37. As-Saffat (Those Ranged In Ranks)

Mecca 56 [182 verse]

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

إِنَّا زَيَّنَّا السَّمَاء الدُّنْيَا بِزِينَةٍ الْكَوَاكِبِ ﴿٦﴾

37: 6. We have indeed decked the lower heaven with beauty (in) the stars --

C4035. Cf. 72:8-9. (Eds.).

C4036. 'Stars' may be taken here in the popular sense, as referring to fixed stars, planets, comets, shooting stars, etc.

وَحِفْظًا مِّن كُلِّ شَيْطَانٍ مَّارِدٍ ﴿٧﴾

37: 7. (For beauty) and for guard against all obstinate rebellious evil spirits.

لَا يَسَّمَّعُونَ إِلَى الْمَلَإِ الْأَعْلَى...

37: 8. (So) they should not strain their ears in the direction of the Exalted Assembly

...وَيُقْذَفُونَ مِن كُلِّ جَانِبٍ ﴿٨﴾

but be cast away from every side.

دُحُورًا...

37: 9. Repulsed,

...وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ وَاصِبٌ ﴿٩﴾

for they are under a perpetual penalty.

إِلَّا مَنْ خَطِفَ الْخَطْفَةَ فَأَتْبَعَهُ شِهَابٌ ثَاقِبٌ ﴿١٠﴾

37: 10. Except such as snatch away something by stealth, and they are pursued by a flaming fire, of piercing brightness.

Asad’s Version:

37:6 Behold, We have adorned the skies nearest to the earth with the beauty of stars, (37:7) and have made them secure against every rebellious, satanic force, 3

[[ Ruby’s note - Star in Arabic is Nizm, here instead of Nizm the word Kawakib is used, this same word is used when Prop Yusuf mentioned eleven planets, sun and the moon bowing before him, see below]]

[[Asad’s note - 3 For an explanation of this passage, see note 16 on 15:17.

Note 16 on 15:17: The term shaytan ("satan") - derived from the verb shatana ("he was [or "became"] remote") - often denotes in the Qur'an a force or influence remote from, and opposed to, all that is true and good (Taj al-'Arus, Raghib): thus, for instance, in2:14 it is used to describe the evil impulses (shayatin) within the hearts of "those who are bent on denying the truth". In its widest, abstract sense it denotes every "satanic force", i.e., every impulsion directed towards ends which are contrary to valid ethical postulates. In the present context, the phrase "every satanic force accursed (rajim)"- like the phrase "every rebellious (marid) satanic force" in a similar context in 37:7 - apparently refers to endeavours, strongly condemned in Islam, to divine the future by means of astrological speculations: hence the preceding reference to the skies and the stars. The statement that God has made the heavens "secure" against such satanic forces obviously implies that He has made it impossible for the latter to obtain, through astrology or what is popularly described as "occult sciences", any real knowledge of "that which is beyond the reach of human perception" (al-ghayb).]]

37:6 [Yuksel] We have adorned the lowest heaven with the decoration of planets.

37:7 To guard against every rebellious devil.

37:8 They cannot listen to the command up high; and they are bombarded from every side.

37:9 Outcasts; they will have an eternal retribution.

37:10 Any of them who snatches something away, he is pursued by a piercing flame.

Other Versions:

37:6

Inna zayyanna alssamaa alddunya bizeenatin alkawakibi

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12. Sura Yusuf

12: 4

Asad Lo! Thus spoke Joseph ……I saw [in a dream] eleven stars,

Yusuf Ali Behold Joseph said to his father: "O my father! I did see eleven stars and the sun and the moon: I saw them prostrate themselves to me!"

Pickthall When Joseph said unto his father: O my father! Lo! I saw in a dream eleven planets and the sun and the moon, I saw them prostrating themselves unto me.

Yuksel When Joseph said to his father: "My father, I have seen eleven planets and the sun and the moon, I saw them prostrating before me."*

Transliteration Iz qa_la ya_sufu li abihi ya_ abati inni ra'aitu ahada'asyara kaukabaw wasy syamsa wal qamara ra'aituhum li sa_jidin(a).

