Surah Adh-Dhariyat Ayah 23

51:23 — Visual Explanation

فَوَرَبِّ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ إِنَّهُ لَحَقٌّ مِّثْلَ مَا أَنَّكُمْ تَنطِقُونَ

“Therefore, I swear by the Rabb (master) of the sky and the earth, it is no doubt an absolutely truth, just like you speak”.

An oath by the Rabb of the sky and the earth

وَرَبِّ “By the Rabb (Master)” is an oath which Allah is swearing by Himself which is not a common form of oath in the Qur’an. It is much more common for Allah to swear by objects and creations like at the beginning of this Surah. Allah swearing by Himself adds weight to this oath.

Between earth and sky — we are placed in the middle

Human beings are partly from the earth and partly from the sky. The body has come from the earth (Turaab – “Dirt”) and the Ruh has come from the sky. Allah mentions the earth, then ourselves and then the sky — placing us between them.

Earth

وَفِي الْأَرْضِ آيَاتٌ لِّلْمُوقِنِينَ

“In the earth there are Aayaat for those who want to attain certainty”.

Selves

وَفِي أَنفُسِكُمْ ۚ أَفَلَا تُبْصِرُونَ

“And in your own selves. Will you not then see?”

Sky

وَفِي السَّمَاءِ رِزْقُكُمْ وَمَا تُوعَدُونَ

“And in the sky is your Rizq (provision) and what you have been promised or threatened”.

Allah ties all of that together and then says: “I swear by the Master of the sky and the earth, it is no doubt an absolutely truth”.

What is “absolutely true” in the ayah?

Scholars mentioned it may refer to one or more of the following:

From “Saadiq” to “Haqq”

Before Allah used the word صَادِق (Saadiq) to refer to the truth and here He uses حَقّ (Haqq) which in addition to “truth” it can also mean “purpose” and a “due right (i.e., something that is deserved)”. It can therefore imply that Judgement Day is “justified” and not just “real”.

“As clear as you speak” — a system that binds

إِنَّهُ لَحَقٌّ مِّثْلَ مَا أَنَّكُمْ تَنطِقُونَ — تَنطِقُونَ (Tantiqoona) comes from نَطَقَ (Nataqa) which means “to speak clearly or articulate”.

Root and image

The word نِطاق (Nitaaq), sharing the letters ن ط ق, refers to anything by which one’s middle waist is bound or fastened like a belt or girdle.

Bound systems

The skies and earth are bound together in a system; the speech Allah gave us is bound by a system of letters and words pulled together.

Speech as a divine sign

Our ability to speak sets us apart from every other species and enables complex and abstract communication. From a spiritual perspective, Allah informed us:

وَعَلَّمَ آدَمَ الْأَسْمَاءَ كُلَّهَا

“And He taught Aadam the names, all of them” (Al-Baqarah: 30)

خَلَقَ الْإِنْسَانَ (3) عَلَّمَهُ الْبَيَانَ

“He created the human. And He taught him Al-Bayaan (clear speech or communication” (Ar-Rahman: 3-4)

The One who gave the human being the ability of speech is also the One who is giving him this speech (i.e., the Qur’an).

Section one (up to Ayah 23) — structure at a glance

Part 1

Allah provides so many reasons for us to believe and demonstrated people that have the wrong kind of thinking:

قُتِلَ الْخَرَّاصُونَ (10) الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي غَمْرَةٍ سَاهُونَ (11) يَسْأَلُونَ أَيَّانَ يَوْمُ الدِّينِ

“May those who habitually lie (or make things up) be destroyed. Those who are in a flood of heedlessness. They ask you when is the Day of Judgement”.

Part 2

The middle part contrasts the consequences: One is being tested and punished upon the fire and the other is in gardens and springs.

Part 3

The last part starts with the earth and ties everything before together — informing us there are enough Aayaat in the earth; the sky has our Rizq and warning; and that it is absolutely true — for the مُوْقِنين (Mooqineen) “Those who seek to be convinced”.

The irony of misused speech

Allah gave us the miraculous gift and sign of speech, yet the last speech that the deniers stated before this in this Surah was:

يَسْأَلُونَ أَيَّانَ يَوْمُ الدِّينِ

“They ask: ‘When is the Day of Judgement?’” They did not appreciate Allah’s gift and abused it to ask what does not benefit them — using the tongue to defy Allah.