صفحة جديدة 1

-a diagram illustrating that the repelling force repels the big object more than the small

The Quran is the word of God, that cannot be imitated by any creature. The Quran is the last heavenly scripture, conveyed by Gabriel the angel, who revealed them to Prophet Mohammed, peace be on him. The reason for revealing the Quran in Arabic was that the prophet was an Arab ,and his folk were Arabs, so it should be revealed in their language that they might understand it . It is the miracle of Prophet Mohammed - Peace be on him : eloquent, including many scientific facts that have only been discovered recently; some secrets are even still undiscovered; it is a cure for many psychological diseases; it is a blessed book that increases by interpretation and explanation. Its meaning is above generations and ages; because it is the word of God to which no addition or omission can occur. Therefore, it is impossible to translate the Quran, but only its meaning and interpretation may possibly be translated according to the understanding of the translator; i.e. another translator may translate the meaning in a better way according to his understanding and expression. So, according to the instruction of the late Mohammed-Ali Hassan, the interpreter of the Quran and the Bible, I have preserved the Quranic revelations as they are in Arabic, and tried to translate the meaning to English, according to the interpreter Mohammed-Ali Hassan. I have kept the explanation of the (aya) between rounded brackets like these ( ), while I put the other words which further explain the meaning , but which are not lit. present in the origin , I put such words between square brackets like these [ ].

Therefore, the Quran is in Arabic only; the words in English and in other languages are only the translation of the meaning, the explanation and the interpretation; but they are not the Quran.

I ask God for His forgiveness, and hope for His mercy, and seek after His good pleasure.

**God-be exalted- is called in Arabic: Allah; in Hebrew: Jehovah; in English: God; in Persian: Khodah and in other languages may be named by different names. He is the same our Lord and your Lord; He is the Lord of nations and worlds.

Praise be to God Who created nations, and taught by the pen; taught man what he did not know, and revealed [by the angel Gabriel] the Quran including knowledge and wisdom. And peace be on Mohammed the best man among the Arabs and the non-Arabs.

I sought God’s help to write this book, and He led me to the way of the truth; I did my best seeking the good-pleasure of God, and He guided me to my reason and wisdom [and I hope to be admitted into Paradise in the Hereafter.]

-In the first one, I describe the celestial bodies like the sun, the moon, the stars and the satellites; I have called it:

-In the second part, I describe spirits, angels, genies [or demons], and the Day of the gathering-together and the Judgment; I gave it the title of “Man after Death”

-While, in the fourth part, I explained and interpreted the mysterious ayat (or revelations ) of the Quran, which none but God knows their meaning; I called this part : “The Ambiguous Quranic Revelations”.

It will be followed by the interpretation of the Quran as a whole, which I call: “The Interpretation of the Revelation”, that we shall publish , as soon as possible, if God permits and wills.

I was dwelling at Hilla, which is a province in Iraq; I had a studio for photography, on the side of a street in the main part of the city, near the intermediate school for boys; I was a photographer and most of the students of the school, the intermediate and the secondary, used to take their photographs – at my studio – which they needed for their school certificates.

I heard, from some of them, some words of atheism and disbelief, that annoyed me. Some of them asked about some Quranic revelations, mocking and laughing at them; that was because of their ignorance about the Quran and its interpretation. These are some examples of their questions :

Question : We have learnt in the school that the sky is the space, and that there are no material or solid layers above us, then how does it come to be true that God – be exalted – said in the Quran, 13: 19

( أنزلَ مِنَ السماءِ ماءً فسالتْ أوديةٌ بِقَدَرِها)

The explanation: (He sends down – from the sky – water*; so that the valleys flow [with water] according to their measure**) ?

[*i.e. rain-water. **i.e. according to the measure or size of the mountains upon which the rain water falls.]

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Question: We have learnt that the sun is stationary, and the earth revolves around the sun; then how does it come to be true that God – be exalted – says in the Quran, 36: 37

And so on, their questions were as such; for this reason, I wished to compile a book about this subject, and to make it an answer to atheists and a guide for the ignorant; I asked for God’s help to write this book, and that He might lead me to the way of the truth, ; I made my best seeking the good pleasure of God, so He let me succeed in serving Him, as He – be exalted – said in His glorious Book [:the Quran], 29: 69

(و الّذينَ جاهَدُوا فينا لَنَهديَنَّهم سُبُلَنا و إنّ اللهَ لَمَعَ المُحسِنينَ)

The explanation: (As for those who strive for Our [cause*], We will surely guide them into Our ways**, and, certainly, God is with the charitable [to the poor.] )

[* i.e. in Our way and for Our sake. ** i.e. We guide them to monotheism, and to follow the Torah, the Gospel and the Quran.]

Lastly, I thank God, for that He gave me of His surplus a lot, and made every difficulty easy for me.

At beginning, we start by the “sky” or “heaven”; because it is the origin, and to it the final resort will be.

Some people think that the sky is a hard material layer that fills the space, and that it is constituted of seven layers, some of them consists of red hyacinth or ruby, some of them of white jewel, while another layer is of greenish jewel …etc. I say: the sky is the space and nothing else. Therefore, the Quranic revelation 13: 19, where God –be exalted - says : أنزلَ مِنَ السماءِ ماءً)); the explanation: ( He sends down –from the sky – water ), means: He makes the water fall down from the space; this is indicated by His saying –be exalted – in the Quran, 34:2

( يعلمُ ما يَلجُ في الأرضِ و ما يَخرجُ مِنها و ما يَنزِلُ مِنَ السماءِ و ما يَعرجُ فيها و هوَ الغفورُ الرّحيم )

The explanation: ( [God] knows what [animals] go inside the earth and what [animals] come out from it, and what [birds] descend from the sky and what [flying animals] ascend through it, and he is the Most Merciful, the Most Forgiving.)

Therefore, (and what [flying birds] ascend through it) gives a proof that the sky is not a hard material layer; if it were a hard layer, then He might say: what [flying animals] ascend to it; but God –be exalted –said:و ما يعرجُ) فيها ) i.e. (and what [flying animals] ascend through it); it means: while he is ascending, he is in the sky from the beginning of his ascension till he reaches to where he wants.

(يَعلمُ ما يَلِجُ في الأرضِ و ما يَخرُجُ مِنها و ما ينزِلُ مِنَ السّماءِ و ما يَعرُجُ فيها و هوَ معكم أينَما كنتم و اللهُ بِما تَعملونَ بَصير)

The explanation:( [God] knows what goes inside the earth and what comes out of it, and what descends from the sky and what ascends through it; and He is with you wheresoever you may be; and God sees well all that you do.)

(اللهُ الّذي يُرسِلُ الرّياحَ فتُثيرُ سَحاباً فَيَبسطُهُ في السّماءِ كيفَ يَشاءُ )

The explanation: (God is He Who sends the winds and they stir up [and collect] clouds which He spreads in the sky as He pleases.)

So if there were solid layers above us, then He would say: And spreads them under the sky as He pleases.

( فَمَنْ يُرِدِ اللهُ أنْ يَهديَهُ يَشرحْ صدرَهُ لِلإسلامِ و مَنْ يُرِدْ أنْ يُضلّهُ يَجعلْ صدرَهُ ضَيّقاً حَرَجاً كأنّما يَصّعدُ في السماءِ)

The explanation: (Whomsoever God desires to guide, He makes him rejoice in [accepting] the Islam; whomsoever He desires to lead astray, He makes him dejected [accepting not the invitation to the Islam] and embarrassed, as if he were engaged in ascending in the sky.)

(أو يكونَ لكَ بيتٌ مِنْ زُخرُفٍ أو تَرقى في السماءِ ...)

The explanation: (Or you* have a house decorated [with gold], or you ascend up into heaven**, …etc.)

[*i.e. Mohammed –peace be on him. These were some of the miracles which the idolaters of Mecca – arrogantly – demanded of Mohammed in order that they might believe him.

**i.e. in order to bring down a book from heaven, written in it that you, Mohammed, are a messenger from God, and that you had really ascended in the sky; we may then believe!]

Therefore, His saying –be exalted –( (أو تَرقى في السّماءِ, the explanation:( or you ascend up into heaven), indicates that the sky is the space; because if there was a solid material layer then He would say: or you ascend to the sky or heaven.

The Arabic poetry includes some examples indicating that the word “sky” gives the same meaning.

Therefore, any word “sky” in the Quran (in singular) means the space, but when it comes in plural, it will have some other meaning that we shall explain in details in what follows, by the help of God – be exalted and be celebrated His praise.

We have just explained that every word ‘sky’ or ‘heaven’ (in singular) in the Quran, means the space. I say that the space is not empty, but it contains gaseous layers, ethereal layers and material objects.

Then, every word سماوات or “heavens’ (in plural), in the Quran, means one of these three, and we shall explain each of them in details, with God’s help.

Know that the Earth was a sun, at the beginning , and it was a flaming object, from which the gases emerged to fill its atmosphere. Then, when its life ended, its surface became cold, so it was converted into an earth. Afterwards, it exploded, and became nine pieces, that started to revolve around a new sun.

We don’t want to speak here about the Earth, but about the Firmament (or the gaseous heavens), and we shall explain afterwards about the formation of the Earth, in details. Now, as you know the Earth was a flaming object, so you can realize that flame and smoke emerge from every flaming object. However, the gases are still emerging from the Earth; most of such gases emerge from volcanoes, petroleum wells, as do they too emerge from mineral water springs.

The gas emerging from Vendley city in Ohio in America, is estimated as sixty million cubic feet; and about forty millions from the neighboring cities. Most of this gas is utilized as fuel. After starting to utilize the natural gas, people started to give their opinion about its origin, and the consequences of its extraction from inside the Earth. Some of the people said that : the Earth has an inner hollow, and that its hollow is full of this gas, which is the cause of its hanging in the space! Therefore, its extraction from inside the Earth is very dangerous; because if it becomes empty, it will be cracked and will be destroyed, and will fall from its place in the heaven!!!”

