Surah Muminun ayat 17 Tafsir Quran 23:17

﴿وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا فَوْقَكُمْ سَبْعَ طَرَائِقَ وَمَا كُنَّا عَنِ الْخَلْقِ غَافِلِينَ﴾
[ المؤمنون: 17]

23:17 And We have created above you seven layered heavens, and never have We been of [Our] creation unaware.

And verily We created above you seven paths that is seven heavens tarā’iq is the plural of tarīqa so called because they are the paths used by the angels and of creation that lies beneath these paths We are never unmindful lest these should fall upon them and destroy them. Nay but We hold them back as stated in the verse And He holds back the heaven lest it should fall upon the earth Q. 2265.

And We created seven heavens that hang high above your heads and We are not oblivious of Our creation -it is We Who maintain them in existence and in order, not to mention precision

His Sign in the creation of the Heavens After mentioning the creation of man, Allah then mentions the creation of the seven heavens.
Allah often mentions the creation of the heavens and earth alongside the creation of man, as He says elsewhere: لَخَلْقُ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ أَكْـبَرُ مِنْ خَلْقِ النَّاسِ ( The creation of the heavens and the earth is indeed greater than the creation of mankind ) 40:57.
A similar Ayah appears at the beginning of Surat As-Sajdah, which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to recite on Friday mornings.
At the beginning it mentions the creation of the heavens and earth, then it says how man was created from semen from clay, and it also discusses the resurrection and rewards and punishments, and other matters. سَبْعَ طَرَآئِقَ ( seven Tara'iq. ) Mujahid said, "This means the seven heavens." This is like the Ayat: تُسَبِّحُ لَهُ السَّمَـوَتُ السَّبْعُ وَالاٌّرْضُ وَمَن فِيهِنَّ ( The seven heavens and the earth and all that is therein, glorify Him ) 17:44 أَلَمْ تَرَوْاْ كَيْفَ خَلَقَ اللَّهُ سَبْعَ سَمَـوَتٍ طِبَاقاً ( See you not how Allah has created the seven heavens one above another ) 71:15 اللَّهُ الَّذِى خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَمَـوَتٍ وَمِنَ الاٌّرْضِ مِثْلَهُنَّ يَتَنَزَّلُ الاٌّمْرُ بَيْنَهُنَّ لِّتَعْلَمُواْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ أَحَاطَ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عِلْمَا ( It is Allah Who has created seven heavens and of the earth the like thereof.
His command descends between them (heavens and earth ), that you may know that Allah has power over all things, and that Allah surrounds all things in ( His ) knowledge) 65:12 Similarly, Allah says here: وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا فَوْقَكُمْ سَبْعَ طَرَآئِقَ وَمَا كُنَّا عَنِ الْخَلْقِ غَـفِلِينَ ( And indeed We have created above you seven Tara'iq, and We are never unaware of the creation. ) meaning, Allah knows what goes into the earth and what comes out of it, what comes down from heaven and what goes up into it.
He is with you wherever you are, and Allah sees what you do.
No heaven is hidden from Him by another and no earth is hidden from Him by another.
There is no mountain but He knows its features, and no sea but He knows what is in its depths.
He knows the numbers of what is in the mountains, the hills, the sands, the seas, the landscapes and the trees. وَمَا تَسْقُطُ مِن وَرَقَةٍ إِلاَّ يَعْلَمُهَا وَلاَ حَبَّةٍ فِى ظُلُمَـتِ الاٌّرْضِ وَلاَ رَطْبٍ وَلاَ يَابِسٍ إِلاَّ فِى كِتَـبٍ مُّبِينٍ ( And not a leaf falls, but He knows it.
There is not a grain in the darkness of the earth nor anything fresh or dry, but is written in a Clear Record. ) 6:59 وَأَنزَلْنَا مِنَ السَّمَآءِ مَآءً بِقَدَرٍ فَأَسْكَنَّاهُ فِى الاٌّرْضِ وَإِنَّا عَلَى ذَهَابٍ بِهِ لَقَـدِرُونَ

(23:17) And We have made seven paths above you *15 We were not novice in the art of creation. *16

And We have created above you seven meaning

*15) The original Arabic word tara `iq has more than one meaning.
It may refer to the paths of the seven planets, with which the man of the time of the revelation of the Qur'an was familiar, or to the seven heavens.
it should be noted that this word has not been used as a modern scientific term, but as a common word according to the Arabic usage of the period in order to invite the people's attention to the wonders of the heavens, whose creation is certainly a greater thing than the creation of men.
( XL: 57 ).

