Tafseer of The Morning Star · At-Taariq · 86:11
By the sky which returns [rain]
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 statement concerning the interpretation of the saying of the Exalted: وَالسَّمَاءِ ذَاتِ الرَّجْعِ (By the heaven of the return) (11).
The Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says: وَالسَّمَاءِ ذَاتِ الرَّجْعِ (By the heaven of the return) — which returns each year with the clouds and the provisions of the servants. Of this is also the saying of al-Mutanakhkhil, describing a sword:
"White as al-rajʿ (the rain / the returning water), penetrating deeply when it descends into the thick of battle, where it mows down." (3)
In accordance with what we have said, the people of interpretation have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Khuṣayf, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: وَالسَّمَاءِ ذَاتِ الرَّجْعِ — he said: the clouds in which is the rain.
ʿAlī ibn Sahl related to us, saying: Muʾammal related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Khuṣayf, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās concerning His saying: وَالسَّمَاءِ ذَاتِ الرَّجْعِ — he said: which contains clouds in which is the rain.
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: وَالسَّمَاءِ ذَاتِ الرَّجْعِ — by al-rajʿ He means: the rainfall and the provision, each year.
Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Abū Rajāʾ, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning His saying: وَالسَّمَاءِ ذَاتِ الرَّجْعِ — he said: it returns each year with the provisions of the people. Abū Rajāʾ said: ʿIkrima was asked about it and he said: it returns with the rain.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, His saying: ذَاتِ الرَّجْعِ — he said: the cloud that rains, and then returns with the rain.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, His saying: وَالسَّمَاءِ ذَاتِ الرَّجْعِ — he said: it returns each year with the provisions of the servants; were it not so, they would perish and their livestock would perish.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, His saying: وَالسَّمَاءِ ذَاتِ الرَّجْعِ — he said: it returns each year with the rain.
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd related to us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His saying: وَالسَّمَاءِ ذَاتِ الرَّجْعِ — he means: the rain.
Others said: by it is meant that its sun and its moon set and rise.
* Mention of who said that:
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His saying: وَالسَّمَاءِ ذَاتِ الرَّجْعِ — he said: its sun and its moon and its stars come from here.