Therefore, the origin of the firmament (or the gaseous heavens) is from the Earth, and it fills its atmosphere. Similarly, each one of the terrestrial planets has its seven gaseous layers. God –be exalted – said in the Quran,65:12

(اللهُ الّذي خَلَقَ سبعَ سماواتٍ و مِنَ الأرضِ مِثْلَهُنّ )

The explanation: (God [is He] Who created seven [ancient ethereal] heavens, and the equal [number of gaseous heavens he –then – created, out] of the earth)

The interpretation: It is God Who had created seven ethereal layers in the ancient time, then He created the Earth, and created - from the Earth - seven gaseous layers.

The gaseous layers, actually, are the blueness that we see in the sky. Whereas we cannot see the ethereal layers because the ether cannot be seen by material beings, but can be seen by spiritual beings.

Therefore, the origin of the gaseous heavens is from the Earth, and that was when the Earth was a flaming sun; and the emergence of gases was in the form of smoke which was a mixture of seven gases. And due to the fact that some of the gases are heavy, while some others are light; they started to separate from each other; because the heavy one came down while the light gas went up, till they became seven layers: the first layer is the ozone gas [layer] about 25 miles away from us, the other layers came under it like the layers of the sulphur dioxide (SO2), the hydrogen, the helium and the rest of the gases. This is roughly speaking, for we cannot know those gases exactly because we are on the Earth and the gases are high up in the sky. The indication, that the sky is gaseous, can be seen in the following Quranic revelation 41:11-12

(ثمّ استوى إلى السماءِ و هي دُخانٌ فقالَ لَها و لِلأرضِ ائتِيا طَوعاً أو كَرهاً قالتا أتَينا طائعِين. فقضاهنّ سبعَ سماواتٍ في يومَينِ..)

The explanation: (Then He tended to [build*] the sky and it had been smoke; He said to it and to the earth, “Come, both of you, willingly or loath.” The two said, “We [all] have come obedient.” And He separated them into seven firmaments in two days.)

[*i.e. to make the layers of the gaseous sky distinctive and to build them, or to arrange them as successive layers.]

- (And it had been smoke) means the smoke that emerged from the Earth which was in fact a mixture of seven gases,

- (willingly or loath.” The two said, “We [all] have come obedient” And He separated them) and made them

- (seven firmaments); The explanation: He separated that smoke, and made it seven layers

- (in two days), i.e. within a period of two thousand years; that is because one day of the Hereafter equals one thousand of our years.

(هو الّذي خَلَقَ لَكم ما في الأرضِ جميعاً ، ثُمّ استوى إلى السّماءِ فَسوّاهُنّ سبعَ سماواتٍ ، و هو بِكُلِّ شَيءٍ عليمٌ .)

The explanation: ( It is He That has created for you all*that is in the earth. Then aimed at [building** ] the sky [of the earth], and fashioned them as seven heavens, and He is the Omniscient about everything.)

a- One time, it is mentioned together with the Earth, but no “and” between them, but there will be another word intervening between them; like the Quranic revelations 19: 90-91, when God –be exalted – said:

(تكادُ السماواتُ يَتَفَطّرْنَ مِنهُ و تَنشَقّ الأرضُ و تَخِرّ الجبالُ هَدّاً . أنْ دَعَوْا لِلرّحمانِ ولداً. )

The explanation: ( Because of it*, the heavens are about to crack, the earth splits asunder and the mountains fall crushed; that they attributed to the Most Gracious** a son!)

**The “Most Gracious” means: His mercy is for both believers and disbelievers, in the life of the World.]

The “heavens”, here, means the gaseous layers because He intervened between the “heavens” and the “earth” by many words: (are about to crack), then He mentioned the “earth”.

(خَلَقَ السّماواتِ بِغيرِ عَمَدٍ تَرَونَها، و ألقى في الأرضِ رواسيَ أنْ تَميدَ بِكم ...)

The explanation: (He created the [gaseous] heavens without pillars you can see, and He cast on the earth firm [mountains], lest it sway irregularly with you …)

The “heavens”, here, means the gaseous layers, because many words intervene between the “heaves” and the “earth”; i.e. (without pillars you can see and He cast on).

(ألَمْ تَرَوْا أنّ اللهَ سَخّرَ لَكم ما في السّماواتِ و ما في الأرضِ و أسبغَ عليكم نِعمَهُ ظاهرةً و باطِنةً)

The explanation: ( Have you not seen that God has subjected to you all that is in the [gaseous] heavens and all that is in the earth, and has lavished on you His bounties, [both] apparent and unapparent.)

So the Lord –be exalted – has separated between mentioning “the heavens” and mentioning “the earth” by two words which are و ما في i.e. (all that is in).

b- In the second form: the “heavens” are mentioned after the “earth”, e.g. God -be exalted – says in the Quran, 20: 4

(تَنزيلاً مِمّنْ خَلَقَ الأرضَ و السّماواتِ العُلى .)

The explanation: (A revelation [of the Quran] from [God] Who created the earth and the high heavens.)

So, the “heavens”, here, means the gaseous layers because it is mentioned after the “earth”

(قلْ أرأيتُم شُرَكاءَكم الّذينَ تَدعونَ مِنْ دونِ اللهِ أروني ماذا خَلَقُوا مِنَ الأرضِ ، أمْ لَهم شِركٌ في السّماواتِ ؟ ...)

The explanation: (Say: “tell me your opinion concerning your associates whom you call on besides God; show me what it is they created of [all] the earth[s], or have they a share in the [gaseous] heavens?...)

The “heavens”, here, means the gaseous layers; because they are mentioned after mentioning the earth.

(و ما قَدَروا اللهَ حقّ قَدْرِهِ ،و الأرضُ جميعاً قَبضتُهُ يومَ القيامةِ و السّماواتُ مَطويّاتٌ بِيمينِهِ، سبحانَهُ و تعالى عمّا يُشرِكونَ.)

The explanation: (And they do not esteem God as He should be esteemed, while the earth, all, will be [but] His handful on the Doomsday, and the heavens will be rolled up by His right hand. Celebrated be His praise and exalted be He above what they associate [with Him as partners.] )

And as such, any word “heaven” in the Quran mentioned after the “earth”, then God –be exalted –means the gaseous layers.

C -In the third type, the “heavens” will be mentioned alone without mentioning the “earth” with it, e.g. God –be exalted –says in the Quran, 23: 17

(و لقد خَلَقْنا فوقَكم سبعَ طرائقَ ، و ما كُنّا عن الخلقِ غافِلِينَ .)

The explanation: (And We have created above you seven passages [i.e. seven heavens]; nor are We heedless of creatures.)

So the “passages”, here, means the gaseous layers and who dwell therein, i.e. genies (or demons.)

(الّذي خَلَقَ سبعَ سماواتٍ طِباقاً ، ما تَرى في خَلقِ الرحمانِ مِنْ تَفاوُتٍ ، فارْجِعِ البصرَ هلْ تَرى مِنْ فُطورٍ؟ ثُمّ ارْجِعِ البصرَ كرّتينِ يَنقلبْ إليكَ البصرُ خاسِئاً و هوَ حسيرٌ .)

The explanation: ( [God] Who has created seven stratified heavens* ; you cannot see any non-observance in the creation of the Most Gracious! Then [look at the sky and] turn your [eye-] sight again [to make sure]: Can you see any rifts [in the heavens]? [No, of course!] Then turn your [eye-] sight twice [to the gaseous heavens!] –your [eye -] sight shall return to you disappointed eventhough it be open-eyed.)

Therefore, the “stratified heavens” (seven in number) means the gaseous layers. And as such will the gaseous heavens be mentioned in the Quran. This is so if it is mentioned in plural, but if it is mentioned in singular, i.e. sky or heaven, then it means the gaseous heavens or the space, whether or not it is mentioned together with the “earth.” And it makes no difference whether it is mentioned before the “earth” or after it; for in both cases it means the gaseous heavens, but it must be in singular.

(يومَ نَطوي السّماءَ كَطيِّ السّجلّ للكُتُبِ ...)

The explanation: (The day when We shall roll up the heaven as the “sijill” [or the leather bucket used as a folder] rolls up the books [and mix them with each other] …etc.)

(قلْ مَنْ يَرزقُكم مِنَ السّماءِ و الأرضِ ؟)

The explanation: (Say [O Mohammed], “Who provides you out of heaven and earth ?)

(اللهُ الّذي جَعَلَ لكمُ الأرضَ قَراراً و السّماءَ بِناءً )

The explanation: (It is God Who has made for you the earth for a dwelling- place, and the sky (or heaven) for a structure [of gaseous layers one above another.] )

Therefore, the “heaven” or “sky”, here, means the firmament or the gaseous heavens.

One may ask: We know that the air is a mixture of many gases like the oxygen and the nitrogen, the why don’t these gases separate from each other, so that it also be in layers ?

To answer this question we say: That is because of winds which move these gases and mix them with each other. And suppose no wind is present, then these gases will start to separate from each other and form layers. But, actually, the gaseous layers are above the oxygen or, more precisely, above the air, and no wind is present there to move these gases and mix them with each other.

[NB. The atmosphere includes the air and the gaseous layers or heavens; the gaseous heavens lie above the air and above the region of the cloud, which lies between the air and the gaseous layers or heavens; see the following lines –the translator.]

An example of that is the water: the running water will be crude and turbid, while the stagnant water will be clear.

(و تصريفِ الرّياحِ و السّحابِ المُسخَّرِ بينَ السّماءِ و الأرضِ لآياتٍ لِقومٍ يَعقِلون.)

The explanation: (And in the changing of winds, and in clouds that are subjected [into His service] between the sky [or heaven] and the earth, are signs to people who have sense.)

Here, God –be exalted –explained that the cloud is between the sky and the earth. So, the position of the sky is from the cloud up, while the position of the air is from the cloud down. Therefore, the wind belongs or related to the earth and not to the sky.

