Abstract
This paper examines the central semantics of al‑rajʿ in the Qur’ānic clause “By the sky of returning” (Q 86:11). It offers a structured survey that integrates classical tafsīr, Arabic lexicography, and contemporary scientific readings that relate the Qur’ānic description to known functions of the Earth’s atmosphere. The study concludes that al‑rajʿ in classical Arabic denotes return/repetition, which led early exegetes to read it primarily as rain and the recurring provision brought by the sky. At the same time, the lexical openness of rajʿ allows the term to embrace broader “returning” phenomena identified by modern science such as the hydrological cycle, the atmosphere’s shielding against harmful radiation and meteoroids, the reflection of radio waves by the ionosphere, and radiative heat balance—without contradicting the root meaning. The Qur’ān’s choice of the succinct, function‑oriented word rajʿ (rather than “rain” alone) thus exhibits a rhetorical economy that accommodates cumulative knowledge while remaining anchored in the original semantic field. [islamweb.net], [quran.ksu.edu.sa], [islamweb.net], [eajaz.org], [knowingallah.com]
Keywords
al‑rajʿ; Sūrat al-Ṭāriq; Qur’ānic eloquence; atmosphere; hydrological cycle; ionosphere; ozone.
1) Introduction
Within Sūrat al‑Ṭāriq, the Divine oath—“By the sky of returning”—pairs a concrete cosmological referent (al‑samāʾ) with a compact, functional qualifier (dhāt al‑rajʿ). This construction invites a multi‑layered inquiry: (i) what is the core lexical field of rajʿ? (ii) how did the classical exegetical tradition construe it? (iii) how do contemporary scientific descriptions of the atmosphere illuminate, without over‑stretching, that lexical field? These questions frame the present study. [islamweb.net], [quran.ksu.edu.sa]
2) Literature Review
2.1 Classical Exegesis
Al‑Ṭabarī compiles numerous reports from Ibn ʿAbbās, Mujāhid, and Qatāda affirming that al‑rajʿ denotes rain, by which the sky “returns” with sustenance year after year; some reports also mention the cyclical rising and setting of the sun, moon, and stars as a secondary sense of “return.” The dominant reading, however, is rain as the most salient and life‑sustaining form of recurring beneficence. [islamweb.net], [quran.ksu.edu.sa]
2.2 Contemporary Discussions
Modern articles extend al‑rajʿ to atmospheric functions: the return of water vapor as precipitation, the reflection of radio waves by the ionosphere, the deflection/absorption of harmful solar ultraviolet and cosmic radiation (largely via the ozone layer and geomagnetic environment), the ablation of meteoroids, and the retention/return of heat that moderates diurnal temperature swings. These readings do not negate the classical sense; rather, they argue that rajʿ is wider than “rain” as a mere nominal label, since it names a function of returning/reflecting. [islamweb.net], [eajaz.org], [knowingallah.com], [jedariiat.net]
3) Philological Analysis of al‑rajʿ
Arabic lexicography treats rajʿ as “return, repetition, reflection,” from which rain may be called rajʿ due to its recurrence, and echo (rajʿ al‑ṣawt) due to reflection. The Qur’ānic phrase “dhāt al‑rajʿ” therefore behaves less like a mere substantive label and more like a functional predicate (“possessing the property of returning/causing return”). Such functional phrasing readily accommodates multiple atmospheric “returns,” from precipitation to wave and radiation phenomena, while remaining faithful to the core semantics of return. [quranona.com]
4) Exegetical Trajectory: From Rain to a System of Returns
4.1 The Inherited Meaning: Rain and Recurring Provision
Classical tafsīr foregrounds rain: the sky returns with life‑giving water and provisions annually—cohering with the paired oath “and the earth of cleaving” (Q 86:12), i.e., the earth splitting with vegetation. This reading aligns tightly with the sensory world of the initial audience. [islamweb.net], [quran.ksu.edu.sa]
4.2 A Scientific Lens: Atmospheric “Return” Functions
Hydrological Cycle: Evaporation, condensation, and return of water as precipitation—an archetypal rajʿ. [islamweb.net]
Radiation Shielding: The atmosphere—via ozone and other processes—returns/blocks harmful UV and mitigates cosmic radiation, thus safeguarding life. [eajaz.org]
Radio‑Wave Reflection: The ionosphere partially returns (reflects/refracts) medium and shortwave radio, enabling long‑distance communications despite Earth’s curvature. [jedariiat.net]
Meteoroid Ablation/Deflection: Most incoming meteoroids are returned/ablated in the atmosphere before reaching the ground. [knowingallah.com]
Thermal Balance: Atmospheric gases and clouds participate in radiative return—re‑emitting infrared energy back to the surface at night—thereby moderating extremes and sustaining habitability. [knowingallah.com]
Viewed this way, the “sky” operates as an integrated system of returns: it returns benefit (rain, usable signals, thermal moderation) and returns/repels harm (UV/cosmic radiation, meteoroids), underpinning Earth’s habitability. [eajaz.org], [knowingallah.com]
5) Rhetorical Economy: Why rajʿ and Not “Rain”?