41 Fussilat (Clearly Spelled Out/Expounded)

Mecca Period 61 [54 ayats]

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

قُلْ أَئِنَّكُمْ لَتَكْفُرُونَ بِالَّذِي خَلَقَ الْأَرْضَ فِي يَوْمَيْنِ ...

41:9. Say:

Is it that ye Deny Him Who created the earth in two Days?

C4470. This is a difficult passage, describing the primal creation of our physical earth and the physical heavens around us.

If we count the two Days mentioned in this verse, the four Days, mentioned in verse 10, and the two Days mentioned in verse 12, we get a total of eight Days, while in many passages the creation is stated to have taken place in six Days:

see 7:54, n. 1031; and 32:4, n. 3632.

The Commentators understand the "four Days" in verse 10 to include the two Days in verse 9, so that the total for the universe comes to six Days. This is reasonable, because the processes described in verses 9 and 10 form really one series.

In the one case it is the creation of the formless matter of the earth; in the other case it is the gradual evolution of the form of the earth, its mountains and seas, and its animal and vegetable life, with the "nourishment in due proportion", proper to each.

Cf. also 15:19-20.

... وَتَجْعَلُونَ لَهُ أَندَادًا...

And do ye join equals with Him?

...ذَلِكَ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ ﴿٩﴾

He is the Lord of (all) the Worlds.

وَجَعَلَ فِيهَا رَوَاسِيَ مِن فَوْقِهَا وَبَارَكَ فِيهَا...

41: 10. He set on the (earth), Mountains standing firm, high above it, and bestowed blessings on the earth,

C4471. Cf. 13:3 and 16:15, n. 2038.

High above it: the highest mountains are 29,000 feet above sea-level, and the lowest depths of the bottom of the ocean are 31,600 feet below sea-level, so that the vertical difference between the highest and lowest points on the solid crust of the earth is about 11-1/2 miles. The highland areas are the main sources of the water-supply in all the regions of the earth, and vegetable and animal life depends on water-supply.

...وَقَدَّرَ فِيهَا أَقْوَاتَهَا فِي أَرْبَعَةِ أَيَّامٍ ...

and measured therein all things to give them nourishment in due proportion, in four Days,

C4472. See n. 4470 above.

... سَوَاء لِّلسَّائِلِينَ ﴿١٠﴾

in accordance with (the needs of) those who seek (sustenance).

C4473. Sailin may mean either

• those who seek, or

• those who ask or enquire.

If the former meaning is adopted, the clause means that everything is apportioned to the needs and appetites of Allah's creatures.

If the latter, it means that the needs of enquirers are sufficiently met by what is stated here.

ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى إِلَى السَّمَاء وَهِيَ دُخَانٌ...

41: 11. Moreover He Comprehended in His design the sky, and it had been (as) smoke:

C4474. For istawa see n. 1386 to 10:3. Cf. also 2:29.

C4475. From 79:30 it would appear as if the earth was spread out after the sky was made.

In the present passage the creation of the earth and the evolution of life on our globe are mentioned first; and the making of the sky into the seven firmaments is mentioned last. The two statements are not inconsistent.

It is stated here that when the sky was made into seven firmaments, it had existed previously as smoke, or vapour, or steam.

The idea I derive from a collation of the relevant Quranic passages is that Allah first created primeval matter, which was as yet without order, shape, or symmetry. This state is called Chaos as opposed to Cosmos in Greek Cosmogony.

The next stage would be the condensation of this primeval matter, into gases, liquids, or solids: on this subject no precise information is given to us: it belongs to the realm of Physics.

About the earth we are told of four stages or Days, and about the heavens, of two stages or Days. For Days see n. 4477 below.

If these stages proceeded or proceed together in time, it is obvious that each stage as we know it on earth is half as long as each stage in the heavens. But these are questions of Physics, Astronomy, or Geology, nor questions of Religion.

... فَقَالَ لَهَا وَلِلْأَرْضِ اِئْتِيَا طَوْعًا أَوْ كَرْهًا...