[ “For I tell you, that unless your justice abound more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” [the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, chapter 5 : 20]

The ethereal heavens are also seven, but on Doomsday they will become eight, and even they are in continuous increase; that is because when every earth is formed, there will form within it a spiritual earth, and when the material earth will be destroyed (when its Doomsday is due), that spiritual (or ethereal) layer will detach from the material one and will follow those seven ethereal layers.

We should also know that the formation of these layers was not at the same time, but they were formed from the successive destruction of seven systems. That is because each one of those seven spiritual heavens was the result of a complete solar system. Therefore, on Doomsday, they will become eight ethereal heavens.

(و يَحملُ عرشَ ربّكَ فَوقَهم يومَئذٍ ثمانية )

The explanation : (And above them*on that day**, shall eight [ethereal heavens] bear the throne of your Lord.)

The explanation: Eight ethereal heavens will bear the Throne, on the Day of Doom; while today it is borne by seven ethereal heavens only.

While we are speaking about the ethereal heavens, we have to define the ether; so what is the ether ?

Contemporary scientists have recognized the ether; they said that it fills the space, and that, without this ether, it is impossible for the planets to revolve in their orbits, but instead they will fall down even though there is the power of the gravitation; because the ether is the carrier of these celestial objects.

The explanation : (But each [of the sun, moon and earth] is swimming along into a [specific] orbit.)

Of course, swimming cannot take place except in a liquid medium or what is similar to liquid such as air and gas, …etc. So all the celestial objects swim in the ether. This ether is very transparent like the air; its particles are far more smaller and finer than those of the air; and for this reason, it cannot be seen by material creatures; moreover, it cannot be touched or perceived. But it is possible only for spiritual creatures (: angels, genies or demons and human souls) to see, touch and perceive the ether.

The ether fills every space, and goes through material objects in the intermolecular spaces. It goes through the cup and constructs an ethereal skeleton inside it, similar exactly to its shape, in a period of forty days, and when the material skeleton breaks up, the ethereal will not, and will never be destroyed afterwards; because its particles have been cohered or attached firmly to each other during this period, and will never separate afterwards. E.g. the ethereal particles will go through a porcelain pot, and will form an ethereal skeleton inside it according to its shape. In this respect, there is no difference between the porcelain or the copper pot, and no difference between pots, utensils, jewels, trees, plants and other material objects; because every material object has much many intervening spaces inside it. Therefore, the ether will enter in those spaces, and build a frame similar to its shape.

(أولئكَ لهم جنّاتُ عدنٍ تَجري مِنْ تَحتِهِمُ الأَنْهارُ يُحَلّونَ فيها مِنْ أساورَ مِنْ ذَهَبٍ و يَلبسونَ ثياباً خُضراً مِنْ سُندسٍ و إستبرقٍ ...الخ .)

The explanation : (Those [believers] will have Seven Gardens [in the neighborhood of their Lord]; rivers will flow beneath them*; therein they will be adorned with [bracelets issuing] from bracelets of gold, and will wear green garments [issuing] from fine silk, and from silk brocade …etc.)

-(with [bracelets issuing] from bracelets of gold) means: the ethereal bracelets which had [in the life of the World] been formed inside the gold bracelets.

If He –be exalted – had meant by that the same gold bracelets, then He would have said : adorned with gold bracelets.

-(and will wear green garments [issuing] from fine silk) means : the ethereal garments that issued from the silky garments.

إنّ اللهَ يُدخِلُ الّذينَ آمَنوا و عمِلوا الصّالِحاتِ جنّاتٍ تَجري مِنْ تحتِها الأنْهارُ يُحَلّوْنَ فيها مِنْ أساورَ مِنْ ذَهَبٍ و لُؤلؤاً و لِباسُهم فيها حريرٌ

The explanation: (God will admit those who believe and work righteous deeds to Gardens under which [trees]* rivers flow; they shall be adorned therein with bracelets of gold and pearls; and their garments there will be of silk.)

Also, God- be exalted- said in the Quran, 56: 51-52 about the dispraise of disbelievers :

( ثمّ إنّكم أيّها الضّالّونَ المكذِّبونَ . لآكلونَ مِنْ شجرٍ مِنْ زقّومٍ .)

52- ‘ You will surely eat of [ethereal] trees from the Zaqqum [: a kind of thorn – trees.]’ )

It means: of ethereal trees that issued from the Zaqqum trees of this material World; the Zaqqum is some kind of thorn.

However, if you know that every ethereal heaven had issued from a solar system, then will also know that there were seven solar systems that had preceded our solar system, and this last is the eighth one. You will also know that eight suns had preceded our sun, and this last is the ninth; for every sun will change into an earth after its death.

a- One time it is mentioned before mentioning the ‘earth’, and here there should be no ‘and’ between the words ‘heavens’ and the ‘earth’.

b- And another time, it will be mentioned alone without mentioning the ‘earth’ with it.

(تسبّحُ له السماواتُ السبعُ و الأرضُ و مَن فيهنّ و إنْ مِنْ شيءٍ إلاّ يسبّحُ بِحمدِهِ ...)

The explanation : ( The seven heavens and the earth and all that is therein praise Him; and there is not a thing but hymns His praise …)

Hence, the ‘heavens’ here means the ethereal layers; because they are mentioned before mentioning the earth and there is no ‘and’ between the two words.[ In this Quranic revelation, the word سبع i.e. seven in Arabic is intervening between the ‘heavens’ and the ‘earth’.]

( قلْ مَنْ ربُّ السماواتِ السبعِ و ربُّ العرشِ العظيم ؟)

The explanation : (Say, ‘Who is the Lord of the seven heavens , and the Lord of the Throne [of Glory] Supreme ?’ )

The ‘heavens’ here means the ethereal layers; for God –be exalted – has not mentioned them together with the earth, but mentioned them together with the throne; because the throne [ of the Lord] is over the ethereal heavens.

( و كم مِنْ مَلَكٍ في السماواتِ لا تُغني شفاعتُهم شيئاً إلاّ مِنْ بعدِ أنْ يأذنَ اللهُ لِمَنْ يَشاءُ و يَرضى .)

The explanation: (And how many angels are in the heavens whose intercession avails naught save after God has given permission to whomsoever He wills and is pleased with!)

The heavens here means the ethereal layers; for the earth is not mentioned with them, but the angels are mentioned; so that He –be exalted –explained that these heavens are inhabited by the angels.

( اللهُ الّذي خَلَقَ سبعَ سماواتٍ و مِنَ الأرضِ مثلَهنّ يتنزّلُ الأمرُ بينَهنّ)

The explanation: (God [is He] Who created seven [ancient ethereal] heavens, and the equal [number of gaseous heavens He –then –created, out] of the earth; the Am’r [: the angels] come down among them [with the revelation to prophets.] )

The ‘heavens’ here means the ethereal layers; because it is mentioned before mentioning the ‘earth’, and there is no ‘and’ between them.

The Am’r : This word is the noun given to each kind of the spiritual creatures, like the angels and the human beings.

The interpretation of this Quranic revelation: It is God Who created seven ethereal heavens in the ancient time, then He created the earth, and from the earth He created seven gaseous heavens; for God had created the ethereal heavens before had He created the earth by millions of years as we have just explained.

It is mentioned in the Psalms (Psalm 67: a psalm of canticle for David himself –Douay version – 33-34)

“Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth: sing praise to the Lord. Sing to God Who mounted above the heaven of heavens.”

The word ‘heavens’ here means the ethereal layers, and the ‘heaven of heavens’ means the throne because the throne is over the ethereal heavens.

As regards His saying –be celebrated His praise – يتنزّلُ الأمرُ بينَهنَّ i.e. ( T he Am’r [:the angels come down among them [with the revelation to prophets] ) The Am’r is an indication of spiritual creatures.

The interpretation : The spiritual creatures descend between the ethereal and gaseous layers. The spiritual creatures are : angels, genies (or demons) and human souls (or spirits.) We shall explain about them in our book ‘ Man After Death.’

The ethereal heavens –actually –are the Paradise in which good souls dwell on the Day of Judgment, while today they are the dwelling place of angels.

However, the ethereal heavens bear the throne above them; they are called the ‘Chair’ in the Quranic revelations where He said –be exalted – 2: 255

The explanation : ( [The extent of] His “ chair” equals [the vast extent of] the heavens and the earth [: the terrestrial planets and the earth.] )

Moreover, Jesus - peace be on him –said to his disciples, as it is mentioned in the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, chapter 5 : 20

“For I tell you, that unless your justice abound more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.”

It means : You shall not enter into Paradise, i.e. the ethereal heavens. The position of the ethereal heavens is in the space, where those dwelling therein see neither sun nor moon.

We have here mentioned something about the ethereal layers, and we shall mention more about them when we shall tell about ‘Paradise’ in our second book “Man After Death”; and God is the Guide to the truth and righteousness.

[“Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth: sing praise to the Lord. Sing to God Who mounted above the heaven of heavens.” [(Psalm 67: a psalm of canticle for David himself –Douay version – 33-34)]

The throne, too, is an ethereal layer, and its position is above the paradises i.e. the ethereal heavens; for the heavens are the carriers of the throne, and it is smaller than them. E.g. God –be exalted –said in the Quran, 69: 17

( و يَحمِلُ عرشَ ربِّكَ فوقَهم يومَئذٍ ثمانية)

The explanation: ( And above them on that Day [of Judgment], will eight [ethereal heavens] bear the throne of your Lord.)

It means: The throne of your Lord will be borne above people on Judgment Day, by eight ethereal heavens; because today they are seven, but on Doomsday they will become eight, and the eighth will issue from our present solar system.

(الذينَ يَحمِلونَ العرشَ و مَنْ حولَهُ يُسبِّحونَ بِحمدِ ربِّهم و يُؤمِنونَ بِهِ و يستغفِرونَ لِلّذينَ آمَنُوا ...)

The explanation: (Those [angels in the ethereal heavens] who bear the throne [of the Lord] and those [angels] around it celebrate the praises to their Lord, believe in Him [:God], and implore [God] for forgiveness to those who believe ...etc.)

