Part 15

qu alities fro m vegetati on and fru its, etc. (botan ica l lire) and

rrom anim al (zoo log ica l life)]. Ve ril y! In this is a sign for

people who rememher. ) (Soora" AII-Nahl I 6: I 013)

So All ah , Most High, has ment ion ed the thi ngs that He has

creat ed in the Earth, suc h as the mountai ns, the trees, fruits,

Whar lias Beell Said Regarding rhe ClT!alion (~r 75

the plain s, a nd the ru gged s urf~l ces. He has men ti oned the

types of things that He crea ted , such as the inorga ni c mat erial s

(min era ls, etc.), the living creat ures in the countrysi de, in the

desert and in the seas. All of th ese prove Hi s Grea tn ess, Hi s

Power, Hi s Wisdom and Hi s Mercy toward Hi s c reation and

He has made ror eve ry movi ng creatu re the prov ision thai

they req uire day and ni ght, in summ er and in winter, in the

morni ng and in the eve nin g, as All ah, Mos t High , says, ( And

no mov ing c rea ture is there on Earth bU I its provision is due

from All ah. A nd He knows its dwe ll ing place and its deposit.

All is in a Clear Book.) (Soorall Hood I I :6)

71'ritl (II.< ((' 11/( (,'t"lrI(('1I

(itt' ! t't'lfJ'I'II,' 111// (A,. . \~/"" 'idl'll ('~',dtl(11

We ha ve already slated thaI the creation of the Ea rt h look

place before th e creat ion or the heave n, as All ah , Most Hig h,

says, li e il is Who created lor YOli all thaI is on Earth. Then

I k /s/aIl'o ila thl: heaven and made them seve n heave ns and I-I e

is the Knower or everyt hin g. (5001'011 II I-Baqara/i 2:29)

He, Most Hi g h, says, ( Say: " Do you ve ril y disbelieve III

Ilim Who created the Earth in Iwo days and you sci lip rivuls

wilh Him Who is th e Lo rd orall that exists." l ie placed therein

firm mountains from above il. and l ie blessed il. and mC.lsurct!

therei n its sustenance in four Days equ al for all those who nsk.

Theil lie rose over (is/mm ita) the heaven when it \\as smoke.

and said 10 it <lilt! to the Earth: "Come both of you willingly

or un will ingly'" They both said: "We comc willingly." Then

lie completed and finished their crea tion (as) SC\'cn heavcns

in two days .mel li e madc ill each heaven its nmlir. And We

adoll1cd the ncarest (lowest) heaven with l<lmps (stars) to be an

adornment as we ll as to guard . Such is th e dec ree or I-lim, the

11'''(/( Perwills fO Ih e Cn'alitlll (~rlfle I/em'em (II/(I 77

Almighty, th e A ll - Know ing. , (Sooralt F'1I.'I'Silal 41 :912)

He, Most H igh, says, ( Are you more di fTi c ult to crea te or is

th e heave n Ihat I-Ie co nstru cted, li e ra ised its hei g ht. and ha s

per fec ted it. Its night li e covers and I-Ie brin gs Oll t its foren oon .

And after that l ie s prea d the Ea rth. ) (Soorah Alf-Nazi'af 79:

\Ve have exp lained Hi s Words : ' And a lier tha i He spread

the Earth ) by sayin g that the A rabic word dahya (spreadin g)

docs not mean khalq (c reation) ; it was aft er the creation ortlle

He, Mos t H igh , says, ( Bl essed be He in Whos\.! lI and is th e

dominion; and I-Ie is A bl e to do all things . Who ha s crea ted

death and life that He rnay test you wh ich of you is best in deed ,

And l ie is Ihe A lmi g hl y, th e OftForgiv in g. Who has created

the seven heavens one above the other; you can see no fault in

the crea tion of the Most Gmcious , Then look again , Ca n you

sec any rifts'! Then look aga in a nd yet agai n , you r s ig ht will

return to YO Li humiliat ed and worn out. And ind eed We have

adorned the nearest heaven wit h lamps, and We have made

such lam ps (as) missiles 10 drive away the Shayati n, and have

prepared for thcm th e torment or the blaz ing Fir!.!. ) (Soom/i

He, Most 1-1ig h, says, ( (I-Ie is Ihe) C leave r of til e daybreak . l ie

has appoint~d the night fo r res ti ng. and the sun an d the moon

for rcckon ing. Such is the measurin g o r the A lmighty, th e AII-

Know ing. II is li e Who has set th e s tars for you. so that you

may guide your course with Iheir help through the darkness o f

the land and the sea, We have (indeed) explained in detail Our

Signs 1'0 1' peop le who know. .. (Sooredl AI-An '01116:96-9 7)

