سُوْرَةُ فُصِّلَتۡ
Surah Fussilat (41) — Ayah 11
ثُمَّ ٱسْتَوَىٰٓ إِلَى ٱلسَّمَآءِ وَهِىَ دُخَانٌ فَقَالَ لَهَا وَلِلْأَرْضِ ٱئْتِيَا طَوْعًا أَوْ كَرْهًا قَالَتَآ أَتَيْنَا طَآئِعِينَ ﴿11﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
Then He rose over (Istawâ) towards the heaven when it was smoke, and said to it and to the earth: "Come both of you willingly or unwillingly." They both said: "We come willingly."
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
ثُمَّ
thumma
Then
ٱسْتَوَىٰٓ
is'tawā
He directed (Himself)
إِلَى
ilā
towards
ٱلسَّمَآءِ
l-samāi
the heaven
وَهِىَ
wahiya
while it (was)
دُخَانٌۭ
dukhānun
smoke
فَقَالَ
faqāla
and He said
لَهَا
lahā
to it
وَلِلْأَرْضِ
walil'arḍi
and to the earth
ٱئْتِيَا
i'tiyā
Come both of you
طَوْعًا
ṭawʿan
willingly
أَوْ
aw
or
كَرْهًۭا
karhan
unwillingly
قَالَتَآ
qālatā
They both said
أَتَيْنَا
ataynā
We come
طَآئِعِينَ
ṭāiʿīna
willingly
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
11. Then He turned to the sky, which was smoke [9], and said to it and to the earth: "Come willingly or unwillingly." They both said, "We come willingly in obedience."
[9]
The Mixed Mass of Earth and Heavens:
In this verse, the word "thumma" is not in the sense of chronological order, but rather refers to one aspect of the creation of the earth and the heavens. In other words, this is not an event that occurred after the creation of the earth, but rather before it, which is mentioned later. And the clear evidence for this is this verse: ﴿اَوَلَمْ يَرَ الَّذِيْنَ كَفَرُوْٓا اَنَّ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَالْاَرْضَ كَانَتَا رَتْقًا فَفَتَقْنٰهُمَا﴾ meaning, were the earth and the heavens not previously mixed and merged together? Then We separated them. And here it is being stated that at that time, in the vast expanse of space, there was nothing but smoke or a compound type of gases. That is, the primordial matter of the universe was also a collection of gases. From this collection of gases, Allah Almighty created the earth, the heavens, the sun, the moon, the stars—everything. The design of the universe that Allah Almighty intended, that the earth should be at such-and-such a place and of such-and-such a size, the heavens should be like this, the sun at such-and-such a place and at such a distance from the earth and of such a size, the stars and galaxies, the moon and stars should be like this and like that—all these things continued to be formed from this mass of gases according to the will of Allah Almighty. And thus, six days (periods) were spent in the creation of the universe.
[9]
The Mixed Mass of Earth and Heavens:
In this verse, the word "thumma" is not in the sense of chronological order, but rather refers to one aspect of the creation of the earth and the heavens. In other words, this is not an event that occurred after the creation of the earth, but rather before it, which is mentioned later. And the clear evidence for this is this verse: ﴿اَوَلَمْ يَرَ الَّذِيْنَ كَفَرُوْٓا اَنَّ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَالْاَرْضَ كَانَتَا رَتْقًا فَفَتَقْنٰهُمَا﴾ meaning, were the earth and the heavens not previously mixed and merged together? Then We separated them. And here it is being stated that at that time, in the vast expanse of space, there was nothing but smoke or a compound type of gases. That is, the primordial matter of the universe was also a collection of gases. From this collection of gases, Allah Almighty created the earth, the heavens, the sun, the moon, the stars—everything. The design of the universe that Allah Almighty intended, that the earth should be at such-and-such a place and of such-and-such a size, the heavens should be like this, the sun at such-and-such a place and at such a distance from the earth and of such a size, the stars and galaxies, the moon and stars should be like this and like that—all these things continued to be formed from this mass of gases according to the will of Allah Almighty. And thus, six days (periods) were spent in the creation of the universe.