‘Those who bear the throne’ are the angels. This does not mean that they really bear it, but they bear it only because it is above them, just as are we bearing the sky or the gaseous layers because they are above us. Likewise, the inhabitants of the ethereal heavens are bearing the throne because it is above them.

This means that the angels who are under the throne and those angels who are around the throne, all of them celebrate the praise of their Lord …etc.

His saying –be exalted – و مَنْ حولَه i.e. (and those [angels] around it) is an indication that the throne is smaller than the ethereal heavens.

( وَ تَرى الملائكةَ حافِّينَ مِنْ حولِ العرشِ يُسبِّحونَ بِحَمدِ ربِّهم و قُضِيَ بينَهم بالحقِّ و قيلَ الحمدُ للهِ ربِّ العالَمينَ.)

The explanation: (And you [Mohammed, after entering into Paradise] will see the angels thronging round about the Throne, hymning the praises of their Lord. And [people] will be judged aright. And it will be said [by the people of Paradise]: Praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds!)

Therefore, (thronging round about the throne) indicates that the throne is smaller than the ethereal heavens.

The throne, therefore, is the first ethereal layer formed from the first earth, created by God –be exalted. At that ancient time, there was nothing under the throne except water vapor (which is called as water in the Quranic revelation 11: 7 ; see below), and when God created a second earth, a second layer issued from it, which came to lie under the throne, and so on the third and fourth until they became seven ethereal layers (heavens) under the throne. God –be exalted –said in the Quran, 23: 86

(قلْ مَنْ ربُّ السماواتِ السبعِ و ربُّ العرشِ العظيم ؟)

The explanation: (Say [O Mohammed, to the idolaters], “ Who is the Lord* of the seven heavens, and the Lord of the Throne [of Glory] Supreme?)

Question: You say that the Throne is an ethereal layer, then what is the meaning of the Quranic revelation 11: 7

(و هوَ الذي خَلقَ السماواتِ و الأرضَ في ستّةِ أيّامٍ و كانَ عرشُهُ على الماءِ ...)

The explanation: (It is [God] Who created the heavens and the earth in six days [: six thousand years], and His throne had been upon the water [vapor] …) ?

Answer: The meaning of this is that before had He created the creation, His throne was upon the water, i.e. the water vapor in the space; for at that time there were no ethereal heavens, and when He created them gradually one by one, He let His throne to be borne over the ethereal heavens. The water was in the form of vapor scattered in the space, a situation like what happens today to the rain; because water evaporates from the earth and goes up in the sky then becomes water and descends as rain.

Hence, the Throne at that time was above the scattered water vapor in the space, and when God created the ethereal heavens they became under the Throne, i.e. they bore the Throne above them.

[Showing: - the planets are arranged away from the Sun, according to their sizes: the smallest is the nearest, and the biggest is the farthest.

- Sun rotates from right to left and drags all the planets making them rotate and revolve in the same direction: from right to left. The planets drag the moons and satellites to revolve around the planets from right to left; i.e. all the solar system move in this same direction.

- The Asteroids occupy the orbit between Mars and Jupiter: some revolve around Mars and some around Jupiter; but they do not revolve around the Sun.

- Pluto, being a satellite of Neptune but not a planet, revolves around Neptune, but not around the Sun – an explanation by the translator. ]

We mean by the ‘material heavens’: the planets or the ‘wandering stars’. However, we call them by this name (the material heavens); because we have just mentioned about the ethereal heavens, and the ether is different from the matter; and because we have just mentioned about the gaseous heavens, and the planets are not gaseous, but they are solid objects, and for this reason we mention it by the word (material) even though both are of matter.

The material heavens are those known as: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and the rest. They are nine in number; in the Quran, they are mentioned together with the earth, so every Quranic revelation in which the ‘heavens’ are mentioned together with the ‘earth’ it means the planets, but on three conditions:

Second –The ‘heavens’ must be mentioned together with the ‘earth’ directly.

Third –There must be the word ‘and’ between ‘the heavens’ and ‘the earth’

So, if any Quranic revelation fulfils all these three conditions, then God –be exalted –means the planets.

(ما خَلَقْنا السماواتِ و الأرضَ و ما بينَهما إلاّ بِالحقِّ و أجَلٍ مُسمّىً )

The explanation: (We created not the heavens and the earth and [all] that is between them save with the true [promise of destruction], and for a destined end.)

This Quranic revelation fulfils all the three conditions; hence the ‘heavens’ here means the planets; and actually He mentioned the earth in particular, and gathered the rest of the planets by the word ‘heavens’ because the address is to the people of Earth. Suppose that God –be exalted –addresses the people of Mars, then He will say: We created not the heavens and Mars save with the true [promise.]

Similarly, if He addresses the people of Venus, then He will say: We created not the heavens and Venus save with the true [promise.]

As regards His saying و ما بينَهما i.e. (and [all] that is between them); it means: the moons and meteorites because they are situated between the planets.

So every Quranic revelation, in which the ‘heavens’ are mentioned in this way, means the planets.

(و لَهُ مَنْ في السماواتِ و الأرضِ و مَنْ عندَهُ لا يَستكبِرُونَ عنْ عبادتِهِ و لا يَستحسِرُونَ )

The explanation: (All those who are in the heavens and the earth belong to Him. And those [angels] who are in His [neighborhood] are not too proud to serve Him, nor do they regret [for the passing of time.] )

So the ‘heavens’, here, means the planets as it is indicated from His saying:

(و مَنْ عندَهُ لا يَستكبِرونَ عنْ عبادتِهِ )

i.e. (And those [angels] who are in His [neighborhood] are not too proud to serve Him); so He differentiated between ‘those who are in His [neighborhood]’ from ‘those who are in the heavens and the earth’. He means, by His saying :

(ومَنْ عندَهُ) i.e. (those who are in His [neighborhood] ), the angels because they are in the ethereal heavens under the throne.

(و مِنْ آياتِهِ خَلقُ السماواتِ و الأرضِ و ما بَثَّ فيهِما مِنْ دابّةٍ و هوَ على جمعِهم إذا يَشاءُ قديرٌ .)

The explanation: (And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and what He has spread therein of beasts [: moving creatures]; and He is All- Able to gather them if He wills.)

The ‘heavens’, here, means the planets as it is indicated from His saying –be exalted –

(و ما بَثَّ فيهِما مِنْ دابّةٍ ) i.e. (and what He has spread abroad therein of beasts [:moving creatures] ); for there is no moving creatures or beasts in the ethereal heavens. Likewise, in the gaseous heavens there are no moving creatures or beasts, but moving creatures or beasts are in the material heavens which are the planets.

(أمّنْ خَلقَ السماواتِ و الأرضَ و أنزلَ لكم مِنَ السماءِ ماءً فأنبَتْنا بِهِ حدائقَ ذاتَ بَهجةٍ ...)

The explanation: ( [Is that, which they associate with God, better] or is He Who created the heavens and the earth, and send down for you [rain] water from the sky; wherewith We cause to grow delightful orchards …etc.)

So the heavens, here, means the planets, and the indication of that is His saying –be exalted –

i.e. (and send down for you [rain] water from the sky), and by this He explained that the ‘sky’ is different from the ‘heavens’ because He separated between the word ‘sky’ and the word ‘heavens’. He means by the word سماء i.e. the ‘sky’ the space or the gaseous layers.

While the ‘heavens’ means the planets because He has mentioned it together with the ‘earth’, and the meaning is: the heavens which are of the same kind as the Earth.

(قلْ لا يَعلمُ مَنْ في السماواتِ و الأرضِ الغيبَ إلاّ اللهُ و ما يَشعُرُونَ أيّانَ يُبعَثُونَ .)

The explanation: (Say [O Mohammed]: “None in the heavens and the earth knows the fore- future except God; and they perceive not when they shall be sent forth [from their bodies to the Hereafter.] )

The ‘heavens’ here means the terrestrial planets; the indication of that is His saying –be exalted-

i.e. (and they perceive not when they shall be sent [from their bodies to the Hereafter] ); because angels do not die and will not be raised or sent [from their bodies to the Hereafter, or from the earth to the congregation or gathering-together in the space on the Day of Judgment]; because they are ethereal, but the raising and the sending and gathering-together are for the mortals who inhabit the planets.

Till here, we finished talking about the sky and heaven; and God is the Praiseworthy and the Supporting Master.

Note: Every Quranic revelation, in which the earth is mentioned before the heavens, means the earths: all of them, i.e. all the planets, e.g. (1) God –be exalted –says in the Quran, 39: 67

(و ما قَدَروا اللهَ حقَّ قَدْرِهِ و الأرضُ جميعاً قبضتُهُ يومَ القيامةِ و السماواتُ مَطويّاتٌ بِيمينِهِ )

The explanation: (And they do not esteem God as He should be esteemed, while the earth, all, will be [but] His handful on the Doomsday, and the heavens will be rolled up by His right hand!)

(2) Similar to this Quranic revelation is another one where God –be exalted –says in the Quran, 3: 5

(إنّ اللهَ لا يَخفى عليهِ شيءٌ في الأرضِ و لا في السماءِ )

The ‘earth’, here, means all of them, i.e. all the parts of the earth which had broken up or torn up into many pieces; they are the planets; because they were one earth, and it were broken up into many planets.

Every word ‘planet’, mentioned in the Quran, means one of the planets of the solar system, and nothing else, like (1) His saying –be exalted –in the Quran, 6: 77

(فلَمّا جَنّ عليهِ اللّيلُ رأى كوكباً قالَ هذا ربّي فلَمّا أفَلَ قالَ لا أحبُّ الآفِلينَ.)

The explanation: (And when the night outspread over him, he saw a planet [: Venus]; he said: ‘This is my Lord’. But when it set, he said: ‘I love not the setters’.)

(إذ قالَ يوسُفُ لأبيهِ يا أبتِ إنّي رأيتُ أحدَ عشرَ كوكباً و الشمسَ و القمرَ رأيتُهم لي ساجدِينَ.)

