al-Maʿārij 70:40-41

Fa-lā uqsimu bi-rabbi'l-mashāriqi wa'l-maghāribi innā la-qādirūn · ʿAlā an nubaddila khayran minhum wa mā naḥnu bi-masbūqīn "No! I swear by the Lord of the risings and the settings that We are surely able to replace them with better than them — and We are not to be outrun."

This formula was set out in four views in a table in the section on al-Balad 90/1 and was also taken up in the section on al-Ḥāqqa 69/38. I do not repeat it.

And in the section on al-Ḥāqqa the two sūras were compared:

Two neighbouring sūras defend two different things with the same formula: one the truth of a word, the other the sufficiency of a power.

And the subject of each oath suits its function:

• Al-Ḥāqqa defends the source of a word, and swears by the distinction between what is seen and what is not seen — because the source of a word is not seen.
• Al-Maʿārij defends the scope of a power, and swears by the risings and the settings — because power is measured by scope.

I record this as my own reading. The subjects of the two oaths are in the text.

And here there is a striking linguistic datum.

The Qurʾān uses these two words in three different numbers:

This verse is the place where both come in the plural.

The classical exegetes' explanation of this trio is as follows, and it rests on observation:

• Singular: east and west as directions; two basic bearings.
• Dual: the two extreme points of sunrise and sunset in the summer and winter months. This is an observable fact: the sun rises and sets at different points of the horizon at different times of the year.
• Plural: the point of rising shifts slightly on every day of the year; hence the points of rising are many in number.

For a community living in the desert and reading the horizon like a calendar, this explanation is an ordinary observation. To find one's way and to reckon the seasons one needs to know that the sun's point of rising shifts across the year; and that knowledge was present in that society.

One qualification: I do not offer this as a claim of scientific miracle. By the principle set down in Method, such links are made only if they genuinely exist and can be made without strain. What is described here is not a modern discovery; it is a fact visible to the naked eye and known at that time. The only thing I record is that the Qurʾān used the singular, dual and plural forms separately — and this is a textual datum that can be verified.

And the function of the oath: the title "Lord of the risings and the settings" conveys regular recurrence. The sun rises every day, sets every day, and its point shifts a little every day.

So what is sworn by is an order that is renewed every day and never falters. And the answer to the oath is a power of replacement.

I record this as my own reading. The fit between the oath and its answer is a reading.

Root: ب-د-ل. Badala — to change, to put another in place of. بَدَّلَ (tafʿīl) — to exchange one thing for another. Badal, tabdīl and istibdāl are from the same root.

And this threat occurs in several places in the Qurʾān:

• "If you turn away, He will bring another people in your place; then they will not be like you." (Muḥammad 47/38)
• "O you who believe! Whoever of you turns back from his religion, God will bring a people whom…" (al-Māʾida 5/54)
• "If He wills, He can remove you and bring others in your place." (al-Nisāʾ 4/133; Ibrāhīm 14/19-20; Fāṭir 35/16-17)

The shared idea is this: the call does not depend on its addressee. The addressee may change; the call continues.

And this links up with the fifth verse of the sūra. There it had said "be patient". Patience requires accepting that the outcome is not in one's own hands. The fortieth verse gives the ground of that acceptance: the outcome is not in your hands anyway; and if need be, others will be brought.

I record this as my own reading. The link between the two verses is a reading.

خَيْرًا مِّنْهُمْ — "better than them". And note: the verse does not say "others"; it says "better than them". So the change is not a mere substitution but an improvement.

Root: س-ب-ق. Sabaqa — to pass, to get ahead, to leave behind. Sābiq (the one in front), sibāq (a race) and musābaqa are from the same root.

مَسْبُوق is the passive participle: one who is passed, outrun, left behind in a race.

Mā naḥnu bi-masbūqīn — "we are not to be outrun." And the bāʾ is redundant; it conveys emphasis. The same note was set down for the mā … bi- structure in the section on al-Takwīr 81/22: not "is not" but "is by no means".

There are two readings of the expression's sense:

The Qurʾān's own usage supports the first reading: "Do those who do evil suppose they will outrun Us?" (al-ʿAnkabūt 29/4 — an yasbiqūnā).

Both occur in the sources and come out in the same place. I do not impose a preference.

And the word comes from the field of racing. In a race, to be "passed" is to fall behind. The verse takes this image and rejects it.

And this links up with the first verse of the sūra: the man was taking the delay of the punishment as evidence. The forty-first verse gives the answer: delay is not falling behind.

I record this as my own reading.