The notion of the world as a source of ‘God-knowledge’ is pervasive throughout the Islamic intellectual tradition. Often times, it is understood as a kind of “book of creation” (in variations of kitab al-kawn or kitab al-khalq wa al-tadbīr) by classical scholars that reveals the qualities of its divine source. This notion was especially useful in explaining Qur’anic references to the “natural” elements of the world like the mountains, clouds, stars, and trees. Yet, the Qur’an does not make a categorical distinction of a “natural world” as opposed to simply the world, the cosmos, or what exists. As such, the early Muslim philosophers utilized and promulgated the term tabi’a or “nature” as a potential equivalent to the Greek "natura" and "physis." This paper examines how tabi’a has been employed and referenced by classical exegetes in interpreting descriptions of the phenomenal world in the Qur’an. The tradition of tafsir or Qur’anic exegesis offers significant insights into how certain concepts and ideas were understood and perpetuated in Islamic thought and history. On this front, the paper looks specifically at al-Tabari’s (d. 923) Tafsir, al-Zamakhshari’s (d. 1144) al-Kashshaf and Fakhr al-Din al-Razi’s (d. 1210) Mafatih al-ghayb amongst others in terms of how they interpreted Qur’anic verses concerning nature and general depictions of the world. This paper argues that the selected use of tabi’a as opposed to terms like alam (cosmos) or ayat (signs) illuminates underlying metaphysical and theological implications in these commentaries as well as the influence of Hellenistic philosophy. The discussion of the paper is limited particularly to commentaries on a select few Qur’anic verses such as 31:10, 7:31, 2:60, 6:99, 33:72. Looking at these verses offers insight into how classical thinkers approached the Qur’an’s view of the world and/or nature and the extent to which they saw it as revelatory. Moreover, it demonstrates how the genre of tafsir was a ground in which philosophical claims regarding causality, divine power, and nature were contested and furthered.