'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "And whatever He has spread for you on the earth, differing in its colors. Indeed, in that is a sign for a people who remember." "And He is the One who has subjected the sea for you, so that you may eat from it tender meat and extract from it ornaments which you wear. And you see the ships plowing through it, and that you may seek of His bounty, and perhaps you will be grateful." "And He has cast into the earth firm mountains, lest it sway with you, and rivers and paths, that you may be guided." "And whatever He has spread for you on the earth" means: He has scattered and disseminated. The term 'dhurriyyah' is derived from this in one of the opinions regarding its derivation. And His saying: "its colors" means: its varieties, as you say: these are colors of fruits and food. Since these scattered things on the earth are of various types, they are counted among the blessings, and the benefit derived from them appears in many ways. This does not appear from the fact that they are colored red, yellow, and other than that. It is possible that the indication is on the difference of colors, red and yellow, but the first is clearer. And His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "And He is the One who has subjected the sea" is a recounting of Allah's blessings. The subjection of the sea is the enabling of humans to act within it, and its facilitation for riding and other uses. The sea: is the vast water, whether salty or fresh, all of it is called sea. Here, the sea is a general term, and from it is the eating of tender meat, and from it is the extraction of ornaments. Eating meat can be from its saltwater or freshwater, and the extraction of ornaments is known to be only from the saltwater, and among what is known from that are pearls, corals, shells, and sea wool. It may also be found in freshwater, pearls that are worn only a little, and they are used for healing. It is said that there is a marine emerald, and al-Hudhali was mistaken in his saying regarding the description of the pearl. 'So he brought it from a pearl that is smooth, upon its face is the water of the Euphrates, surging.' 'So he made it from the sweet water.' The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And contemplate His saying: "mouj" in that He described it with its waves and its water, so He likened it to the water of the Euphrates, and He did not go to the aim in which He was mistaken. And "the tender meat": is the fish, and "the adornment": is what you present, and "the ship" here is plural, and "mawakhir" is the plural of makhira, and "makhr" in the language is the sound that comes from the blowing of the wind on something that is split, or accompanies in general the water, so it follows from that that "makhr" is from the wind, and that it is from the ship and similar to it, and in this verse it is from the ships. And it is said about the clouds: "daughters of makhr" as a comparison, since in their running there is that sound which is from the wind, and the water that is in the clouds and its matter resembles the matter of the sea, on the basis that al-Zuhri has said: "daughters of the sea": clouds that are white with no water in them. And some linguists have said: makhr in the speech of the Arabs: is the split, it is said: the water has makhra'd the land, so this is clear that it can be said for the ship: mawakhir. And a group has said: "mawakhir" means: it comes and goes with one wind. And these sayings are not an interpretation of the term, but rather they intended that they are mawakhir under these conditions, so they specified these conditions; since it is the place of the numerous blessings; since the very existence of the ship as a makhira has no blessing in it, but rather the blessing is in its makhr under these conditions in trade, and traveling in it, and what Allah grants in it of profits and favors. And al-Tabari has said: "makhr" in the language: is the sound of the blowing of the wind, and he did not restrict that to being in water. And he said: Indeed, from that is the saying of Wasil, the freedman of Abu Uyayna: When one of you wants to urinate, let him listen to the wind; meaning: let him observe its sound in the bodies from where it blows, so that he avoids facing it lest it returns his urine to him.

And His saying: "And let you seek" is an addition to His saying: "to eat," and this is a mention of a blessing that has details that cannot be counted, and in it is riding the sea for trade and seeking profits. So these are three reasons for the subjugation of the sea.

And His saying, the Exalted: "And He cast into the earth" the verse. The interpreters have said: "cast" means creation and making.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And it is to me more specific than creation and making, and that is because "cast" implies that Allah created the mountains not from the earth, but rather from His power and creation, and this view is supported by what has been narrated in the stories from al-Hasan from Qais ibn Ibad that when Allah, the Exalted, created the earth, it began to shake, so the angels said: What is this that does not settle upon its back anyone? So it became morning and in it are its anchors, and "the anchors": are the stabilizers, the thing stabilizes if it is anchored, and from it is the saying of the poet in the description of the peg:

And the wild one anchors it with the spear.

And "that" is a purpose for it, and "the mayd": is the disturbance, and His saying: "rivers" is in the accusative case due to an implied verb, its estimation is: and He made or created rivers.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

Their consensus on the concealment of this action is evidence of the specificity of "Alqa." If "Alqa" meant "Khalqa," it would not require concealment. And "Alsubul" means the paths. His saying: "Perhaps you may be guided" could mean: "Perhaps you may be guided" in your walking and actions in the paths. It could also mean: "Perhaps you may be guided" by reflecting on these creations and their Creator. This interpretation is the most eloquent; that is, He made and cast rivers and paths so that humanity may take heed and be guided, and to serve as signs.