The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 1) — Page 67
PT. 1 AL-BAQARAH means, a building; a structure; a thing that is built or constructed; also the roof or ceiling of a house or of a chamber or the like (Lane). CH. 2 (a roof) is derived from made possible ultimately by the meaning, he built; he constructed. So nature and influence of the heavens and the earth. So human actions can be guided aright only by a Being Who has made the heavens and the earth. It is only He Who can harness them for the use of man. None else has such knowledge, power or authority. So man should worship God alone. ند (fruits) is the plural of meaning, a fruit. The word is derived from the verb which means, the fruit became ripe. means, the tree, etc. produced fruit. The word is also used figuratively, meaning, son or offspring; or profit of a thing (Tāj). (equals) is the plural of which means, the like of a person or thing; or the like of a thing by participation of substance. It is a more specialised term than which signifies alike by participation of anything. The word & also means, a thing which does or may supply the place of another thing; or a like that is contrary or opposed to another thing; a thing taken as an object of worship instead of the true God (Lane). is to be distinguished from ; for whereas & is the like of a thing, being contrary or opposed to it, is simply a participant that shares the attributes or work of a thing (Aqrab under Commentary: and ∞) The subject matter of the last verse has been completed in this. It was said in that verse that ✓✓ should be worshipped because He is the Creator and He alone can foster man's powers. In the present verse it is said that not only man but the heavens and the earth also have been created by God. It is evident that human actions depend upon environment. Trade, agriculture, industry, travel, etc. are 67 source of The expression, and Who made the heaven a roof, suggests that just as a building or a roof is a protection for those living in or under it, similarly the remoter parts of the universe are a protection for our planet; and those who have studied the science of the stars, the clouds and other atmospheric phenomena know how the other heavenly bodies, running their courses through the boundless expanse rising high above the earth on all sides, make for its safety and stability. In the clause, caused water to come down from the clouds, the word slow has been used in the sense of "cloud", whereas in the preceding clause, and Who made the heaven a roof, it signifies "heaven". Had it meant the same thing in the two places, it would have been replaced in the second place by a pronoun. The repetition of the word is intended to convey a difference of meaning in the second place. After making it clear that everything in this world is the creation of God, attention is drawn to the fact that God has no equal. There is nothing in the whole universe which can show any part of it to have