Tafsir of Ar-Rahman 55:12

Surah Ar-Rahman (55): Verse 12

وَالنَّخْلُ ذُو الْعَصْفِ

The mention of palm trees is restricted because they are the greatest among trees. The term الحب (grain) includes wheat and barley.

• Grain was mentioned after the palm tree as a form of gradual elevation (step-by-step progression), as grains are more beneficial and more widespread than palms.

Regarding ذُو الْعَصْفِ (with husks/chaff), there are several interpretations:

1. It refers to the straw (chaff) that benefits our livestock created for us.
2. It refers to the leaves of plants that have stalks emerging from the sides of the main stem, like the leaves of the ear of grain, from top to bottom.
3. Al-'Asf refers specifically to the leaves of what is eaten (the edible part).

Regarding الرَّيْحَان (fragrant plants/basil):

• It is said to mean what is smelled.
• It is said to mean the leaves.
• It is said to mean the basil known to us, whose seeds are beneficial in medicine.

The most apparent interpretation is that الرَّيْحَان refers to the flower/blossom at the top, which is the origin of the intended purpose (the fruit). That blossom develops into the grain mentioned previously.

Thus, Al-'Asf points to the leaves/straw, and Ar-Rayhan points to the blossom/flower. They are mentioned because they lead to a purpose: one provides fodder for animals, and the other provides medicine for humans.

There are variant readings for الرَّيْحَان:

1. Read with Jarr (genitive case): wa-al-rayḥāni, making it an object connected (conjoined) to al-'aṣf (i.e., "and the palm tree with chaff and fragrant plants"). This suggests Ar-Rayhan is something distinct from the grain.
2. Read with Rafʿ (nominative case): wa-al-rayḥānu, making it an object connected to al-ḥabb (i.e., "and the grain, and the fragrant plant"). This reading supports two possibilities:
   • If Ar-Rayhan means the fragrant plant that is smelled, it is distinct from the grain and thus conjoined to it.
   • If the implied meaning is ذُو الرَّيْحَان (possessing fragrant plants), with the possessive noun omitted (as in the verse: {وَاسْأَلِ الْقَرْيَةَ} [Ask the town]), this aligns with the meaning we previously discussed: making Ar-Rayhan, which concludes the list of earthly blessings, the most cherished and noble. If Ar-Rayhan meant only the known fragrant plant or something smelled, this specific ordering would not be achieved.

The reading {وَالرَّيْحَانَ} (accusative case) is also read, but {وَالْحَبُّ ذُو الْعَصْفِ} is not read in the same manner (implying the structure remains consistent for the palm).

فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ

Then, Allah Almighty said:

Then which of the favors of your Lord will you both deny?