Tafseer of Luqman · Luqman · 31:10
He created the heavens without pillars that you see and has cast into the earth firmly set mountains, lest it should shift with you, and dispersed therein from every creature. And We sent down rain from the sky and made grow therein [plants] of every noble kind.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The discourse on the explanation of His statement, the Exalted: خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ بِغَيْرِ عَمَدٍ تَرَوْنَهَا وَأَلْقَى فِي الأَرْضِ رَوَاسِيَ أَنْ تَمِيدَ بِكُمْ وَبَثَّ فِيهَا مِنْ كُلِّ دَابَّةٍ وَأَنْزَلْنَا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً فَأَنْبَتْنَا فِيهَا مِنْ كُلِّ زَوْجٍ كَرِيمٍ (31:10) (He created the heavens without pillars that you can see, and He cast into the earth firm mountains, lest it should sway with you; and He scattered therein every kind of living creature. And We sent down water from the sky and caused to grow therein every noble pair of plants.)
The Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says: and among His wisdom is that He خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ (created the heavens), the seven, بغَيْرِ عَمَدٍ تَرَوْنَها (without pillars that you can see). We have already mentioned earlier the disagreement of the exegetes concerning the meaning of His statement بغَيْرِ عمَدٍ تَرَوْنَها (without pillars that you can see) and have set forth the correct position concerning it according to our view.
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Muʿādh ibn Muʿādh related to us, on the authority of ʿImrān ibn Ḥudayr, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: بغَيْرِ عَمَدٍ تَرَوْنَها (without pillars that you can see). He said: perhaps it does have pillars that you cannot see.
He said: al-ʿAlāʾ ibn ʿAbd al-Jabbār related to us, on the authority of Ḥammād ibn Salama, on the authority of Ḥumayd, on the authority of al-Ḥasan ibn Muslim, on the authority of Mujāhid, who said: it is with pillars that you cannot see.
He said: Yaḥyā ibn Ādam related to us, on the authority of Sharīk, on the authority of Simāk, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: perhaps it does have pillars that you cannot see.
Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Muḥammad related to us, on the authority of Simāk, on the authority of ʿIkrima concerning this statement: خَلَقَ السَّمَواتِ بِغَيْرِ عَمَدٍ تَرَوْنَها (He created the heavens without pillars that you can see). He said: you see it without pillars, while it does in fact have pillars.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ بغَيْرِ عَمَدٍ تَرَوْنَها (He created the heavens without pillars that you can see). He said: al-Ḥasan and Qatāda said: it is without pillars — you see it; it has no pillars.
And Ibn ʿAbbās said: بغَيْرِ عَمَدٍ تَرَوْنَهَا (without pillars that you can see). He said: it has pillars that you cannot see.
And His statement: وَأَلْقَى فِي الأرْضِ رَوَاسِيَ أَنْ تَمِيدَ بِكُمْ (and He cast into the earth firm mountains, lest it should sway with you). He says: and He placed upon the surface of the earth firm mountains — these are the fixed mountains — lest it should sway with you, that is to say: lest it should sway with you. He says: lest it should move about with you, and lest it should shift to the right or to the left, but rather should settle to rest with you.
As Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: وألْقَى فِي الأرْضِ رَوَاسِيَ (and He cast into the earth firm mountains): that is to say, mountains, أنْ تَمِيدَ بِكُمْ (lest it should sway with you) — He fixed it firm with the mountains; had that not been so, it would not have let any creature stand firm upon it. And that is as the poet of the rajaz verse said:
«wa-l-muhru yaʾbā an yazāla mulahhabā» (and the colt refuses to cease galloping fiercely)
with the meaning: it does not cease.
And His statement: وَبَثَّ فِيها مِنْ كُلّ دابَّةٍ (and He scattered therein every kind of living creature). He says: and He dispersed over the earth every kind of animal. It is said: «al-dawābb» is a name for all that eats and drinks; but in my view it is for all that crawls over the earth.
And His statement: وأنـزلْنا مِنَ السَّماءِ ماءً فأنْبَتْنا فِيها مِنْ كُلّ زَوْجٍ كَرِيمٍ (and We sent down water from the sky and caused to grow therein every noble pair). The Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says: and We sent down rain from the sky, and by that rain caused to grow in the earth every pair, that is to say: of every kind of plant — كريم (noble), namely of fair growth.
As Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: مِنْ كُلّ زَوْجٍ كَرِيمٍ (every noble pair): that is to say, fair.
