Tafsir of Ar-Ra'd 13:2

Surah Ar-Ra'd (The Thunder): Verse 2

"Allah is the One Who raised the heavens without pillars that you can see..."

It is known that after mentioning that most people do not believe, the Almighty immediately followed it with what indicates the truth of Tawhid (Oneness of God) and the Ma'ad (Resurrection). This verse contains several points:

Issue 1: Grammatical Analysis

1. Al-Razi follows the view of the author of Al-Kashshaf: That Allah (God) is the subject (mubtada'), and Alladhi rafa'a al-samawat (The One Who raised the heavens) is the predicate (khabar), supported by the verse: {And He is the One Who spread out the earth} (Ar-Ra'd: 3).
2. Alternatively, Alladhi rafa'a al-samawat could be an adjective (sifah), and {He manages the affair, He details the signs} could be a second predicate (khabar ba'da khabar).
3. Linguistic Note on Amdad (Pillars): Al-Wahidi stated that Amdad is the plural of Imad (pillar), similar to Ihab and Ahub. Al-Farra' said Amdad and Amed are plurals of Amud (pillar). Imad and Amud are what something is supported by. Hence, "So-and-so is the Imad (support) of his people" means they rely on him in their affairs.

Issue 2: Proof from the Heavens without Visible Pillars

The Almighty proves the existence of the Creator by citing the state of the heavens, the sun and moon, the earth, and the vegetation.

Regarding the heavens raised without visible pillars (bighayri 'amadin tarawunaha):

The meaning is that these massive bodies remain suspended in the high atmosphere. Their continued existence cannot be due to their inherent nature for two reasons:

1. Homogeneity of Bodies: All physical bodies share the same essential nature. If one body were necessarily fixed in a specific location, then every body would necessarily be fixed in that location, which is not the case.
2. Infinite Space: Outer space (the void) is infinite, and the spatial locations within that pure void are infinite and equal. If a body were necessarily fixed in one location, it would necessarily have to be fixed in all locations, as all locations are identical.

Therefore, the positioning of celestial bodies in their specific locations is not self-warranted; it requires a Determiner (Mukhassis) or a Preponderance (Murajjih).

It cannot be argued that they are held up by a chain above them and pillars beneath them, as this would lead to an infinite regress concerning the holder, which is impossible. Thus, it is established that the celestial bodies are held in their high positions because the Manager of the universe, the Exalted and Glorified, has stopped them there. This is a powerful proof for the existence of the Overpowering, Capable God.

Proof that God is not a body confined to a location:

If God were confined to a specific location, His presence there could not be inherent to His essence, because all locations are equal (as established above). His presence in a specific location must be due to a specific determiner. Anything that occurs through a choosing agent (Fa'il Mukhtar) is contingent (Muhdath). Therefore, His specific attachment to a location would be contingent, and His essence cannot be separated from that attachment. Anything inseparable from the contingent is contingent itself. This leads to the conclusion that if God were in a specific location, He would be contingent, which is impossible. Thus, God is exalted above location and direction.

Furthermore, everything above something else is called "heaven" (sama'). If God were located above a direction, He would be among the heavens, falling under the scope of this verse: {Allah is the One Who raised the heavens without pillars that you can see}. Everything specifically located above another direction requires the preservation of God. Therefore, God must be purified from having an "above" direction.

Regarding the phrase {that you can see} (tarawunaha):

There are several interpretations:

1. New Sentence: It is a new statement: "He raised the heavens without pillars. And you see them (raised without supports)."
2. Rearrangement (Al-Hasan's view): The intended order is: "He raised the heavens that you see without pillars." (However, Razi notes that if the literal meaning is possible, rearrangement is not permissible.)
3. Adjective for Pillars: Tarawunaha describes the pillars: "without pillars that are seen." This implies the heavens do have pillars, but we do not see them (e.g., the pillars rest on Mount Qaf, a mountain of emerald surrounding the world). This interpretation is extremely weak because the verse aims to prove God's power. If the heavens rested on a physical mountain, the proof for God's existence would fail, as one could simply ask what supports Mount Qaf.

Razi's Preferred View: The pillars (Amdad) are what something relies upon. Since we have proven these celestial bodies remain suspended only by God's power, His Power itself is their pillar. Thus, the meaning is: He raised the heavens without pillars that you see. They do have pillars—which are God's Power, preservation, management, and sustaining them in the high atmosphere—but they do not see that management or know the manner of that restraint.

