The Sun: (5) And the heaven and He Who fashioned it.

The First Question: Regarding what the author of Al-Kashshaf mentioned, that if the {مَا} (mā) here were a verbal noun (مصدرية), then connecting {فَأَلْهَمَهَا} (fa-alhamahā) to it would necessitate the corruption of the structure (نظم). And what the Qadi mentioned, that if this were an oath by the Creator of the heaven, it would not be permissible to delay it after mentioning the Sun—this is a sound objection.

My thought in response: The greatest perceptible things are the Sun. So, the Almighty mentioned it with its four attributes indicating its greatness. Then, He mentioned His Sacred Self afterward, describing it with three attributes: His management of the heaven, the earth, and the created beings. He pointed to the created beings by mentioning the noblest among them, which is the soul (النفس).

The purpose of this arrangement is that intellect and sense perception align on the greatness of the Sun's mass. Then, the simple intellect uses the Sun—indeed, all celestial bodies, terrestrial bodies, and created beings—as proof for establishing an Originator for them. At that point, the intellect here attains the perception of God's Majesty and Greatness as befits Him, and sense perception does not dispute this.

Thus, this arrangement serves as a path to draw the intellect from the lowliness of the sensible world to the heights of the Lordship realm, and the wilderness of the Self-Subsistent's Grandeur. Glory be to Him whose wisdom is immense and whose word is perfect.

The Second Question: What is the benefit in saying: {وَالسَّمَاءَ وَمَا بَنَاهَا} (And the heaven and He Who fashioned it)?

Answer: After the Almighty described the Sun with the four attributes indicating its greatness, He followed it by explaining what indicates its origination (حدوث) and the origination of all celestial bodies. This verse points to that indication because the Sun and the heaven are finite (متناهية), and everything finite is restricted to a specific measure.

It was conceivable in reason that something greater than it or smaller than it could exist. Therefore, the restriction of the Sun and the rest of the celestial bodies to a specific measure must be due to the estimation of an Estimator (تقدير مقدر) and the management of a Manager (تدبير مدبر). Just as the builder builds a house according to his will, so too did the Manager of the Sun and the rest of the celestial bodies measure them according to His will. Thus, His saying {وَمَا بَنَاهَا} serves as a hint toward this subtle point indicating the origination of the Sun and all celestial bodies.

The Third Question: Why did He say {وَمَا بَنَاهَا} (wa mā banāhā) and not {وَمَنْ بَنَاهَا} (wa man banāhā)?

Answer: This is in two ways:

1. The intention is to indicate the description (الوصفية), as if saying: "And the heaven, and that great, powerful thing that fashioned it." And [similarly for the soul]: "And the soul, and the wise, profoundly wise being that perfected it."
2. The word {مَا} (mā) is used in place of {مَنْ} (man), as in His saying: {وَلَا تَنكِحُوا مَا نَكَحَ آبَاؤُكُم مِّنَ النِّسَاءِ} (And do not marry those women whom your fathers married) (An-Nisa: 22). Reliance is placed on the first explanation.

The Fourth Question: Why were these three things mentioned in defining the essence of God Almighty: the heaven, the earth, and the soul?

Answer: Because inference regarding the Unseen (الغائب) is only possible through the Witnessed (الشاهد). The witnessed entity is nothing but the corporeal world (العالم الجسماني), which is divided into two types: simple and composite.

The simple is divided into two:

1. The celestial (العلوية), which is pointed to by His saying: {وَالسَّمَاءَ} (And the heaven).
2. The terrestrial (السفلية), which is pointed to by His saying: {وَالْأَرْضَ} (And the earth) (59:6).

The composite is divided into categories, the noblest of which are those possessing souls (ذوات الأنفس), which is pointed to by His saying: {وَنَفْسٍ وَمَا سَوَّاهَا} (And [by] the soul and He Who proportioned it) (59:7).

As for His saying:

! 7 < { وَالْأَرْضَ وَمَا طَحَاهَا } . > 7 !

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