Tafsir of An-Nazi'at 79:32

"The mountains" (al-jibāl) is in the accusative case (manṣūb) due to an implied verb explained by His saying, Exalted is He, "He set them firm" (arsāhā), meaning: He established them. Therein is an indication that the stability attributed to the mountains in many places of the Revelation is not among the inherent requirements of their own nature.

Modern philosophers have discourse concerning the matter of the Earth and the manner of its inception, for which they have no evidence except for terrestrial vestiges they claim indicate as much; these are, in the lowest strata of the Earth, far removed from the arena of acceptance.

‘Īsā read "The Earth" (al-arḍu) in the nominative case, and al-Ḥasan, Abū Ḥaywah, ‘Amr ibn ‘Ubayd, Ibn Abī ‘Ablah, and Abū al-Sammāl read both "The Earth" (al-arḍu) and "The mountains" (al-jibālu) in the nominative case. This is, according to what has been said, by way of ibtidā’ (beginning a new nominal sentence). Al-Zajjāj critiqued this, saying that such is weak because the coordination would then be upon a verbal sentence.

It was retorted against him that His saying, "He built it," is an explanation of the manner of the creation of the heaven, and His saying, "He raised its ceiling," is an explanation of the building; the expansion of the Earth and what follows it do not enter into any of that. How, then, can that which is coordinated upon the whole be coordinated upon [just one part]? It is the coordination of a narrative upon a narrative, and what is to be considered therein is the congruity of the two narratives, which is attained here. Thus, there is no harm in the difference; rather, there is in it a type of admonition regarding that.

It has been said that the sentence of His saying, "And the Earth," etc., in both readings, is not coordinated upon His saying, "He raised its ceiling," because it is not suited to be an explanation for the building of the heaven. Therefore, there must be an estimate of what it is coordinated upon. In that case, one estimates a verbal sentence according to the reading of the majority—meaning: He did what He did regarding the heaven—and a nominal sentence according to the reading of the others—meaning: The heaven and what pertains to it are created by Him, Exalted is He.

It is permitted to coordinate "The Earth," in the nominative case, upon "The heaven" in terms of meaning, as if it were said: "The heaven is more severe in creation, and the Earth after that"—meaning: And the Earth, after what was mentioned of the heaven, is more severe in creation. Thus, the scale of His saying, "He spread it out," etc., would be the scale of His saying, "He built it," etc. In that instance, "after that" would not imply that the spreading of the Earth was delayed after the building of the heaven.