أَوَلَمْ يَرَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوٓا۟ أَنَّ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ كَانَتَا رَتْقًۭا فَفَتَقْنَٰهُمَا ۖ وَجَعَلْنَا مِنَ ٱلْمَآءِ كُلَّ شَىْءٍ حَىٍّ ۖ أَفَلَا يُؤْمِنُونَ
Have those who disbelieved not considered that the heavens and the earth were a joined entity, and We separated them and made from water every living thing? Then will they not believe?
Introduction
This is āyah 30 of Sūrat Al-Anbiyaa (The Prophets), the 73rd sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Meccan period and sits within Juzʾ 17. Meccan verses tend to address faith, the oneness of God, and the hereafter.
This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.
Revelation & occasion
- Period
- Meccan
- Order revealed
- 73 of 114
- Surah
- Al-Anbiyaa (21)
Have not those who disbelieve seen that the heavens and the earth were all sewn up, then We unstitched them, and from water We made every living thing? And We made…, and We made…, and We made… [21:30-32]. Everything to the end of these verses is allusions to the perfection of His power and explanations of His wisdom. When you look at power, all nonexistent things take on the color of existence. When you look at exaltedness, all existent things take on the color of nonexistence. You should not have the opinion that whatever He knew, He said; whatever He could do, He did; and whatever He had, He showed. The existent things and the created things are a sample of His power. Revelations and inspirations are an iota of His knowledge. Just as He sent a few rul- ings of His knowledge to the creatures and the knowledge did not reach the bottom, so also He put together a few clods of earth and His power did not reach its end. If He were to create thousands of Thrones, Footstools, heavens, and earths, He still would not have made apparent an iota of His power. Your power is incapable and finite, but His power is transcendent and infinite. Whatever is impossible in the intellect, God is perfectly powerful over that. In power He uses no contriv- ances, in self-standing His state does not change, in Essence and attributes He is everlasting and transcendent.
Tafsir
Hafiz Ibn Kathir
Chains of transmission
Oral — isnād
- ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation
Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.
- 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation
Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.
- TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation
Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.
Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.
Written — the manuscript record
- ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation
The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).
- 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation
Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.
- Modern printModern printawaiting curation
The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.
A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.
And now — what do you think?
The text, its history and the classical commentary are laid out above. Share your own understanding, ask a question, or reason with others.
Community resources
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