and sour. “He covers the night with the day”: that is, He cloaks the day in the darkness of night, and He cloaks the night in the light of day. “Indeed, in that are signs for a people who reflect”: and thereby draw conclusions. Reflection is the movement of the heart in seeking the meanings of things.

“And on the earth are neighboring tracts, vineyards, crops, and palm trees—growing from a single root or from separate roots—watered with one water; yet We make some of them excel others in fruit. Indeed, in that are signs for a people who understand.” (4)

“And on the earth are neighboring tracts”: that is, close to one another, with some adjoining others, yet they differ: this one is good and produces vegetation, while this one is saline and produces none; this one yields little, while this one yields much. “And vineyards”: that is, gardens. “Of grapevines, crops, and palm trees—growing from a single root”: Ibn Kathir, Abu Amr, Hafs, and Yaqub recited all of these words in the nominative case, conjoined to “vineyards,” whereas the remaining reciters read them in the genitive case, coordinated with “grapevines.” Palm trees growing from a single root are the plural of a palm tree sharing one root with others.

“And from separate roots”: this is the palm tree that stands alone on its own root. The scholars of Quranic exegesis said: those growing from a single root means growing together, while those from separate roots means growing apart. A comparable expression is qinwan, the plural of qinw. From this is the Prophet’s saying concerning al-Abbas: “A man’s paternal uncle is like his father’s own root.” (3) In the dual and plural forms of sinwan and qinwan, there is no difference except in grammatical inflection: in the dual, the final nun bears kasrah and does not take tanwin, whereas in the plural it takes tanwin.

“Watered with one water”: Ibn Amir, Asim, and Yaqub recited it with the masculine prefix, meaning: all of that is watered with one water. The others recited it with the feminine prefix, in consideration of His saying, “vineyards,” and of His subsequent saying, “some of them over others,” rather than “some of it over others.” Water is a subtle, fluid substance through which every growing thing lives.

“Yet We make some of them excel others in fruit”: that is, in their produce and taste. Hamzah and al-Kisai recited, “and He makes some of them excel,” with the masculine prefix, in light of His saying: “He governs all affairs and makes the signs clear” (al-Rad, 2).

The others recited it with the first-person plural prefix, meaning: We make some of them excel others in fruit. It is reported in the hadith regarding His saying, “We make some of them excel others in fruit,” that he said: “The Persian date, the inferior date, the sweet, and the sour.” (4)