He said to it and to the earth: "Come ye together, willingly or unwillingly."

...قَالَتَا أَتَيْنَا طَائِعِينَ ﴿١١﴾

They said: "We do come (together), in willing obedience."

C4476. I take this to mean that Allah's design in creation was not to keep heaven and earth separate, but together, as we indeed are, being part of the solar system, and travellers through space, crossing the path of several comets. And all matter created by Allah willingly obeys the laws laid down for it.

فَقَضَاهُنَّ سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتٍ فِي يَوْمَيْنِ وَأَوْحَى فِي كُلِّ سَمَاء أَمْرَهَا...

41: 12. So He completed them as seven firmaments in two Days and He assigned to each heaven its duty and command.

C4477. For "Days", which may include thousands of years, see 7:54, and n. 1031.

They refer to stages in the evolution of physical nature. In the Biblical cosmogony, (Gen. 1:1-7 and 2:1-7), which reflects old Babylonian cosmogony, the scheme is apparently to be taken literally as to days and is as follows.

- The first day Allah created light;

- the second, the firmament;

- the third, the earth and vegetation;

- the fourth, the stars and plants;

- the fifth, fish and fowl from the sea; and

- the sixth, cattle, creeping things, beasts on land, and man;

- on the seventh day He ended His work and rested.

Our scheme is wholly different.

- Allah did not rest, and never rests. "His Throne doth extend over the heavens and the earth, and He feeleth no fatigue in guarding and preserving them";

- Allah's work has not ended; His activity still goes on: 32:5 5; 7:54;

- man in our scheme does not come in with land animals; his advent is much later;

- our stages are not sharply divided from each other, as in the above scheme, where the stars and planets having been created on the fourth day, it is not intelligible how the first three days were counted, nor how vegetation grew on the third day.

Our stages for earth and heaven are not in sequence of time for the heavens and the earth. Our six stages are broadly speaking,

- the throwing off of our planet from cosmic matter;

- its cooling and condensing;

- 3 and 4 the growth of vegetable and animal life;

- 5 and 6 the parallel growth of the starry realm and our solar system.

...وَزَيَّنَّا السَّمَاء الدُّنْيَا بِمَصَابِيحَ وَحِفْظًا...

And We adorned the lower heaven with lights, and (provided it) with guard.

C4478. Cf. 15:17, and n. 1951; also 37:6-9.

The transition from the third person ("He completed," etc.) to the first person ("We adorned," etc.) may be noted.

The act of creation is an impersonal act: the act of adornment and guarding is a personal favour to Allah's creatures.

...ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ ﴿١٢﴾

Such is the Decree of (Him) the Exalted in Might, Full of knowledge.

Asad’s Version:

41:8 [But,] verily, they who have attained to faith and do good works shall have a reward unending!

41:9 SAY: "Would you indeed deny Him who has created the earth in two aeons? 7 And do you claim that there is any power that could rival Him, 8 the Sustainer of all the worlds?"

(41:10) For He [it is who, after creating the earth,] placed firm mountains on it, [towering] above its surface, and bestowed [so many] blessings on it, and equitably apportioned' its means of subsistence to all who would seek it: [and all this He created] in four aeons. 10

41:11 And" He [it is who] applied His design to the skies, which were [yet but] smoke; 12 and He [it is who] said to them and to the earth, "Come [into being], both of you, willingly or unwillingly!" - to which both responded, "We do come in obedience." 13

41:12 And He [it is who] decreed that they become seven heavens" in two aeons, and imparted unto each heaven its function. And We adorned the skies nearest to the earth with lights, and made them secure: 15 such is the ordaining of the Almighty, the All-Knowing.

Yuksel’s Version:

Cosmology and Ecology

41:9 Say, "You are rejecting the One who created the earth in two days, and you set up equals with Him. This is the Lord of the worlds."*

41:10 He placed in it stabilizers from above it, and He blessed it and established its provisions in four equal days, to satisfy those who ask.

