Surah Al-Anbya, Ayah 33

The Signs of Allah in the Heavens and the Earth and in the Night and the Day

Here Allah tells of His perfect might and power in His creation and subjugation of all things.

أَوَلَمْ يَرَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ

(Have not those who disbelieve known) means, those who deny His Divine nature and worship others instead of Him, do they not realize that Allah is the One Who is Independent in His powers of creation and is running the affairs of all things with absolute power So how can it be appropriate to worship anything else beside Him or to associate others in worship with Him Do they not see that the heavens and the earth were joined together, i.e. in the beginning they were all one piece, attached to one another and piled up on top of one another, then He separated them from one another, and made the heavens seven and the earth seven, placing the air between the earth and the lowest heaven. Then He caused rain to fall from the sky and vegetation to grow from the earth. He says:

كُلٌّ فِي فَلَكٍ يَسْبَحُونَ (Each floating in an orbit - 21:33) The word فَلَک '' (falak) is used for circle or anything round. For this reason the word فَلَک '' (falak) is also used sometimes for sky. In this verse it means the orbits of the sun and the moon in which they revolve. The Qur'anic words do not specify the location of the orbits in the space but space research has now established that these orbits are located in the space much below the sky. This verse apparently indicates that the Sun also moves around an orbit. The scientists previously did not believe in the rotation of the Sun, but the most modern research has now accepted it.

Here some prominent features of the earth have been mentioned which remind man of God in order to make him a grateful servant of God. One of these is the mountain ranges that have risen up on the surface of the earth in order to keep the dense matter beneath the seas well-balanced. Probably this refers to what is known as ‘isostasy’ in modern science. Similarly, it is also a sign of God that the earth is so made that man is able to make roadways sometimes on level plains, and sometimes as passages between mountains and rivers. The roof of the sky, which is our upper atmosphere, is composed in such a way as to prevent certain harmful rays of the sun from affecting us in the form of the ozone layer. The atmosphere also prevents the majority of the continuous shower of meteorites from reaching us. In the same way, there are signs in the moving of the sun and the moon in their orbits without clashing with each other, resulting in the regular occurrence of day and night on the earth. Innumerable such signs are found on the earth. If man examines them in depth, he will be overwhelmed by the realisation of God’s blessings and His powers. But he ignores them. Even after seeing clear events and signs, he continues to turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to them.