The explanation: (When Joseph said to his father: ‘Father, I saw [in a dream] eleven planets and the sun and the moon; I saw them prostrating themselves before me.’)

The ‘planets’ means the terrestrial planets, but he saw them eleven because his brothers were eleven.

The explanation: (And when the [terrestrial] planets [shall break up into pieces that] shall be strewn about [in the space to be as meteorites.] )

The ‘planets’ particularly means, here, the planets of the solar system, and the interpretation is: When the planets shall be broken up and their parts shall be dispersed in the space, and that will take place on Doomsday.

Question 1: You say that the ‘sky’ means the space, then what is the meaning of His saying –be exalted –in the Quran, 40: 64

(اللهُ الذي جَعَلَ لكمُ الأرضَ قراراً و السّماءَ بِناءً و صوّرَكم فأحسنَ صُوَرَكم ...)

The explanation: (God is He Who has made for you the earth for a dwelling-place, and the sky for a structure [of gaseous layers,] and shaped you in fine shapes, …)

(و السّماءَ بَنَيناها بِأيدٍ و إنّا لَموسِعون)

The explanation: (And the sky – We have built with surplus [from Us], and We are Open-handed more.)

The interpretation: God says that He has constructed the sky with His surplus; because He is Merciful to people, and He is still more Open-handed; because He is Generous.

Answer: ‘To build’ means to collect the object and to compact its parts to each other. They say: The builder builds the wall, i.e. he collects the bricks and attaches them to each other by matrix. And the ‘sky’ means the gaseous layers.

The meaning of this Quranic revelation: And the gases, We have collected and packed, with Our surplus towards them and Our mercy to them; for if We let these gases at the surface of the earth, then their life will be impossible, but they will rather suffocate and die. Therefore, We have lifted these gases by Our mercy, and packed them in layers by Our surplus, so We have made the oxygen and nitrogen in the air for many other benefits; nevertheless, We have lifted the suffocating and harmful gases by Our mercy and surplus, and We are still more Open-handed with profuse favors and grace of God; as He says – be exalted – in the Quran, 14: 34

The explanation: (And if you would count the bounty of God, you cannot count it.)

Question 2: What is the meaning of His saying –be exalted –in the Quran, 31: 10

(خَلَقَ السماواتِ بِغيرِ عَمَدٍ تَرَوْنَها ...)

The explanation: (He created the [gaseous] heavens without pillars you can see …) ?

Answer: When the Arabs want to erect their tents, which are made of goat hair, they lay the pillars down on the earth, and put the tents over them and tie the ropes and fix them to the ground, then they pull the ropes from the other side, so that the pillars will stand up and the tent will be raised with them.

This is a parable from God – be highly exalted – and its explanation: Your tents, even though they are small in size and low in height, cannot be erected without pillars; whereas the sky, even though it is very wide and high, He has lifted it without pillars; He created it with His wisdom, and lifted it with His unlimited ability, and He is not in need of any assistant to do all that.

Question 3: What is the meaning of His saying –be exalted –in the Quran, 22: 65

(أَلَمْ تَرَ أنّ اللهَ سَخّرَ لكم ما في الأرضِ و الفُلكَ تَجري في البحرِ بِأمرِهِ و يُمسِكُ السماءَ أنْ تَقَعَ على الأرضِ إلاّ بِإذنِهِ إنّ اللهَ بِالناسِ لَرَؤوفٌ رحيمٌ .)

The explanation: (Have you [Mohammed] not seen how God has made all that is in the earth subjected to you [people,] and the ship run on the see with His decree, and He holds back the sky from falling down upon the earth save with His leave*; surely, God is All-Compassionate [and] Most Merciful to people.) ?

The explanation: God –be exalted –holds back the gaseous layers and prevents them from falling down on the earth, and if this occurs then all people will die and perish because these gases are suffocating and harmful to the health of people. The proof of this is His saying –be exalted –(إنّ اللهَ بِالناسِ لَرَؤوفٌ رحيمٌ) i.e. (Surely, God is All-Compassionate [and] Most Merciful to people.)

So the explanation of this Quranic revelation: is that God, with His mercy made these suffocating and poisonous gases light in weight in order to rise up in the sky so that they would not do harm, until before Doomsday; because at that time they will come down to the ground. This is understood from His saying –be exalted – (إلاّ بِإذنِهِ) i.e. (save with His leave) which means: save before the Day of Doom, when God –be exalted –will let these gases fall down and so they will fall down on the ground and mix with each other, because of the upset of the celestial system, and become like smoke; however, at the start of its formation, the sky was like smoke. This is understood from His saying –be exalted –in the Quran, 21: 104

(كما بَدَأنا أوّلَ خَلْقٍ نُعيدُهُ وعداً علينا إنّا كُنّا فاعِلِين .)

The explanation: (As We began [its] first creation will We bring it back again –a promise [binding] upon Us; surely, We are going to perform it [as did We before.] )

Question 4: Then what is this variation in the word ‘heaven’, so that one time it means the ethereal layers, another time it means the gaseous layers, while still other times it means the planets of the solar system ?

Answer: Everything above you is called ‘sky’, and every high place is called sky in the Arabic language. [This is very obvious in the Arab poetry, some of which is mentioned by the late Mohammed-Ali Hassan, the interpreter of the Quran and the Bible, in his Arabic book.]

The planets receive their light from the sun, and if the sun rays had not reached the planets, then they would have become dark.

With our unaided eyes, we can see Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. The ancient people discovered these planets as did they see them wandering in the sky field in contrast to the rest of the stars; and for this reason they called them ‘the wandering stars’. Astronomers discovered Uranus at 1780, Neptune at 1848 and Pluto at 1930. The planets are nine, including the Earth; and including also the planet of the ‘Asteroids’ which was broken into many asteroids or planetoids, which started to revolve around Mars and Jupiter. Some of these asteroids has a diameter of one or two miles.

In addition, astronomers discovered many moons for Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune.

Astronomers, however, think that Pluto is a planet, but I say it is merely a moon of Neptune, and actually it is not a planet. [This was published in the Arabic edition of the book at 1955. Read, also, the question about Pluto and its answer on the following few pages.]

The planets revolve around the sun, in a specific orbit for each of them, and at different distances away from it. The day of a planet is the time during which the planet will complete its rotation around its own axis. And the year of a planet is the time during which it completes its revolution around the sun; the year of Earth being 365.25 days.

The planets have some satellites revolving around them, exactly as do the planets themselves revolve around the sun. Earth has its single Moon only, while there isn’t any satellite for Mercury and Venus. The satellites, even, are numerous for the planets that are faraway from the sun, because these planets are of larger size than the planets that are near to the sun.

In this respect, Mars has two moons, Jupiter has twelve moons, and Saturn has ten ; Saturn is characterized by its rings. Uranus has five satellites, and Neptune has two.

[Later they calculated sixteen satellites for Jupiter; more satellites were discovered for Saturn; they calculated sixteen satellites for Uranus; and eight satellites for Neptune, in addition to Pluto as a moon of Neptune. – the translator. ]

The atmospheres of the planets are different from the atmosphere of Earth. Actually, none of them has an atmosphere that is identical with the atmosphere of Earth. The gases in these planets, even, are different; for they consist of carbon-dioxide, nitrogen, hydrogen, ammonia, methane and other gases. While as regards to our Earth, its air is known; most of it is of nitrogen and oxygen, and it has carbon-dioxide and water vapor, while some other gases are found in traces.

The planets receive their light and heat from the sun. Hence, the side to which the sun-rays cannot reach, is cold and dark. The planets nearer to the Sun are very hot, while the temperature of Earth is optimal or temperate. The farthest the planet is from the Sun the more the temperature will drop down. Therefore, Mars is less hot than Earth, and so on the more the planet is far from the sun, its surface is more cold.

The Planet	Its Distance Away From Sun
Mercury	36 million miles.
Venus	67 million miles.
Earth	93 million miles.
Mars	141.5 million miles.
Jupiter	483 million miles.
Saturn	886 million miles.
Uranus	1783 million miles.
Neptune	2792 million miles.

The planets are earths like our Earth. They contain mountains, seas, rivers, trees, gardens and other things which are present on our Earth. They include also animals and some kinds of intelligent human beings who worship and serve God.

[The existence, on the planets, of intelligent beings: humans and demons (or genies) ]

(1) The indication of that is His saying – be exalted – in the Quran, 30: 26

(و لَهُ مَنْ في السماواتِ و الأرضِ كُلٌّ لَهُ قانِتُون .)

The explanation: (To Him belongs [as a slave] whosoever is in the heavens and the earth. All are devoutly obedient* to Him.)

[*Exactly, it means they are inclined towards God only, and avoiding those other than Him.]

(و لِلّهِ يَسجدُ مَنْ في السماواتِ و الأرضِ طَوعاً و كَرهاً و ظِلالُهُم بِالغُدُوِّ و الآصالِ)

The explanation: (All those who are in the heavens and the earth prostrate themselves to God –willingly or loath; so do their shadows [give witness to their prostration], day and night.)

(و ربُّكَ أعلمُ بِمَنْ في السماواتِ و الأرضِ )

The explanation: ( [O Mohammed,] your Lord knows best about all those who are in the heavens and the earth), and we have said that ‘the heavens and the earth’ means the terrestrial planets.

(إنْ كلُّ مَنْ في السماواتِ و الأرضِ إلاّ آتي الرحمانِ عبداً .لقد أحصاهم و عدّهم عدّاً. و كلُّهم آتيهِ يومَ القيامةِ فرداً.)

The explanation: (None is there in the heavens and the earth but he comes to the Most Gracious as a servant. Surely, He has counted and numbered them [one by one.]

(و لو اتّبَعَ الحقُّ أهواءَهم لَفسَدَت السماواتُ و الأرضُ و مَنْ فيهِنَّ ...)