41:11 Then He settled to the heaven, while it was still gas, and He said to it, and to the earth: "Come willingly or unwillingly." They said, "We come willingly."*

41:12 Thus, He then made them into seven heavens in two days, and He inspired to every universe its affair. We adorned the lowest universe with lamps, and for protection. Such is the design of the Noble, the Knowledgeable.

[[Yuksel’s notes -041:009-10 Each "day" of creation represents a period of time. According to the Quran, time is relative (32:5; 70:4). While the creation of earth took two units of time, the creation and evolution of all conditions for and stages of life took four units. This temporal comparison highlights the importance of the ecological system on planet earth. The conjunction between fragments in this verse is Wa (and), thus implying not a sequence of separate events, but overlapping series of events. See 7:69; 25:59; 32:4; 50:38; 57:4.

Though the Bible contains some of the original revelations, Ezra and other Jewish scholars inserted into it many of their misunderstandings, comments, desires and ignorance (2:59). The Biblical account of the creation of the universe does not match scientific evidence. For instance, Genesis 1:1-2 informs us that the first stage of the universe started with the creation of water. Another example of external inconsistency is the creation of plants on earth before the creation of the sun (Genesis 1:11-14).

The order of creation in the Bible is given in detail in its first book, which partially contradicts modern scientific findings: First day, light and darkness (Genesis 1:3-5), Second day, atmosphere, and waters (Genesis 1:6-8), Third day, land and making it fruitful (Genesis 1:9-13), Fourth day, sun, moon, and stars (Genesis 1:14-19), Fifth day, birds, insects, and fishes (Genesis 1:20-23), Sixth day, land animals, and man (Genesis 1:24,28).

The Bible also contains internal inconsistencies. For instance, a comparative reading of chapter 1 and chapter 2 of Genesis will show that, most likely, the two chapters were authored by at least two different people who had different ideas about how the universe was created. Only through scientific evidence, which supports the Quranic version of creation, can we sort out the discrepancies in the Bible. Trees were created before man was (Genesis 1:11-12,26-27) versus man was created before trees were (Genesis 2:4-9). Birds were created before man was (Genesis 1:11-12, 26-27) versus man was created before birds were (Genesis 2:7,19). Animals were created before man was (Genesis 1:24-27) versus man was created before animals were (Genesis 2:7,19).

041:011 Time, space, matter, and everything in the universe, are muslims following the laws issued by their Creator. This verse also informs us about the early stage of the universe after the Big Bang (21:30).]]

Other Versions:

[[Asad’s notes - 7 For the above rendering of the term yawm (lit., "day"), as "aeon", see last third of note 43 on 7:54. As in so many verses of the Qur'an which relate to cosmic events, the repeated mention of the "six aeons" during which the universe was created "two" of which, according to the above verse, were taken by the evolution of the inorganic universe, including the earth has a purely allegorical import: in this case, I believe, an indication that the universe did not exist "eternally" but had a definite beginning in time, and that it required a definite time-lapse to evolve to its present condition.

8 Lit., "do you give Him compeers (andad)?" For an explanation, see note 13 on 2:22.

9 I.e., in accordance with divine justice, and not with human concepts of "equity" or "need".

10 Almost all the classical commentators agree in that these "four aeons" include the "two" mentioned in the preceding verse: hence my interpolation of the words "and all this He created". Together with the "two aeons" of verse 12, the entire allegorical number comes to six.

1 1 Whenever the particle thumma is used, as in the above instance, to link parallel statements - i.e., statements not necessarily indicating a sequence in time it has the function of a simple conjunction, and may be rendered as "and".

12 I.e., a gas - evidently hydrogen gas, which physicists regard as the primal element from which all aterial particles of the universe have evolved and still evolve. For the meaning of the term sama ("sky" or "skies" or "heaven") in its cosmic connotation, see note 20 on 2:29.

