Tafseer of Explained in detail · Fussilat · 41:12
And He completed them as seven heavens within two days and inspired in each heaven its command. And We adorned the nearest heaven with lamps and as protection. That is the determination of the Exalted in Might, the Knowing.
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 explanation of His word, the Exalted: فَقَضَاهُنَّ سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتٍ فِي يَوْمَيْنِ وَأَوْحَى فِي كُلِّ سَمَاءٍ أَمْرَهَا وَزَيَّنَّا السَّمَاءَ الدُّنْيَا بِمَصَابِيحَ وَحِفْظًا ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ ("Then He completed them as seven heavens in two days, and He revealed in each heaven its affair. And We adorned the nearest heaven with lamps and as a protection. That is the determination of the Almighty, the All-Knowing") (41:12).
He, exalted is His mention, says: He completed the creation of them as seven heavens in two days, and that was the Thursday and the Friday.
As Mūsā related to me, he said: ʿAmr related to us, he said: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, he said: He turned toward the heaven, while it was smoke from the vapor of the water when it gave off vapor, and He made of it a single heaven, then He split it open and made of it seven heavens in two days, on Thursday and Friday. And the Friday (yawm al-jumuʿa) was so named because on it the creation of the heavens and the earth was gathered (jumiʿa).
And His word: وَأَوْحَى فِي كُلِّ سَمَاءٍ أَمْرَهَا ("and He revealed in each heaven its affair"). He says: and He placed in each heaven of the seven heavens that which He willed of creation.
And in accordance with that which we have said concerning this, the exegetes have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, he said: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, he said: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, he said: al-Ḥasan related to us, he said: Warqāʾ related to us — both of them — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His word: وَأَوْحَى فِي كُلِّ سَمَاءٍ أَمْرَهَا ("and He revealed in each heaven its affair"), he said: that which Allah commanded and willed therein.
Mūsā related to us, he said: ʿAmr related to us, he said: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: وَأَوْحَى فِي كُلِّ سَمَاءٍ أَمْرَهَا ("and He revealed in each heaven its affair"), he said: He created in each heaven its creation of angels and the creation that is found therein of seas and mountains of hail, and that which one does not know.
Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: وَأَوْحَى فِي كُلِّ سَمَاءٍ أَمْرَهَا ("and He revealed in each heaven its affair"): He created therein its sun, its moon, its stars, and its welfare.
And His word: وَزَيَّنَّا السَّمَاءَ الدُّنْيَا بِمَصَابِيحَ وَحِفْظًا ("and We adorned the nearest heaven with lamps and as a protection"). He, exalted is His mention, says: and We adorned the nearest heaven for you, O people, with the celestial bodies, and they are the lamps.
As Mūsā related to us, he said: ʿAmr related to us, he said: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: زَيَّنَّا السَّمَاءَ الدُّنْيَا بِمَصَابِيحَ ("We adorned the nearest heaven with lamps"), he said: then He adorned the heaven with the celestial bodies, and He made them an adornment وَحِفْظًا ("and as a protection") against the devils (shayāṭīn).
And the scholars of Arabic have differed concerning the reason for the accusative (naṣb) in His word: وَحِفْظًا ("and as a protection"). Some of the grammarians of Basra said: it is in the accusative with the meaning "and We protected it with a protection," as though He said: "and We protect it with a protection," for when He said "We adorned it with lamps" He had already reported that He had concerned Himself with its affair and tended to it, and this points to the protection, as though He said: "and We protected it with a protection." And some of the grammarians of Kufa said: it is in the accusative with the meaning "and as a protection We adorned it," for if the wāw were to be dropped, it would be: "verily, We adorned the nearest heaven as a protection." And this second statement is, in our view, closer to correctness than the first.
And I have already set forth the ground for that, in a similar case, in more than one place in this book, such that it makes it unnecessary to repeat it.
And His word: ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ ("That is the determination of the Almighty, the All-Knowing"). He, exalted is His mention, says: this which I have described to you of My creation of the heaven and the earth and what is found therein, and My adornment of the nearest heaven with the adornment of the celestial bodies, in the manner which I have set forth, is the determination of the Almighty (al-ʿAzīz) in His vengeance upon His enemies, the All-Knowing (al-ʿAlīm) concerning the hidden and open affairs of His servants and their governance in a manner that serves their welfare.
