Surah 26

Surah 26:7

"Do they not look at the earth – how many (things) of every excellent kind We have caused to grow in it?"
The Tafsir of Surat Ash-Shu‘ara’ Verses 26:1-9
Show Full Scripture Context (26:1-9) — 9 Verses
Verse 1

طسٓمٓ

Ṭā’ Sīn Mīm.

Verse 2

تِلۡكَ ءَايَٰتُ ٱلۡكِتَٰبِ ٱلۡمُبِينِ

Those are the signs of the clear Book.

Verse 3

لَعَلَّكَ بَٰخِعٞ نَّفۡسَكَ أَلَّا يَكُونُواْ مُؤۡمِنِينَ

Perhaps you are going to destroy yourself because they do not believe.

Verse 4

إِن نَّشَأۡ نُنَزِّلۡ عَلَيۡهِم مِّنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ ءَايَةٗ فَظَلَّتۡ أَعۡنَٰقُهُمۡ لَهَا خَٰضِعِينَ

If We (so) please, We shall send down on them a sign from the sky, and their necks will stay bowed before it.

Verse 5

وَمَا يَأۡتِيهِم مِّن ذِكۡرٖ مِّنَ ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنِ مُحۡدَثٍ إِلَّا كَانُواْ عَنۡهُ مُعۡرِضِينَ

But no new reminder comes to them from the Merciful without their turning away from it.

Verse 6

فَقَدۡ كَذَّبُواْ فَسَيَأۡتِيهِمۡ أَنۢبَـٰٓؤُاْ مَا كَانُواْ بِهِۦ يَسۡتَهۡزِءُونَ

They have called (it) a lie, so the story of what they were mocking will come to them.

Verse 7

أَوَلَمۡ يَرَوۡاْ إِلَى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ كَمۡ أَنۢبَتۡنَا فِيهَا مِن كُلِّ زَوۡجٖ كَرِيمٍ

Do they not look at the earth – how many (things) of every excellent kind We have caused to grow in it?

Verse 8

إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَأٓيَةٗۖ وَمَا كَانَ أَكۡثَرُهُم مُّؤۡمِنِينَ

Surely in that is a sign indeed, but most of them are not believers.

Verse 9

وَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَهُوَ ٱلۡعَزِيزُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ

Surely your Lord – He indeed is the Mighty, the Compassionate.

{These are Ayat of the manifest Book.} meaning, the clear Book which makes things plain and explains realities, and makes known the unseen things.

{Perhaps , you would Bakhi' yourself, over their footsteps, because they believe not in this narration} (18:6).

Mujahid, Ikrimah, Qatadah, ‘Atiyyah, Ad-Dahhak, Al-Hasan and others said that:

Quoted Scripture
"It may be that you are going Bakhi' yourself"

means, ‘kill yourself.’
Then Allah says:

Quoted Scripture
"If We will, We could send down to them from the heaven a sign, to which they would bend their necks in humility."

meaning, ‘if We so willed, We could send down a sign that would force them to believe, but We will not do that because We do not want anyone to believe except by choice.’ Allah says:

{And had your Lord willed, those on earth would have believed, all of them together. So, will you then compel mankind, until they become believers.} (10:99)

{And if your Lord had so willed, He could surely, have made mankind one Ummah ...}(11:118)

But Allah’s will has acted, His decree has come to pass, and His proof has been conveyed to mankind by mission of Messengers and the revelation of Books to them. Then Allah says:

Quoted Scripture
"And never comes there unto them a Reminder as a recent revelation from the Most Gracious, but they turn away therefrom."

meaning, every time a Scripture comes from heaven to them, most of the people turn away from it. As Allah says:

{And most of mankind will not believe even if you desire it eagerly .} (12:103)

{Alas for mankind! There never came a Messenger to them but they used to mock at him.} (36:30)

{Then We sent Our Messengers in succession. Every time there came to a nation their Messenger, they denied him...} (23:44).

Allah says here:

Quoted Scripture
"So, they have indeed denied, then the news of what they mocked at will come to them."

meaning, they denied the truth that came to them, so they will come to know the news of the consequences of this denial after a while.

{And those who do wrong will come to know by what overturning they will be overturned} (26:227).

Then Allah tells those who dared to oppose His Messenger and disbelieve in His Book, that He is the Subduer, the Almighty, the All-Powerful, Who created the earth and caused every good kind of crop, fruit and animal to grow therein. Sufyan Ath-Thawri narrated from a man from Ash-Sha‘bi that people are a product of the earth. So whoever enters Paradise is good and noble, and whoever enters Hell is base and vile.

{Verily, in this is an Ayah,} meaning an evidence of the power of the Creator of all things. He spread out the earth and raised the canopy of the heavens, yet despite that the majority of people do not believe, rather they deny Him, His Messengers, and His Books, and they go against His commands doing the things He had prohibited.

His saying:

Quoted Scripture
"And verily your Lord, He is truly the All-Mighty,"

means, the One Who has power over all things, to subdue and control them,

Quoted Scripture
"the Most Merciful."

means, towards His creation, for He does not hasten to punish the one who sins, but He gives him time to repent, and if he does not, then He seizes him with a mighty punishment. Abu Al-‘Aliyah, Qatadah, Ar-Rabi‘ bin Anas and Ibn Ishaq said: “He is Almighty in His punishment of those who went against His commands and worshipped others besides Him.” Said bin Jubayr said: “He is Most Merciful towards those who repent to Him and turn to Him.”

About this Source & Scholarly Authority (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

Universal Sunni Consensus: Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim by Hafiz Ibn Kathir (701–774 AH / 1301–1373 AD) is universally regarded across all major schools of Sunni Islam (traditional, Salafi, Ash'ari) as the most authoritative classical exegesis. It is prized because it relies on Tafsir bil-Ma'thur—interpreting the Quran using the Quran itself, authentic Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad, and recorded statements of the early Companions (Sahabah).

Standard English Edition: This text is from the standard 10-volume English abridgment published by Dar-us-Salam Publications (supervised by Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri), which is the official, most widely distributed English Quranic commentary in mosques and Islamic libraries worldwide today.