Tafheem ul Quran

Surah 21 Al-Anbya, Ayat 30-33

اَوَلَمۡ يَرَ الَّذِيۡنَ كَفَرُوۡۤا اَنَّ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَالۡاَرۡضَ كَانَـتَا رَتۡقًا فَفَتَقۡنٰهُمَا​ ؕ وَجَعَلۡنَا مِنَ الۡمَآءِ كُلَّ شَىۡءٍ حَىٍّ​ ؕ اَفَلَا يُؤۡمِنُوۡنَ‏ ﴿21:30﴾ وَجَعَلۡنَا فِى الۡاَرۡضِ رَوَاسِىَ اَنۡ تَمِيۡدَ بِهِمۡ وَجَعَلۡنَا فِيۡهَا فِجَاجًا سُبُلًا لَّعَلَّهُمۡ يَهۡتَدُوۡنَ‏ ﴿21:31﴾ وَجَعَلۡنَا السَّمَآءَ سَقۡفًا مَّحۡفُوۡظًا ۖۚ وَّهُمۡ عَنۡ اٰيٰتِهَا مُعۡرِضُوۡنَ‏  ﴿21:32﴾ وَهُوَ الَّذِىۡ خَلَقَ الَّيۡلَ وَالنَّهَارَ وَالشَّمۡسَ وَالۡقَمَرَ​ؕ كُلٌّ فِىۡ فَلَكٍ يَّسۡبَحُوۡنَ‏ ﴿21:33﴾

(21:30) Did the unbelievers (who do not accept the teaching of the Prophet) not realize that the heavens and the earth were one solid mass, then We tore them apart,28 and We made every living being out of water?29 Will they, then, not believe (that We created all this)? (21:31) And We placed firm mountains on earth lest it should sway with them,30 and We made wide paths31 in them that they may find their way;32 (21:32) and We made the sky a secure canopy;33 and yet they turn away from these Signs.34 (21:33) It is He Who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. Each of them is floating in its orbit.35

Notes

28. From the wording of the text, it appears that at first the whole universe was a single mass of matter; then it was split into different parts and the earth and the other heavenly bodies were formed. For more details, please see (Surah HaMim, E.Ns 13-15).

29. From the wording of the text, it appears that Allah made water the cause and origin of life. See also (Surah An- Nur, Ayat 45).

30. For explanation, see (E. N. 12 of Surah An-Nahl).

31. “Broad highways” are the passes between high mountains and the valleys and ravines made by the rivers in the mountainous regions and other natural ways that connect different regions on the earth.

32. This is a very meaningful sentence. It may mean that the people may find paths for traveling on the earth, and it may also mean that the wisdom that underlies the skill and the system of their creation may guide them to the reality.

33. For explanation, see (Surah Al-Hijr, E. Ns 8 and 10-12).

34. That is, those signs which are in the sky.

35. The use of the words kullun (all) and yasbahun (float) in the plural (for more than two) indicates that not only the sun and the moon but all the heavenly bodies are floating in their own separate orbits and none of them is fixed or stationary. These (verses 30-33) are capable of being interpreted in the modern scientific terms in accordance with the present day conceptions of Physics, Biology and Astronomy.

Here it should also be noted that( verses 19-23) refute shirk while verses 30-33 present positive proofs of Tauhid. They imply that the creation and regular functioning of the universe clearly show that it is the work of One All- Powerful Creator, and no sensible person can say that it has been created as a mere pastime for the sake of fun. When the fact is this and you see proofs of the doctrine of Tauhid all around you, in the earth and heavens, why do you reject the message of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and demand other signs from him.