Qaf · Makki · ayah 7 of 45

Qaf 50:7

وَٱلْأَرْضَ مَدَدْنَـٰهَا وَأَلْقَيْنَا فِيهَا رَوَٰسِىَ وَأَنۢبَتْنَا فِيهَا مِن كُلِّ زَوْجٍۭ بَهِيجٍ

“And the earth - We spread it out and cast therein firmly set mountains and made grow therein [something] of every beautiful kind,”

Saheeh International

Essence

The earth of 15:19 almost word for word, ending here in delight rather than measure for listeners who had lost hope of return.

A reflection

A meadow nobody arranged or priced

A florist spends an hour on a bouquet, and the price tag says so. On the drive home you pass a motorway verge in June. It is thick with poppies and daisies that nobody planted, arranged or priced.

Wa-anbatnā fīhā min kulli zawjin bahīj: and We caused every delightful kind to grow in it. Bahīj is fresh, bright beauty. The lexicons picture a meadow after rain, so bright the whole field seems to laugh.

The ego likes to think beauty is something we curate and sell. This ayah signs the earth's whole garden with 'We', and charges nothing. He does not need our admiration (35:15). The delight is simply handed over. The humbling part is noticing how much of what gladdens us we never made.

The full entry has 2 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.