Surah Qaf 50:9
ﲏ ﲐ ﲑ ﲒ ﲓ ﲔ ﲕ ﲖ ﲗ ﲘ
And We have sent down blessed rain from the sky and made grow thereby gardens and grain from the harvest
Tafsir of Qaf 50:9
Tafsir
Mafatih al-Ghayb
Verse range: 50:9
| Q: (9) And We sent down water from the sky...
This points to another proof, which is what is between the heaven and the earth. Thus, the argument is made using the heaven, the earth, and what is between them: sending down (water from) the sky above, and bringing forth vegetation from below. In this, there are several issues:
Issue 1:
This argument has already been presented in the Almighty's saying: {And We caused to grow therein every kind of splendid vegetation} (Q: 7). So, what is the benefit of repeating it with {So We brought forth thereby gardens, and the grain that is harvested}?
We say: The phrase {So We brought forth} is an argument based on the vegetation itself—meaning the trees that grow and increase. Similarly, the human body after death will grow and increase when God Almighty restores to it the power of growth and increase, just as He restores it to the trees through the water from the sky.
As for {and the grain that is harvested}, there is an omission, meaning: "and the grain of the harvested crop." That is, We created gardens whose fruits are plucked and whose roots remain, and crops that are harvested every year or every two years.
It is also possible to say the meaning is: "And We cause the harvested grain to sprout." The former interpretation is preferred.
And the Almighty's saying: {And the tall date-palms} points to what is mixed between two types. This is because the fruits of gardens are plucked, and they bear fruit every year without replanting. However, the date-palm requires pollination (ta'bir); without it, it would not bear fruit. Thus, it is a mixed type of crop and tree. It is as if the Almighty created what is plucked every year and what is planted, and created what is not planted every year but whose fruit is plucked while its root remains, and created that which is a composite of two types in its fruit-bearing: some fruits are purely for pleasure (fakihah) with no sustenance (qut), most crops are sustenance (qut), and some fruits are both pleasure and sustenance.
And Al-Basiqat (tall) refers to the tall date-palms.
Issue 2:
The Almighty's saying: {Basiqat} emphasizes the perfection of power and choice. This is because if one argues that crops can be plucked for their fruit due to their weakness and small size, they require renewal every year. As for gardens, due to their size and strength, they remain and bear fruit year after year. One might ask: Are not the tall date-palms (Al-Basiqat) greater and stronger than the weak vine? Yet, the date-palm requires the work of a worker every year, while the vine does not. Therefore, it is God Almighty who ordained this, not based on size, smallness, height, or shortness.
Issue 3:
The Almighty's saying: {With clustered fruit} means arranged one above the other in their sheaths, like the ears of grain. This is astonishing, because the fruits of tall trees usually emerge separately, each having its own base from which it grows (like walnuts and almonds). However, the Tala' (spathe/cluster) is like a single ear of grain emerging from one base.