'Abdullāh Ibn 'Abbās / Muḥammad al-Fīrūzabādī
تفسير : (the similitude of the life of the world) in terms of its permanence and evanescence (is only as water) rain (which we send down from the sky, then the earth's growth of that which men and cattle eat) grains and fruits for men and plants and abundant grass for cattle (mingles with it till, when the earth hath taken on her ornaments and is embellished) with the colours red, yellow and green, (and her people) the plowmen (deem that they are masters of her) of her yielding, (our commandment) our punishment (cometh by night or by day) just as if sheep have trampled on its enclosure destroying all the plowmen's plantations (and we make it as reaped corn) in the summer (as if it had not flourished yesterday) as if they had not existed yesterday. (thus do we expound the revelation) we explain in the qur'an the evanescence of the life of this world (for people who reflect) upon the matter of this world and the hereafter.
Jalāl al-Dīn al-Maḥallī
تفسير : the likeness, the description, of the life of this world is only as water, rain, which we send down from the heaven, then the plants of the earth mingle with it, [they mingle] because of it, attaching themselves one to another, whereof mankind eat, [plants] such as wheat and barley and so on, and cattle [eat], of pasture, until, when the earth has taken on its ornaments, its splendour of plants, and has adorned itself, with flowers (izzayyanat, ‘adorned itself’, is originally tazayyanat, but the tā’ has been substituted with the zāy and assimilated with it) and its inhabitants think that they are masters of it, fully capable of harvesting its fruits, our command, our decree or our chastisement, comes upon it by night or day, and we make it, that is, its crops, as reaped corn, like that which has been reaped with sickles, as though (ka-an is softened, in other words [read it as] ka-annahā) the previous day it had not flourished, [as though] it never were. thus do we detail, [do] we make clear, the signs for a people who reflect.
