Surah Ar-Ra'd (13) — Ayah 4

(Ayah 4) ➊ {وَ فِي الْاَرْضِ قِطَعٌ مُّتَجٰوِرٰتٌ … : ’’ قِطَعٌ ‘‘ ’’قِطْعَةٌ‘‘} is the plural, meaning pieces. {’’ مُتَجٰوِرٰتٌ ‘‘ ’’جِوَارٌ ‘‘} (neighborhood) is the active participle from the form "tafā‘ul," meaning all the land is not the same; some pieces are fertile, some are saline, some are soft, some are rocky, and all these plots are side by side. Now, in this same land, in some area, one kind of crop and fruit grows, in another, another kind, and in it are vineyards (and other fruit gardens) (see the conciseness of the Qur’an that by mentioning only grapes, the rest of the gardens are left to the listener’s understanding), and there are crops (which includes every crop), and there are two types of date palms ({’’ صِنْوَانٌ ‘‘ ’’صِنْوٌ‘‘} is the plural, and the dual is also the same; its original meaning is "like," as it is said: {’’عَمُّ الرَّجُلِ صِنْوُ أَبِيْهِ‘‘} meaning a man’s uncle is like his father. If the trunk of the date palm is single at the bottom and from above, several trunks emerge from it, then it is {’’ صِنْوَانٌ ‘‘}, and if it remains a single trunk, then it is {’’ غَيْرُ صِنْوَانٍ ‘‘}). The same applies to other such trees, which can be understood. All are irrigated with the same water, yet from the same land and the same water, some fruit is bitter, some sweet, some tasteless, some delicious, and some even more delightful. Then see, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: [ إِنَّ اللّٰهَ عَزَّوَجَلَّ خَلَقَ آدَمَ مِنْ قُبْضَةٍ قَبَضَهَا مِنْ جَمِيْعِ الْاَرْضِ فَجَاءَ بَنُوْ آدَمَ عَلٰي قَدْرِ الْأَرْضِ جَاءَ مِنْهُمُ الْأَبْيَضُ وَالْأَحْمَرُ وَالْأَسْوَدُ وَبَيْنَ ذٰلِكَ الْخَبِيْثُ وَالطَّيِّبُ وَالسَّهْلُ وَالْحَزْنُ وَبَيْنَ ذٰلِكَ ] [ مسند أحمد : 400/4، ح : ۱۹۶۰۱۔ ترمذی : ۲۹۵۵۔ أبوداوٗد : ۴۶۹۳، و صححہ الألبانی ] "To create Adam (peace be upon him), Allah Almighty took a handful from the entire surface of the earth (in which there was white, black, red of every color, and soft, hard, saline, fertile of every kind of soil), and the children of Adam are accordingly: some white, some red, some black, some in between, some wicked, some good, some soft, some hard, and some in between." From the same earth, the same water, the same father, and from his seed, countless diverse humans were created.

➋ { اِنَّ فِيْ ذٰلِكَ لَاٰيٰتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَّعْقِلُوْنَ :} It is evident that there is a master craftsman and a fully powerful manager by whose doing all this is happening; the Qur’an has mentioned these arguments at various places. For those who use reason, there are countless signs in this, and for those who do not use reason, there is no sign.

4. 1. Mutajawirat. Close and adjacent to each other, meaning one part of the land is lush and fertile, yielding abundant produce, while right next to it is barren land, in which nothing grows at all.

4. 2. Sunwan. One meaning is "joined together," and ghayr sunwan means "separated." Another meaning of sunwan is a tree that has many branches and trunks, like pomegranate, fig, and some date palms.

4. 3. That is, the land is the same, the water and air are also the same, but the fruits and grains are of different types, and their tastes and appearances are also different from each other.

4. And in the earth are neighboring tracts, and gardens of grapevines, and crops, and date palms—some growing from a single root and others from separate roots. They are all watered with the same water, yet We make some of them taste better [8] than others. Surely in these are signs for people who use reason.

[8]
Differences in Plants Despite Countless Similarities:

Among the astonishing powers of Allah Ta’ala is that fields are located in the same place. The same kind of seed is sown in them. The same water rains upon them or they are irrigated with the same kind of water. Yet, in one field, the crop produced is of the highest quality, while in the adjacent field, the crop is both less and inferior. Similarly, for example, there are two date palm trees, but their root is the same; above the ground, they have become two. Now, the same root draws water from the earth and keeps both trees fresh and provides them strength to bear fruit. Yet, the taste of the fruit of one tree is different from the other. The fruit of one is excellent, and the other’s is inferior. Have they ever thought about why this happens and which being is it that, despite so many similarities, still brings about differences in their fruits? Or, from the same piece of land, there are two trees: one is a date palm, the other is a neem tree. Both their roots are drawing water from the same piece of land. Sweetness is being filled in the fruit of the date palm, while bitterness is in the neem or bakain tree. That in this same piece of land, so much sweetness and, at the same time, so much bitterness exists that it can simultaneously provide both trees’ fruits with sweetness and bitterness? In short, if these people reflect on such matters, they can find countless proofs of the recognition of Allah.