Ar-Rahmaan (The Beneficent)
Verse 22 - 23
Table of Contents
22. Out of both seas come out pearl and coral.
23. Then which of the Blessings of your Lord will you both [jinn and men] deny?
Resuming the account of Divine Blessings, the blessed Verse 22 is saying that pearl and coral come out of the twain seas. It is worthy of note that interesting adornments are made of pearl and coral. They are also used in medical treatments and they constitute commodities and merchandise as well. Many benefits are accrued out of them. Thus, they are being referred to as two Blessings.
Pearls are transparent and precious things fostered in mothers of pearl in the depth of the seas. The larger they are, the more precious they become. They are also used in many medical treatments. Former physicians made different potions out of them for strengthening the heart, the nervous system and warding off different kinds of breathing ailments, fear, kidney and eye complications, bad breath, kidney and bladder stones, and jaundice.1
Coral is herein interpreted by some exegetes as small pearl, but such interpretation is far from being true. It is an animate being similar to a twig growing in the depth of seas. It was regarded by scientists for some time to be a kind of plant, but later on it became evident that it belongs to the animal world. It sticks to the bottom of the sea and at times covers a vast area to increase in time and form coral islands.
The best kind of coral is red in color and the redder, the more precious it is. Besides serving as adornment, it is applied in medicine and many benefits have been enumerated for the same. Instances of its medical applications include potions made from it which are sued for strengthening the heart, removal of viper's venom, strengthening of the nervous system, treatment of diarrhea and womb bleeding. It is also said that it is useful for treatment of epilepsy.
The following Verse further emphasizes on Divine Blessings saying:
"Then which of the Blessings of your Lord will you both [jinn and men] deny?"
A tradition narrated from Imam Sadiq (as) regarding the exegesis of the blessed Verse:
"He let loose the two salty and sweet seas meeting together,"
according to which:
"‘Ali and Fatima (as) are two deep seas, none of the twain transgresses the other out of the twain seas pearl and coral, namely Hasan and Husayn (as) came out."2
The same point is also attested in Tafsir al-Manthur2 . It may be attested in most of Shi‘i exegetic works, e.g. Tabarsi's Majma‘ al-Bayan and also in Tafsir Burhan, Tafsir Nur al-Thiqalayn, Tafsir Safi, and also in some of Sunni exegetic works with slight variations.
However, it is known that the Glorious Qur’an has different layers thereby one single Verse may have several or tens of meanings. The content of the aforesaid tradition derives from Qur’anic layers and is not inconsistent with the literal meaning of the same.