Tafheem ul Quran

Surah 23 Al-Mu'minun, Ayat 17-17

وَلَقَدۡ خَلَقۡنَا فَوۡقَكُمۡ سَبۡعَ طَرَآئِقَ ۖ  وَمَا كُنَّا عَنِ الۡخَـلۡقِ غٰفِلِيۡنَ‏ ﴿23:17﴾

(23:17) We have indeed fashioned above you seven paths.15 Never were We unaware of the task of creation.16


Notes

15. The original Arabic word taraiq has more than one meaning. It may refer to the paths of the seven planets, with which the man of the time of the revelation of the Quran was familiar, or to the seven heavens. It should be noted that this word has not been used as a modern scientific term, but as a common word according to the Arabic usage of the period in order to invite the people’s attention to the wonders of the heavens, whose creation is certainly a greater thing than the creation of men. (Surah Al-Hijr, Ayat 57).

16. This may also be translated as: We were not nor are heedless of Our creation. According to the first translation, it will mean that the whole of the creation has been brought about in a perfect manner with a definite design and purpose. For Allah, their Creator, is perfect in every respect. The creation itself a proof that it is not the work of a novice or an inexpert. All the physical laws of the entire system of the universe are so closely interconnected as to prove that it is the creation of the All-Wise Allah. If we take the second translation, it will mean that Allah has not been heedless in making provisions for every thing according to its nature from the most insignificant to the greatest of all.