The explanation: (But if [God] the Just were to follow their desires [about the intercession of the prophets and saints], surely the heavens and the earth and whosoever is therein would be corrupted …)

(ألاّ يَسجُدُوا للهِ الّذي يُخرِجُ الخَبْءَ في السماواتِ و الأرضِ و يَعلمُ ما تُخفونَ و ما تُعلِنونَ ؟)

The explanation: (Will they not adore [and obey] God Who brings forth what [plant] is hidden [under the soil] in the heavens and the earth, and knows what [secrets] you hide and what you proclaim ?)

The ‘hidden’ means the plant because the seed is hidden under the ground, then it will come out as a plant.

(و مِنْ آياتِهِ خَلقُ السماواتِ و الأرضِ و ما بَثَّ فيهِما مِنْ دابّةٍ و هوَ على جَمعِهم إذا يَشاءُ قديرٌ .)

The explanation: (And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and what He has spread abroad therein of beasts [: moving creatures], and He is All-Able to gather them if He wills.)

(يَسألُهُ مَنْ في السماواتِ و الأرضِ كلَّ يومٍ هوَ في شأنٍ .)

The explanation: (Whosoever is in the heavens and the earth begs of Him; every day [their begging] is in [a new] one of [their] affairs.)

(يُسبِّحُ لهُ ما في السماواتِ و الأرضِ و هوَ العزيزُ الحكيمُ )

The explanation: (All that is in the heavens and the earth glorify Him, and He is the Almighty, the Most Wise.)

However, there is a large number of Quranic revelations, other than these just mentioned, which indicate that the planets are inhibited.

Question: Astronomers say that Pluto revolves around the sun opposite to the direction of the revolution of the other planets; is this true ?

Answer: I say that if Pluto was one of the planets, then it should be the biggest of the planets in size; because it is the farthest in distance from the sun than the rest of the planets, and it must revolve around the sun exactly like the revolution of the rest of the planets from right to left, then how could it happen that the revolution of Pluto is in the opposite direction ?

This is an obvious mistake; for the revolution of the planets around the sun is the result of the rotation of the sun around itself; so that it pulls the planets with it by the effect of its gravitation, then how is Pluto different from the rest of the planets ? Moreover, if the size of Pluto is equal to half that of the Earth, then it is one of the satellites which belong to the planets. If it was one of the planets, then its position would be between Mercury and Venus; because it is bigger than the first and smaller than the second, so how it can be one of the planets while it is the farthest from the sun, and moreover its size is half the size of the Earth ?

As regards to its revolution, [Pluto] revolves around Neptune just like how does our Moon revolve around Earth. And because the rotation of Earth around its axis is quicker than the revolution of Moon around it, we see the Moon revolving from left to right, and as such is Pluto seen by astronomers, but the truth is opposite of that.

[ A Comment by the translator – To confirm the opinion of Mohammed-Ali Hassan, the interpreter of the Quran and the Bible, we know that the orbit of Pluto around Sun is fluctuant; i.e. one time it is nearer than Neptune to Sun, and another time it is farther; this confirms that it revolves around Neptune, so that one time it is nearer to Sun than is Neptune and other times it is farther; see the diagram of ‘the sun and its planets’ just before the subject of The Material Heavens or the Planets.]

They have mistaken as regards Pluto, and as regards the Asteroids too; for they said they are planets revolving around the sun. Yes, the Asteroids were one planet, and it was broken up, and those pieces of the destroyed planet became satellites, and the satellites revolve around the planets, not around the sun. [Therefore, some of them revolve around Mars, and the rest revolve around Jupiter. See the subject of ‘The Asteroids’ in the following pages.]

However, that planet was inhabited, but its inhabitants were infidels and disbelievers; they disbelieved, rebelled and oppressed; so God destroyed their planet and took revenge on them. God –be exalted –said in the Quran, 67: 16

(أأمنتم مَنْ في السماءِ أنْ يَخسِفَ بِكمُ الأرضَ فإذا هيَ تَمورُ ؟)

The explanation: (Do you [people] feel secure that [God] Who is in heaven will not cleave the earth with you, [as did He cleave another earth with its people before you], so that it then [shall] violently heave?)

The interpretation: Have you [people] taken security from the punishment and might of God ? Aren’t you afraid that He will destroy your Earth, as had He destroyed an inhabited earth before you, then those pieces of the destroyed planet started to swim and move about, i.e. swim in the space, and none had survived alive, and as such will your earth be if He breaks it up.

Therefore, if it is right that they revolve around the sun, between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, then they must be some of the comets, which are some flaming objects, not planets.[ Comets do not revolve around Sun, but they roam and move about in the space without order; see the following pages in the subject of “Comets.” – the translator.]

Know that the planets together with Earth were one object, then it was broken up into nine pieces; one of those nine was our own Earth; the other eight planets are: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and the planet of the Asteroids which was broken up.

That initial and ancient earth was a sun in the ancient times; but when its surface became cold, after the end of its life, it became an earth, then it burst, becoming nine pieces which started to revolve around a new sun.

Hence, the planets are of the same kind as our Earth; their formation was simultaneous with the formation of the Earth at the same time. They contain mountains and rivers as does our Earth contain; and the Doomsday of all of them will be simultaneously, because all the planets are attracted to the Sun by gravitation, so when the life of the Sun will come to an end, it will crack -exactly as had our earth [: the previous sun] cracked before – and its terrestrial planets will be broken up altogether with it.

(أوَ لَمْ يَرَ الّذينَ كَفَروا أنّ السماواتِ و الأرضَ كانتا رَتقاً فَفَتَقْناهما و جَعَلْنا مِنَ الماءِ كلّ شيءٍ حيٍّ أفَلا يُؤمِنون ؟)

The explanation: (Do not those who disbelieve consider that the heavens and the earth were compacted [as one mass], then We shattered them, and We made –of water –every living thing ? so would they believe ? )

[The interpretation:] (were compacted [as one mass] then We shattered them); here in the language of the Quran, lit. the exact words used are something like ‘sutured’ and ‘not sutured’. The explanation: they were as one piece, then We cracked them and tore them up into many pieces; because the ‘suturing’ is opposite in meaning to the ‘unsuturing’.

(قلْ أ غيرَ اللهِ أتّخِذُ وليّاً فاطِرِ السماواتِ و الأرضِ ...الخ )

The explanation: (Say [Mohammed, to the disbelievers], ‘Shall I take to myself as protector* [anyone], other than God, the Splitter of the heavens and the earth [after being one piece]’…etc.)

Here, (the Splitter of the heavens and the earth) means: the One Who cleft or broke them up after being one object.

And God –be highly exalted –said in the Quran,6: 79; narrating what Prophet Abraham said to his people:

(إنّي وَجَّهتُ وجهيَ لِلّذي فَطَرَ السماواتِ و الأرضَ حنيفاً و ما أنا مِنَ المُشرِكين)

The explanation: (I have turned my face to Him – Who split the heavens and the earth – I being a Hanief * [: a monotheist], and not of those that associate [partners or associates with God.] )

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[* Hanief: is one that follows Prophet Abraham’s religion of monotheism, i.e. serving God alone, and in antagonism with idolatry. This is the same as the First Commandment written in the Tablets of Moses and the Gospel of Jesus :

8-You shall not make to yourself a graven thing, nor the likeness of anythings, that are in heaven above, or that are in the earth beneath, or that abide in the waters under the earth.

“29-And Jesus answered him: The first commandment of all is: Hear, O Israel; the Lord your God is one God.

30-And you shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind and with your whole strength. This is the first commandment.”

And the following is in the Gospel according to Mark 12:32 “There is One God and there is no other besides Him.”

C-- God-be exalted- said in the Quran, 2: 163 و إلهُكم إلهٌ واحدٌ لا إلهَ إلاّ هُوَ الرحْمانُ الرّحيمُThe explanation: (Your God is One God; there is no god save Him, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.)

-- And He -be exalted- said in the Quran, 17: 23 و قضى ربُّكَ ألاّ تَعبُدُوا إلاّ إيّاهُ The explanation: ( [O Mohammed] your Lord decreed, that you [people] must worship none save Him.) – the translator.]

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God –be exalted –said in the Quran, 17: 37 narrating the advices of Luqman i.e. Tobias [to his son:]

(و لا تَمشِ في الأرضِ مَرَحاً إنّكَ لنْ تَخرِقَ الأرضَ و لنْ تَبلُغَ الجبالَ طُولاً )

The explanation: (And walk not upon the earth exultantly; certainly you [man] will never tear the earth open, nor attain the mountains in height.)

The interpretation: You will not or you cannot cleave the earth, so that you will be proud, or crack it or tear it up into many terrestrial planets that revolve around the sun; but it is God Who cleft the earth and broke it up into many planets revolving around the sun.

This is a description of the earth that it split at the start of its formation, and it will split at the end of its life, and that will be on the Day of Doom.

Therefore, all these Quranic revelations prove that the Earth together with the terrestrial planets were one object, which He split into many pieces; these pieces will also split on the Day of Doom. [This also is the meaning of the word in the Arabs poetry, some of which is mentioned by the late Mohammed-Ali Hassan, the interpreter of the Quran and the Bible, in his Arabic book.]

[ N.B.: Some of the following questions and answers may appear very simple; but, at 1947 AD, at the time of writing the Arabic book by the late Mohammed-Ali Hassan, the interpreter of the Quran and the Bible, such information were mysterious to many people. Moreover, the interpreter explained this generally to people with different levels of education. – the translator.]

Question 1: If the terrestrial planets are really earths like our Earth, and that they contain living beings, water, plant, mountains and other things; then why do we see them small in size to the extent that the size of anyone of them does not seem to be more than a hen’s egg?

Answer: It is evident to any thinking man that the farthest the object is from us, the smaller we see it, and the more the object comes nearer to us, the bigger in size we see it. Hence, as regards to the terrestrial planets: we see them small because they are faraway from us. Suppose that one of us was on Mars, then he would see the earth as a bright star.