It is not meant that He is physically settled upon the Throne. The purpose of this passage is to prove the existence of the Creator, and the proof must be observable and known. No one has seen God established on the Throne. Even if it were observed, it would not indicate His perfection or majesty; rather, it would imply His need for space and location. Furthermore, it would imply He was not in that state, then came to be in that state, implying change. Also, Istawa (establishing/leveling) is the opposite of crookedness, so the literal meaning implies He was crooked and unstable, then became level—all impossible for God.

Therefore, the intended meaning is His establishment over the world of bodies through overwhelming power, decree, management, and preservation. This means everything from above the Throne down to the lowest depths is under His preservation, decree, and dependence upon Him.

This is derived from: {And He has subjected the sun and the moon, each running its course for a specified term}.

This statement contains two types of evidence:

Type 1: {And He has subjected the sun and the moon}

This refers to proving the existence of the Capable, Overpowering Creator through the movements of these bodies.

1. Specialization of Motion: Since physical bodies are similar, and these bodies are capable of both motion and rest, their specialization in perpetual motion (rather than rest) requires a Determiner.
2. Specific Speeds: Each motion has a specific manner of slowness or swiftness, requiring a Determiner. This is especially true for those who hold that slow motion involves interspersed moments of rest, necessitating that the body moves in certain locations and rests in others—requiring a Preponderance for motion in one place and rest in another.
3. Precise Calculation: The calculation of these motions and rests in specific measures such that their cycles and returns are equal in duration is an astonishing matter requiring a Calculator (Muqaddir).
4. Directional Variation: Some motions are eastward, some westward, some inclined to the north, and some to the south. This can only be achieved through perfect management and profound wisdom.

Type 2: {Each running its course for a specified term}

There are two views on this:

1. Specific Astronomical Stations (Ibn Abbas): The sun has 180 stations, one per day, completing a cycle in six months, and then returning over the next six months. The moon has 28 stations. This means God has decreed a specific path, direction, and speed for each celestial body. If this is the case, each moment necessitates a new state that did not exist the moment before.
2. Until the Day of Judgment: They continue moving until the Day of Resurrection, when these motions cease, as described in verses like {When the sun is wound up} (At-Takwir: 1) and {When the heaven is split asunder} (Al-Inshiqaq: 1). This aligns with the verse: {Then He decreed a term, and a specified term is with Him} (Al-An'am: 2).

Every exegete has interpreted this as managing a different aspect of the world's affairs. The best approach is to apply it universally: He manages them through creation and annihilation, life and death, enrichment and impoverishment. This includes sending down revelation, appointing messengers, and imposing obligations upon people.

This verse contains a marvelous proof of His perfect Power and Mercy: This known world, from the highest point of the Throne to the lowest depth, consists of types and species that only God can encompass. The preceding evidence proved that the specific placement, position, attribute, nature, and form of each thing is solely from God. It is known that anyone engaged in managing one thing cannot manage another, except for the Divine Being, for no affair distracts Him from another.

Therefore, the intelligent person, reflecting on this verse, knows that God manages the world of bodies and the world of spirits, manages the great as He manages the small, without any affair distracting Him from another, or one management preventing another. This proves that God, in His Essence, Attributes, Knowledge, and Power, is unlike created or contingent beings.

There are two views:

1. He clarifies the signs that indicate His divinity, knowledge, and wisdom.
2. The signs proving the Creator are of two types:
   • Permanent, Enduring Existents: Such as the celestial spheres, the sun, the moon, and the stars (which were previously mentioned).
   • Contingent, Changing Existents: Such as death after life, poverty after wealth, old age after health, the fool living in ease, and the intelligent person in hardship. The evidence for the Wise Creator in this second category is clear and brilliant.

The phrase {He details the signs} refers to Him bringing some of these signs forth sequentially, distinguishing and detailing them.

The mentioned proofs not only indicate the existence of the Wise Creator but also confirm the truth of the Resurrection and Gathering. Whoever is capable of creating and managing these numerous and immense things is certainly more capable of resurrecting and gathering beings.

It is narrated that a man asked Ali ibn Abi Talib (may God be pleased with him) how God could hold all creation accountable simultaneously. Ali replied: "Just as He provides for them all simultaneously now, and just as He hears their calls and answers their supplications simultaneously now."

The essence of the matter is: Just as He was capable of sustaining the celestial bodies and luminaries in the high atmosphere—though creation is incapable of it—and just as He manages everything from above the Throne to the lowest depth without any affair distracting Him from another, so too can He hold creation accountable without any affair distracting Him from another.

Some companions based the concept of seeing God on the word Liqa' (meeting), a point discussed repeatedly in this book.

Verse 3

{And it is He Who spread out the earth and placed therein firm mountains and rivers, and of all fruits He made therein two kinds, pairs. He covers the night with the day. Indeed, in that are signs for a people who give thought.}