477- Al-Muthannā narrated to me, he said: Isḥāq narrated to us, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Jaʿfar, from his father, from al-Rabīʿ ibn Anas: "[He] who made for you the earth a resting place," that is, a cradle.
The discourse regarding the Interpretation of His statement: {and the sky a canopy}
Abū Jaʿfar said: The sky was only named samāʾ (sky/heaven) because of its height above the earth and above its inhabitants among His creation; and whatever is above another thing is a samāʾ (canopy/sky) to what is beneath it. For that reason, the roof of a house is called a samāwa (1) because it is elevated above it. And for that reason, it is said: samā fulānun li-fulān (so-and-so rose toward so-and-so) when he towered over him and headed toward him elevated above him, just as al-Farazdaq said:
We rose (samawnā) toward Yemeni Najrān and its people,
While Najrān is a land whose rulers have not been humbled. (2)
And as Nābigha of Banū Dhubyān said:
A glance rose (samat) toward me, and I saw from it,
Beneath the curtain, her laying down the veil. (3)
He means by that: A glance rose before me and appeared. Likewise, the sky was called a samāʾ relative to the earth because of its height and elevation over it.
Notes
- (1) In the printed edition: "samāʾuhu" (its sky), and both are correct: samāʾ al-bayt (the roof/ceiling of the house) and samāwatuhu: its roof/ceiling.
- (2) His Dīwān: 735, and al-Naqāʾiḍ: 600. Najrān: a land in the administrative districts of Yemen from the direction of Mecca. He mentioned Najrān according to its wording and original meaning. Al-Najrān in the speech of the Arabs: the piece of wood around which the door latch turns. And dayyatha al-baʿīra: he tamed the camel somewhat until its refractory nature departed. Al-Maqāwil: plural of miqwal. Al-Miqwal and al-qayl: the king among the kings of Ḥimyar. He says: It is a land of mighty noble status; its kings never met oppression that would humiliate them and bend their heads.
- (3) His Dīwān: 86, and his narration is: "I scanned with a glance." His statement "ṣafaḥtu", i.e., I scanned the faces with a glance, or I cast a glance scanning. Al-Qirām: a thin curtain with embroidery and designs. Al-Khidr: wooden poles set up over the camel saddle covered with a cloth, which is the litter (hawdah). And waḍaʿa al-shayʾ: he put it down. Tuḥayta: diminutive of "taḥta" (underneath); he used the diminutive of "underneath" because he intended that the curtain of the litter, after placing the qirām, reveals nothing of her except a little. And this verse is connected to what precedes it and what follows it. Before it:
If only she, on the morning of departure, had bestowed a favor... when they had raised the litters above the tents,
I scanned with a glance...
Chest bones wherein the jewelry shines... like the embers of a fire scattered in the darkness.
This translation was produced with AI assistance and is part of an ongoing human-review process. Found a mistake? Use the feedback option in the reader menu.