1 3 Explaining this passage, Zamakhshari observes: "The meaning of God's command to the skies and the earth to 'come', and their submission [to His command] is this: He willed their coming into being, and so they came to be as He willed them to be...: and this is the kind of metaphor (majaz) which is called 'allegory' (tamthil)... Thus, the purport [of this passage] is but an illustration (taswir) of the effect of His almighty power on all that is willed [by Him], and nothing else...." (It is obvious that Zamakhshari's reasoning is based on the oft-repeated Qur'anic statement, "When God wills a thing to be, He but says unto it, 'Be' - and it is.") Concluding his interpretation of the above

passage, Zamakshari adds: "If I am asked about the meaning of [the words] 'willingly or

unwillingly', I say that it is a figurative expression (mathal) indicating that His almighty will must inevitably take effect." ]]

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15 Cf. 15:16-18 and the corresponding notes 16 and 17; also 37:6 ff ]]

15. al-Hijr [Rocky track]

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

وَلَقَدْ جَعَلْنَا ....

15: 16.  It is We who have set out

C1949. Evil having been described, not as an external thing, but as a taint of the soul, we have in this section a glorious account of the purity and beauty of Allah's Creation.

Evil is a blot on it, not a normal feature of it. Indeed, the normal feature is the guard which Allah has put on it, to protect it from evil.

... فِي السَّمَاء بُرُوجًا وَزَيَّنَّاهَا لِلنَّاظِرِينَ ﴿١٦﴾

the Zodiacal Signs in the heavens, and made them fair-seeming to (all) beholders;

C1950. In the countless millions of stars in the universe which we see, the first step in our astronomical knowledge is to find marvelous order, beauty, and harmony, on a scale of grandeur which we appreciate more and more as our knowledge increases.

The first broad belt that we distinguish is the Zodiac, which marks the sun's path through the heavens year after year and the limit of the wanderings of the moon and the planets.

We make twelve divisions of it and call them Signs of the Zodiac. Each marks the solar path through the heavens as we see it, month after month. We can thus mark off the seasons in our solar year, and express in definite laws the most important facts in meteorology, agriculture, seasonal winds, and tides.

Then there are the mansions of the moon, the mapping out of the Constellations, and the other marvelous facts of the heavens, some of which affect our physical life on this earth. But the highest lessons we can draw from them are spiritual.

The author of this wonderful Order and Beauty is One, and He alone is entitled to our worship.

وَحَفِظْنَاهَا ...

15: 17.  And (moreover) we have guarded them

C1951. Taking the physical heavens, we can imagine the supreme melody of harmony- guarded from every disturbing force. If by any chance any rebellious force of evil seeks to obtain, by stealth, a sound of that harmony to which all who make themselves constant are freely invited, it is pursued by a shooting star, for there can be no consonance between evil and good.

... مِن كُلِّ شَيْطَانٍ رَّجِيمٍ ﴿١٧﴾

from every evil spirit accursed:

C1952. Rajim: driven away with stones, rejected, accursed.

Cf. 3:36.

إِلاَّ مَنِ اسْتَرَقَ السَّمْعَ ...

15: 18.  But any that gains a hearing by stealth,

C1953. Cf. 72:8-9. [Eds.]

... فَأَتْبَعَهُ شِهَابٌ مُّبِينٌ ﴿١٨﴾

is pursued by a flaming fire, bright (to see).

C1954. A shooting star.

Cf. 37:10.

Asad’s Version:

[[15:16 AND, INDEED, We have set up in the heavens great constellations, 15 and endowed them with beauty for all to behold;

(15:17) and We have made them secure against every satanic force

accursed 16 - (15:18) so that anyone who seeks to learn [the unknowable] by stealth is pursued by a flame clear to see. 17

[[ Asad’s notes - 16 The term shaytan ("satan") - derived from the verb shatana ("he was [or "became"] remote") - often denotes in the Qur'an a force or influence remote from, and opposed to, all that is true and good (Taj al-'Arus, Raghib): thus, for instance, in2:14 it is used to describe the evil impulses (shayatin) within the hearts of "those who are bent on denying the truth". In its widest, abstract sense it denotes every "satanic force", i.e., every impulsion directed towards ends which are contrary to valid ethical postulates. In the present context, the phrase "every satanic force accursed (rajim)"- like the phrase "every rebellious (marid) satanic force" in a similar context in 37:7 - apparently refers to endeavours, strongly condemned in Islam, to divine the future by means of astrological speculations: hence the preceding reference to the skies and the stars. The statement that God has made the heavens "secure" against such satanic forces obviously implies that He has made it impossible for the latter to obtain, through astrology or what is popularly described as "occult sciences", any real knowledge of "that which is beyond the reach of human perception" (al-ghayb).

