Fāṭir: (27) Have you not seen...

Then the Almighty said: {Have you not seen that Allah sends down water from the sky, and We bring forth with it fruits of varying colors?}

This is another line of reasoning establishing the Oneness and Power of Allah. There are several issues concerning its interpretation:

Issue 1: The Style of Presentation

This proof is presented in the style of an inquiry (interrogation), saying: {Have you not seen...}, whereas the preceding proof was presented in the style of a factual report, saying: {And Allah is the One who sent the winds...}.

There are two perspectives on this:

1. The Clarity of the Matter: The sending down of water is closer to benefit, and its utility is more apparent. No one can be unaware that water is the source of life for the earth. Therefore, its significance is emphasized through an interrogative form, as an interrogative used for affirmation (taqrīr) is only used for things that are extremely obvious. Just as if someone points out a barely visible crescent moon, and the other person says, "I don't see it," the first person might concede it is hidden. But if it is clearly visible, he says, "Do you not see it?" This is apparent.
2. The Context of Prior Proofs: This verse was mentioned after Allah had already established the matter with another proof. Since the addressee has now gained insight into the various lines of evidence presented, Allah addresses him, saying: "You have now seen what we mentioned, and you have no excuse left. Do you not see this verse?"

Issue 2: Who is Being Addressed?

This has two possibilities:

1. The Prophet (peace be upon him): The wisdom here is that when Allah mentioned the proofs and they were not beneficial to the disbelievers, He ceased addressing them directly and turned to someone else. This is like a master who advises some of his slaves against corruption, but the guidance is ineffective; he then turns to another servant and says, "Listen, and do not be like him," repeating what he said to the first, while also signaling that the first slave has a deficiency that makes him unworthy of direct address, prompting him to correct that deficiency.
2. Continuity of Discourse: The address does not shift to an external party but continues with something closely related to the first topic, so that the initial audience does not stop contemplating the advice already given to them upon hearing a different discourse.

Issue 3: The Proof of Power and Choice

This is an argument for Allah's Power and His Will (Choice), as He brings forth diverse fruits from a single type of water. There are subtle points here:

Subtlety 1: The use of "sent down" (anzala) and "We brought forth" (akhrajnā).

We have previously explained the benefit of this, and we reiterate: Allah said, {Have you not seen that Allah sends down...}. If one were ignorant, they might claim the descent of water is merely due to its natural heaviness. In response, one could say: You cannot claim that the bringing forth (extraction) is also natural; rather, it is by the Will of Allah.

Another perspective: Since Allah said, {that Allah sends down...}, Allah brought the subject close to the contemplator, making it as if it were present. Therefore, He said, {We bring forth...} due to this proximity.

A third perspective: The bringing forth (extraction) is a more complete blessing than the sending down, because the sending down is for the sake of the extraction. Thus, the more complete act is attributed to the first-person plural (We), while the lesser act is attributed to the third person (He).

Subtlety 2: Mentioning Mountains

Allah also says: {And from the mountains are streaks, white and red, of varying colors, and intensely black... And likewise from the people and the beasts and the cattle are varying colors.}

It is as if someone might object: The variation in fruits is due to the variation in lands (some plants only grow in certain places, like saffron). Allah responds by saying that the variation in lands is only by the Will of Allah. Otherwise, why are some parts of the mountains red and others white? The word judad (streaks/lines) is the plural of jaddah, meaning a line or path.

If one asks about the function of the conjunction waw (and) in {And from the mountains...}, there are two possibilities:

1. It is for recommencement (isti'nāf), as if Allah meant: "We brought forth fruits of varying colors with the water, and among the things created from the mountains are streaks indicating Power, refuting those who deny the Will behind the variation of fruit colors."
2. It is for conjunction (ʿaṭf), meaning: "And He created from the mountains..." Al-Zamakhshari said it means: "He possesses streaks."

Subtlety 3: Mentioning Mountains but not the Earth

This is similar to another verse where He mentions {And on the earth are adjacent tracts...}. This is because when He first mentioned {We bring forth with it fruits}, the very act of bringing forth the fruits was evidence of Power. He then added clarification: just as the variation in fruit colors is evidence, the variation in the mountains themselves—their existence in certain regions and not others, and the variation in their form (some lower, some higher)—is evidence of Power and Choice. He further clarified this by saying: {streaks, white...}, meaning that in addition to their inherent existence, their varying colors are evidence, just as the fruits themselves are evidence, and their varying colors are evidence.

Issue 4: The Meaning of "Varying Colors"

{varying colors} (mukhtalifan alwānuha). The apparent meaning is that the variation applies to each color mentioned: white fruits of varying colors, and red fruits of varying colors. This is because white can resemble plaster white or earth white, and similarly for red. If it meant that the white, red, and black things had varying colors among themselves, it would merely be an emphasis. The first interpretation is preferable.

Based on this, we say that {varying colors} was not mentioned after the black ones (sūda), but only after the white and red ones. The intensely black ones (gharābīb sūd) were mentioned last because when blackness is paired with the intensifier gharābīb, it reaches the utmost degree of blackness, leaving no room for variation.

Issue 5: The Intensification of Blackness

It is said that gharābīb is an intensifier for aswad (black), as in "intensely black" (aswad gharīb). If so, how can the structure be {streaks, intensely black, black} (gharābīb sūd) when the intensifier usually comes last?

Al-Zamakhshari replied that gharābīb is an intensifier for an implied color in the statement, as if Allah said: "The blackness of intensely black things," and then repeated sūd (black) again. The benefit of this is increased emphasis, as Allah mentioned it implicitly (gharābīb) and explicitly (sūd). Some scholars suggest it is an instance of fronting and delaying.

{And likewise from the people and the beasts and the cattle are varying colors. Indeed, only those fear Allah, among His servants, who are learned. Indeed, Allah is Exalted in Might, Forgiving.}