Tafseer of The Cattle · Al-An'aam · 6:99
And it is He who sends down rain from the sky, and We produce thereby the growth of all things. We produce from it greenery from which We produce grains arranged in layers. And from the palm trees - of its emerging fruit are clusters hanging low. And [We produce] gardens of grapevines and olives and pomegranates, similar yet varied. Look at [each of] its fruit when it yields and [at] its ripening. Indeed in that are signs for a people who believe.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The discourse on the explanation of His statement: وَهُوَ الَّذِي أَنْزَلَ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً فَأَخْرَجْنَا بِهِ نَبَاتَ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ فَأَخْرَجْنَا مِنْهُ خَضِرًا نُخْرِجُ مِنْهُ حَبًّا مُتَرَاكِبًا (And it is He Who sent down water from the sky, and with it We brought forth the vegetation of everything, and from it We brought forth green, from which We bring forth clustered grains.) (6:99)
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, Whose mention is exalted, says: And Allah, to Whom worship belongs purely, without any partner alongside Him in any respect whatsoever — He is the God Who sent down water from the sky = "and with it We brought forth the vegetation of everything," that is to say: With the water which We sent down from the sky We brought forth the sustenance of the livestock, the beasts of burden, the fowl and the wild game, as well as the provisions and the livelihood of the children of Adam, that with which they nourish themselves and which they eat, by which they thrive and grow. The meaning of His statement "and with it We brought forth the vegetation of everything" is: With it We brought forth that by which everything sprouts, upon which it grows, and by which it comes to full development.
If one were to say that the meaning is: "and with it We brought forth the crops of all kinds of plants," so that "everything" would refer to the various kinds of crops — then that would be an acceptable interpretation, even though the correct view is the one first mentioned.
And His statement: "and from it We brought forth green," means: "and from it We brought forth," that is to say: from the water which We sent down from the sky = "green," namely the fresh, juicy part of the crop.
"Al-khaḍir" is the same as "al-akhḍar" (the green), as in the saying of the Arabs: "Show me a cloud with black-and-white speckles (namira), and I will show you a rain cloud (maṭira)." One says: "khaḍirat al-arḍ khaḍaran wa-khaḍāratan" (the earth became green). And "al-khaḍir" is the fresh of the vegetables. One also says: "nakhla khaḍīra" (a green date palm), when it lets its unripe dates fall green before they are ripe. And "ikhtuḍira al-rajul" and "ughtuḍira" is said when someone dies young and in robust health. And one says: "huwa laka khaḍiran maḍiran," that is to say: palatable and pleasing.
His statement: "from which We bring forth clustered grains," means: We bring forth from the green grains = that is to say: that which is in the ear, the ear of the wheat, the barley, the rice and the like of these, of ears whose grains are stacked one upon another.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the community of the exegetes spoke.
Mention of who said that:
13661 — Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to me, saying: Aḥmad ibn Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning His statement: "from it green, from which We bring forth clustered grains" — that is the ear.
The discourse on the explanation of His statement: وَمِنَ النَّخْلِ مِنْ طَلْعِهَا قِنْوَانٌ دَانِيَةٌ (And from the date palm, from its spathe, low-hanging clusters of dates.)
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, Whose mention is exalted, says: And from the date palm, from its spathe, come forth its low-hanging clusters of dates = and that is why "al-qinwān" has been put in the nominative.
And "al-qinwān" is the plural of "qinw," just as "al-ṣinwān" is the plural of "ṣinw"; it is the date cluster (al-ʿidhq). For the singular one says "qinw," "qunw" and "qanā"; in the dual "qinwān," and in the plural "qinwān" and "qunwān." For the small plural they say: "thalāthat aqnāʾ" (three clusters). And "al-qinwān" belongs to the language of the Ḥijāz, and "al-qunwān" to the language of Qays. Imruʾ al-Qays said:
"And its tops became luxuriant, and the roots bent low, and it inclined with date clusters of red, unripe dates."
And "qinyān" likewise. Another said:
"It has a tail like the date cluster (al-qinw), which had become slack, and like a black one, after striking, ready for swishing [of the tail]."
And Tamīm says: "qunyān" with the yāʾ.
By His statement "low-hanging" He means: near, drooping down.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the exegetes spoke.
Mention of who said that:
13662 — Al-Muthannā related to us, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya ibn Ṣāliḥ related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: "low-hanging clusters of dates," that is to say, by "the low-hanging clusters of dates" the short date palms, whose clusters touch the earth.
