Al Shanqiti is saying that the strongest meaning is that Allah made every living thing from water in a real and clear way, and that this matches the flow of the verses. He connects this to rain coming down from the sky and the earth splitting open so that plants can grow. So the meaning is not just that water is important in general, but that water is a direct cause for life appearing and continuing.

He then mentions the main ways the ulama explained this. Some said it means every living creature was created from the drop of fluid.

Others said it means known water itself, because living things either come from it directly, or they come from food, and all food goes back to water. Another group said the wording shows how deeply living things depend on water, even if the wording is not restricted to direct creation from it alone.

He also mentions that some may object by saying that jinn were created from fire, angels from light, Adam عليه السلام from dust, and the bird of ʿIsa عليه السلام from clay.

The reply is that the verse is speaking about what people can observe in the created universe around them, so those special cases do not go against the meaning of the verse.

He also leans to the view that the wording includes more than animals. It can include plants as well, because plants live, grow, and flourish by water. So his point is that Allah is drawing attention to a visible sign: rain comes down, the earth opens, and through water life appears everywhere.

Full Quote from Shaykh Al Shinqiti

The third indicator is that this meaning is explained clearly in other Qur’an verses, such as the saying of Allah:

وَالسَّمَاءِ ذَاتِ الرَّجْعِ ۝ وَالْأَرْضِ ذَاتِ الصَّدْعِ

“The heaven that sends back rain again and again, and the earth that splits open.” (al Tariq: 11–12)

This is because “the returning” means the rain coming down from it again after again, and “the splitting” means the earth splitting open for plants.

And also the saying of Allah:

فَلْيَنظُرِ الْإِنسَانُ إِلَىٰ طَعَامِهِ ۝ أَنَّا صَبَبْنَا الْمَاءَ صَبًّا ۝ ثُمَّ شَقَقْنَا الْأَرْضَ شَقًّا

“Let man look at his food. We poured down water in abundance. Then We split the earth open.” (ʿAbasa: 24–26)

Ibn Jarir (d. 310 AH), Ibn ʿAtiyyah (d. 541 AH), and others chose this view because of the indicators mentioned, and it is supported by how often the Qur’an uses the sending down of rain and the growing of plants as proof of Allah’s complete power, His great favour upon His creation, and His power to raise the dead.

Those who said that what is meant by “joining” and “splitting” is that they were stuck together, then Allah split them and separated one from the other, said about the saying of Allah “Did not those who disbelieved see” that “see” here means knowledge, not eyesight. They said their proof is that it is in the Qur’an, and whatever is in the Qur’an is certain and there is no way to doubt it. And knowledge is with Allah.

The closest view is what was mentioned, because the Qur’an indicators show it. Al Razi  said in his tafsir that they preferred this view over the other views because Allah said after that:

أَوَلَمْ يَرَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَنَّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ كَانَتَا رَتْقًا فَفَتَقْنَاهُمَا وَجَعَلْنَا مِنَ الْمَاءِ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ حَيٍّ أَفَلَا يُؤْمِنُونَ

“Have those who disbelieved not seen that the heavens and the earth were joined together, then We split them apart, and We made from water every living thing. Will they not believe?” (al Anbiya: 30)

He said this only fits if the water has a clear link to what came before, and that is only if what was mentioned is what is meant. End quote from him.

The Saying of Allah

وَجَعَلْنَا مِنَ الْمَاءِ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ حَيٍّ أَفَلَا يُؤْمِنُونَ

“And We made from water every living thing. Will they not believe?” (al Anbiya: 30)

The apparent meaning of “made” here is “created”.

This is shown by the saying of Allah:

وَاللَّهُ خَلَقَ كُلَّ دَابَّةٍ مِن مَّاءٍ

“Allah created every moving creature from water.” (al Nur: 45)

The ulama differed about what is meant by “created every living thing from water”.

Some ulama said the water that every living thing was created from is the drop of fluid, because Allah created all animals that are born through reproduction from that drop. On this view, it is a general wording with a specific meaning.

Some ulama said it is the known water, because animals are either created from it directly, like some creatures that form in water, or indirectly, because the drop comes from food, and all food comes from water. This is clear in grains and fruits, and it is also clear in meats, milks, animal fats, and similar things, because all of that comes about because of water.

Some أهل العلم said the meaning of “created every animal from water” is that it is as if it was created from water because of how much it needs it and how little it can endure without it, like the saying:

خُلِقَ الْإِنسَانُ مِنْ عَجَلٍ سَأُرِيكُمْ آيَاتِي فَلَا تَسْتَعْجِلُونِ

“Man was created of haste. I will show you My signs, so do not be hasty.” (al Anbiya: 37)

Four meanings for this wording were mentioned earlier, and what comes from them in the Qur’an, and what does not, in Surah al Nahl.

Al Razi said in his tafsir, in the wording of his quote: “Someone may say: how did He say, ‘We created from water every living creature’, when He said:

وَالْجَانَّ خَلَقْنَاهُ مِن قَبْلُ مِن نَّارِ السَّمُومِ

“And the jinn We created before from scorching fire.” (al Hijr: 27)

And it came in reports that Allah created the angels from light. And He said about ʿIsa عليه السلام:

وَإِذْ تَخْلُقُ مِنَ الطِّينِ كَهَيْئَةِ الطَّيْرِ بِإِذْنِي فَتَنفُخُ فِيهَا فَتَكُونُ طَيْرًا بِإِذْنِي

“And when you shaped from clay the form of a bird, by My permission, then you breathed into it and it became a bird, by My permission.” (al Maʾidah: 110)

And He said about Adam عليه السلام:

إِنَّ مَثَلَ عِيسَىٰ عِندَ اللَّهِ كَمَثَلِ آدَمَ خَلَقَهُ مِن تُرَابٍ ثُمَّ قَالَ لَهُ كُن فَيَكُونُ

“Indeed, the example of ʿIsa with Allah is like the example of Adam. He created him from dust, then He said to him, ‘Be’, and he was.” (Al ʿImran: 59)

The answer is that even if the wording is general, there is an indicator that makes it specific. The proof must be something seen and witnessed, so that it is closer to the point. By this, the angels, the jinn, Adam, and the account of ʿIsa عليهم السلام are left out, because the disbelievers did not see any of that.”

Then al Razi also said: the mufassiroon differed. Some said what is meant by “every living thing” is animals only.

Others said it includes plants and trees, because through water they grow, and in them are moisture, greenness, light, and fruit.

This view fits the meaning more, as if Allah is saying: We split the heaven to send down rain, and We made from it everything on earth, from plants and other things, alive. The proof for the first view is that plants are not called living. The reply is that this is not accepted, and the proof is the saying of Allah:

فَانظُرْ إِلَىٰ آثَارِ رَحْمَتِ اللَّهِ كَيْفَ يُحْيِي الْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا

“Look at the آثار of Allah’s mercy, how He gives life to the earth after its death.” (al Rum: 50)

Aḍwāʾ al-Bayān fī Īḍāḥ al-Qurʾān bi al-Qurʾān by Muḥammad al-Amīn al-Shanqīṭī 4/703–706