(… الَّذِي خَلَقَ) (Who created …): Allah (swt) is the God Who created the universe, He is the Creator, The Originator, The All-Wise and the Most Merciful to His slaves. He is The Creator of everything in the earth and the heavens, He is High above having a partner in His creation.

Allah (swt) is the Creator, The Most Merciful, The Compassionate and The Predominant even before His creations came to existence, for He is the Creator due to His eternal attribute of being able to create. He is the Provider before the receiver of His provisions exists. By His all-eternal attributes, He gives and order of (Be) and a thing will be.

Hence, if a messenger came and told us that Allah (swt) is the Creator of the sun, he is either a truthful so we all believe that Allah (swt) is indeed the Creator, or he is not truthful then, a question may be raise: “Why has no one else claimed that he is the creator?” However, the preciseness and the miraculous creation, that no single or collective human powers what so ever can achieve, is undisputable evidence that Allah (swt) is the Only Creator, that is until someone comes and says that he is the creator, and this will never happen, until then this matter is settled that Allah (swt) is the Creator. Allah ‘s (swt) power is unlimited and His Ability is absolute. Allah (swt) raise a question:

أَمْ خُلِقُوا مِنْ غَيْرِ شَيْءٍ أَمْ هُمُ الْخَالِقُونَ

(Or were they created by nothing, or were they the creators [of themselves]?) (At-Toor: 35)

If the answer is “No” for both, neither were they created by nothing, nor were they the creators of themselves, while Allah (swt) tells us that He is the One Who created us and the universe as well and He (swt) clarifies this truth in many of the verses that the science has proved. The universe is full of signs that proves the creativeness of the Creator, the wonderfulness of His creation and the clear harmony among these signs:

وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ اللَّيْلُ وَالنَّهَارُ وَالشَّمْسُ وَالْقَمَرُ

(And of His signs are the night and day and the sun and moon.) (Fussilat: 37)

 وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ الْجَوَارِ فِي الْبَحْرِ كَالْأَعْلَامِ

(And of His signs are the ships in the sea, like mountains.) (Ash-Shura: 32)

These verses and other similar ones draw our attention to Allah’s Power.

Allah (swt) has created the universe including the earth and the skies, the human beings and revealed the Holy Quran. Allah (swt) does not let the universe to work automatically by itself and He (swt) does not isolate Himself from the universe and the creation because they are always in need to His Guardianship.

The human beings share some attributes with Allah (swt). In this regard Allah (swt) says:

 فَتَبَارَكَ اللَّهُ أَحْسَنُ الْخَالِقِينَ

(So blessed is Allah, the best of creators.) (Al-Muminoon: 14)

But there is a difference, Allah (swt) is the Creator in a sense that He (swt) brings something to existence out of nothing- this is only done by Allah (swt)- whereas a human being may create something out of something else, for instance a person may made a cup from sand, so he/she is the creator of this cup. As for Allah (swt), He brought the universe into existence out of nothing. Allah (swt) respected the man’s bringing something into existence and call him a creator, but Allah (swt) is the best of creators, best of providers, the best of those who inherit and the best of planners. It is more proper to turn to the Great Creator Who created this wonderful universe and unrivalled creation and the necessity of believing in Him. Through these, we know certainly that Allah (swt) is the Creator of the earth and heavens, water, air and determined the sustenance on earth till the last day. Allah (swt) says:

لَخَلْقُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ أَكْبَرُ مِنْ خَلْقِ النَّاسِ وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ

(The creation of the heavens and earth is greater than the creation of mankind, but most of the people do not know.) (Ghafir: 57)

Thus, when Islam came it presented the empirical or material science, it called our attention to Allah’s signs in the universe and ordered us to mediate on them using our minds and perceptions. Allah (swt) says:

  وَكَأَيِّن مِّنْ آيَةٍ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ يَمُرُّونَ عَلَيْهَا وَهُمْ عَنْهَا مُعْرِضُونَ

(And how many a sign within the heavens and earth do they pass over while they, therefrom, are turning away.) (Yusuf: 105)

Therefore, Allah (swt) draws out attention to His signs to think about them and derive out of them what lead us to achievement of civilization, noting that Allah (swt) originated the heavens unprecedently.

 بَدِيعُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ

(Originator of the heavens and the earth.) (Al-Baqara: 117)

Meaning, before creating them, there were no heavens, earth, angels, Jinn or human beings so that Allah (swt) patterned them accordingly, of course not, Allah (swt) did not have resource of molding them. The creation of heavens and earth fills us with wonder and conscious witnessing that there is no god but Him (swt).

(… سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتٍ طِبَاقًا… ) (…seven heavens in layers …): The word heavens is in the plural form. In another verse Allah (swt) says:

 فَقَضَاهُنَّ سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتٍ فِي يَوْمَيْنِ وَأَوْحَىٰ فِي كُلِّ سَمَاءٍ أَمْرَهَا ۚ وَزَيَّنَّا السَّمَاءَ الدُّنْيَا بِمَصَابِيحَ وَحِفْظًا ۚ ذَٰلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ

(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.) (Fussilat: 12)

In the past, it is said that the seven heavens refer to the planets: The sun, the moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and the earth. But Allah (swt) willed to invalidate this claim, while those who made it are still alive, for the astronauts discovered other planets such as: Neptune and Pluto. This is a Divine refutation for those who said that the seven heavens refer to planets. Some people adopted this claim with good will to relate the Holy Quran with science but they did not comprehend the verses of the Holy Quran. Allah (swt) states that the sun, the moon and the planets are the adornments of the nearest heaven, so what about the nature and the adornments of the other heavens?

 وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا فَوْقَكُمْ سَبْعَ طَرَائِقَ وَمَا كُنَّا عَنِ الْخَلْقِ غَافِلِينَ

(And We have created above you seven layered heavens, and never have We been of [Our] creation unaware.) (Al-Muminoon: 17)

The exact meaning of the Arabic word of (layered heavens) is the (beaten ways) or the ways made for the angels. However, the beaten object has a size which widens by treading, as the piece of iron which expands when you strike it. So let’s look at the wide heaven and say: “Exalted is He Who expanded it” We notice here that Allah (swt) does not mention the earth, why? It is said that because we stand on earth stable, does not afraid of anything, while we are afraid that the heaven may fall upon us. That is why Allah (swt) says at the end of the above-mentioned verse:

 وَمَا كُنَّا عَنِ الْخَلْقِ غَافِلِينَ

(and never have We been of [Our] creation unaware) (Al-Muminoon: 17)

Meaning, Allah (swt) is not unaware of the heavens above us and He holds it by His power. Allah (swt) gives us a tangible proof about the fact that He raised the sky over us without pillars, giving an example of the birds that fly and are held by Him (swt):

أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا إِلَى الطَّيْرِ فَوْقَهُمْ صَافَّاتٍ وَيَقْبِضْنَ ۚ مَا يُمْسِكُهُنَّ إِلَّا الرَّحْمَٰنُ ۚ إِنَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ بَصِيرٌ

(Do they not see the birds above them with wings outspread and [sometimes] folded in? None holds them [aloft] except the Most Merciful. Indeed He is, of all things, Seeing.) (Al-Mulk: 19)

The linguistic meaning of sky in Arabic is “everything that overtops and shades you), but does the sky meant by Allah (swt) is all what overtops us including the stars, the sun and the moon? Allah (swt) has created the skies as layers, He (swt) says:

 لَتَرْكَبُنَّ طَبَقًا عَن طَبَقٍ

(you will surely experience state after state.) (Al-Inshiqaq: 19)

When one looks at the sky time after time, he cannot find any defect or cracks.

(… مَّا تَرَىٰ فِي خَلْقِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ… ) (…You do not see in the creation of the Most Merciful …): By His attribute of mercy, Allah (swt) has created this universe in this perfection. So that Allah (swt) mentions this name (Most Merciful), that must be exalted. Hence, we live in His universe that He (swt) prepared for us out of His attribute of Mercy.

(… مِن تَفَاوُتٍ… ) (…any inconsistency …): Whereas, if you think of a professional builder who makes ceilings using one material and one paints, you would find differences between one ceiling and another. 

 (inconsistency) means difference. In the creation of Allah (swt), we do not see any differences, as it is level, without disharmony, deficiency, defect, or imbalance, and we do not see in the sky a disturbance or crookedness.

(… فَارْجِعِ الْبَصَرَ… ) (…So return [your] vision …): Let anyone looks and looks again at the sky, not just a normal look, but with thinking and pondering upon the greatness of Allah’s creation. Mistakenly, some may think that the words have the same meaning in the sentence, yet each word has its significance. For example, the words: see, look, glance, catch sight of and stare, all of these words indicate seeing but each has its specific meaning. For example, “catch sight of” means to see with sideway of his eyes, “glance” on the other hand means to look at something quickly, whereas “stare” means to look for a long time and so on. The sight is the function of eyes regarding the tangible matters. But when the sight is accompanied with insight, the heart is enlightened to recognize that there is no defect or discrepancy whatsoever in Allah’s creation. The one who is bestowed with insight knows by his sight and knowledge the realm, so he extracts secrets and distracts facts.

(  فَارْجِعِ الْبَصَرَ هَلْ تَرَىٰ مِن فُطُورٍ… ) (…So return [your] vision [to the sky]; do you see any breaks?): Let the human look at the sky repeatedly, he will not find any cracks or dissimilarities. That is because Allah (swt) has created it perfectly, He (swt) says:

 وَالسَّمَاءَ بَنَيْنَاهَا بِأَيْدٍ وَإِنَّا لَمُوسِعُونَ

(And the heaven We constructed with strength, and indeed, We are [its] expander.) (Adh-Dhariyat: 47) And says:

 وَالسَّمَاءِ ذَاتِ الْحُبُكِ

(By the heaven containing pathways,) (Adh-Dhariyat: 7)

The heaven is well-knitted and consistent; meaning its atoms are compacted together, in a sense that it is compacted completely, rather just its atoms. That is why the sky is even, Allah (swt) says:

 رَفَعَ سَمْكَهَا فَسَوَّاهَا

(He raised its ceiling and proportioned it.) (An-Nazi’aat: 28)

If you look at the sky when it is clear, you will see it is even, without any protrusion or crookedness in spite its wideness, it is raised without any pillars. It represents a well-knit precise system; the humans have nothing to do with it. In this regard, Allah (swt) orders us to make a balance in all the matters that we have a free choice about, so that we do not transgress, for the complete Power of Allah (swt) has perfected the creation of the heavens.

وَالسَّمَاءَ رَفَعَهَا وَوَضَعَ الْمِيزَانَ (7) أَلَّا تَطْغَوْا فِي الْمِيزَانِ

(And the heaven He raised and imposed the balance (8) That you not transgress within the balance.) (Ar-Rahman: 7-8)

This is the balance of the heavens, so keep the worldly balance with equity.