Tafsir of An-Naml 27:88

Surah An-Naml (The Ants): Verse 88

وَتَرَى الْجِبَالَ تَحْسَبُهَا جَامِدَةً وَهِيَ تَمُرُّ مَرَّ السَّحَابِ ۚ صُنْعَ اللَّهِ الَّذِي أَتْقَنَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ ۚ إِنَّهُ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا تَفْعَلُونَ

1. The Third Sign of the Hour (The Moving Mountains):

• This verse describes the third major sign of the Day of Resurrection: the movement of the mountains.
• Why they are thought to be stationary (تحسبها جامدة): Large bodies, when moving rapidly and uniformly in the same direction and manner, appear to the observer as if they are standing still, even though they are passing by swiftly.

2. The Meaning of "The Work of Allah" (صنع الله):

• The phrase صنع الله (The Work/Making of Allah) is an emphatic verbal noun (Masdar Mu'akkad), similar to وعد الله (The Promise of Allah) or صبغة الله (The Dye of Allah).
• The verb that this noun emphasizes (the one it is the object of) is implied, related to the context of the Day of Resurrection (يوم ينفخ).
• Interpretation: Since Allah has just mentioned matters only He can accomplish, He connects this action (the moving of the mountains) to His perfect creation, indicating that He executed it with utmost wisdom and correctness.

3. Al-Qadi Abd al-Jabbar's Argument:

• Al-Qadi Abd al-Jabbar argued that this verse implies that evil deeds (القبائح) are not part of Allah's creation, because if they were, they would also have to be described as "perfectly made" (متقنة).
• The Refutation: Perfection (الإتقان) is only applicable to composite entities (things made of parts, like creation). It cannot be applied to accidents or attributes (الأعراض). Therefore, the lack of description of evil deeds as "perfectly made" does not negate them being within His decree, as the term itself is inapplicable to them.

مَن جَاءَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ فَلَهُ خَيْرٌ مِّنْهَا وَهُم مِّن فَزَعِ يَوْمِئِذٍ آمِنُونَ * وَمَنْ جَاءَ بِالسَّيِّئَةِ فَكُبَّتْ وُجُوهُهُمْ فِي النَّارِ هَلْ تُجْزَوْنَ إِلَّا مَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ

Translation:

• Whoever brings a good deed, he will have [a reward] better than it, and they will be safe from the terror of that Day.
• And whoever brings an evil deed, their faces will be thrust into the Fire. Are you recompensed except for what you used to do?