Al-Hajj: (63-66) Have you not seen...

Know that after the Almighty demonstrated His power by mentioning the interpenetration of night and day, thereby drawing attention to His blessings, He followed it up with six other types of evidence for His power and grace.

The First: His saying, the Exalted: {Have you not seen that Allah sends down water from the sky, and the earth becomes green? Indeed, Allah is Subtle, Aware.} (22:63)

This verse contains several points:

Three interpretations are offered:

1. Literal sight: The water descending from the sky is visible, and the greening of the plants on earth is visible. If the statement can be taken literally, that is preferable.
2. Inquiry/Notification: It means, "Have you not been informed?"
3. Knowledge: It means, "Have you not known?"

The first opinion is considered weak because, although the water is visible, the act of Allah sending it down from the sky is not visible. Since the purpose of this "seeing" is knowledge, and sight without knowledge is as if it did not occur, the meaning must revert to knowledge.

It is read as مُخْضَرَّة (like مُبَقَّلَة or مُسَبَّعَة), meaning "possessing greenness."

Here are some related questions:

Question 1: Why did He say {and the earth becomes green} (فتصبح) instead of {and the earth became green} (فأصبحت)? Answer: This is for a subtle rhetorical purpose: to indicate that the effect of the rain remains over time, just as one says, "He bestowed a favor upon so-and-so last year, and I woke up and started the next day grateful to him." If one said, "I rejoiced and started the next day," it would not carry the same weight.

Question 2: Why is the verb in the indicative mood (raised, تصبح) and not in the subjunctive (nasb) as a response to the interrogative? Answer: If it were in the subjunctive (implying consequence/result), it would convey the opposite of the intended meaning. If you say, "Have you not seen that I favored you, so you should be grateful," and you use the subjunctive, it implies you are denying his gratitude due to his deficiency. If you use the indicative (as in the verse), you are affirming the gratitude.

Question 3: Why did the Almighty mention this as evidence for His power over Resurrection (al-I'ādah), as Abu Muslim suggested? Answer: This is possible, but it is also possible that He is drawing attention to His immense power and vast blessings.

Question 4: What is the connection of {Indeed, Allah is Subtle, Aware} to what preceded? Answer: There are several interpretations:

1. He means He is Merciful to His servants, and out of His mercy, He does this so that their benefit from it is maximized. When the earth becomes green and the sky rains, it sustains all living creatures. {Aware} means He knows the measure of their welfare, acting accordingly without excess or deficiency.
2. Ibn Abbas said: {Subtle} regarding the provision of His servants, and {Aware} of the despair in their hearts.
3. Al-Kalbi said: {Subtle} in His actions, and {Aware} of the deeds of His creation.
4. Muqatil said: {Subtle} in bringing forth vegetation, and {Aware} of the manner of creation.

The Second Evidence: His saying, the Exalted: {To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. And indeed, Allah is the Self-Sufficient, the Praiseworthy.} (22:64)

The meaning is that everything is subservient to Him and does not resist His command. He is Self-Sufficient (Ghani) of all things, and even of the praise of those who praise Him, because He is perfect in Himself. The intrinsically perfect being is independent of everything else in all matters. However, since He created living beings, the wisdom of the system requires rain and vegetation. He created these things as a mercy and favor to the animals, not because He needed them. Since His giving is free of any benefit returning to Himself, He is worthy of praise. It is as if He is saying: Because He is Self-Sufficient, He did what He did only out of benevolence; whoever is like this deserves praise, thus He must be Praiseworthy. This is why He said: {And indeed, Allah is the Self-Sufficient, the Praiseworthy.}

The Third Evidence: His saying: {Have you not seen that Allah has subjected to you whatever is in the earth?} (22:65) This means He has made subservient to you what is in it. Nothing is harder than stone, nothing sharper than iron, and nothing more fearsome than fire, yet He has subjected them to you. He also subjected the animals so that people can benefit from them through eating, riding, carrying burdens, and even just observing them. If Allah had not subjected powerful animals like camels and cattle, allowing weak people to control them, this would not have been a blessing.

The Fourth Evidence: His saying, the Exalted: {And the ships run through the sea by His command.} (22:65) The closest interpretation is that He subjected the ships to run through the sea for you. The manner of His subjugation of the ships is by subjugating the water and the winds for their passage. If these elements were not as they are, the ships would sink, stop, or be destroyed. Thus, the Almighty draws attention to His blessing by creating the material for the ships and by revealing how they operate. He said {by His command} because He attributes the movement caused by the winds to His command in a broad sense, which magnifies Him more than attributing it directly to the act of creation, following the custom of kings in such phrasing.

The Fifth Evidence: His saying: {And He restrains the heaven from falling upon the earth except by His permission. Indeed, Allah is to mankind most Kind, Most Merciful.} (22:65) Know that the preceding blessings are not complete without this one, because the heaven is the dwelling place of the angels, so it must be solid and heavy. Anything like that must naturally fall unless a barrier prevents it. This argument is based on apparent assumptions. Regarding {from falling} (أن تقع): The Kufans read it as "so that it does not fall" (كي لا تقع), while the Basrans read it as "out of dislike that it should fall" (كراهية أن تقع). This hinges on a theological debate regarding whether intentions and dislikes relate to non-existence. Whoever denies this tendency towards non-existence adopts the first interpretation. The meaning is that He restrains it so that it does not fall, lest the blessings He bestowed be nullified.

As for {Indeed, Allah is to mankind most Kind, Most Merciful}: This means that the Giver of these comprehensive blessings, which encompass the benefits of this world and religion, has reached the utmost limit in benevolence and favor; therefore, He is Kind and Merciful.

The Sixth Evidence: His saying: {It is He who gives life, then causes death, then will give you life again. Indeed, mankind is ungrateful.} (22:66) The meaning is that the One who subjected these things and bestowed these favors upon you is the One who gave you life. The first life points to the blessings of this world mentioned previously. The death and the second life point to the blessings of religion, as the Almighty created this world with all its conditions for the sake of the Hereafter; otherwise, the blessings would have no meaning in this manner. This is clarified by noting that without the Hereafter, there would be no meaning to cultivation, effort in agriculture, riding animals, or slaughtering them; rather, the Almighty could have created them directly without the effort of planting and watering. Allah established this custom so that people may take heed in matters of religion. After detailing these blessings, He said: {Indeed, mankind is ungrateful.} This is like when a person enumerates his favors to his son and then says, "Indeed, the son is ungrateful for the father's favors," as a reprimand against ingratitude and an incentive for thanks. Therefore, the Almighty mentioned this concerning the disbelievers, showing that they rejected and disbelieved these clear blessings and were ignorant of their Creator. This is similar to His saying: {And few of My servants are grateful.} (Saba: 13). Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said that "mankind" here refers to the disbeliever. He also said it refers specifically to Al-Aswad ibn Abd al-Asad, Abu Jahl, Al-As, and Ubayy ibn Khalaf. However, the first interpretation (generalizing to all deniers) is preferable.

< {For every nation We have appointed a rite of sacrifice which they are to perform, so let them not dispute with you concerning the matter. And invite [all] to your Lord. Indeed, you are upon a straight guidance. * But if they dispute with you, then say, "Allah is most knowing of what you are doing." * Allah will judge between you on the Day of Resurrection concerning that over which you used to differ.} >