Surah Al-Mursalat: (25) Did We not make the earth...

This is the fourth category of warning directed at the disbelievers. After reminding them of the blessings bestowed upon them concerning their own selves, in this verse, He reminds them of the blessings He bestowed upon them in the horizons. Then, at the end of the verse, He says: {Woe on that Day to the deniers}.

The reason for this sequence is what we have previously established: the greater the number of blessings, the more heinous the transgression, thus making the deserving blame immediate and the punishment in the Hereafter more severe.

The reason this verse precedes the previous one (regarding blessings upon the self) is that the blessings concerning the self are the foundation for the blessings in the horizons, as without life, hearing, sight, and sound limbs, benefiting from anything in creation would be impossible.

Know that the Almighty mentioned three things here.

The first is: The Earth. It was mentioned first because the closest external things to us are the earth.

The meaning of كفات (Kāfit) in the language is to gather and encompass. It is said: Kafata ash-shay' (He gathered the thing), meaning he brought it together. A jirāb (pouch) is called kafī or kafit if it does not lose anything placed inside it. A cooking pot is also called kafit.

Al-Kashshāf said: It is the noun derived from the action of gathering (yakfit), similar to how ad-dimām (the binder) and al-jimāʿ (the gatherer) refer to what binds and collects. It is also said: "This door is the jimāʿ of the doors." You say: "I tied the thing tightly, and then you name the thread used for tying it shidād."

The phrase {أَحْيَاءً وَأَمْوَاتًا} (alive and dead) is thus constructed as if it means: "We made it a container/gatherer for the living and the dead," or by an implied verb, which is nakfitu (We gathered you), meaning: "We gathered you while you were alive and while you were dead," in which case aḥyā'an wa amwātan are in the accusative case as ḥāl (circumstantial state) referring to the pronoun (you). This is the linguistic interpretation.

As for the meaning, there are several interpretations:

1. It gathers the living on its surface and the dead within its belly. This means the living reside in their dwellings, and the dead are buried in their graves. This is why the earth is called Umm (Mother), as it embraces its offspring like a mother embracing her child. Since they are gathered onto it, it is as if it embraces them.
2. It gathers what the living discard of repulsive things. However, the phrase "gathering the living" while they are on its surface does not fit this interpretation.
3. It gathers what humans need for their sustenance (food and drink), because all of that comes forth from the earth, and the structures that bring about benefits and repel harms are built from it.
4. The phrase {أَحْيَاءً وَأَمْوَاتًا} refers back to the earth itself: The living earth is that which produces vegetation, and the dead earth is that which does not produce vegetation.

In this verse, there are two questions:

The First Question: Why is it phrased using the indefinite form {أَحْيَاءً وَأَمْوَاتًا} when the earth gathers all living beings and all the dead?

The Answer: It is an indefinite form used for glorification (tafkhīm), as if saying: It gathers countless living beings and innumerable dead ones.

The Second Question: Does this verse indicate the necessity of cutting off the hand of the grave robber (nabbāsh)?

The Answer: Al-Qaffāl narrated that Rabi'ah said: The verse indicates that the earth is a secure enclosure (ḥirz) for the dead. Theft from a secure enclosure necessitates the cutting off [of the hand].

The second category of blessings mentioned in this verse is His saying: {وَجَعَلْنَا فِيهَا رَوَاسِيَ شَامِخَاتٍ} (And We placed therein firm, towering mountains).

• {رَوَاسِيَ} (Rawāsi) means firmly established on the surface of the earth, not moving.
• {شَامِخَاتٍ} (Shāmikhāt) means high. Everything high is called shāmikh. It is also said of a proud person that he is shāmikh bi-anfihi (holding his nose high). The benefits derived from the creation of mountains have already been discussed in this book.

The third category of blessings is His saying: {وَأَسْقَيْنَاكُمْ مَاءً فُرَاتًا} (And We gave you sweet water to drink).

• Al-Furāt means the utmost degree of sweetness. Its interpretation has already been covered in the verse: {هَٰذَا عَذَابٌ فُرَاتٌ} (This is a sweet punishment [referring to water in context]).

{انطَلِقُوا إِلَىٰ مَا كُنتُم بِهِ تُكَذِّبُونَ * انطَلِقُوا إِلَىٰ ظِلٍّ ذِي ثَلَاثِ شُعَبٍ * لَّا ظَلِيلٍ وَلَّا يُغْنِي مِنَ اللَّهِبِ * إِنَّهَا تَرْمِي بِشَرَرٍ كَالْقَصْرِ * كَأَنَّهُ جِمَالَةٌ صُفْرٌ * وَيْلٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ لِّلْمُكَذِّبِينَ}

(Go forth) to that which you used to deny! Go forth to a shadow with three branches! It offers no shade, nor does it avail against the flame. Indeed, it throws sparks like towers, like yellow camels. Woe on that Day to the deniers!