Clarifying Allah's Perfect Ability
Allah tells;
اللّهُ الَّذِي رَفَعَ السَّمَاوَاتِ
Allah is He Who raised the heavens,
Allah mentions His perfect ability and infinite authority, since it is He Who has raised the heavens without pillars by His permission and order. He, by His leave, order and power, has elevated the heavens high above the earth, distant and far away from reach. The heaven nearest to the present world encompasses the earth from all directions, and is also high above it from every direction.
The distance between the first heaven and the earth is five hundred years from every direction, and its thickness is also five hundred years.
The second heaven surrounds the first heaven from every direction, encompassing everything that the latter carries, with a thickness also of five hundred years and a distance between them of five hundred years. The same is also true about the third, the fourth, the fifth, the sixth and the seventh heavens.
Allah said,
اللَّهُ الَّذِى خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَمَـوَتٍ وَمِنَ الاٌّرْضِ مِثْلَهُنَّ
It is Allah who has created seven heavens and of the earth the like thereof. (65:12)
Allah said next,
بِغَيْرِ عَمَدٍ تَرَوْنَهَا
..without any pillars that you can see.
meaning, `there are pillars, but you cannot see them,'
according to Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Al-Hasan, Qatadah, and several other scholars.
Iyas bin Mu`awiyah said,
"The heaven is like a dome over the earth,"
meaning, without pillars.
Similar was reported from Qatadah, and this meaning is better for this part of the Ayah, especially since Allah said in another Ayah,
وَيُمْسِكُ السَّمَأءَ أَن تَقَعَ عَلَى الاٌّرْضِ إِلاَّ بِإِذْنِهِ
He withholds the heaven from falling on the earth except by His permission. (22:65)
Therefore, Allah's statement,
تَرَوْنَهَا
(...that you can see), affirms that there are no pillars. Rather, the heaven is elevated (above the earth) without pillars, as you see.
This meaning best affirms Allah's ability and power.
