Tafsir of Al-An'am 6:11

"Say, 'Travel through the land; then observe...'"

If you ask: What is the difference between His saying "then observe" (fanzuru) [in verse 11] and His saying "then observe" (thumma unzuru) [in verse 6]?

I reply: In the first instance (fanzuru), the observation is made a consequence of the travel. It is as if it were said: "Travel for the sake of observing," and do not travel as the heedless travel.

As for His saying [in verse 11]: "Travel through the land, then observe," its meaning is the permissibility of traveling through the land for trade and other benefits, alongside the obligation of observing the remnants of those who were destroyed. He signaled this with the particle thumma (then) to indicate the distance between the obligatory act and the permissible one.

"Say, 'To whom belongs whatever is in the heavens and the earth?' Say, 'To Allah. He has decreed upon Himself mercy. He will surely assemble you for the Day of Resurrection, about which there is no doubt.' Those who have lost themselves do not believe."