meaning the stars. Whenever a people received rain, some of them would greet the morning in disbelief. They used to say, ‘We have been given rain by such-and-such a star,’ so Allah revealed:

‘And in return for your provision, you deny the truth.’”

Ibn Abī Hātim narrated from ‘Atā’ al-Khurāsānī, from ‘Ikrimah, concerning Allah’s words:

“And in return for your provision, you deny the truth.”

He said: “You attribute your provision to someone other than Allah, denying the truth and giving thanks to others besides Him.”

But in His words:

“Who brings forth the pasture,”

He specifically mentions bringing forth pasture—that on which animals graze—and states that He makes it blackened stubble. This mentions the sustenance of animals, yet human sustenance is more important than that. Both human and animal sustenance are included in His words:

“He ordained and guided.”

Moreover, animals do not feed on what has become blackened stubble; they feed on it only before that stage. He therefore—and Allah knows best—singled this out for mention because it is a likeness of the life of this world. For this surah encompasses the foundations of faith: faith in Allah and the Last Day, and faith in the messengers and the scriptures they brought, which also entails faith in the angels. It also mentions righteous deeds, which benefit one in the Hereafter, and corrupt deeds, which harm one there.