The SKY — The Protected Roof
the sky a preserved and protected roof
In the Qur’an, Allah Almighty calls our attention to a very important attribute of the sky:
{ We made the sky a preserved and protected roof, yet still they turn away from Our signs }
The Quran 21:32
other translations :
- And We made the sky a protected ceiling; yet they turn away from its wonders.
- and We made the sky a protected roof, yet still, they turn away from its signs.
- And We have made the sky a well-protected canopy, still they turn away from its signs.
The Quran 21:32
- Tafsir al-Jalalayn :
“ And We made the heaven a roof for the earth functioning like the roof of a house preserved from collapsing; and yet of the signs thereof namely the signs of this heaven such as the sun the moon and the stars they are disregardful failing to reflect on them and thus realise that the Creator of such things can have no partner.” [ link source ]
commentary by Towards Understanding the Quran by Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi [3] :
(21:32) and We made the sky a secure canopy;33 and yet they turn away from these Signs.34
33. For explanation, see (Surah Al-Hijr, E. Ns 8 [4] and 10–12). [5]
(Surah Al-Hijr, E. Ns 8 and 10–12). 8. In the preceding( Ayats 14–15) it was stated that the disbelievers had become so hardened against the Quran that they would not have believed in it even if they had ascended the Heaven and seen with their own eyes the signs mentioned in it. Now in (Ayats 16–22), some of the signs are being cited in order to convince there of its truth.
Buruj (mansions of stars) are signs of Allah. For it is not possible to pass through one sphere of the Heaven into another, as each sphere of the space has been fortified by invisible boundaries. In this connection, it may be noted that literally the Arabic word burj means a fortified place, but as a technical term of ancient astronomy this stood for each of the twelve signs of the Zodiac, which marked the sun’s path through the heavens. This has led some of the commentators to form the opinion that in this verse the word buruj refers to the same. But there are some others who think that it means stars or planets. However, if we consider this word in the context of (Ayat 19), we are led to the conclusion that probably it stands for spheres.
10–12 : 10. That is, these spheres are so fortified that they are beyond the reach of every Satan, for all Satans including those of jinns, have been confined to that sphere in which the Earth has been placed and they enjoy no more access to visit other spheres than the other dwellers of this sphere. This has been mentioned in order to remove a common misunderstanding. The common people believed, and still believe, that Satan and his descendants have a free access to every place in the universe. On the contrary, the Quran says that Satans cannot go beyond a certain limit and they have no unlimited power of ascension.
34. That is, those signs which are in the sky.
This attribute of the sky has been proved by scientific research carried out in the 20th century: The atmosphere surrounding the Earth serves crucial functions for the continuity of life. While destroying many meteors — big and small — as they approach the Earth, it prevents them from falling to Earth and harming living things.
In addition, the atmosphere filters the light rays coming from space that are harmful to living things. The most striking feature of this function of the atmosphere is that it lets only harmless and useful rays-visible light, near ultraviolet light and radio waves pass through. All of this radiation is vital for life. Near ultraviolet rays, which are only partially let in by the atmosphere, are very important for the photosynthesis of plants and for the survival of all living things. The majority of the intense ultraviolet rays emitted from the Sun are filtered out by the ozone layer of the atmosphere. Only a limited and essential part of the ultraviolet spectrum reaches the Earth.
The protective function of the atmosphere does not end here. The atmosphere also protects the Earth from the freezing cold of the space, which is approximately -2700C (-4540F).
It is not only the atmosphere that protects the Earth from harmful effects. In addition to the atmosphere, the Van-Allen Belt — the layer caused by the magnetic field of the Earth — also serves as a shield against the harmful radiation that threatens our planet. This radiation, which is constantly emitted by the Sun and other stars, is deadly to living things. If the Van-Allen belt did not exist, the massive outbursts of energy called solar flares that frequently occur in the Sun would destroy all life on Earth.
