Al-Tariq (The Nightcomer): (11) And by the heaven which returns (with rain).

It is known that the Exalted and Sublime, after concluding the proof for Monotheism (Tawhid) and the Resurrection (Ma'ad), swore another oath.

As for His saying: {And by the heaven which returns} (Al-Sama'u dhātu al-Rajʿ), we say: Al-Zajjaj said that al-Rajʿ means rain because it comes and recurs.

Know that the statement of Al-Zajjaj and the other masters of the language is explicit that al-Rajʿ is not a noun inherently designated for rain, but rather it is named Rajʿ metaphorically. There are several reasons for the excellence of this metaphor:

1. Al-Qaffal said: It is as if it is derived from the reverberation of a sound (tarjīʿ al-ṣawt), which is its repetition and the joining of letters to it. Similarly, rain is called Rajʿ because it returns time after time.
2. The Arabs used to believe that the clouds carry water from the earth's seas and then return it to the earth.
3. They intended it as an omen of good fortune, naming it Rajʿ so that it would return.
4. Rain returns every year.

Having established this, we state that the exegetes have several opinions:

1. Ibn Abbas said: {And by the heaven which returns} means it possesses rain that returns, rain after rain.
2. The return (rajʿ) of the heaven is the giving of blessings that come from it, moment after moment, over the passage of time—it returns them repeatedly.
3. Ibn Zayd said: It means that it returns and brings back its sun and moon after their setting.

The first opinion is the most sound.

As for His saying, {And by the earth which splits open} (Al-Arḍu dhātu al-Ṣadʿ), know that al-Ṣadʿ means a crack or fissure. From this comes His saying: {On that Day they will be split apart} (Ar-Rum: 43), meaning they will disperse.

The exegetes have opinions:

• Ibn Abbas said: It splits open for plants and trees.
• Mujahid said: It refers to the two mountains between which there is a fissure and a passable road, just as He said: {And We made therein passages and roads} (Al-Anbiyā’: 31).
• Al-Layth said: Al-Ṣadʿ is the vegetation of the earth because it splits the earth, and the earth splits open because of it. On this basis, vegetation is named Ṣadʿ because it is a splitter of the earth.

Know that the Exalted and Sublime, just as He made the manner of animal creation a proof for knowing the Originator and the Resurrection, mentioned in this section the manner of plant creation. Thus, the heaven possessing the return (al-Rajʿ) is like the father, and the earth possessing the split (al-Ṣadʿ) is like the mother. Both are among the greatest blessings, because the blessings of this world depend upon what descends from the heaven as recurring rain, and upon what sprouts from the earth likewise.

Then, He followed this oath with what He swore upon, saying: {Indeed, it is a decisive saying} (Innahu la-qawlun faṣl).

There are two opinions concerning this pronoun:

1. The first, stated by Al-Qaffal: The meaning is that what I have informed you of—My power to resurrect you on the Day when your innermost secrets are tested—is a decisive and true saying.
2. The second: It refers back to the Qur'an, meaning the Qur'an is the separator (fāṣil) between truth and falsehood, just as it is called Furqān.

The first opinion is preferable because the pronoun referring back to the immediately preceding subject matter is more appropriate.

This means a judgment by which truth is separated from falsehood. From this comes the settling of disputes (faṣl al-khuṣūmāt), which is cutting them off by judgment. It is said: This is faṣl, meaning it cuts off argument and dispute.

Some exegetes said its meaning is that it is serious truth, because of His saying: {And it is not amusement} (Wa mā huwa bi-l-hazl). The meaning is that the Qur'an was revealed seriously and not playfully. Then He said: {And it is not amusement}. The meaning is that decisive explanation (al-bayān al-faṣl) may be mentioned seriously and with emphasis on its importance, or it may be mentioned otherwise, and this passage is of the latter kind.

Then He said: {Indeed, they are plotting a plot} (Innahum yakīdūna kaydan). That plot takes several forms:

1. By casting doubts, such as their saying: {This is nothing but our worldly life} (Al-Anʿām: 29), {Who will give life to bones while they are decayed?} (Yā-Sīn: 78), {Has he made the gods one God?} (Ṣād: 5), {Why was this Qur'an not sent down to a great man from the two towns?} (Az-Zukhruf: 31), and {It is being recited to him morning and evening}.
2. By attacking it, calling it sorcery, poetry, or madness.
3. By intending to kill him, as He said: {And when those who disbelieve plot against you to keep you imprisoned or to kill you or to expel you} (Al-Anfāl: 30).

