19 Preface وَالأَرضَ مَدَدناها وَأَلقَينا فيها رَواسِيَ وَأَنبَتنا فيها مِن كُلِّ شَيءٍ مَوزونٍYusuf AliAnd the earth We have spread out1 (like a carpet); set thereon mountains firm and immovable; and produced therein all kinds of things in due balance.2Majesty, order, beauty, and harmony are shown in all God’s Creation, but especially in the heavens. Coming nearer to man, God’s care for man and His goodness are shown (besides His other qualities) in His creation of the earth. In highly poetical language, the earth is described as spread out like carpet, on which the eternal hills act as weights to keep it steady (Cf. 13:3 and 16:15).And every kind of thing is produced on the earth in due balance and measure. The mineral kingdom supports the vegetable and they, in their turn, support the animal, and there is a link of mutual dependence between them. Excess is eliminated. The waste of one is made the food of another, and vice versa. And this is an infinite chain of gradation and interdependence.