Tafsir of Fussilat 41:9

{أئنكم} with two hamzas: the second is bayna bayna (between a hamza and an alif). And {ءائنكم} with an alif between two hamzas.

{ذلك} is He who had the power to create the earth in a period of two days. He is {the Lord of the worlds}.

{mountains, firm}. If you ask: What is the meaning of His saying {from above it}? And why did He not suffice with saying {and placed therein firm mountains} as in His saying: {And We placed therein firm, lofty mountains} (Al-Mursalat: 27), {And We placed in the earth firm mountains} (Al-Anbiya: 31), and {And He placed for it firm mountains} (An-Naml: 61)?

I say: If they were beneath it like pillars upon which it rests, or driven into it like nails, they would also prevent it from shaking. However, He chose to place them above the earth so that the benefits of the mountains would be exposed to those who seek them and present for those who acquire them. Also, so that one may see that the earth and the mountains are weights upon weights, all in need of a Holder—which is inevitable for them—and that Holder is He, Exalted and Majestic, by His power.

{And He blessed it} and increased its goodness and caused it to grow. {And He ordained therein its sustenance}—the provisions of its inhabitants, their livelihoods, and what is suitable for them. In the reading of Ibn Mas'ud: "And He distributed therein its sustenance."

{in four days, equal}—this is a summary of the duration of God’s creation of the earth and what is in it. It is as if He said: All of that was in four complete, equal days, without increase or decrease. It is said: God created the earth on Sunday and Monday, and what is in it on Tuesday and Wednesday. Al-Zajjaj said: "In four days" means in the completion of four days, intending by "completion" the two days [added to the first two].

"Equal" (sawa'an) is read with three vowel markings:

1. Genitive (sawa'in): as an adjective.
2. Accusative (sawa'an): meaning "they were equal" (istawat sawa'an), i.e., an equality.
3. Nominative (sawa'un): meaning "they are equal."

If you ask: To what does {for those who ask} attach? I say: To an omitted element. It is as if it were said: This limitation is for the sake of those who asked: "In how many days were the earth and what is in it created?" Or, it is estimated as: He ordained therein the sustenance for the sake of those who seek it, those in need of it among the consumers. This latter view is only consistent with the interpretation of Al-Zajjaj.

If you ask: Why was it not said "in two days"? And what is the benefit of this summary? I say: When He said "in four days" and had already mentioned that the earth was created in two days, it is known that what is in it was created in two days. The choice remained between saying "in two days" or "in four days, equal." "In four days, equal" contains a benefit not found in "two days," which is the indication that they were complete days without increase or decrease. If He had said "in two days"—and "two days" can sometimes be applied to the majority of them—it would have been permissible to intend by the two days the first and the last, or the majority of them.

{Then He directed Himself to the heaven}—from your saying: "He directed himself (istawa) to such-and-such a place," when he turns toward it with a focus that does not waver. It is from the istiwa which is the opposite of crookedness. Similar to this is their saying: "He went straight toward it" (istaqama ilayhi) and "He extended toward it." From this is His saying: {So be straight toward Him} (Fussilat: 6). The meaning is: Then the caller of wisdom summoned Him to create the heaven after the creation of the earth and what is in it, without any distractor to turn Him away from that.

It is said: His Throne was upon the water before the creation of the heavens and the earth. He brought forth smoke from the water, which rose above the water and ascended over it. He dried the water and made it one earth, then split it and made it into earths, then created the heaven from the rising smoke.

The meaning of commanding the heaven and the earth to come and their compliance is that He willed their formation, and they did not refrain from Him; they were found as He willed them to be. In that, they were like the obedient commanded one when the command of the obeyed master reaches him. This is from the metaphor called tamthil (representation). It is also permissible that it is an imaginative depiction (takhayyul), where the matter is based on God Almighty speaking to the heaven and the earth, saying: "Come, whether you wish it or refuse it," and they replied: "We come in obedience, not in compulsion." The purpose is to depict the effect of His power upon the created things, nothing more, without any of the address or response being literal. Similar to this is the saying: "The wall said to the peg: 'Why do you split me?' The peg said: 'Ask the one who is hammering me; he does not leave me, behind me is the stone that is behind me.'"

If you ask: Why was the earth mentioned with the heaven and included in the command to come, when the earth was created two days before the heaven? I say: The substance of the earth was created first, not spread out (dahw), then He spread it out after the creation of the heaven, as He said: {And the earth after that He spread out} (An-Nazi'at: 30). The meaning is: "Come in the manner you ought to come in, in form and description: Come, O earth, spread out as a resting place and foundation for your inhabitants; and come, O heaven, arched as a roof for them."

The meaning of "coming" is attainment and occurrence, as you say: "His work came (ata) to be pleasing," and "It arrived (ja'a) accepted." It is also possible that the meaning is: "Let each of you come to its companion in the coming that I will and that wisdom and management require: the earth being a foundation for the heaven, and the heaven being a roof for the earth." This is supported by the reading of those who read atiyan (as a verbal noun) or atayana (from mu'ata'ah, which is agreement): "Let each one agree with its sister." They said: "We agree and we assist." It is also possible it means: "Agree with My command and My will, and do not refrain."

If you ask: What is the meaning of "willingly or unwillingly"? I say: It is a parable for the necessity and the effect of His power upon them, and that their refraining from the effect of His power is impossible. Just as a tyrant says to one under his hand: "You shall do this, whether you wish or refuse, and you shall do it willingly or unwillingly." They are in the accusative as a state (hal), meaning: "being obedient or being compelled."

If you ask: Why was it not said "obedient" (ta'iatayn) according to the literal form, or "obedient" (ta'iat) according to the meaning, since they are heavens and earths? I say: When they were made to be addressed and responding, and described with obedience and compulsion, it was said "obedient" (ta'i'in) in the place of "obedient" (ta'iat), like His saying: {prostrating} (sajidin).

{Then He completed them}—it is permissible for the pronoun to refer back to the heaven according to the meaning, as He said {obedient} (ta'i'in), similar to {hollow trunks of palm trees} (Al-Haqqah: 7). It is also permissible for it to be an ambiguous pronoun explained by "seven heavens." The difference between the two accusatives is that one is a state (hal) and the second is a specification (tamyiz).

It is said: God created the heavens and what is in them in two days: Thursday and Friday, and finished in the last hour of Friday, and created Adam—which is the hour in which the Resurrection will occur. In this is evidence for what I mentioned: that if it were said "in two days" instead of "in four days, equal," it would not be known whether they were two complete days or incomplete.

If you ask: What if it were said "He created the earth in two complete days and ordained its sustenance in two complete days," or after mentioning the two days, "Those are four, equal"? I say: What He, Glorified be He, presented is more concise, more eloquent, and has better correspondence to what the Revelation is upon—the struggle of intellects and the clashing of knees—so that the superior may be distinguished from the deficient, the forward from the backward, degrees may be raised, and rewards multiplied.

{its affair}—what He commanded regarding it and managed, such as the creation of the angels, the luminaries, and other things. Or its state and what is suitable for it.

{and protection}—and We protected it with protection, meaning from the eavesdroppers with shooting stars. It is also permissible for it to be an object for the sake of which (maf'ul lahu) according to the meaning, as if He said: "And We created the lamps as an adornment and as protection."