Tafsir of Luqman 31:10

Surah Luqman (31): Verse 10

{خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ بِغَيْرِ عَمَدٍ تَرَوْنَهَا} (He created the heavens without pillars that you see.)

Then the Almighty said: {He created the heavens without pillars that you see.}

He clarified His Might and Wisdom by saying: {He created the heavens without pillars}. Scholars have differed regarding the heavens:

1. Flat/Level Surface: Some said they are spread out like a flat sheet. This is the view of most commentators.
2. Spherical/Round: Others said they are spherical, which is the view of all engineers.

Imam Al-Ghazali (may Allah have mercy on him) stated that we agree with the engineers on this point because they have sensory evidence supporting it, and contradicting sensory evidence is not permissible. Even if there were a narration suggesting otherwise, we would interpret it in a way it can accommodate. Furthermore, there is nothing explicit in the Qur'an or Sunnah that dictates the heavens are flat; rather, there are indications suggesting sphericity, such as His saying: {And the sun and the moon are each in an orbit.} (Al-Anbiya: 33), and al-Falak (orbit/sphere) is the name for something round.

However, the essential point is that whether the heavens are spherical or flat, they are created by the power of Allah, not existing by necessity or inherent nature.

Given this understanding, we say: The heaven occupies a space—an infinite expanse. The heaven being in one part of that expanse and not another is only due to a chosen power. This is alluded to by His saying: {without pillars}, meaning nothing supports them to prevent them from ceasing to exist in their place. They only cease to exist by the power of Allah, the Exalted.

Some scholars interpreted this to mean that the heavens in their entirety and totality have no location, because location is what something relies upon to be situated. Thus, something situated must be supported. A Heez (region/space) is what is pointed to by reference to what is within it (e.g., "here" or "there"). They argue that someone falling from a high mountain is in the air (in a Heez) because one can point to him as being "here" or "there," but he is not in a Makan (a fixed location) because he is not resting upon anything. Once he lands on the ground, he is in a location. Based on this, the heavens are not in a location upon which they rely, hence they have no pillars.

Regarding His saying: {that you see}, there are two interpretations:

1. It refers back to the heavens: They are without pillars, and you see them in that state—without support.
2. It refers to the pillars: They are without visible pillars. Even if there were unseen pillars, they would be the power and will of Allah.

{وَأَلْقَى فِي الْأَرْضِ رَوَاسِيَ أَنْ تَمِيدَ بِكُمْ وَبَثَّ فِيهَا مِنْ كُلِّ دَابَّةٍ وَأَنْزَلْنَا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً فَأَنْبَتْنَا فِيهَا مِنْ} (And He cast into the earth mountains, firm, lest it should shake with you, and [He dispersed] therein every kind of creature. And We sent down water from the sky and caused to grow therein every kind [of beautiful plant] from...)

{وَأَلْقَى فِي الْأَرْضِ رَوَاسِيَ} (And He cast into the earth firm mountains): meaning firm, fixed mountains.

{أَنْ تَمِيدَ بِكُمْ} (lest it should shake with you): meaning out of dislike for it shaking, or it means "so that it does not shake."

Know that the stability of the Earth is due to its heaviness. Otherwise, it would move from its place due to water and winds. If Allah had created it like sand, it would not remain stable for agriculture, just as we see sandy lands where the sand shifts from place to place.

Then the Almighty said: {وَبَثَّ فِيهَا مِنْ كُلِّ دَابَّةٍ} (and [He dispersed] therein every kind of creature). The stillness of the Earth serves the movement of living creatures. We stabilized the Earth, and We moved the creatures. If the Earth were constantly shaking, and certain lands suited certain animals, then the creature that cannot live in a place would end up there, leading to its destruction. But since the Earth is still and the animals move, they travel to the places suitable for them, graze there, and live there.

Then the Almighty said: {وَأَنْزَلْنَا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً} (And We sent down water from the sky). This is another blessing Allah bestowed upon His servants, and its completion relies on the stability of the Earth. If the seed did not remain fixed until it sprouted, the crop would not be established. If the parts of the Earth were moving like sand, stability would not be achieved, and the growth would not be complete.

The shift from the third-person passive voice (He cast, He dispersed) to the first-person active voice (We sent down) demonstrates eloquence and wisdom.

Eloquence (Fasaha): This is mentioned in the chapter on Iltifat (shift in perspective). When the listener hears a long speech in one style, and then a different style is introduced, they find it pleasing. Have you not seen that if you say, "Zayd said this and that," and "Khalid said this and that," and then "Bakr said something beautiful," it is appreciated because the speech has been repeated many times in the same manner.

Wisdom (Hikma): This is in two aspects:

1. The creation of the heavy Earth and the heaven in a non-location might lead a layman to think it is by nature (tab'a). The dispersion of creatures might lead some to think it is by the choice (ikhtiyar) of the creature, as animals possess choice. We respond by saying the former (Earth's stability) is natural, while the latter (creature movement) is optional for the animal. However, no one doubts that water being suspended above is neither by nature (since water does not naturally stay above) nor by choice (since water has no choice). Thus, it is by the will of Allah, hence {And We sent down}.
2. Sending down water is a manifest blessing, recurring at all times and abundant in all places. Therefore, He ascribed it to Himself explicitly so that man is alerted to thank Him for His blessings, increasing His mercy upon him.

His saying: {فَأَنْبَتْنَا فِيهَا مِنْ كُلِّ زَوْجٍ} (and caused to grow therein every kind): meaning every species. Every species is opened up into two pairs, because vegetation is either trees or non-trees. Trees are either fruit-bearing or non-fruit-bearing. Fruit-bearing ones are also divided into two categories.

His saying: {كَرِيمٍ} (noble/generous): meaning possessing generosity, because it comes forth abundantly without measure, or it is honored, like a beloved thing to the lover.

{هَٰذَا خَلْقُ اللَّهِ فَأَرُونِي مَاذَا خَلَقَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ دُونِهِ بَلِ الظَّالِمُونَ فِي ضَلَالٍ مُبِينٍ} (This is the creation of Allah. So show Me what those [false deities] whom you have set up besides Him have created? Nay, the wrongdoers are in plain error.)