Overview

Fusing earlier lessons of the Surah and presenting a culminating conclusion centered on the sky.

• This passage ties together what is learned in the first two sections of the Surah, fusing their lessons and presenting final conclusions.
• Much of the Surah directs attention to the sky—through the winds and the punishments that descended upon past nations. Here, Allah states “We built it,” placing renewed emphasis on the sky and unifying what preceded.

Language and Rhetoric

Structure, emphasis, and how meaning is amplified.

Object-first emphasis (Maf’ool Bihi)

The verse opens with the object before the verb, a rhetorical device that emphasizes the object rather than the doer.

وَالسَّمَاءَ (the object) precedes the verb بَنَيْنَا, and is then echoed by the attached pronoun in بَنَيْنَاهَا, intensifying focus on the sky.

Thematic continuity with the sky

The Surah repeatedly directs our gaze upward. By declaring “We built it,” Allah gathers prior threads—winds, descent of punishment—and anchors them in His power manifested in the sky.

Lexical focus: السَّمَاءَ (As‑Samaa’)

Elevation, breadth of reference, and qualified usage.

Root س‑م‑و: elevation and loftiness

السَّمَاءَ comes from the root conveying elevation, loftiness, and rising. It broadly refers to what is above, not limited to the common notion of “sky,” unless qualified.

Example of qualification: إِنَّا زَيَّنَّا السَّمَاءَ الدُّنْيَا بِزِينَةٍ الْكَوَاكِبِ — “Indeed, We have adorned the nearest heaven with an adornment of stars.”

بِأَيْدٍ — by power/strength

How the phrase encodes might without anthropomorphism.

Interpretive notes
  • Ibn ‘Abbas, Mujahid, and Qatadah stated that “hands” here represent quwwah (power and might).
  • It has been said that أَيْدٍ is a verbal noun (masdar) meaning “strength” or “power,” not the plural of يَد (“hand”).
  • Because of this usage, “hand” became synonymous with “power” in Arabic expression.
Qur’anic example of strength

وَاذْكُرْ عَبْدَنَا دَاوُودَ ذَا الْأَيْدِ — “And remember Our slave, David, the possessor of strength or power” (Sad: 38).

This illustrates the figurative sense of “power” embedded in the term.

وَإِنَّا لَمُوسِعُونَ — vastness

From a specific act to an attribute of limitless scope.

Meaning and effect

“And indeed We are those who certainly possess great vastness.” The verse begins with a specific act—building the heaven by power—and concludes with a general attribute of vastness. This shift invites reflection beyond the grandeur of the heavens to the limitless scope of Allah’s power and capability.

Throughout the Surah, we are humbled via the sky: though we associate might with it, that is not a true measure of the scope of divine power, which is far vaster.

Insights and Reflections

Bringing together the lessons and mindset the ayah cultivates.

  • • The sky is deliberately foregrounded—grammatically and thematically—to arrest attention and to center reflection.
  • • “Built by power” frames creation as an act of might, without implying corporeality—emphasizing strength in expression and meaning.
  • • The closing on “vastness” expands contemplation from one magnificent sign (the sky) to the unbounded scope of divine capability.
  • • The universe and seven heavens are nothing to Allah—provoking humility: where do we stand?

Key Arabic elements at a glance

Object-first

وَالسَّمَاءَ بَنَيْنَاهَا

Object precedes the verb; the pronoun echoes the object for emphasis.

Power/Strength

بِأَيْدٍ

Represents “power and might”; also understood as a masdar meaning “strength”.

Vastness

وَإِنَّا لَمُوسِعُونَ

From the specific act to a boundless attribute.