(31–33) “We placed firm mountains upon the earth lest it sway with them, and made broad passes in it as roads so that they might find their way. We made the sky a protected canopy, yet they turn away from its signs. He is the One who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon—each swimming in an orbit.”
X That is: Among the proofs of His power, perfection, oneness, and mercy is that, because the earth can remain stable only through mountains, He anchored it with them and pegged it fast, lest it sway with His servants—that is, lest it convulse, leaving them unable to dwell upon it, cultivate it, or settle there. He therefore anchored it with mountains, and all the resulting benefits and advantages came to pass.
Since interconnected mountains may form vast, unbroken ranges, if they had remained in that condition—as towering mountains and lofty peaks—travel between many lands would have been obstructed. It is therefore part of Allah’s wisdom and mercy that He made broad passes among those mountains as roads—that is, easy routes that are not rugged—so that people might find their way to the lands they seek to reach, and so that this might guide them, through reflection, to the oneness of the All-Bountiful Bestower.
“We made the sky a canopy” over the earth upon which you live, “protected” from falling: “Indeed, Allah holds the heavens and the earth lest they cease.” It is also protected against the devils’ eavesdropping.
“Yet they turn away from its signs”; that is, they are heedless and distracted. This encompasses all the signs of the sky: its elevation, vastness, immensity, beautiful color, astonishingly perfect construction, and the other things visible within it—its fixed stars and planets, its radiant sun and moon, the night and day that arise through them, and their constant movement in their respective orbits, as is also true of the stars. Through all this, the needs of Allah’s servants are served by heat, cold, and the seasons; they determine the times and reckonings needed for their worship and dealings; they rest during the night, becoming calm and still; and they disperse during the day and strive to earn their livelihoods.
⦗523⦘ If a person of understanding reflects upon all these matters and examines them closely, he will conclude with unwavering certainty and no doubt that Allah has appointed them only for a known period, until an inevitable term, during which His servants fulfill their needs through them and derive their benefits, enjoyment, and advantage from them. Thereafter, they will pass away and vanish. The One who brought them into existence will annihilate them, and the One who set them in motion will bring them to rest. Those who are morally accountable will then pass into a realm other than this one, where they will find the recompense of their deeds complete and undiminished. He will thus know that the purpose of this world is to be a field cultivated for the everlasting abode, and that it is a stopping place on a journey, not a permanent home.