11 Preface ثُمَّ استَوىٰ إِلَى السَّماءِ وَهِيَ دُخانٌ فَقالَ لَها وَلِلأَرضِ ائتِيا طَوعًا أَو كَرهًا قالَتا أَتَينا طائِعينَYusuf AliMoreover He comprehended1 in His design the sky,2 and it had been (as) smoke: He said to it and to the earth: “Come ye together,3 willingly or unwillingly.” They said: “We do come (together), in willing obedience.”For istawa see n. 1386 to 10:3. Cf. also 2:29.From 79:30 it would appear as if the earth was spread out after the sky was made. In the present passage the creation of the earth and the evolution of life on our globe are mentioned first; and the making of the sky into the seven firmaments is mentioned last. The two statements are not inconsistent. It is stated here that when the sky was made into seven firmaments, it had existed previously as smoke, or vapour, or steam. The idea I derive from a collation of the relevant Qur-ānic passages is that God first created primeval matter, which was as yet without order, shape, or symmetry. This state is called Chaos as opposed to Cosmos in Greek Cosmogony. The next stage would be the condensation of this primeval matter, into gases, liquids, or solids: on this subject no precise information is given us: it belongs to the realm of Physics. About the earth we are told of four stages or Days, and about the heavens, of two stages or Days. For Days see n. 4477 below. If these stages proceeded or proceed together in time, it is obvious that each stage as we know it on earth is half as long as each stage in the heavens. But these are questions of Physics, Astronomy, or Geology, not questions of Religion.I take this to mean that God’s design in creation was not to keep heaven and earth separate, but together, as we indeed are, being part of the solar system, and travellers through space, crossing the path of several comets. And all matter created by God willingly obeys the laws laid down for it.