The text does not say “the sky of rain,” although that is true; it chooses “rajʿ”—a broader, function‑oriented noun that subsumes rain yet does not confine the meaning to it. This eloquent compression (ījāz) allows the verse to remain rooted in classical usage while capacious enough to embrace additional returning phenomena recognized over time, without forcing a meaning alien to Arabic. [islamweb.net]
6) Methodological Note on Scientific Reception
The present approach does not attempt to over‑determine the verse with modern data. It proceeds by: (a) establishing the inherited lexical/exegetical sense (rain/recurrence), and (b) asking whether that sense, as a functional descriptor, permits recognition of other atmospheric “returns.” Many contemporary discussions that marry philological rigor with empirical description argue that it does, provided the core meaning of return remains the anchor. [quranona.com], [jameataleman.com]
7) Conclusion
Linguistically/Exegetically: al‑rajʿ primarily denotes rain and recurring provision, with ancillary notes on the cyclical return of celestial bodies. [islamweb.net]
Scientifically: The verse readily overlays with atmospheric return functions hydrology, radiation shielding, radio wave reflection, meteoroid ablation, and thermal moderation making the “sky” truly of returning in a structural sense. [eajaz.org], [knowingallah.com], [jedariiat.net]
Rhetorically: The Qur’ānic choice of “rajʿ” exemplifies concise universality: a single word that preserves the classical core and accommodates cumulative observation. [islamweb.net]
Selected References (alphabetical)
Al‑Ṭabarī’s Tafsīr (classical reports)—Ibn ʿAbbās, Mujāhid, Qatāda on al‑rajʿ as rain and recurring sustenance.
IslamWeb: “Tafsīr al‑Ṭabarī – Q 86:11” — KSU e‑Mushaf Project: Q 86:11
IslamWeb (article on “al‑samāʾ dhāt al‑rajʿ”)—Linguistic and scientific synthesis: rain, atmospheric reflection, energy balance.
Article: “al‑samāʾ dhāt al‑rajʿ”
Quranona / Global Commission on Scientific Signs—Extended linguistic–scientific discussion of rajʿ.
“wa‑l‑samāʾ dhāt al‑rajʿ”
Research Center (Iʿjāz studies)—Links the verse to modern atmospheric and astronomical notions.
“Scientific Miracle in ‘al‑samāʾ dhāt al‑rajʿ’”
Jedariiat (2024)—Popular‑science note on ionospheric reflection and atmospheric protection in light of the verse.
“A Scientific Pause with ‘al‑samāʾ dhāt al‑rajʿ’”
Al‑Huda Center (2026)—A contemporary religious exposition emphasizing rain and recurring provision, with extensive Qur’ānic intertexts.
“Meaning of ‘al‑samāʾ dhāt al‑rajʿ’”
KnowingAllah / Global Commission on Scientific Signs—Accessible scientific overview: rain return, meteoroid shielding, UV filtering, radio‑wave reflection, and thermal moderation.
KnowingAllah article — Iʿjāz (Astronomy & Space Sciences) page