Tafsir Ibn Abbas: Fussilat, Ayah 10
Common Words
Other Scholars on This Ayah
Tafsir
And He set wa-ja‘ala the beginning of a new independent sentence and cannot be a supplement to the preceding relative clause containing alladhī ‘Who’ because of the intervening clause that is syntactically unrelated therein firm mountains rising above it and blessed it with an abundance of water crops and stock and ordained divided therein its various means of sustenance for human beings and beasts in four complete days — in other words the ‘setting therein of mountains’ together with what has been mentioned in addition all took place on Tuesday and Wednesday — evenly sawā’an in the accusative because it is a verbal noun in other words the four days were exactly four neither less nor more for all enquirers about the creation of the earth and all that is in it.
Ibn Abbas Commentary
(He placed therein) He created therein (firm hills rising above it) as pillars for it, (and blessed it) i.e. the earth with water, trees, vegetation and fruits (and measured therein its sustenance) its livelihoods, in each land there is a livelihood which is not found elsewhere (in four Days) He says: He created the spirits 4,000 years, of the years of the life of the world, before He created the bodies and He measured the sustenance of these bodies 4,000 years of the years of the life of this world before he measured the sustenance of the spirits, (alike for (all) who ask) alike for those who ask sustenance and those who do not; it is also said that this means: as an exposition to those who ask how He created them. It is thus that he created them;