Question2: If the terrestrial planets are earths like our Earth, then what is this light that we see in them?

Answer: The terrestrial planets, including the Earth, and together with the moons and meteorites, have no light of their own, but the light comes to them from the sun. In this respect, they are like a mirror that is placed in front of the sun. That is because these objects have water, rocks and sand, so when sun-rays fall on them, they will start to reflect the light exactly as the mirror; however, this is a recognized fact to astronomers, that is not denied by any scientist.

4 For a thousand years in your sight are like a day …” ] - the Psalms 89: 3-4, A prayer of Moses]

Some astronomers claim that Earth and the rest of the planets had fallen out of the sun in the form of sparks [following some explosions], then they got cold by time and became earths [or planets.] I say that this theory is wrong; because:

(1) If they were sparks –as they claim –then those sparks would not be nine only, but the formation of those sparks must be going on as time passes.

(2) Those sparks should be equal in size, or at least there should only be a little variation in size, then why do we see that Mercury is smaller than our Earth, while Jupiter is 1350 times bigger than Earth, as do they claim.( whereas in my opinion, [Jupiter] is only 12 times bigger than Earth, and not more than that.)

(4) A spark does not rotate around its axis, but it goes along floating in the space. Then how could the planets be on the contrary [i.e. they rotate around their axes, and move in their orbits around the sun]?

In addition, warm and flaming objects have a gravitational force, and they are in a continuous movement, i.e. they rotate around their axes from right to left.

Moreover, masses cannot separate from the sun, and from the planets, because of its rotation around its axis; and because of its gravitation, its size will be kept as it is.

In addition, its rotation around its axis will prevent the separation of any mass from it.

I say that Earth did not separate from our present sun, but Earth –together with the rest of the planets –were one sun, other than our present sun, and when its life ended, its surface started gradually to become cold, and in a period of two thousand years it got a cold crust; so that it was converted into an earth.

Obviously, gases emerge from the sun throughout its life, but when the earthy crust was formed, i.e. when its surface became cold, the crust prevented the emergence of gases , which started to collect in its core and exert pressure on the cold crust of that sun, and when the pressure of the imprisoned gases was increased to a certain extent, [that sun] burst and became nine pieces. And due to the presence in the space of other suns, those pieces were pulled by gravitation to the nearest sun to them [:our present sun], and they started to revolve around it. Then after the passing of years the surfaces of these pieces became completely cold, and they became earths [or planets.] And God –be highly exalted –created on these earths: living beings, mountains, water, trees and other things.

So our Earth is one of those nine pieces, and our Sun has the same course and fate exactly as the previous suns. That sun, whose life had finished, had planets also, but when it had broken up, its planets too broke up together with that sun, and they became meteorites. As such will our terrestrial planets; they will break up and become meteorites, and that will take place when our Sun will break up.

(أوَ لَمْ يَرَ الّذينَ كَفَرُوا أنّ السماواتِ و الأرضَ كانتا رَتقاً فَفَتَقناهما ...؟)

The explanation: (Have not those who disbelieve consider that the heavens and the earth were compacted [as one mass], then We shattered them … etc.)

(قلْ أئنّكم لَتَكفُرونَ بالّذي خَلَقَ الأرضَ في يومَينِ و تَجْعَلُونَ لَهُ أنداداً ذلكَ ربُّ العالَمِينَ . و جَعَلَ فيها رواسيَ مِنْ فَوقِها و بارَكَ فيها و قَدّرَ فيها أقواتَها في أربعةِ أيّامٍ سَواءً لِلسائلين . ثُمّ اسْتَوى إلى السماءِ و هِيَ دُخانٌ فَقالَ لَها و لِلأرضِ ائْتِيا طَوعاً أو كَرهاً قالَتا أتَينا طائعِينَ . فَقضاهُنَّ سبعَ سماواتٍ في يومينِ ...)

The explanation: ( [O Mohammed] say [to the idolaters]: “Do you, then, disbelieve in [God] Who created the earth in two days, and do you ascribe to Him opponents? –That is the Lord of [all] the worlds!”

“And He made [mountains] that landed upon it, blessed it, and apportioned therein its sustenance in four days; alike for those who ask [provision.]”

“Then He tended to [build]* the sky and it had been smoke; He said to it and to the earth, ‘Come, both of you, willingly or loath.’ The two said, ‘We [all] have come obedient.’

[*i.e. to make the layers of the gaseous sky distinctive, and to build or to arrange it in successive layers.]

-- (created the earth in two days) means: in two thousand years; for one day of God’s days equals one thousand of our years, according to our days,

The ‘creation’ is the transformation from one thing [or form] to another; therefore, (Who created the earth in two days) means: He transformed it into an earth after being a sun, and that lasted a period of two thousand years; this is the time during which the surface of that sun became cold, that sun whose life was ended.

-- (and He made [mountains] that landed upon it); that which heavily landed upon the earth, are the mountains. This can be explained as follows:

That sun had been transformed into an earth after the cooling of its surface, then the meteorites started to fall down on it to become the mountains. Therefore, most of the mountains on the earth surface were originally meteorites.

First: The crust of the earth started gradually to be more and more cold; so this increased its thickness.

Third: The falling down of minute particles upon it (these are the fine particles that we see in a beam of sun rays entering a dark room through a window.) The origin of these particles are from meteorites which were broken up after their Doomsday, so that their parts scattered in the space.

Fourth: The metals increased its volume and size by combination with other elements, e.g. the oxygen may combine with iron, so it will increase in its volume, and ferric oxide will result; and carbon dioxide combines with calcium forming calcium carbonate; and nitrogen combines with sodium and potassium resulting in sodium nitrate and potassium nitrate; and so on gases combine with most of the metals so increasing their volume, and by this way the Earth size goes on increasing with the passing of time and years.

--(and apportioned therein its sustenance) means: He made the fall of rain upon it, and created the plant, trees and animals; to be as sustenance and provision for man; in other words: He apportioned these things as sustenance for man when He would create him on Earth; because He –be exalted –had created these things and prepared them for man before did He create man upon it, exactly just as had He created the breast of the woman before did He create the fetus in her womb.

-- (in four days) means: He created all these things during a period of four thousand years; so the total is six thousand years; because the cooling of the Earth lasted two thousand years, as He said –be exalted –in the Quran, 32: 4

(اللهُ الّذي خَلَقَ السماواتِ والأرضَ و ما بينَهُما في ستّةِ أيّامٍ ثُمّ اسْتَوَى على العرشِ ...)

The explanation: (It is God Who created the heavens and the earth and that which is between them in six [of the] days [of the Hereafter.] Then He mounted the throne …)

Similar to these Quranic revelations is His saying –be exalted –in the Quran, 79: 27-33

(أ أنتم أشدُّ خَلقاً أم السماءُ بناها ؟ رَفَعَ سَمكَها فَسوّاها . و أغْطَشَ لَيلَها و أخْرَجَ ضُحاها . و الأرضَ بعدَ ذلكَ دَحاها . أخْرَجَ مِنْها ماءَها و مَرعاها . و الجِبالَ أرساها . مَتاعاً لَكم و لأنعامِكم .)

The explanation: (Are you [, associaters, that deny the sending to the Hereafter] the harder to [re-]create, or is the sky that He did construct?

He raised its high [layers* and lowered its low layers], and arranged it [in seven layers.]

And darkened its night [by the setting of the sun], and brought forth its day [by the sun light.]

[And He] produced from it [: the earth] the water thereof and the pasture thereof.)

In fact, He related the night and day to the heaven as seen here: (And [He] darkened its night [by the setting of the sun], and brought forth its day [by the sun light] ); because the sun rays fall on the gaseous layers, and the gases reflect these rays to the earth.

(و الأرضَ مَدَدْناها و ألقَينا فيها رَواسيَ و أنبَتْنا فيها مِنْ كُلِّ زَوجٍ بَهيجٍ .)

The explanation: (And the earth have We supplemented [with dust particles, meteorites and gases], and cast on it [mountains] that heavily landed, and planted on it of every pleasant kind [of plant.])

--(And the earth have We supplemented [with dust particles, meteorites and gases] ) means: He supplemented with water, dust particles and gases; and, by doing so, its size became larger. This is similar to His saying –be exalted –in the Quran 41: 10 (و بارَكَ فيها)

i.e. (and blessed it.) It is similar also to His saying –be exalted – in the Quran, 79: 30

The Arabic word means supplying or supplementing that is to give something in profuse amount and continuously. This is lit. what the word in Arabic means, like His saying –be exalted –in the Quran, 17: 6 أمدَدْناكم بِأموالٍ و بَنينَ The explanation: ( [We shall] aid you with wealth and children …etc.)

[This also is the meaning of the word in the Arabs poetry, some of which is mentioned by the late Mohammed-Ali Hassan, the interpreter of the Quran and the Bible, in his Arabic book.]

(و الأرضَ مَدَدْناها و ألقَينا فيها رَواسيَ و أنبَتْنا فيها مِنْ كُلِّ شَيءٍ مَوزونٍ .)

The explanation: (And the earth have We supplemented, and have cast on it [mountains] heavily landing, and have planted on it of every thing measured.)

(و هوَ الّذي مَدَّ الأرضَ و جَعَلَ فيها رَواسيَ و أنْهاراً و مِنْ كُلِّ الثّمَراتِ جَعَلَ فيها زَوجَينِ اثْنَينِ )

The explanation: (And it is [God] Who supplemented the earth, and made [mountains] to land thereon*, and [made therein] rivers; and –of every fruit – He made, there, two spouses** [: male and female.] )

[*i.e. firm mountains that settled or landed upon the earth, after being meteorites in the space.

Therefore, all these Quranic revelations are alike in the meaning, but are different in the words.

Question 1: God –be exalted –said in the preceding Quranic revelation, 79: 31

The explanation: ([And He] produced from it [: the earth] the water thereof and the pasture thereof.)

Now, the question is: Doesn’t the water fall down from the sky as rain? And the Earth was a flaming object, then how could water come out of fire ?