17 Lit., "excepting [or "except that"] anyone who seeks to hear by stealth...", etc. The implication seems to be that any attempt at fathoming the mysteries of the unknowable by such illicit means ("by stealth") is inevitably followed by "a flame clear to see", i.e., by burning, self-evident frustration. (Cf also 37:10.)

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37. Surah as saffat

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

إِنَّا زَيَّنَّا السَّمَاء الدُّنْيَا بِزِينَةٍ الْكَوَاكِبِ ﴿٦﴾

37:6. We have indeed decked the lower heaven with beauty (in) the stars --

C4035. Cf. 72:8-9. (Eds.).

C4036. 'Stars' may be taken here in the popular sense, as referring to fixed stars, planets, comets, shooting stars, etc.

On a clear night the beauty of the starry heavens is proverbial. Here they are meant to illustrate two points:

- their marvelous beauty and their groupings and motions (apparent or real) manifest and typify the Design and Harmony of the One true Creator: and

- the power and glory behind them typify that there is a guard against the assaults of Evil (see verse 7 below).

وَحِفْظًا مِّن كُلِّ شَيْطَانٍ مَّارِدٍ ﴿٧﴾

37: 7. (For beauty) and for guard against all obstinate rebellious evil spirits.

C4037. Verses 7-11 seem to refer to shooting stars, Cf. 15:17-18, and notes 1951-53.

The 'heavens typify not only beauty but power. The Good in Allah's world is guarded and protected against every assault of Evil. The Evil is not part of the heavenly system: it is a thing in outlawry, merely a self-willed rebellion,- "cast away on every side, repulsed under a perpetual penalty" (verses 8-9).

Asad’s Version:

37:6 Behold, We have adorned the skies nearest to the earth with the beauty of stars,

(37:7) and have made them secure against every rebellious, satanic force, 3 [[[3 For an explanation of this passage, see note 16] on 15:17.]]]

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67. Al-Mulk (Dominion)

Mecca 77

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْمَوْتَ وَالْحَيَاةَ ...

67: 2.    He Who created Death and Life,

C5556. "Created Death and Life." Death is here put before Life, and it is created. Death is therefore not merely a negative state.

In 2:28 we read: "Seeing that ye were without life (literally, dead), and He gave you life: then will He cause you to die, and will again bring you to life; and again to Him will ye retum."

In 53:44, again, Death is put before Life. Death, then, is

        the state before life began, which may be non-existence or existence in some other form:

        the state in which Life as we know it ceases, but existence does not cease; a state of Barzakh(23:100), or Barrier or Partition, after our visible Death and before Judgment; after that will be the new Life, which we conceive of under the term Eternity.

... لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا ...

that He may try which of you is best in deed:

C5557. Creation, therefore, is not in mere sport, or without a purpose with reference to man. The state before our present life, or the state after, we can scarcely understand. But our present Life is clearly given to enable us to strive by good deeds to reach a nobler state.

... وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْغَفُورُ ﴿٢﴾

and He is the Exalted in Might, Oft-Forgiving --

C5558. All this is possible, because Allah is so Exalted in Might that He can perfectly carry out His Will and Purpose, and that Purpose is Love, Mercy, and Goodness to His creatures.

الَّذِي خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتٍ طِبَاقًا ...

67: 3.    He Who created the seven heavens one above another;

C5559. Cf. 65:12, and n. 5526-27.

The heavens as they appear to our sight seem to be arranged in layers one above another, and ancient astronomy accounted for the motions of the heavenly bodies in an elaborate scheme of spheres. What we are concerned with here is the order and beauty of the vast spaces and the marvelous bodies that follow regular laws of motion in those enormous spaces in the visible world. From these we are to form some conception of the vastly greater Invisible World, for which we want special spiritual vision.

