Earth placed down

وَالْأَرْضَ وَضَعَهَا لِلْأَنَامِ

“And the earth, he placed it down for (all) the Anaam (creatures)”.

Approach to knowing Ar-Rahman

1

Through what Allah informs us in the Qur’an

Utilising the Bayaan that He taught us.

2

By observing the balance and scale

The Al-Meezaan of the universe and establishing balance in our own lives.

3

The path addressed in Ayaat 10–12

This ayah (55:10) is within that addressed span.

Language points and insights

Contrast in action

وَضَعَ vs رَفَعَ

Allah states that He وَضَعَ “placed down” the الْأَرْضَ “earth”, which contrasts with the previous verse about السَّمَاءَ “the sky” that He رَفَعَ “raised up”.

  • Sky: raised up.
  • Earth: placed down.
Purpose for creation

وَضَعَهَا لِلْأَنَامِ

“He placed it (i.e., the earth) down” لِلْأَنَامِ “for all living creatures” implies benefit:

  • A place to settle comfortably upon and build upon.
  • To plant and grow upon.
  • To travel upon.
Scope of الأَنَام

All living creatures

Includes primarily humans, then all animal life, and is said to also include Jinn because of the context of this Surah which addresses both humans and Jinn.

Lexical uniqueness

الأَنَام as a collective plural

The word is a collective plural and has no singular form. Unlike productive roots that yield multiple verb forms, adjectives, and verbal nouns, the root أنم yields only الأَنَام. It stands as a unique, standalone noun with no morphological family.

Habitat statement

A livable and sustainable earth

Allah is saying here that the earth was made a place where all manner of species of living things can find a liveable and sustainable habitat.