*16) This may also be translated as: " We were not nor are heedless of Our creation. " According to the first translation, it will mean that the whole of the creation has been brought about in a perfect manner with a definite design and purpose, for Allah-their Creator-is perfect in every respect.
The creation itself a proof that it is not the work of a novice or an inexpert.
All the physical laws of the entire system of the universe are so closely interconnected as to prove that it is the creation of the All-Wise Allah.
If we take the second translation, it will mean that AIIah has not been heedless in making provisions for every thing according to its nature from the most insignificant to the greatest of all.

 

His Sign in the creation of the Heavens After mentioning the creation of man, Allah then mentions the creation of the seven heavens.
Allah often mentions the creation of the heavens and earth alongside the creation of man, as He says elsewhere: لَخَلْقُ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ أَكْـبَرُ مِنْ خَلْقِ النَّاسِ ( The creation of the heavens and the earth is indeed greater than the creation of mankind ) 40:57.
A similar Ayah appears at the beginning of Surat As-Sajdah, which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to recite on Friday mornings.
At the beginning it mentions the creation of the heavens and earth, then it says how man was created from semen from clay, and it also discusses the resurrection and rewards and punishments, and other matters. سَبْعَ طَرَآئِقَ ( seven Tara'iq. ) Mujahid said, "This means the seven heavens." This is like the Ayat: تُسَبِّحُ لَهُ السَّمَـوَتُ السَّبْعُ وَالاٌّرْضُ وَمَن فِيهِنَّ ( The seven heavens and the earth and all that is therein, glorify Him ) 17:44 أَلَمْ تَرَوْاْ كَيْفَ خَلَقَ اللَّهُ سَبْعَ سَمَـوَتٍ طِبَاقاً ( See you not how Allah has created the seven heavens one above another ) 71:15 اللَّهُ الَّذِى خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَمَـوَتٍ وَمِنَ الاٌّرْضِ مِثْلَهُنَّ يَتَنَزَّلُ الاٌّمْرُ بَيْنَهُنَّ لِّتَعْلَمُواْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ أَحَاطَ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عِلْمَا ( It is Allah Who has created seven heavens and of the earth the like thereof.
His command descends between them (heavens and earth ), that you may know that Allah has power over all things, and that Allah surrounds all things in ( His ) knowledge) 65:12 Similarly, Allah says here: وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا فَوْقَكُمْ سَبْعَ طَرَآئِقَ وَمَا كُنَّا عَنِ الْخَلْقِ غَـفِلِينَ ( And indeed We have created above you seven Tara'iq, and We are never unaware of the creation. ) meaning, Allah knows what goes into the earth and what comes out of it, what comes down from heaven and what goes up into it.
He is with you wherever you are, and Allah sees what you do.
No heaven is hidden from Him by another and no earth is hidden from Him by another.
There is no mountain but He knows its features, and no sea but He knows what is in its depths.
He knows the numbers of what is in the mountains, the hills, the sands, the seas, the landscapes and the trees. وَمَا تَسْقُطُ مِن وَرَقَةٍ إِلاَّ يَعْلَمُهَا وَلاَ حَبَّةٍ فِى ظُلُمَـتِ الاٌّرْضِ وَلاَ رَطْبٍ وَلاَ يَابِسٍ إِلاَّ فِى كِتَـبٍ مُّبِينٍ ( And not a leaf falls, but He knows it.
There is not a grain in the darkness of the earth nor anything fresh or dry, but is written in a Clear Record. ) 6:59 وَأَنزَلْنَا مِنَ السَّمَآءِ مَآءً بِقَدَرٍ فَأَسْكَنَّاهُ فِى الاٌّرْضِ وَإِنَّا عَلَى ذَهَابٍ بِهِ لَقَـدِرُونَ

( And We have created above you seven paths ) seven heavens, some above others like a dome, ( and We are never unmindful of creation ) leaving them without commands and prohibitions.

And indeed We have created above you seven heavens (one over the other), and We are never unaware of the creation.

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