On the importance of the Van-Allen Belt, Dr. Hugh Ross says:
“In fact, the Earth has the highest density of any of the planets in our Solar System. This large nickel-iron core is responsible for our large magnetic field. This magnetic field produces the Van-Allen radiation shield, which protects the Earth from radiation bombardment. If this shield were not present, life would not be possible on Earth. The only other rocky planet to have any magnetic field is Mercury — but its field strength is 100 times less than the Earth’s. Even Venus, our sister planet, has no magnetic field. The Van-Allen radiation shield is a design unique to the Earth. (The Incredible Design of the Earth and our Solar System)
The energy transmitted in just one of these bursts detected in recent years was calculated to be equivalent to 100 billion atomic bombs, each akin to one dropped on Hiroshima at the end of World War II. Fifty-eight hours after the burst, it was observed that the magnetic needles of compasses displayed unusual movement and 250 kilometers (155 miles) above the Earth’s atmosphere, the temperature suddenly increased to 25,000C (45,320F).
The atmosphere is a gaseous envelope of 10,000 km surrounding our planet, invisible to the eye. Millions of meteorites of varying sizes keep falling from space in the direction of our world. Despite its transparent structure, our atmosphere puts up a bold front against this meteorite bombardment like a steel shield. Had it not been for this feature, there would have been no life on earth, and our world would have been riddled with holes. We witnessed a sample of it when we landed on the moon. Meteor showers kept hitting the surface and the meteoric bodies of greater volume penetrated the crust of the moon, digging deep holes on it. Meteors strike the molecules in the atmosphere with a great speed, and the heat generated turns them into dust particles before disappearing in the air.
The atmosphere also has the function filtering the harmful rays of the sun, protecting life on earth against extinction. This ingenious design partially absorbs incident electromagnetic radiation. Thus, the atmosphere filters the rays harmful to life while letting the rays that foster life on earth pass through. The heavens perfectly perform the duties and functions apportioned to them by God, and unfold before the eyes of those able to discriminate intelligent and teleological creation. The verse refers once more to the dogmatic disbelievers blind to these marvels. All these formations in the atmosphere show the design behind them, namely, the creation and perpetuation of life.
The approximate temperature in space is -270 degrees Celsius. Our earth is protected against this cold thanks to the atmosphere. The atmosphere prevents the energy directed to the earth from going back to space. The atmosphere arranges an even distribution of heat on earth by meteorological phenomena. A hot air mass is thus carried to parts less warm in the atmosphere, establishing a balance between the overheated equatorial and the cold polar regions. Protection from the lethal cold and heat is secured thanks to the perfect design of the atmosphere.
- VAN ALLEN BELTS
The Van Allen belts protect us against radiation bombardment. Had it not been for this, life on earth would have been impossible. The lethal cosmic rays coming from the stars other than the sun cannot penetrate this shield. These plasma clouds can reach 100 billion-fold the value of the atom bomb dropped over Hiroshima. Thanks to the Van Allen belts at a distance of 60,000 km from the world, the solar winds cannot penetrate the earth we live in. The “Well protected roof” in the 21st sura, verse 32 is the result of the speed of rotation of our world, its position in relation to the sun, the structure, the shape and thickness of atmospheric layers, the structure of the core of the earth, the proportion of the constituents in its composition and the perfect and harmonious combinations of a multitude of parameters. The Author of all these prerequisites for our life cannot be other than the Creator Himself. Logic and conscience cannot accept that all these protective measures in the sky have come about fortuitously and that the Quran was the product of a human intellect and genius. [1]
In short, a perfect system is at work high above the Earth. It surrounds our world and protects it against external threats. Centuries ago, Allah Almighty informed us in the Qur’an of the world’s atmosphere functioning as a protective shield. [2]
Sources :
[1] : http://www.quranmiracles.com/2011/03/well-protected-roof/
[2] : http://quran.science/Sky.html
[3] http://www.islamicstudies.info/tafheem.php?sura=21&verse=34&to=41
[4] http://islamicstudies.info/reference.php?sura=15&verse=16¬e=8
[5] http://islamicstudies.info/reference.php?sura=15&verse=17&to=18¬e=10&nto=12
for more read the book titled :
The Bible, The Qur’an and Science : The Holy Scriptures Examined In The Light Of Modern Knowledge By Dr. Maurice Bucaille Translated from French By Alastair D. Pannell.
- Amazon link : https://www.amazon.com/Bible-Quran-Science-Scriptures-Knowledge/dp/8172310099
- PDF copy : https://www.kalamullah.com/Books/BibleQuranScience.pdf
lecture of The Qur’an and Science By Dr. Maurice Bucaille
also :
thank you for reading
God knows best.
