وَ لَقَدْ And indeed خَلَقْنَا We (have) created فَوْقَكُمْ above you سَبْعَ seven طَرَآىِٕقَ ۖۗ paths وَ مَا and not كُنَّا We are عَنِ of الْخَلْقِ the creation غٰفِلِیْنَ unaware 23. Al-Mu'minun Page 343 وَ اَنْزَلْنَا And We send down مِنَ from السَّمَآءِ the sky مَآءًۢ water بِقَدَرٍ in (due) measure فَاَسْكَنّٰهُ then We cause it to settle فِی in الْاَرْضِ ۖۗ the earth وَ اِنَّا And indeed, We عَلٰی on ذَهَابٍۭ taking it away بِهٖ taking it away لَقٰدِرُوْنَۚ surely (are) Able فَاَنْشَاْنَا Then We produced لَكُمْ for you بِهٖ by it جَنّٰتٍ gardens مِّنْ of date-palms نَّخِیْلٍ of date-palms وَّ اَعْنَابٍ ۘ and grapevines لَكُمْ for you فِیْهَا in it فَوَاكِهُ (are) fruits كَثِیْرَةٌ abundant وَّ مِنْهَا and from them تَاْكُلُوْنَۙ you eat وَ شَجَرَةً And a tree تَخْرُجُ (that) springs forth مِنْ from طُوْرِ Mount Sinai سَیْنَآءَ Mount Sinai تَنْۢبُتُ (which) produces بِالدُّهْنِ oil وَ صِبْغٍ and a relish لِّلْاٰكِلِیْنَ for those who eat
(23:17) We have indeed fashioned above you seven paths.15 Never were We unaware of the task of creation.16
(23:18) We sent down water from the sky in right measure, and caused it to stay in the earth,17 and We have the power to cause it to vanish18 (in the manner We please).
(23:19) Then through water We caused gardens of date-palms and vines to grow for you wherein you have an abundance of delicious fruits19 and from them you derive your livelihood.20
(23:20) And We also produced the tree which springs forth from Mount Sinai,21 containing oil and sauce for those that eat.
15. The actual word used is tara’iq which signifies both ‘paths’ and ‘layers’. (See t-r-q in Lisan al-‘Arab — Ed.) If the term is taken in the first sense, it means the orbit of the seven planets. Since man at that time knew only of seven planets, hence only those orbits are mentioned. This statement does not mean that there are no other orbits. On the other hand, if we consider in the second sense, it means an expression used elsewhere in the Qur’an, ‘seven heavens one layer upon the other’ (al-Mulk 67: 3).
In the present verse it is said that God ‘fashioned above you seven paths...’ Its simple meaning is what the words clearly convey in the first instance. But the statement also seems to emphasize God’s greatness insofar as He created the heavens whose creation is a much greater achievement than the creation of man. This is quite in consonance with what the Qur’an has said elsewhere: ‘Indeed the creation of the heavens and the earth is greater than the creation of man’ (al-Mu’min 40: 57).
16. Alternatively, this verse can be rendered as follows: ‘We were never {nor are] oblivious of the creatures.’ The idea expressed here is that it is quite evident from everything God Has Created that it has neither been created purposelessly nor is it the creation of someone devoid of skill. On the contrary, God’s creation conforms to a well-considered plan, with the result that all parts of His creation reveal a high degree of mutual harmony and coordination. Purposiveness is also evident from every aspect of this vast universe and this conclusively points to the ‘wisdom of its Creator.
Alternatively, if the verse is understood in the second sense (namely ‘We were never oblivious of the creatures’), it would mean that God has never ‘been negligent of the needs of any of His creatures, nor has He ever been unaware of the state they are in. The result is that God has never allowed anything to go in a direction opposed to His plans, nor has he ever been negligent in providing for the natural requirements of anything. God has always been mindful of all His creation, be it a tiny particle or the leaf of a tree, or anything else.
17. This may be understood to mean seasonal rainfall. When one considers the words of the verse, however, one might be inclined to accept another meaning as well: that at the time of creating the universe, God provided it with water through one huge downpour. Thanks to God’s infinite knowledge, He provided through this downpour water in a quantity that would suffice for the earth’s needs for all time to come. The water that was so provided accumulated in the recesses of the earth, giving rise to seas, gulfs, and subsoil water. It is this accumulation of water which is kept rotating through the varying seasons and winds. The original resource of water continues to be distributed through rains, snow-clad mountains, rivers, springs, and wells.
This very accumulation of water enters into the process of creation and into the composition of a variety of things. Then it also becomes part of the wind and eventually returns to the same original resource of water. Thus, from the beginning until today the total quantity of water has neither increased nor decreased by as much as a single drop.
What is even more astonishing is that water is composed of two gases, namely hydrogen and oxygen, which were released only once in such quantity and right proportion that a vast quantity of water was produced which continues to fill the seas and oceans and no fresh supply is added to it. So who is it who prevents hydrogen and oxygen from intermingling, even though both gases are found in the world, with the result that not a drop of water has been added to the original reservoir of water? We also know that water evaporates into air. Again who is it who prevents the two gases from separating after this evaporation? Do atheists have any answers to these questions? Or can all this be satisfactorily explained by those who believe in a multiplicity of gods, who believe that there are separate gods of wind and water, of heat and cold?
18. There are numerous means by which water can be made to disappear: God is quite capable of cutting off the supply of this vital life source by any of these means. Thus, this verse further extends the import of the one which follows: ‘What do you consider, if one morning your water were to vanish in the earth who would then supply you with clear flowing water?’ (al-Mulk .67: 30).
19. This refers to a wide variety of dry and fresh fruits in addition to dates and grapes.
20. Orchards and farms provide man with many forms of livelihood — fruits, grains, timber and much, much more. The words used in the verse are in which the pronoun (is related to the word jannaat (gardens), rather than to fawakih (fruits). As for the word ta’kulun it does not simply mean that ‘people eat the fruits of these gardens’, it rather conveys the wider meaning of deriving a livelihood from them.
21. This alludes to the. olive, the most important product in all the lands around the Mediterranean Sea. The olive tree lasts for one and a half to two thousand years. Olive trees live for so long that on the basis of the height and breadth of some in Palestine it is estimated that they date back to the days of the Prophet Jesus (peace be on him): The olive tree is mentioned here in association with Mount Sinai. This presumably is because the original habitat of the olive tree is Mount Sinai which in turn is the most prominent place in that region.