Ar-Ra'd: (4) And in the earth are contiguous tracts...

In this verse, there are several points of discussion:

Issue 1: Refutation of Celestial Influence

The purpose of this verse is to establish proof that the occurrences in this world cannot be due to astronomical conjunctions or planetary movements. This is demonstrated in two ways:

1. Differing Terrains: The earth contains diverse tracts differing in nature and essence, yet they are adjacent. Some tracts are salty marshes (sabkhīyah), some are soft (rakhwah), some are hard, some are fertile for growth, some are stony or sandy, and some are viscous mud. These tracts lie next to each other, yet the influence of the sun and other planets upon them is uniform. This proves that their variation in characteristics is by the decree of the All-Knowing, All-Powerful.

2. Uniform Water, Diverse Fruits: A single tract of land is irrigated by the same water, meaning the sun's effect upon it is equal. Yet, the resulting fruits vary in taste, color, nature, and property. You might find a bunch of grapes where all the berries are sweet and ripe except for one, which remains sour and hard. We know necessarily that the proportion of influences from the celestial spheres (al-ṭibā‘ and al-aflāk) is equal across the whole.

What is even more astonishing is that among some types of roses, one side may be intensely red while the other side is intensely black, even though the rose itself is extremely delicate and soft. It is impossible to claim that the sun's influence reached one side but not the other. This provides definitive proof that everything is by the management of the Willful Agent (al-Fā‘il al-Mukhtār), not due to astronomical conjunctions. This is what is meant by the Almighty's saying: {Watered with one water, yet We make some of them exceed others in taste} (referring to the general principle illustrated by the fruits). This concludes the argument establishing and explaining this proof.

Having presented this answer, the proof is complete. These lower-realm occurrences must have an agent (mu’aththir). We have shown that this agent is not the stars, planets, or natural dispositions (al-ṭabā’i‘). Therefore, it must be concluded that there is another agent besides these things, and the proof is established. No room remains for further speculation.

For this reason, the verse states here: {Indeed in that are signs for people who use reason (ya‘qilūn)}. The only way to refute this argument is to claim that these lower occurrences happen without any agent whatsoever. This claim impugns the perfection of reason, because knowledge that an event requires a cause (al-ḥādith iftiqār ilā al-muḥdith) is necessary knowledge. Therefore, the failure to grasp this knowledge reflects a deficiency in the perfection of reason. This is why it says: {Indeed in that are signs for people who use reason}.

Contrast this with the preceding verse, which stated: {Indeed in that are signs for people who reflect (yatafakkarūn)} (Az-Zumar: 42; Al-Jāthiyah: 13). These subtle points are precious secrets of Quranic knowledge, and we ask Allah the Great to make understanding them a means to attain mercy and forgiveness.

Issue 2: Interpretation of "Contiguous Tracts" and Gardens

{And in the earth are contiguous tracts (qiṭa‘ mutajāwirāt)}

Abu Bakr al-Aṣamm said: One piece of land is close to another, yet one is good, another is salty (sabkhah), another is barren (ḥarrah), another is sandy, another is gravelly, another is red, and another is black. In summary, the variation of the earth's surfaces in elevation, depression, nature, and property is well-known. In some Mushafs, it is read as "tracts (qiṭa‘an) contiguous" (accusative), implying: "And He made mountains firm, and He made in the earth contiguous tracts."

As for {and gardens of grapes, and crops, and palm trees}: The garden (al-jannah) is the orchard containing palm trees, vines, and crops, surrounded by those trees. The evidence for this is the Almighty's saying: {Indeed, We have made for one of them two gardens of grapevines and surrounded them with palm trees and placed between them [fields of] crops} (Al-Kahf: 32).

Ibn Kathīr, Abū ‘Amr, and Ḥafṣ (from ‘Āṣim) recited {and crops and palm trees, some single-trunked and some not single-trunked (wa-zar‘un wa-nakhlun ṣinwānan wa-ghayru ṣinwānin)} all in the nominative case, connecting them to {gardens (jannāt)}. The rest recited them in the genitive case, connecting them to {grapes (a‘nāb)}.

Ḥafṣ (from ‘Āṣim) in the narration of al-Qawwās recited "ṣinwānan" with a ḍammah on the ṣād (Ṣinwānan), while the rest recited it with a kasrah (ṣinwānan), and both are linguistic variations. Ṣinwān is the plural of ṣunw, similar to qanwān (plural of qanw). It is also pluralized as aṣnā’, like ism and asmā’. When they are numerous, it is called aṣ-ṣanī (with a kasrah or fatḥah on the ṣād).

The ṣunw refers to when one root gives rise to two or more palm trees; each one is a ṣunw. Tha‘lab narrated from Ibn al-A‘rābī that al-ṣinw means "the like" or "the equal," based on the Prophet's saying: "Indeed, a man's uncle is the ṣinw of his father," meaning his equal.

If we adopt the first interpretation of ṣinw, the meaning is: some palm trees grow from a single root as two or more trees, and some do not. If we adopt the second interpretation (meaning "like/equal"), the meaning is that some palm trees may be similar and alike, and some may not be so.

Then the Almighty said: {Watered with one water}.

‘Āṣim and Ibn ‘Āmir recited "yusqā" (with a yā’), implying "it is all watered" or to give precedence to the masculine over the feminine. The rest recited it with a tā’ (tusqā), referring back to {gardens (jannāt)}. Abū ‘Amr said that what supports the feminine reading is the Almighty's saying: {yet We make some of them exceed others in taste}.

Ḥamzah and al-Kisā’ī recited "yufaḍḍil" (with a yā’), connecting it to {He directs (yudabbir)}. The rest recited it with a nūn (nufaḍḍil), meaning "And We make [some] exceed."

Regarding {in taste (fī al-akl)}, there are two views narrated by al-Wāḥidī:

1. It is narrated from al-Zajjāj that al-akl refers to the fruit that is eaten.
2. It is narrated from others that al-akl refers to what is prepared for eating.

I argue that the second view is preferable due to the Almighty's description of Paradise: {Its fruit and its shade are perpetual} (Ar-Ra‘d: 35), which is general and covers all edibles. Ibn Kathīr and Nāfi‘ recite al-akl with a quiescent kāf throughout the Qur'an, while the rest recite it with a ḍammah on the kāf (al-ukl), and both are linguistic variations.

Verse 7:

{And if you wonder, then wondrous is their saying: "When we have become dust, are we indeed in a new creation?" Those are the ones who disbelieved in their Lord, and those will have shackles around their necks, and those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide therein eternally.}