ٱلَّذِی جَعَلَ لَكُمُ ٱلۡأَرۡضَ فِرَ ٰشࣰا وَٱلسَّمَاۤءَ بِنَاۤءࣰ وَأَنزَلَ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَاۤءِ مَاۤءࣰ فَأَخۡرَجَ بِهِۦ مِنَ ٱلثَّمَرَ ٰتِ رِزۡقࣰا لَّكُمۡۖ فَلَا تَجۡعَلُوا۟ لِلَّهِ أَندَادࣰا وَأَنتُمۡ تَعۡلَمُونَ
وقَوْلُهُ تَعالى: ﴿الَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمُ الأرْضَ فِراشًا﴾ يَعْنِي واللَّهُ أعْلَمُ قَرارًا، والإطْلاقُ لا يَتَناوَلُها، وإنَّما يُسَمّى بِهِ مُقَيَّدًا، كَقَوْلِهِ تَعالى: ﴿والجِبالَ أوْتادًا﴾ [النبإ: ٧] وإطْلاقُ اسْمِ الأوْتادِ لا يُفِيدُ الجِبالَ، وقَوْلُهُ: ﴿الشَّمْسَ سِراجًا﴾ [نوح: ١٦] ولِذَلِكَ قالَ الفُقَهاءُ: إنَّ مَن حَلَفَ لا يَنامُ عَلى فِراشٍ فَنامَ عَلى الأرْضِ لا يَحْنَثُ، وكَذَلِكَ لَوْ حَلَفَ لا يَقْعُدُ في سِراجٍ فَقَعَدَ في الشَّمْسِ؛ لِأنَّ الأيْمانَ مَحْمُولَةٌ عَلى المُعْتادِ المُتَعارَفِ مِنَ الأسْماءِ.
And His, the Exalted’s, statement: {Who made for you the earth a bed} means, and Allah knows best, a place of settlement. And the absolute term does not encompass it, but rather it is named so in a restricted sense, like His, the Exalted’s, statement: {And the mountains as pegs} [An-Naba: 7], and the absolute use of the name ‘pegs’ does not denote mountains, and His statement: {the sun a lamp} [Nuh: 16]. For that reason, the jurists have said: that whoever swears not to sleep on a ‘firāsh’ (bed) and then sleeps on the earth does not break his oath, and likewise if he were to swear not to sit in a ‘sirāj’ (lamp) and he sat in the sun; because oaths are interpreted according to the customary and commonly known meanings of the names.
ولَيْسَ في العادَةِ إطْلاقُ هَذا الِاسْمِ لِلْأرْضِ والشَّمْسِ.
And it is not in the custom to apply this name absolutely to the earth and the sun.
وهَذا كَما سَمّى اللَّهُ تَعالى الجاحِدُ لَهُ كافِرًا، وسَمّى الزّارِعَ كافِرًا، والشّاكِ السِّلاحَ كافِرًا، ولا يَتَناوَلُهُما هَذا الِاسْمُ في الإطْلاقِ، وإنَّما يَتَناوَلُ الكافِرَ بِاللَّهِ تَعالى، ونَظائِرُ ذَلِكَ مِنَ الأسْماءِ المُطْلَقَةِ والمُقَيَّدَةِ كَثِيرَةٌ، ويَجِبُ اعْتِبارُها في كَثِيرٍ مِنَ الأحْكامِ، فَما كانَ في العادَةِ مُطْلَقًا فُهِمَ عَلى إطْلاقِهِ، والمُقَيَّدُ فِيها عَلى تَقْيِيدِهِ، ولا يَتَجاوَزُ بِهِ مَوْضِعَهُ.
And this is like how Allah the Exalted named the one who denies Him a ‘kāfir’ (disbeliever), and He named the farmer a ‘kāfir’, and the one girded in armor a ‘kāfir’, yet this name, in its absolute usage, does not encompass these two, but rather it encompasses the one who disbelieves in Allah the Exalted. And the likes of that, of absolute and restricted names, are numerous, and it is necessary to consider them in many of the rulings. So what is absolute in custom is understood in its absolute sense, and what is restricted therein is understood in its restricted sense, and one does not go beyond its place with it.
