Tafsir of Al-Hajj 22:63

"Have you not seen..."

It is read: mukhaḍḍarah (green), meaning possessing greenery, on the pattern of mafʿalah, like muqbilah (one who approaches) and musbaʿah (one who has lions).

If you ask: Why was it not said fa-aṣbaḥat (then it became)? Why was it shifted to the present tense (tuṣbiḥu)?

I say: For a subtle point, which is to convey the persistence of the rain’s effect over time after time. It is like saying: "So-and-so favored me in such-and-such year, so I continue to go and come (in the morning and evening) being grateful to him." If you were to say "I went and came" (faraḥtu wa-ghadawtu), it would not carry the same weight.

If you ask: Why is it in the nominative case (tarfaʿu) and not the accusative (tanṣibu) as a response to the interrogative?

I say: If it were in the accusative, it would yield the opposite of the intended meaning. The meaning is to affirm the greenery; if it were in the accusative, it would shift to negating the greenery. An example is saying to your companion: "Have you not seen that I favored you, so you are grateful?" If you put it in the accusative, you are negating his gratitude and complaining of his negligence. If you put it in the nominative, you are affirming the gratitude. This and its likes are reasons why those who claim knowledge should desire the science of grammar and respect its people.

"Subtle" (Laṭīf): The origin of His knowledge or His grace reaches everything.

"All-Aware" (Khabīr): Of the interests of creation and their benefits.

"Have you not seen that Allah has subjected to you what is on the earth and the ships which run upon the sea by His command? And He restrains the sky from falling upon the earth, unless by His permission. Indeed Allah is, to the people, Kind and Merciful. And it is He who gave you life; then He will cause you to die and then will [again] bring you to life. Indeed, mankind is ungrateful."