He, Most Hi gh, says, Indeed . your Lord is Allah. W ho

78 Whm Per/aim' lo the CreatiUII of/he lJem'em lIlId

crea ted the heave ns :md the Earth in six days , and then He

rose over (israll'a) the Th rone. Hc brings the ni ght as a cover

ovcr the day, seek in g it rapid ly, and (He c reated ) the S Ull , the

moon , the stars subjected to Hi s cO lllman d, Surely, Hi s is the

crcation and commandment. Blessed is Alla h, the Lord of all

that ex ists .) (Saarali A/~A '/'qf 7:54), And the Ve rses a ll thi s

subject are ex tremcly numerous and we ha ve spoken about a ll

o f thcm in our Tq/ . . eer.

What is mea nt is that He, Mos t High infonn s us about the

creation o f the hea vens and its grea t vastness and elevat ion, that

it is th e ultimate ill bea uty, splendor, perfec ti on and brill iance,

as I-Ie, Most High , says , ( By the heaven full of 11IIhuk (full of

beauty, grace, magnifi cence and perfection), ) (Soorah Ad"-

Dlwriyaf 51 :7) Th at is, the beauti ful c reati on.

He, Most High, says , ( Who has crea ted th e seven heavens

one above the other; you ca n sec no fau lt in the creati on o f

the Most Gracious. Then look again . Ca n you see any rifts.

Th cn look again a nd yet aga in , you r sight w ill retu rn to YO LI

hu miliated and worn out. ) (Soorali AI-Mulk 67: 3-4) That is,

humili ated from trying to sec any defect, impcrfec tion or flaw

in it. The Arab ic word liaseer mcans exha ustcd and weak;

eve n if onc looket.! until one's sight became feeble , fa tigucd

and weakened, onc wo ul d not fin d any dcrcct in it , nor any

fa ult, because All ah , Mostl-l igh, had orda incd its creation and

adorned its sky wit h the stars.

A I ~ B ukh ari sa id in the Book of the Beginning of Creatioll:

Qa tadah said, ,,( And indeed Wc have adorned thc ncarest

hcaven w ith lamps. ) (Soorah AlMlllk 67:5) The creation of

these stars was for three purposes: as decoration of the sky, as

missiles to hi t the devils, and as signs to guide travelers. So, if

anybody tries 10 find a differen t interpretati on, he is mi staken , he

/Vllal PerlaillS 10 Ihe Creal;ulI oflhe /leavells alld 79

will lose his reward and has tak cn on a task abollt whi ch he has

no knowledge." Th is was Qatadah's cl ear statcmcnt regarding

th e Words of Albh, Most Hi gh: ( And indced We have adomed

the nearest heaven wi th lamps and We have madc such lamps

(as) missiles to drive away the s/w),ateen (devils). ) (Soorah A/-

He, Most Hi gh, says , ( It is He Who has se t the stars for you,

so that you may guide your course with the ir help through the

darkncss o f the land and Ihe sea. ) (Soorah AI-AII 'oIl16:97 ) So

whoever ass igns any other purpose to them, i.e. slleh as the

kn ow ledge o f (Di vine) ordainm ents, taking th eir movements

as ev idence and comparisons betwee n th eir orbits and cla ims

that this is proo f that cert ain Ea rthl y events will ta ke pl ace, is

mistaken. Thi s is beca use most o f what they saya n thi s subjec t

con tains no thing but conjecture, li es an d fa lse cla ims. All ah

mentioned that He crea ted seven heavens one abo ve an other.

But scholars have differed as to wh ether or n OI th e spaces

between them are piled up togeth er or whether there arc spaces

between them. In facl, the latter is the correct opi nion.

In the Saheehain it is reported on the authorit y of Anas 4>

in the hadeerh of AI-/!'Ta' that he said: In the lowest heaven

to the Proph et ~ . " He is your father; greet him." The Prophet

#$ gree ted him and Adam ~ return ed hi s greetin g and said,

"Welcome, Oh, my so n! 0, what a good son yo u arc !" And

th en he ascended to the second heaven. Li kewi se, he reported

that the same thin g happened in the third , fourth , fifth, sixth

and seventh heave ns." This proves that th ey arc separatcd

from each other, beca use he sa id that th ey asccnded unti l lhey

reac hed the seco nd heave n and sought ent ra nce, upon whi ch it

80 Whol Perlaim 10 Ill e Crealioll oflhe Hem'ellS (lIId

was said , " Who is this? .. .. (I) up to the e nd o f the lIadeetli. So

thi s proves what we have said. And Allah knows better.

Ibn Hazm, Ibn AI-M un cer, Abul Faraj Ibn AI-Jawzi and other