
THE SPLITTING ASUNDER OF "THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH"
Another
verse about the creation of the heavens is as follows:
Do those who disbelieve not see that the heavens
and the earth were sewn together and then We unstitched them
and that We made from water every living thing? So will they not
believe? (Qur'an, 21:30)
The word "ratq" translated as "sewn to" means
"mixed in each, blended" in the Arabic vernacular. It is used to
refer to two different substances that make up a whole. The phrase
"we unstitched" is the verb "fataqa" in Arabic and implies that
something comes into being by tearing apart or destroying the structure
of things that are sewn to one another. The sprouting of a seed
from the soil is one of the actions to which this verb is applied.
Let us take a look at the verse again. In the verse, sky and earth
are at first subject to the status of "ratq." They are
separated (fataqa) with one coming out of the other. Intriguingly,
when we think about the first moments of the Big Bang, we see that
the entire matter of the universe collected at one single point.
In other words, everything-including "the heavens and earth" which
were not created yet-were in an interwoven and inseparable condition.
Then, this point exploded violently, causing its matter to disunite.
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