The call of the earth and the sky by which the distinguished animal is called. [Mahamud said: "The call of the earth and the sky by which the rational being is called... etc." Ahmad said: And from this pattern is the silence about mentioning the described, being sufficient with its attributes, for sometimes it is sufficient to mention the described for its clarity and uniqueness in it. Whenever it is mentioned in place of it, it has been mentioned by mentioning it, as in His saying: 'And He is Allah in the heavens and in the earth.'

The intended meaning is: He is Allah, described with the attributes of perfection known in the worlds. From this:

I am Abu al-Najm and my poetry is my poetry.

And the poets have cleverly resorted to clinging to the tails of these subtle meanings. Abu al-Tayyib praised 'Adud al-Dawlah' saying:

Do not praise her, but praise the one who is noble... for no one has been named as a praiser except you.

He means: Do not grant yourself, for you are unique in the praises, so when you are mentioned and the meaning is not named, no one else comes to mind except you due to your uniqueness in it.

This is in the wording of specification and addressing them among all other creatures, as in His saying: 'O earth,' and 'O sky.' Then He commanded them with what is commanded to those of distinction and reason from His saying: 'Swallow your water' and 'Cease.' This indicates great ability, and that the heavens and the earth and these great bodies are submissive to His creation in them whatever He wills, not resisting Him, as if they are rational beings who have recognized His greatness, majesty, reward, and punishment, and His power over everything that is capable. They have realized the necessity of obeying Him and their submission to Him, and they fear Him and are alarmed at stopping short of complying with Him and descending to His will immediately without delay. Just as His command comes to them, what is commanded is executed without delay or procrastination.

And 'swallowing' is an expression of drying up. And 'ceasing' means holding back. It is said: The rain ceased and the fever ceased, and the water diminished from 'ghad' when it decreased, and the matter was decided and what Allah promised Noah regarding the destruction of his people was fulfilled. And the ship settled and stabilized on al-Judi, which is a mountain in Mosul. And it is said: 'Away' is said when they want the distant distance regarding destruction and death and so forth. Therefore, it is specifically associated with a supplication of evil and the coming of its news in the passive voice to indicate majesty and grandeur, and that those great matters can only be by the action of a capable doer, and the creation of a dominant creator. And its doer is one doer who has no partner in His actions. So, let not the imagination go to say someone else: 'O earth, swallow your water' and 'O sky, cease,' nor that this tremendous matter is decided by anyone else, nor that the ship settles on the surface of al-Judi and stabilizes upon it except by His making it level and establishing it.

And for what we have mentioned of meanings and subtleties, the scholars of eloquence have sought clarification of this verse and nodded their heads to it, not for the similarity of the two words, which are 'Swallow' and 'Cease,' and although the speech is not devoid of beauty, it is like something that is not focused on compared to those beauties which are the essence, while anything else is just the outer shell. And from Qatadah: The ship settled with them for ten days remaining in Rajab, and it was in the water for fifty-one days, and it stabilized with them on al-Judi for a month, and it descended with them on the Day of Ashura. It was narrated that it passed by the House and circled it seven times, and Allah saved it from drowning. It was narrated that Noah fasted on the day of descent and commanded those with him to fast in gratitude to Allah, the Exalted.