The benefits of the saying of Allah the Exalted: “He knows what enters the earth and what comes out of it, and what descends from the sky and what ascends in it”
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
And among the benefits of this noble verse is that one of the rhetorical styles is generalization followed by detail, as in His saying: to the end of it. The benefit of this rhetorical method is that when a matter is presented in a general way, souls yearn for its detail. So when the detail comes, it reaches souls that are looking forward to it. When the detail reaches souls that are looking forward to it, it has a greater impact on the soul and is more firmly established in the heart, is that not so? If I were to say to you: “Something great happened yesterday,” you would not know. If I said: “At one o’clock in the night yesterday, a great matter happened,” you would not know. What would you do? You would look for it, you would yearn to know what this great thing is. But if I were to say to you: “For example, yesterday a star was thrown and it shone with a great light,” in any case you would accept this news, but it would not be like the first case, because you would say, “And what is this great thing?” …… A great thing, and what is this thing? …… And what is this thing, until it reaches your heart, and you have looked at it many times. Yes.
And among the benefits of this noble verse is the perfection of Allah’s (Glorified and Exalted is He) disposition over His creations: this enters, this goes in, this descends, and this ascends[Saba 34:2].
And among its benefits, which is a rhetorical benefit, is beginning with what is closest to the human being, even if something else is more noble than it. Because you will speak about what enters the earth and what comes out of it before you speak about what descends from the sky and what ascends in it. Now, this benefit is based on the assumption that the sky is more noble than the earth. Is this accepted? Do not rush. Is it accepted that the sky is more noble than the earth, or that the earth is more noble than the sky? Yes, there is disagreement among the scholars on this, and there is much debate. Some hold that the sky is more noble, saying that if the sky had nothing in it but the nearest angels, and it is the direction of height, and Allah the Mighty and Majestic is above it. And some hold that the earth is more noble, saying: because the best of the creations were created from it, namely the prophets and messengers, so it is more noble. And this dispute, although it is a dispute that may be said to be among the superfluous matters of knowledge, in any case, at first glance, a person sees that the sky is more noble than the earth. But the earth was mentioned here because it is closer to us and we know more about it. Good.
The All-Aware, He knows
الخبير * يعلمAnd among the benefits of this noble verse is the perfection of Allah’s (Glorified and Exalted is He) disposition over His creations: this enters, this goes in, this descends, and this ascends
He knows what penetrates into the earth and what emerges from it and what descends from the heaven and what ascends therein
يَعْلَمُ مَا يَلِجُ فِي الأَرْضِ وَمَا يَخْرُجُ مِنْهَا وَمَا يَنزِلُ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ وَمَا يَعْرُجُ فِيهَاAnd among its benefits, which is a rhetorical benefit, is beginning with what is closest to the human being, even if something else is more noble than it. Because you will speak about what enters the earth and what comes out of it before you speak about what descends from the sky and what ascends in it. Now, this benefit is based on the assumption that the sky is more noble than the earth. Is this accepted? Do not rush. Is it accepted that the sky is more noble than the earth, or that the earth is more noble than the sky? Yes, there is disagreement among the scholars on this, and there is much debate. Some hold that the sky is more noble, saying that if the sky had nothing in it but the nearest angels, and it is the direction of height, and Allah the Mighty and Majestic is above it. And some hold that the earth is more noble, saying: because the best of the creations were created from it, namely the prophets and messengers, so it is more noble. And this dispute, although it is a dispute that may be said to be among the superfluous matters of knowledge, in any case, at first glance, a person sees that the sky is more noble than the earth. But the earth was mentioned here because it is closer to us and we know more about it. Good.