Tafsir of Surah Ar-Ra'd - Verse 4

Allah's Signs on the Earth

After Allah mentioned the higher worlds, He started asserting His power, wisdom and control over the lower parts of the world. Allah said,

وَهُوَ الَّذِى مَدَّ الاٌّرْضَ

(And it is He Who spread out the earth) made it spacious in length and width. Allah has placed on the earth firm mountains and made rivers, springs and water streams run through it, so that the various kinds of fruits and plants of every color, shape, taste and scent are watered with this water,

مِن كُلٍّ زَوْجَيْنِ اثْنَيْنِ

(and of every kind of fruit He made Zawjayn Ithnayn.), two types from every kind of fruit,

يُغْشِى الَّيْلَ النَّهَارَ

(He brings the night as a cover over the day.) Allah made the day and night pursue each other, when one is about to depart, the other overcomes it, and vice versa. Allah controls time just as He controls space and matter,

إِنَّ فِى ذلِكَ لآيَـتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ

(Verily, in these things, there are Ayat for people who reflect.) who reflect on Allah's signs and the evidences of His wisdom. Allah said,

وَفِى الاٌّرْضِ قِطَعٌ مُّتَجَـوِرَتٌ

(And in the earth are neighboring tracts, ) Meaning, next to each other, some of them are fertile and produce what benefits people, while others are dead, salty and do not produce anything. This meaning was collected from Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Ad-Dahhak and several others. This also covers the various colors and types of diverse areas on the earth; some red, some white, or yellow, or black, some are stony, or flat, or sandy, or thick, or thin, all made to neighbor each other while preserving their own qualities. All this indicates the existence of the Creator Who does what He wills, there is no deity or lord except Him. Allah said next,

وَجَنَّـتٌ مِّنْ أَعْنَـبٍ وَزَرْعٌ وَنَخِيلٌ

(and gardens of vines, and green crops (fields), and date palms...) Allah's statement, next,

صِنْوَنٌ وَغَيْرُ صِنْوَنٍ

(Sinwanun wa (or) Ghayru Sinwan.) `Sinwan' means, growing into two or three from a single stem, such as figs, pomegranate and dates. `Ghayru Sinwan' means, having one stem for every tree, as is the case with most plants. From this meaning, the paternal uncle is called one's `Sinw' of his father. There is an authentic Hadith that states that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to `Umar bin Al-Khattab,

«أَمَا شَعَرْتَ أَنَّ عَمَّ الرَّجُلِ صِنْوُ أَبِيه»

(Do you not know that man's paternal uncle is the Sinw of his father) Allah said next,

وَحِدٍ وَنُفَضِّلُ بَعْضَهَا عَلَى بَعْضٍ فِى الاٍّكُلِ

(watered with the same water; yet some of them We make more excellent than others to eat.) Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet commented on Allah's statement,

وَنُفَضِّلُ بَعْضَهَا عَلَى بَعْضٍ فِى الاٍّكُلِ

(yet some of them We make more excellent than others to eat.)

«الدَّقَلُ، وَالْفَارِسِيُّ، وَالْحُلْوُ، وَالْحَامِض»

(The Dagal, the Persian, the sweet, the bitter...") At-Tirmidhi collected this Hadith and said, "Hasan Gharib." Therefore, there are differences between plants and fruits with regards to shape, color, taste, scent, blossoms and the shape of their leaves. There are plants that are very sweet or sour, bitter or mild, fresh; some plants have a combination of these attributes, and the taste then changes and becomes another taste, by Allah's will. There is also some that are yellow in color, or red, or white, or black, or blue, and the same can be said about their flowers; and all these variances and complex diversities are watered by the same water. Surely, in this there are signs for those who have sound reasoning, and surely, all this indicates the existence of the Creator Who does what He wills and Whose power made distinctions between various things and created them as He wills. So Allah said,

إِنَّ فِى ذلِكَ لآيَـتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَعْقِلُونَ

(Verily, in these things there are Ayat for the people who understand.)

وَإِن تَعْجَبْ فَعَجَبٌ قَوْلُهُمْ أَءِذَا كُنَّا تُرَابًا أَءِنَّا لَفِى خَلْقٍ جَدِيدٍ أُوْلَـئِكَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ بِرَبِّهِمْ وَأُوْلَئِكَ الاٌّغْلَـلُ فِى أَعْنَـقِهِمْ وَأُوْلَـئِكَ أَصْحَـبُ النَّارِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَـلِدونَ

In the fourth verse it was said:

وَفِي الْأَرْ‌ضِ قِطَعٌ مُّتَجَاوِرَ‌اتٌ وَجَنَّاتٌ مِّنْ أَعْنَابٍ وَزَرْ‌عٌ وَنَخِيلٌ صِنْوَانٌ وَغَيْرُ‌ صِنْوَانٍ يُسْقَىٰ بِمَاءٍ وَاحِدٍ وَنُفَضِّلُ بَعْضَهَا عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ فِي الْأُكُلِ

And in the earth there are tracts of land neighboring each other and gardens of grapes and farms and date-palms, having twin or single trunks, watered with one water. And We make some better than others in taste. Surely, in that there are signs for a people who understand.

Being pointed out here is that many tracts of land, despite being joined together, are different in their inherent properties. Some are good and soft, others are saline or hard. Some are good for farming while others grow gardens, of grapes and dates. Of the date-palms, some grow to have two trunks like other trees while others have only one.

Then, all these fruits, though they come out of the same land and are watered by the same water and are touched by the rays of the sun and the glow of the moon and the draft of different winds in a uniform manner, yet there remains among them the difference of colour and taste and size.

Despite their being in such proximity with each other, the varied difference among them is a strong and clear proof of the fact that this whole system of creation is operating under the command of someone who is wise and knows how to plan, manage and run His creation. This has nothing to do with the postulates of the theory of evolution, as some ignorant people would like to believe. If these were the outcome of the stages of material development, how could we explain the element of difference among them despite all matter being common? One fruit grows on a tract of land in one season while another grows in the other. On one single branch of one tree, the fruits could be different in kinds, sizes and tastes!

Said in the last sentence of the verse (4) was: إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَعْقِلُونَ (Surely, in that there are signs for a people who understand). It means that there are in it, absolutely without doubt, many signs of the power and greatness of Allah Ta’ ala which go on to prove that He is One and that He alone is worthy of worship. By saying that these signs are 'for a people who understand,' the hint released is that those who do not think about these things are not the people of understanding, no matter how highly they are rated and advertized for their intellect and intelligence.

‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas says that one strip of land is fertile while another is barren. One strip of land produces crops while one nearby does not. Mujahid says that the same is the case with mankind. There are good people in this world and also bad, though the origin of all is one. There is a strange phenomenon on this earth: the soil in different places may be similar and may be watered by the same water, but in one place it will produce a tree whose fruit is sweet, while in another place it will produce a tree whose fruit is sour. One tree may have a high yield and another a low yield. This is a parallel in nature to the human condition. It is like all human beings, although cast in the same mould, showing a marked difference from one individual to another when it comes to deriving any benefit from the divine guidance which is consistently offered to all. One will receive the full benefit of such guidance, and thus have his entire life enriched by it, while another may avail of only a part of it or even reject it altogether. In other words, the same ‘seeds’ of guidance when ‘sown’ in different individuals will produce outcomes as different as the sweet and sour fruits of our analogy.