Answer: Anyone, having elementary knowledge about chemistry, knows that water is a combination of oxygen and hydrogen, and we said that these gases emerged from the Earth, then from their combination by an electrical current, water resulted. Therefore, the origin of the water is from the earth; it evaporates by the heat of the sun, and ascends in the sky, then it becomes rain, because of the coldness there, and falls down again, on the

(و ما قَدَروا اللهَ حقَّ قّدْرِهِ و الأرضُ جَمِيعاً قَبْضَتُهُ يَومَ القِيامَةِ و السّماواتُ مَطْوِيّاتٌ بِيَمِينِهِ سُبْحانَهُ و تَعالى عَمّا يُشْرِكونَ .)

The explanation: (And they do not esteem God as He should be esteemed, while the earth, all, will be [but] His handful on the Doomsday, and the heavens will be rolled up in His right hand. Celebrated be His praise, and exalted be He above what they associate [with Him as partners or associates.] )

Now the question is: What is the meaning of His saying –be exalted - و الأرضُ جَمِيعاً i.e. (While the earth, all, will be); while the earth is only one? And suppose that there are many earths in the universe, then He should say: While the earths, will be [but] His handful on Doomsday.

Answer: His saying –be exalted - و الأرضُ i.e. (while the earth) means all the planets, and for this reason He said جَمِيعاً قَبْضَتُهُ يَومَ القِيامَةِ i.e. (all, will be [but] His handful on the Doomsday )

The explanation: The destroyed earth which became planets; all will be His handful on the Day of Doom. E.g. if you buy a melon for one dollar, then somebody ask you: How much did you pay for it? Then it is not correct to say: “All of it cost me one dollar”; because it is one melon, and no need to say (all of it.) But if you divide it into nine pieces, and somebody ask you: How much did you pay for it? Here you can say: “All of it cost one dollar”; and that is to prevent him misunderstanding that you bought only one part of it for one dollar. Therefore, His saying –be exalted - و الأرضُ جَمِيعاً قَبْضَتُهُ يَومَ القِيامَة i.e. (while the earth, all, will be [but] His handful on the Doomsday)

Question 3: Isn’t God the Owner of everything, and the earth is His handful, and at His disposal and management at any instance? Then why did He confine that to the Day of Doom ?

Answer: Because there are many living beings today on the earth; some of them may own a house or a factory or an immovable property. But when the Day of Doom comes on, none will remain owning anything on the earth except God the Lord; because all people will die on that day, and none will remain upon the surface of the earth; like His saying –be exalted –in the Quran, 40: 16 (لِمَن المُلكُ اليومَ ؟ للهِ الواحدِ القهّار )

The explanation: ( [God will say: “O man,] to whom is the ownership this day ?” [The angels and people in the gathering-together will say:] “[It belongs] to God, the One, the Dominant.”)

(و لو شاءَ ربُّكَ لآمَنَ مَنْ في الأرضِ كُلُّهم جَميعاً أفأنتَ تُكرِهُ النّاسَ حتّى يَكونُوا مُؤمِنينَ .)

The explanation: ( [O Mohammed,] if your Lord had willed, all those in the earth as a whole [: all the terrestrial planets] would have believed. Then can you compel people to become believers ?)

Then why does He say: لآمَنَ مَنْ في الأرضِ كُلُّهم جَميعاً i.e. (all those in the earth as a whole [: all the terrestrial planets] would have believed.), while one word only, i.e. ‘all’ is enough ?

Answer: The word ‘all’ is related to the word ‘those’, while the word ‘as a whole’ is related to the ‘earth’.

The interpretation: All those who are in the planets would have believed, like His saying –be exalted -

قَبْضَتُهُ يَومَ القِيامَة و الأرضُ جَمِيعاً

The explanation: (while the earth, all, will be [but] His handful on the Doomsday)

Question 1: You claim that the planets are earths like our Earth, and they are scattered in the space revolving around the sun, and because of their revolution the four seasons issue, i.e. summer, winter, spring and autumn; then how do these objects revolve around the sun, and do not escape into the space ?

Answer: The sun has a gravitational force that attracts these celestial objects (the planets), and prevents them from escaping in the space.

( إنّ اللهَ يُمسكُ السماوات و الأرضَ أن تَزولا و لَئنْ زالتا إن أمسَكَهُما مِنْ أحدٍ مِنْ بَعدِهِ إنّهُ كانَ حليما غفوراً .)

The explanation: (Surely, God holds back the heavens and the earth, that they escape not [the gravitation of the sun]; and if they were to escape [the gravitation of the sun], no one else than Him could hold them. He is Ever-Clement [and] Most Forgiving.)

--( God holds back the heavens and the earth) means: He grasps the planets and the earth by the gravitation of the sun,

--( that they escape not [the gravitation of the sun] ) means: lest they should slip away from the sun, and scatter into the space.

--( and if they were to escape [the gravitation of the sun], ) as will they do on Doomsday,

--( no one else than Him could hold them.) means: Can anyone –apart from God – hold them back? That is because if the planets escape the gravitation of the sun, they will break up and become meteorites, then they will be attracted to the newly formed planets; because our sun will break up, on the Day of Doom, into planets; for this reason, God –be exalted- said:

The meaning: If the planets escape from the gravitation and break up, then God –be exalted –will hold these pieces by another gravitational force. The reason for the slipping of the planets from the gravitation of the sun on Doomsday is that the sun will break up and its parts will scatter in the space.

Consequently, when it will break up the planets will also break up together with it; that is His saying –be exalted –in the Quran, 82: 2 (و إذا الكواكبُ انْتَثَرَتْ ) The explanation: (And when the [terrestrial] planets [shall break up into pieces that] shall be strewn about [in the space to be meteorites.] )

The interpretation: They will break up and their parts will disperse in the space; because they will become meteorites.

( ثُمّ اسْتَوى إلى السماءِ و هِيَ دُخانٌ فَقالَ لَها و لِلأرضِ ائْتِيا طَوعاً أو كَرهاً قالَتا أتَينا طائعِينَ .)

The explanation: (“Then He tended to [build]* the sky and it had been smoke; He said to it and to the earth, ‘Come, both of you, willingly or loath.’ The two said, ‘We [all] have come obedient.’)

[*i.e. to make the layers of the gaseous sky distinctive, and to build or to arrange it in successive layers.]

--( willingly or loath.’ The two said, ‘We [all] have come obedient.’); that is because the gaseous layers are attracted to the earth, i.e. every planet has its gaseous layers attracted to it, so that wherever the planet goes the gases [go] with it.

Question 2: Why has God –be exalted –said أتَينا طائعِينَ i.e. (‘We [all] have come obedient.’) ; [in Arabic the word gives a plural indication], after saying قالَتا i.e. (The two said); in Arabic it indicates two or a pair ?

Answer: Every word ‘earth’, mentioned in the Quran, unaccompanied by the word ‘heavens’, and there is not ‘and’ in between them, then God –be exalted – means the planets, all [of them], because they were, at the start, as one earth, then it broke up, e.g. His saying –be exalted – in the Quran, 39: 67

و الأرضُ جَمِيعاً قَبْضَتُهُ يَومَ القِيامَة

The explanation: (while the earth, all, will be [but] His handful on the Doomsday)

(قُلْ أ رأيتُم شُرَكاءَكم الّذينَ تَدعونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللهِ ؟ أرُوني ماذا خَلَقُوا مِنَ الأرضِ أمْ لَهُمْ شِركٌ في السماواتِ ؟...)

The explanation: (Say: ‘Tell me your opinion concerning your associates whom you call on besides God; show me what it is they created of [all] the earth[s], or have they a share in the [gaseous] heavens ?)

The ‘earth’, here, means all of it, i.e. all its parts, i.e. all the planets.

--( what it is they created of [all] the earth[s] ) means: Which object of them did they create ? Did they create Mars, which is part of it ? Did they create Venus, Saturn or the other planets which are parts of that earth which had broken up ?

--( or have they a share in the [gaseous] heavens ?) means: Have they any share in the gaseous layers, so that they –together with Me – created the layer of the ozone, the helium, the sulfur dioxide or the rest of the gaseous layers?

Therefore, if they know and understand that God, Himself, created the planets and their gaseous layers, then why will they worship idols ? and why will they not admit that God is One, particularly in their worshipping and servitude?

In summary: God –be exalted –means, here, the ‘earth’ before its destruction and breaking up. Also, He means by the ‘sky’: before its separation into layers; for He said

و هِيَ دُخانٌ i.e. (and it had been smoke). And because the earth was one, and the sky, too, was one, He mentioned them as a pair, as does the Arabic word indicate, so He said:

( قالَتا) i.e. (The two said) which means: God said to them before were they divided; then they divided and answered ( أتَينا طائعِينَ ) i.e. (‘We [all] have come obedient.’); because the earth became nine pieces, and the sky became seven layers. So it is correct that they would answer in plural, as the word in Arabic indicates. The meaning is: They did as their Lord ordered them, so they divided and said (‘We [all] have come obedient.’)

Therefore, His saying –be exalted – (ائْتِيا طَوعاً أو كَرهاً) i.e. (‘Come, both of you, willingly or loath.’) explains that God –be exalted – decreed on them two orders: the first was their obedience to the gravitation, and that was willingly, so the sky was attracted to the earth, and the earth was attracted to the sun; the second order was their division which was by loath; so the sky divided into seven layers, and the earth divided into nine planets. This second order, they accepted unwillingly, but they did as had their Lord ordered and they did not refuse, so they said: (‘We [all] have come obedient.’)

Question 3 : How can the sun attract the Earth together with the rest of the planets by the gravitational force, while it appears, to our sight, smaller in size ?

Answer: The sun is many many times larger than the earth, but because of its far distance from us, we see it small in size; for the earth together with the rest of the planets and moons, all were as one sun, and when its life ended, it became an earth, then it broke up, so that moons and planets resulted. However, astronomers have appreciated the volume of the sun to be more than million times that of the earth.