded—necessitates that the veiling of the night and the revealing of the day occurred before the creation of the earth and its spreading, which is not feasible if it is assumed that it was not created at all, and it is also unlikely if it were assumed that it was created but not [yet] of great size.

Furthermore, it is said that if "afterness" were not interpreted as mentioned—and if it were said, along the lines of what Ibn Abbas said, that the spreading was delayed until after the creation of the heaven, despite the creation of the earth without spreading occurring before the creation of [the heaven]—the root of the difficulty would not be resolved. This is because the verse in Fussilat is explicit that the placing of the mountains on the earth was before the creation of the heaven and its leveling, while this verse, up to its end, is explicit that the placing of the mountains was after.

In sum, the scholars of tafsir have differed as to whether the creation of the heaven preceded the creation of the earth or followed it. Ibn al-Tashkubri noted that al-Wahidi reported from Muqatil that the creation of the heaven preceded the creation of the earth, and a group chose this view. However, they said that the creation of what is in the earth was later, and they answered the verse here and the verse in al-Baqarah by stating that "creation" in them means "destining" or "the act of intending creation," and that the "afterness" here refers to the existence of the earth and everything in it. They answered this verse and the verse in Fussilat similarly, by positing intent in His saying, "He created the earth in two days," and likewise in His saying, "And He placed therein mountains." They said that this is supported by His saying, "Then He said to it and to the earth, 'Come willingly or by compulsion.' They said, 'We come willingly.'" The apparent meaning is "Come into existence." If the earth had already existed, this would not be valid. It is as if He said, "Do you disbelieve in Him who intended the existence of the earth and the mountains and provisions within it in four days, then directed Himself to the heaven, so His will attached to the creation of the heaven and the earth, and they obeyed the command of bringing into existence, so He brought forth seven heavens in two days and brought forth the earth and its contents in four days?"

The point of putting the creation of the earth and its contents before the creation of the heavens in the surahs of al-Baqarah and Fussilat, while reversing it here, is that the context in the first two is one of bestowing favors and enumerating blessings upon the people of perception and faith. Therefore, the requirement is to prioritize what is a blessing from the perspective of the addressed parties in both groups, as if He said, "He is the one who managed your affairs before the heaven, then created the heaven." The context here is one of declaring the perfection of [God's] power, so the requirement is to prioritize what is more indicative [of that power].

In al-Kashf, it is stated that the scholars of tafsir are unanimous that the creation of the earth and its contents was completed in four days, then the heaven was created in two days, except for what al-Wahidi reported in al-Basit from Muqatil that the creation of the heaven preceded the existence of the earth, let alone its spreading. The discussion is with those who differentiate between existence and spreading. What has been said—that the spreading of the earth is delayed after the creation of the heaven but not after its leveling—is refuted by "after that," for it is a reference to what preceded, which is the raising of the height and the leveling. The answer regarding "delay of rank" is not sufficient because of what was reported of the unanimity of the exegetes.

Therefore, the view is to make "the earth" (al-arda) the object of an implied verb, such as "remember," "ponder," or "mention" [the earth] "after that." And if it is made an implied [object] based on "conditional interpretation," then "after that" is made a reference to the previously mentioned mention of the creation of the heaven, not the creation of the heaven itself, to indicate that it is delayed in mention after the creation of the heaven, as a warning that it is inferior in evidence to the first [matter]. [This is] a completion, just as you say [something] in sentences, then you say "after that" such and such; this is frequent in the usage of the Arabs and non-Arabs. "After that" in this sense is the opposite of when it is used for "delay of rank." Sometimes "then" (thumma) is used in this sense, and likewise the fa (then/and).

This does not contradict the statement of al-Hasan that God Almighty created the earth in the place of the Holy House [Jerusalem] like the shape of a hand-mill stone, with smoke attached to it, then He raised the smoke and created the heavens from it, and held the hand-mill stone in its place and spread the earth from it. That is His saying, "They were a joined entity, and We separated them." It indicates that the state of the heaven being smoke preceded the spreading of the earth and its leveling, which is indeed the case. Indeed, the apparent meaning of His saying, "Then He directed Himself to the heaven while it was smoke," points to that. The bringing into existence of the luminous essence, looking at it with the eye of majesty veiled by mercy and beauty, its melting, the distinction of its subtle [part] from its dense [part], the ascent of the subtle smoky matter, and the remaining of the dense [part]—all of this precedes the six days. This is established in the authentic tradition and does not contradict the verses.

As for what al-Wahidi reported from Muqatil, and what the Imam chose, there is no issue with it. "Then" (thumma) in the surahs of al-Baqarah and al-Sajdah must be assigned to "delay of rank," which is more in accordance with the famous rules of the philosophers. However, it does not agree with what is reported: that God Almighty created the body of the earth on Sunday and Monday, spread it out and created what is in it on Tuesday and Wednesday, and created the heavens and what is in them on Thursday and Friday, and at the end of Friday, then created Adam, peace be upon him.

That to which I incline is that the leveling of the heaven, including what is in it, precedes the leveling of the earth, including what is in it, because of the manifestation of the matter of the "cause" in the celestial bodies and the matter of the "effect" in the terrestrial bodies. The interpretation of what contradicts this is known from what you have heard. As for the latter tradition, its authenticity is a matter of debate. And God Almighty is most knowing of the truth of the situation. Something related to this context has already passed, and we have only repeated the discussion in it as a reminder to those of understanding. So reflect, and God Almighty is the Grantor of success in attaining the goal.