اللَّهُ الَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمُ الْأَرْضَ قَرَارًا وَالسَّمَاء بِنَاء وَصَوَّرَكُمْ فَأَحْسَنَ صُوَرَكُمْ ...
The explanation:
(God is He Who has made for you the earth for a dwelling-place, and the sky for a structure [of gaseous layers,] and shaped you in fine shapes, …)
And His saying – be exalted – in the Quran 51: 47
وَالسَّمَاء بَنَيْنَاهَا بِأَيْدٍ وَإِنَّا لَمُوسِعُونَ
The explanation:
(And the sky – We have built with surplus [from Us], and We are Open-handed more.)
The interpretation: God says that He has constructed the sky with His surplus; because He is Merciful to people, and He is still more Open-handed; because He is Generous.
Answer: ‘To build’ means to collect the object and to compact its parts to each other. They say: The builder builds the wall, i.e. he collects the bricks and attaches them to each other by matrix. And the ‘sky’ means the gaseous layers.
The meaning of this Quranic revelation: And the gases, We have collected and packed, with Our surplus towards them and Our mercy to them; for if We let these gases at the surface of the earth, then their life will be impossible, but they will rather suffocate and die. Therefore, We have lifted these gases by Our mercy, and packed them in layers by Our surplus, so We have made the oxygen and nitrogen in the air for their inspiration and many other benefits; nevertheless, We have lifted the suffocating and harmful gases by Our mercy and surplus, and We are still more Open-handed with profuse favors and grace of God; as He says – be exalted – in the Quran 14: 34
وَإِن تَعُدُّواْ نِعْمَتَ اللّهِ لاَ تُحْصُوهَا
The explanation: (And if you would count the bounty of God, you cannot count it.)
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Question 3: What is the meaning of His saying –be exalted –in the Quran 22: 65
أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ سَخَّرَ لَكُم مَّا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَالْفُلْكَ تَجْرِي فِي الْبَحْرِ بِأَمْرِهِ وَيُمْسِكُ السَّمَاء أَن تَقَعَ عَلَى الْأَرْضِ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِالنَّاسِ لَرَؤُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ
The explanation:
(Have you [Mohammed] not seen how God has made all that is in the earth subjected to you [people,] and the ship run on the see with His decree, and He holds back the sky from falling down upon the earth save with His leave*; surely, God is All-Compassionate [and] Most Merciful to people.) ?
[*As will it do on the Last Day, just before Doomsday.]
Answer: The ‘sky’, here, means the gaseous layers.
The explanation: God –be exalted –holds back the gaseous layers and prevents them from falling down on the earth, and if this occurs then all people will die and perish because these gases are suffocating and harmful to the health of people. The proof of this is His saying –be exalted –
إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِالنَّاسِ لَرَؤُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ
i.e. (Surely, God is All-Compassionate [and] Most Merciful to people.)
So the explanation of this Quranic revelation: is that God, with His mercy made these suffocating and poisonous gases light in weight in order to rise up in the sky so that they would not do harm, until before Doomsday; because at that time they will come down to the ground. This is understood from His saying –be exalted – إلاّ بِإذنِهِ i.e. (save with His leave) which means: save before the Day of Doom, when God –be exalted –will let these gases fall down and so they will fall down on the ground and mix with each other, because of the upset of the celestial system, and become like smoke; however, at the start of its formation, the sky was like smoke.
solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/gallery/Venus_Clouds.jpg
This is understood from His saying – be glorified – in the Quran 21: 104
كَمَا بَدَأْنَا أَوَّلَ خَلْقٍ نُّعِيدُهُ وَعْدًا عَلَيْنَا إِنَّا كُنَّا فَاعِلِينَ
The explanation:
(As We began [its] first creation [of the sky from the smoke] will We bring it back again [to become smoke once again] –– a promise [binding] upon Us; surely, We are going to perform it [as did We before, in the previous Doomsdays.] ) "
