- Beyond denying a “Majestic Qur’an”, a Warner, and resurrection, there is a failure to appreciate the world around them. The Aayaat (signs) surrounding them have always been present, yet they have not pondered them.
- This disregard for what exists around them is a reason for denying the message.
- Across this passage: Allah mentions the sky, then the earth, then a benefit for us. Then again the sky, the earth, and a benefit for us. This pattern highlights both beauty and benefit.
- The Deen of Allah is concerned with both beauty and substance. The Qur’an presents facts with descriptive beauty, drawing us to the splendour of Allah’s creation. We must not neglect either style (beauty) or substance.
Ayah 50:6
أَفَلَمْ يَنظُرُوا إِلَى السَّمَاءِ فَوْقَهُمْ كَيْفَ بَنَيْنَاهَا وَزَيَّنَّاهَا وَمَا لَهَا مِن فُرُوجٍ Beauty and substance in the signs above
Introduction
Structure Highlighted in the Passage
A repeated sequence emphasizes two focuses: first beauty, then benefit.
Focus: Beauty
Sky
How beautiful it isEarth
How beautiful it isMe
Benefit to humans Focus: Benefit
Sky
How beneficial it isEarth
How beneficial it isMe
Benefit to humansThis pairing teaches us to value both the splendour and the function of creation—and of the Qur’an’s message itself.
Key Points from the Ayah
Linguistic Insight: Looking “to” vs “in”
The use of إِلَى (Ilaa “to”) instead of فِي (Fee “in”) with نَظَرَ (Nazhara “to look”) indicates “Didn’t they just look a little toward the sky and ponder a little”, while فِي with نَظَرَ would suggest looking deeply and examining a matter.
زَيَّنَّاهَا — “We beautified it”
How Allah beautified the sky:
- Stars at night
- The sun (its rising and setting)
- The moon
- Variations of clouds during the day
- Various colours
- Birds flying in it
Human Nature and Beauty
Seeking beauty is innate in humans to the exclusion of all other creation. In food, building, and producing, humans are driven toward attaining beauty.
The quest for beauty leads to Allah, the Creator of all beauty.
When Beauty Is Detached
Detached from its source and purpose, beauty is transformed into something ugly.
Contemporary western arts often promote purposelessness and randomness as if it were beauty—whether in works of art, films, or lyrics—signaling a digression to base levels because beauty has been stripped from its source.
فُرُوجٍ — “No rifts”
فُرُوج (Furooj) in Arabic are فُتُوق (Futooq) — “rips, rents, tears, or ruptures”, i.e., any flaws.
Like what Allah said in Surah Al‑Mulk with the word فُطُورٍ:
الَّذِي خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَمَوَاتٍ طِبَاقًا مَا تَرَى فِي خَلْقِ الرَّحْمَنِ مِنْ تَفَاوُتٍ فَارْجِعِ الْبَصَرَ هَلْ تَرَى مِنْ فُطُورٍ
[And] who created seven heavens in layers. You do not see in the creation of the Most Merciful any inconsistency. So, return [your] vision [to the sky]; do you see any breaks (Futoor)? (Al‑Mulk: 3).