Tafseer of The Winnowing Winds · Adh-Dhaariyat · 51:47
And the heaven We constructed with strength, and indeed, We are [its] expander.
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 the words of the Exalted: وَالسَّمَاءَ بَنَيْنَاهَا بِأَيْدٍ وَإِنَّا لَمُوسِعُونَ (And the heaven We constructed with might, and indeed, We are [its] expander (47))
The Exalted, whose praise is mentioned, says: And the heaven We raised up as a roof with might.
And in accordance with what we have said about this, the exegetes of the text have spoken.
* Mention of those who said that:
ʿAlī related to me; he said: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us; he said: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His words وَالسَّمَاءَ بَنَيْنَاهَا بِأَيْدٍ : he says: with might.
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 words بِأَيْدٍ : he said: with might.
Bishr related to us; he said: Yazīd related to us; he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda وَالسَّمَاءَ بَنَيْنَاهَا بِأَيْدٍ : that is to say, with might.
Ibn al-Muthannā related to us; he said: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us; he said: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, that he said concerning this verse وَالسَّمَاءَ بَنَيْنَاهَا بِأَيْدٍ : with might.
Yūnus related to me; he said: Ibn Wahb informed us; he said: Ibn Zayd said concerning His words وَالسَّمَاءَ بَنَيْنَاهَا بِأَيْدٍ : he said: with might.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us; he said: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān وَالسَّمَاءَ بَنَيْنَاهَا بِأَيْدٍ : he said: with might.
And His words وَإِنَّا لَمُوسِعُونَ — He says: indeed, We possess ample capacity to create it and to create whatever We will to create, and power over that. And among that is His saying عَلَى الْمُوسِعِ قَدَرُهُ وَعَلَى الْمُقْتِرِ قَدَرُهُ [al-Baqara: 236] (upon the one of ample means is his measure, and upon the one of straitened means is his measure), by which the capable one is meant.
And Ibn Zayd said concerning this what Yūnus related to me; he said: Ibn Wahb informed us; he said: Ibn Zayd said concerning His words وَإِنَّا لَمُوسِعُونَ : he said: He, mighty is His majesty, expanded it.
