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wa-l-ʾarḍa farashnāhā fa-niʿma l-māhidūna
And We have spread out the earth, so how excellent spreaders We have been!
— Ali Quli Qarai
51Aḏ-ḎāriyātالذارياتVerse 48 of 60
The Winnowing Winds51. Aḏ-Ḏāriyātالذاريات
al-Dhāriyāt
The Winnowing Winds
MeccanVerse 48 of 60
Surah al-Dhariyat - Verses 47-48
47. With [indescribable] power did We construct the heaven. Indeed, We are Able to extend the vastness of space thereof.
48. And We have spread out the earth: how Excellent Spreader are We!
The Arabic word ayd may ad hoc be employed either as the plural form of yad (“hand”), as in
“Or have they hands wherewith they hold?” 1 ,
or as an infinitive designating ‘support’, as the derivatives of the root ‘-y-d (“support, back”) attested elsewhere in the Holy Qur’an, including:
“He it is Who has supported you with His Help and with the believers” 2 .
The Arabic words farsh and mahd designate spreading something for taking rest. Following recounting the story of the Prophets and their peoples and nations, the blessed Verses in question treat of Divine Omnipotence, Beneficence, and Creativity reminding people to behold the manner through which God Almighty, unaided and without time created the heavens ex nihilo, established, and spread it out. Only God Almighty, the Creator and the Provider, is Aware of the vastness of the heavens and the number of spheres, planets, and galaxies and despite the strenuous efforts made by astronomers, they have failed to gain full acquaintance with the number of all the stars and planets.
The number is seemingly infinite. Human knowledge is such that the more it is gained, it may still advance, since Divine Emanation is Infinite; consequently, the more human knowledge advances, it becomes finite against Divine Omnipotence. The blessed Verse 48 proceeds with a treatment of Divine Favors bestowed upon mankind. God Almighty makes mention of His Omniscience and Omnipotence saying that He spread out the earth like the carpet beneath man’s feet and made it an abode for him.
The Arabic word mahd denotes cradle attested in 19:29, when to remove the unfounded accusations, Mary (as) was asked to point to baby Jesus (as) so that they may ask him and they replied:
“How can we talk to one who is a child in the cradle?”
God Almighty likens the earth to a cradle since the earth is in permanent motion like the cradle moving for pacifying the child. Ptolemaic astronomers maintained that the sun circles around the earth once in twenty four hours as a result of which a different exegesis was provided for the blessed Verse in question, but it is proved by modern scientists that the earth circles around the sun in twenty four hours and the blessed Verse 48 saying:
“How Excellent Spreader are We!”
is substantiated by modern discoveries and is regarded as one of Qur’anic miracles. Two quite precise points may be derived from the blessed Verse concerning the creation of the earth. The first clause:
“And We have spread out the earth”
likens the earth to a carpet prepared and spread for rest. The second clause:
“How Excellent Spreader are We!”
indicates that the earth which serves as a carpet on which one may rest is like a cradle moving permanently. The beauty of expression lies in the point that despite its permanent motion, the earth likened to a carpet on which one may rest and its motion is not tangible. God Almighty glorifies Himself herein and concerning Creation, the Creator and the Provider of the world says that He has created the world in the best manner. In other words, the expression “how Excellent Spreader are We!” is a delicate one reflecting that God Almighty prepared the earth with all the means of rest for the life of mankind. The Arabic word mahid is a cognate of mahd and the latter is applied to cradle or any place prepared for rest.
Such place is supposed to be quiet, safe, and comfortable and all these conditions are applicable to the earth. On the one hand, by Divine Command stones are softened and pulverized and on the other, rigidity of mountains and the crust of the earth make it resistant against the pressure caused by the ebb and flow; on the other hand, the atmosphere encompassing the earth preserves the solar heat blanketing the widespread bed shielding it against collision of meteorites burning them into ashes.
Thus, all the means of welfare has been Divinely prepared for human comfort on the globe.
Footnotes