... مَّا تَرَى فِي خَلْقِ الرَّحْمَنِ مِن تَفَاوُتٍ ...

no want of proportion wilt thou see in the Creation of (Allah) Most Gracious,

... فَارْجِعِ الْبَصَرَ هَلْ تَرَى مِن فُطُورٍ ﴿٣﴾

so turn thy vision again:

Seest thou any flaw?

ثُمَّ ارْجِعِ الْبَصَرَ كَرَّتَيْنِ ...

67: 4.    Again turn thy vision a second time;

C5560. Reverting to the indication of the external or visible world, we are asked to observe and study it again and again, and as minutely as our powers will allow. However closely we observe it, we shall find no flaw in it. Indeed the region of enquiry is so vast and stretches so far beyond our ken, that our eyes, aided with the most powerful telescopes, will confess themselves defeated in trying to penetrate to the ultimate mysteries. We shall find no defect in Allah's handiwork: it is our own powers that we shall find fail to go beyond a certain compass.

... يَنقَلِبْ إِلَيْكَ الْبَصَرُ خَاسِأً وَهُوَ حَسِيرٌ ﴿٤﴾

(thy) vision will come back to thee dull and discomfited, in a state worn out.

وَلَقَدْ زَيَّنَّا السَّمَاء الدُّنْيَا بِمَصَابِيحَ ...

67: 5.    And We have, (from of old), adorned the lowest heaven with Lamps,

C5561. "Lowest (or nearest) heaven":

see n. 4035 to 37:6.

... وَجَعَلْنَاهَا رُجُومًا لِّلشَّيَاطِينِ ...

and We have made such (Lamps) (as) missiles to drive away the Evil Ones,

C5562. The phenomenon of the shooting stars has been, explained in 15:16-18, notes 1951-54; and in 37:6-10, and notes thereon. (R).

وَأَعْتَدْنَا لَهُمْ عَذَابَ السَّعِيرِ ﴿٥﴾

and have prepared for them the Penalty of the Blazing Fire.

Asad’s Version:

67:2 He who has created death as well as life, 1 so that He might put you to a test [and thus show] which of you is best in conduct, and [make you realize that] He alone is almighty, truly forgiving.

67:3 [Hallowed be] He who has created seven heavens in full harmony with one another: 2 no fault will thou see in the creation of the Most Gracious. And turn thy vision [upon it] once more: canst thou see any flaw?

67:4 Yea, turn thy vision [upon it] again and yet again: [and every time] thy vision will fall back upon thee, dazzled and truly defeated. 3

(67:5) And, indeed, We have adorned the skies nearest to the earth with lights, 4 and have made them the object of futile guesses for the evil ones [from among men]: 5 and for them have We readied suffering through a blazing flame

Yuksel’s Version:

67:3 He created seven heavens in harmony. You do not see any disorder in the creation by the Gracious. Keep looking; do you see any flaw?

67:4 Then look again twice; your eyes will come back humiliated and tired.

67:5 We have adorned the lower heaven with lamps, and We made it with projectiles against the devils; and We prepared for them the retribution of the blazing fire.

[[ Asad’s notes - 1 Since what is termed "death" is stated here to have been created, it cannot be identical with "non-existence", but obviously must have a positive reality of its own. To my mind, it connotes, firstly, the inanimate state of existence preceding the emergence of life in plants or animated beings; and, secondly, the state of transition from life as we know it in this world to the - as yet to us unimaginable - condition off existence referred to in the Qur'an as "the hereafter" or "the life to come" (al-akhirah).

2 Or: "conforming [with one another]", this being the primary significance of tibaq (sing, tabaq). For the meaning of the "seven heavens", see surah 2, note 20.

3 Sc, in its endeavour to encompass the mysteries of the universe.

4 Lit., "lamps" - i.e., stars: cf 37:6, "We have adorned the skies nearest to the earth with the beauty of stars". ]]