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2
اللَّهُ الَّذي رَفَعَ السَّماواتِ بِغَيرِ عَمَدٍ تَرَونَها ۖ ثُمَّ استَوىٰ عَلَى العَرشِ ۖ وَسَخَّرَ الشَّمسَ وَالقَمَرَ ۖ كُلٌّ يَجري لِأَجَلٍ مُسَمًّى ۚ يُدَبِّرُ الأَمرَ يُفَصِّلُ الآياتِ لَعَلَّكُم بِلِقاءِ رَبِّكُم توقِنونَ

Yusuf Ali

God is He Who raised the heavens without any pillars1 that ye can see; is firmly established on the throne (of Authority);2 He has subjected the sun and the moon (to his Law)! Each one runs (its course) for a term appointed. He doth regulate all affairs,3 explaining the signs in detail, that ye may believe with certainty in the meeting with your Lord.4
  • Should we construe the clause “that ye can see” to refer to “pillars” or “to the heavens"? Either is admissible, but I prefer the former. The heavens are supported on no pillars that we can see. What we see is the blue vault of heaven, but there are invisible forces or conditions created by God, which should impress us with His power and glory.
  • Cf. 10:3, and n. 1386. We must not think that anything came into being by itself or carries out its functions by itself. God is the active Force through which everything has its life and being and through which everything is maintained and supported, even though fixed laws are established for its regulation and government. The “term appointed” limits the duration of their functioning: its ultimate return is to God, as its beginning proceeded from God (see also 35:13).
  • Cf. 10:31, n. 1425. Where the laws of nature are fixed, and everything runs according to its appointed course, the government and regulation behind it is still that of God. Where there is limited free will as in man, yet the ultimate source of man’s faculties is God. God cares for His creatures. He does not, as in the idea of polytheistic Greece, sit apart on Olympus, careless of His creatures (see also 29:61).
  • One manifestation of His caring for His creatures, even where a limited amount of free will is granted for their development, is that He is careful to explain His Signs both in nature and in express and detailed revelation through His Messengers, lest man should have any doubts whether he has to return ultimately to his Lord and account for all his actions during the “term appointed,” when he was given some initiative by way of trial and preparation. If man attends carefully to the Signs, he should have no doubt whatever.