Then He said: {And I am plotting a plot} (Wa akīdu kaydan).

Know that the plot (kayd) attributed to Allah, the Exalted, is interpreted in several ways:

1. That Allah repels the plot of the disbelievers from the Prophet (peace be upon him). This corresponds to the plot against them by granting victory and elevating His religion. This is naming one of the two opposites by the name of the other, as in His saying: {And the recompense of a bad deed is its like}, and the poet said:

   Be warned, let no one act ignorantly against us, Lest we act ignorantly above the ignorance of the ignorant ones. And as in His saying: {They forgot Allah, so He made them forget themselves} (Al-Hashr: 19), and {They seek to deceive Allah, but He is deceiving them} (An-Nisā’: 142).

2. That Allah’s plot against them is His granting them respite concerning their disbelief until He seizes them unexpectedly.

Then He said: {So give respite to the disbelievers} (Fa-muhhil al-kāfirīn), meaning, do not hasten their destruction, nor be impatient.

Then, after commanding him to grant them respite, He clarified that this commanded respite is brief, saying: {Give them respite for a short while} (Amlihim ruwaydan). He repeated the command and varied the wording between the two phrases to increase reassurance for the Messenger (peace be upon him) and to encourage patience.

Here are some issues:

Abu ʿUbaydah said: Ruwaydan is the diminutive form of rud (a slow pace). He cited poetry:

He walks, and the valley floor does not speak of his gait, As if he were intoxicated, walking with gentleness. Meaning, slowly, gently, and deliberately. Abu ʿAlī mentioned in the chapter on Verbal Nouns (Ism al-Afʿāl) ruwayda Zaydan, meaning arwid Zaydan (Give Zayd respite/Be gentle with Zayd).

Grammarians state that ruwayd in Arabic speech has three usages:

1. As an imperative noun: Like your saying, ruwayda Zaydan, meaning, leave Zayd alone, let him be, and be gentle with him. Ruwayd in this usage is indeclinable (ghayr mutamakkin).
2. As a noun governed by annexation (iḍāfah): Like other verbal nouns (maṣādir), you say ruwayda Zayd, just as you say ḍarba Zayd (the striking of Zayd), and as He said: {Then strike the necks} (Muḥammad: 4).
3. As an adjective in the accusative case (naʿt manṣūb): Like your saying, sārū sayran ruwaydan (They traveled a slow journey). They also say sārū ruwaydan, omitting the modified noun (manʿūt) and substituting ruwaydan in its place, as they do with other fully declinable adjectives. An example is the Arabs' saying: ḍaʿhu ruwaydan (Place it slowly), meaning waḍʿan ruwaydan. You say to a man treating something: yuʿālij al-shay’a ruwaydan, meaning ʿilājan ruwaydan.

In this third usage, two things are permissible: either ruwaydan is an adverbial state (ḥāl), or it is an adjective (naʿt). If you explicitly mention the modified noun, it cannot be an adverbial state.

What is in the verse is what we mentioned in the third usage, because it is permissible for it to be an adjective modifying the verbal noun (as if it were said: imhālan ruwaydan—a slow respite), or it can be an adverbial state, meaning "give them respite without haste."

1. Some said: {Give them respite for a short while} refers until the Day of Resurrection. This shortness is relative to the knowledge that everything that is coming is near.
2. Others said: {Give them respite for a short while} refers until the Day of Badr.

The first opinion is preferable because what occurred on the Day of Badr and in other battles does not encompass everyone. If it is interpreted as referring to the Hereafter, it encompasses everyone. It is not precluded that the matters of this world, such as what afflicted them on the Day of Badr and elsewhere, are also included. All of this is a warning and admonition to the people, and just as it is a warning to them, it is an encouragement toward obedience, contrary to their path.

And Allah, the Exalted and Sublime, knows best. And peace and blessings be upon our Master Muhammad and his family and companions.