وفِي هَذِهِ الآيَةِ دَلالَةٌ عَلى تَوْحِيدِ اللَّهِ تَعالى، وإثْباتِ الصّانِعِ الَّذِي لا يُشْبِهُهُ شَيْءٌ، القادِرِ الَّذِي لا يُعْجِزُهُ شَيْءٌ، وهو ارْتِفاعُ السَّماءِ ووُقُوفُها بِغَيْرِ عَمَدٍ، ثُمَّ دَوامُها عَلى طُولِ الدَّهْرِ غَيْرَ مُتَزايِلَةٍ ولا مُتَغَيِّرَةٍ، كَما قالَ تَعالى: ﴿وجَعَلْنا السَّماءَ سَقْفًا مَحْفُوظًا﴾ [الأنبياء: ٣٢] وكَذَلِكَ ثَباتُ الأرْضِ ووُقُوفُها عَلى غَيْرِ سَنَدٍ فِيهِ أعْظَمُ الدَّلالَةِ عَلى التَّوْحِيدِ وعَلى قُدْرَةِ خالِقِها، وأنَّهُ لا يُعْجِزُهُ شَيْءٌ، وفِيها تَنْبِيهٌ وحَثٌّ عَلى الِاسْتِدْلالِ بِها عَلى اللَّهِ وتَذْكِيرٌ بِالنِّعْمَةِ.
And in this verse is a proof for the Oneness of Allah the Exalted (Tawḥīd), and an affirmation of the Maker whom nothing resembles, the All-Powerful whom nothing renders incapable, which is the raising of the sky and its standing without pillars, then its permanence throughout the ages, neither ceasing nor changing, as Allah the Exalted said: {And We made the sky a protected ceiling} [Al-Anbiya: 32]. And likewise, the stability of the earth and its standing without any support, in it is the greatest proof for Tawḥīd and for the power of its Creator, and that nothing renders Him incapable. And in it is an alert and an encouragement to use it as evidence for Allah, and a reminder of the blessing.
وقَوْلُهُ تَعالى: ﴿فَأخْرَجَ بِهِ مِنَ الثَّمَراتِ رِزْقًا لَكُمْ﴾ نَظِيرُ قَوْلِهِ: ﴿هُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ لَكم ما في الأرْضِ جَمِيعًا﴾ [البقرة: ٢٩] وقَوْلِهِ: ﴿وسَخَّرَ لَكم ما في السَّماواتِ وما في الأرْضِ﴾ [الجاثية: ١٣] وقَوْلِهِ: ﴿قُلْ مَن حَرَّمَ زِينَةَ اللَّهِ الَّتِي أخْرَجَ لِعِبادِهِ والطَّيِّباتِ مِنَ الرِّزْقِ﴾ [الأعراف: ٣٢] يُحْتَجُّ بِجَمِيعِ ذَلِكَ في أنَّ الأشْياءَ عَلى الإباحَةِ مِمّا لا يَحْظُرُهُ العَقْلُ، فَلا يَحْرُمُ مِنهُ شَيْءٌ إلّا ما قامَ دَلِيلُهُ.
And His, the Exalted’s, statement: {and brought forth thereby some of the fruits as provision for you} is analogous to His statement: {It is He who created for you all that is on earth} [Al-Baqarah: 29], and His statement: {And He has subjected to you whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth} [Al-Jathiyah: 13], and His statement: {Say, “Who has forbidden the adornment of Allah which He has produced for His servants and the good things of provision?”} [Al-A’raf: 32]. All of that is used as an argument that things are, by principle, permissible (ibāḥah), from that which the intellect does not forbid, so nothing of it is forbidden except that for which there is established proof.