13663 — Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His statement: "from its spathe low-hanging clusters of dates," he said: drooping clusters of dates.
13664 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda: "low-hanging clusters of dates," he says: drooping.
13665 — Hannād related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us; and Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of al-Barāʾ, concerning His statement: "low-hanging clusters of dates," he said: near.
13666 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: al-Thawrī informed us, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of al-Barāʾ ibn ʿĀzib: "low-hanging clusters of dates," he said: near.
13667 — Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His statement: "and from the date palm, from its spathe, low-hanging clusters of dates," he said: "the low-hanging" indicates the drooping of the clusters from the spathe.
13668 — It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Faraj, saying: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd ibn Sulaymān related to us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His statement: "and from the date palm, from its spathe, low-hanging clusters of dates," that is to say: the short date palms that touch the earth, and "al-qinwān" is its spathe.
The discourse on the explanation of His statement: وَجَنَّاتٍ مِنْ أَعْنَابٍ وَالزَّيْتُونَ وَالرُّمَّانَ مُشْتَبِهًا وَغَيْرَ مُتَشَابِهٍ (And gardens of grapes, and the olive and the pomegranate, resembling one another and not resembling one another.)
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, Whose mention is exalted, says: And We also brought forth gardens of grapes = that is to say: orchards of grapes.
The reciters differed concerning the recitation of this.
Most of the reciters read it: (wa-jannātin) in the accusative, except that the "tāʾ" was pronounced with a kasra, because it is the "tāʾ" of the feminine plural, and that is written with a kasra in the position of the accusative.
And indeed:
13669 — Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Qāsim ibn Sallām related to us, on the authority of al-Kisāʾī, saying: Ḥamza informed us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, that he read: (wa-jannātun min aʿnābin).
= in the nominative; he put "jannāt" in the nominative because in its inflection it follows "al-qinwān," even though it does not belong to the same kind, as the poet said:
"And I saw your husband in the thick of battle, girded with a sword and a spear."
Abū Jaʿfar said: And the recitation which I do not permit one to read otherwise than thus, is the accusative: (wa-jannātin min aʿnābin), because of the agreement of the authority of the reciters concerning its correctness and the reading of it, their rejection of everything else, and the remoteness of the correct meaning when it is read in the nominative.
And His statement: "and the olive and the pomegranate" is an adjoining of "the olive" to "the gardens," in the meaning: and We brought forth the olive and the pomegranate, resembling one another and not resembling one another.
Qatāda used to say concerning the meaning of "resembling one another and not resembling one another," that which:
13670 — Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His statement: "and gardens of grapes, and the olive and the pomegranate, resembling one another and not resembling one another," he said: resembling in their leaves, differing in their fruit.
And it is permissible that what is meant by this is: resembling one another in form, differing in taste.
Abū Jaʿfar said: And the meaning of the word is: and the trees of the olive and the pomegranate, where the mention of the fruit was deemed sufficient in place of the mention of "the tree," as it is said: وَاسْأَلِ الْقَرْيَةَ (And ask the town) [Sūrat Yūsuf: 82], where the mention of "the town" was deemed sufficient in place of the mention of "its inhabitants," because those addressed knew the meaning intended by it.
The discourse on the explanation of His statement: انْظُرُوا إِلَى ثَمَرِهِ إِذَا أَثْمَرَ وَيَنْعِهِ (Look at its fruit when it bears fruit, and at the ripening of it.)
Abū Jaʿfar said: The reciters differed concerning the recitation of this.
Most of the reciters of the people of Medina and some of the people of Basra read it: (unẓurū ilā thamarihi) with a fatḥa on the "thāʾ" and the "mīm."
And some of the reciters of the people of Mecca and most of the reciters of Kūfa read it: (ilā thumurihi) with a ḍamma on the "thāʾ" and the "mīm."
= It is as though the one who read the "thāʾ" and the "mīm" in this with a fatḥa understood the meaning of the word as: look at the fruit of these trees which we have mentioned — the date palm, the grapes, the olive and the pomegranate — when it bears fruit = and that "al-thamar" is the plural of "thamara," just as "al-qaṣab" is the plural of "qaṣaba," and "al-khashab" the plural of "khashaba."
= And it is as though the one who read the "thāʾ" and the "mīm" with a ḍamma understood that as the plural of "thimār," just as "al-ḥumur" is the plural of "ḥimār," and "al-jurub" the plural of "jirāb." And indeed:
13671 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Ḥammād related to us, on the authority of Ibn Idrīs, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Yaḥyā ibn Waththāb: that he read: (ilā thumurihi), he says: those are the various kinds of property.
