its conclusion—through His words, ﴾On the Day when secrets are laid bare, he will have no power and no helper﴿—He then said: ﴾By the sky that sends back rain, and the earth that splits open. Surely this is a decisive Word.﴿
This is the second oath by the sky; the first came at the beginning of the surah, where He said: ﴾By the sky and the night-comer. And what will make you realize what the night-comer is? It is the piercing star.﴿ Here, however, He said: ﴾By the sky that sends back rain, and the earth that splits open. Surely this is a decisive Word.﴿ The connection between the two oaths—and Allah knows best—is that the first alludes to the night-comer, namely the star. The devils who eavesdrop are pelted with stars, and pelting them in this way safeguards the Book of Allah, Glorified and Exalted.
Here, however, He swore by the sky that sends back rain that this Quran is a decisive Word. Thus, He swore that the Quran is a decisive Word. The relevance of the first oath, then, is that it alludes to the means by which the Quran was safeguarded as it was being sent down, while the second oath indicates that the Quran gives life. That is, ﴾By the sky that sends back rain﴿: the “returning” refers to rain. It is so called because it returns and recurs, and it is well known that rain brings the earth to life. ﴾And the earth that splits open﴿: this splitting means the earth cracking open as plants emerge from it.
Thus, He swore by the rain that causes plants to emerge and by the splitting through which they emerge. All of this points to the earth being brought to life after its death, while the Quran brings hearts to life after their death. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said: ﴾And thus We have revealed to you a spirit from Our command﴿ [al-Shūrā: 52]. Allah called the Quran a spirit because hearts are brought to life through it.
He, Glorified and Exalted, says: ﴾By the sky that sends back rain﴿—that is, the sky that brings rain—﴾and the earth that splits open﴿—that is, the earth that splits as plants emerge from it. ﴾Surely it﴿—meaning the Quran—﴾is a decisive Word.﴿ Allah Most High described it as a decisive Word. It is the Word of Allah, Glorified and Exalted: He Himself spoke it and conveyed it to Gabriel—may blessings be upon him—