tremendous signs, many of which have not yet become clear. We do not say that these heavenly signs constitute all the signs; rather, there may be immense and tremendous signs that we remain unable to perceive even now.
His words, “how it was raised,” mean: raised to this tremendous height. Yet it has no pillars, even though roofs are ordinarily supported only by pillars. This immense, protected roof, however, stands without pillars:
“Allah is the One who raised the heavens without pillars that you can see.” [al-Ra'd: 2]
“And at the mountains—how they were set firm?” These immense mountains bear rocks and adjoining formations of differing kinds. Mountains are composed of many stones of numerous varieties, and they contain diverse minerals lying side by side. Yet you may find, for example, that a vein running through the middle of a rock contains minerals absent from the surrounding rock. Geologists are familiar with this.
Consider how Allah set these immense mountains firm. He—Glorious and Exalted—raised them to this height so that they would serve as firm anchors in the earth and prevent it from swaying with people. Had Allah—Mighty and Majestic—not created these mountains, the earth would have swayed with its inhabitants, for the earth lies in the midst of water, surrounded by water on every side. What would you expect of a sphere placed in the midst of water? It would move and shake, sometimes rolling and sometimes turning over. But Allah made these mountains firm anchors that hold the earth as tent ropes hold a tent.
They remain firmly anchored and stable despite the tremendous storms that occur on earth and demolish structures built by human beings. These mountains do not budge; they remain firmly anchored even when tremendous storms strike. Indeed, one of their benefits is that they shield people from extremely powerful storms sweeping in from the seas or elsewhere, lest those storms batter them. This is something observable: those living on the lower slopes of mountains or on the land beneath them are safe from the tremendous windstorms coming from beyond the mountain. Thus, they possess—