13672 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Ḥammād related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn ʿUbayd Allāh related to us, on the authority of Qays ibn Saʿd, on the authority of Mujāhid, he said: "al-thumur" is property = and "al-thamar" is the fruit of the date palm.
And the more correct of the two recitations in this, in my judgment, is the recitation of the one who read: (unẓurū ilā thumurihi) with a ḍamma on the "thāʾ" and the "mīm," because Allah — praised be His praise — has described various kinds of property, as Yaḥyā ibn Waththāb said, and likewise are the clustered grains of the crop, the low-hanging date clusters of the date palm, and the gardens of grapes, olives and pomegranates; all of that was kinds of fruit. Thus "al-thamara" became the plural "thamar," then "al-thamar" became the plural "thimār," and after that that was again made into a plural, so that it was said: (unẓurū ilā thumurihi), and that was the plural of "al-thimār," and "al-thimār" is the plural of "al-thamar" = and "ithmāruhu" is the forming of the fruit.
As for His statement "and at the ripening of it" (waynʿihi): that is the ripening of it and its coming to full development when it reaches its ripeness.
Some scholars of the Arabic language among the people of Basra said concerning "yanʿihi," when the yāʾ is pronounced with a fatḥa, that it is the plural of "yāniʿ" (ripe), just as "al-tajr" is the plural of "tājir" (trader), and "al-ṣaḥb" the plural of "ṣāḥib" (companion).
And some people of Kūfa rejected that and held that it is a verbal noun (maṣdar) from their saying: "yanaʿa al-thamaru fa-huwa yaynaʿu yanʿan" (the fruit ripened, and it is ripening, with a ripening). And three linguistic forms are related from the Arabs for the maṣdar: "yanʿ," "yunʿ" and "yanaʿ," and likewise with "al-naḍj": "al-nuḍj" and "al-naḍaj."
As for the recitation of the one who read it: (wa-yāniʿihi), by it one means: and the ripe of it, and that which has come to full development of it.
And it is possible that in its maṣdar there also occurs "yunūʿan," and from the Arabs has been heard: "aynaʿat al-thamaratu tūniʿu īnāʿan" (the fruit ripened, it ripens, with a ripening). And among the language of those who said "yanaʿa" is the saying of the poet:
"In domes by a royal manor, around which the olives had already ripened."
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the exegetes spoke.
Mention of who said that:
13763 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya ibn Ṣāliḥ related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: "and at the ripening of it," that is to say: when it is ripe.
13674 — Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His statement: "look at its fruit when it bears fruit, and at the ripening of it," he said: "the ripening of it" is the ripening of it.
13675 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: "look at its fruit when it bears fruit, and at the ripening of it," that is to say the ripening of it.
13676 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His statement: "and at the ripening of it," he said: the ripening of it.
13677 — Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to me, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "and at the ripening of it," he says: and the ripening of it.
13678 — It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Faraj, saying: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd ibn Sulaymān related to us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His statement: "and at the ripening of it," he said: that is to say the ripening of it.
13679 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, saying: Ibn ʿAbbās said: "and at the ripening of it," he said: the ripening of it.
The discourse on the explanation of His statement: إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكُمْ لآيَاتٍ لِقَوْمٍ يُؤْمِنُونَ (Verily, in that are signs for a people who believe.) (6:99)
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, Whose mention is exalted, says: Verily, in Allah's sending down of the water from the sky, with which He brought forth the vegetation of everything, and the green from which He brought forth the clustered grains, and all the rest that He has enumerated in this verse of the kinds of His creation = "are signs," He says: in that, O people, when you look at its fruit at the forming of the fruit, and at the ripening and completion of it, and you observe the change of its states and its development in its increase and growth, then you know that it has a Governor the like of Whom there is nothing, and that worship belongs to none but Him, to the exclusion of the [false] gods and the equals — in that were proofs, a demonstration and a clarification = "for a people who believe," He says: for a people who hold true the oneness of Allah and His power over what He wills.
And the Exalted, Whose mention is exalted, has directed this in particular to the people who believe, because it is they who benefit from the proofs of Allah and who take a lesson from them, in contrast to the one upon whose heart Allah has placed a seal, so that he distinguishes no truth from falsehood, and discerns no guidance from error.
