Al-Qur'an Surah Al-Mu'minun Verse 17

Mufti Taqi Usmani

And We created above you seven paths (heavens), and We were never neglectful of the creation.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

And indeed, We created above you seven levels ˹of heaven˺. We are never unmindful of ˹Our˺ creation.

Ruwwad Translation Center

We have created above you seven levels [of heaven], and We have never been unaware of Our creation.

A. J. Arberry

And We created above you seven ways, and We were not heedless of creation.

Abdul Haleem

We created seven levels above you: We are never unmindful of Our creation.

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

And assuredly We created above you seven paths, and of the creation We have not been neglectful.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

And We have made, above you, seven tracts; and We are never unmindful of (our) Creation.

Abul Ala Maududi

We have indeed fashioned above you seven paths. Never were We unaware of the task of creation.

Ahmed Ali

We made several highways one over the other above you. We are not neglectful of creation.

Ahmed Raza Khan

And indeed We have created seven paths above you; and We are not unmindful of the creation.

Ali Quli Qarai

Certainly We created above you seven levels and We have not been oblivious of the creation.

Ali Ünal

Indeed, We have created above you seven heavens, one layer upon the other, and seven paths (for angels to move, God’s commands to descend, and acts of conscious beings to ascend, along). Never are We unaware of creation and what We create (with all aspects of their lives).

Amatul Rahman Omar

And We have created above you seven ways, and We have never been neglectful of (the needs of) the creation.

English Literal

And We had created above you, seven stages/layers, and We were not from/of the creation ignoring/neglecting .

Faridul Haque

And indeed We have created seven paths above you; and We are not unmindful of the creation.

Hamid S. Aziz

Then, lo! On the Day of Resurrection shall you surely be raised.

Hilali & Khan

And indeed We have created above you seven heavens (one over the other), and We are never unaware of the creation.

Maulana Mohammad Ali

Then on the day of Resurrection you will surely be raised up.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

And certainly We made above you seven heavens; and never are We heedless of creation.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

And We have created above you seven paths, and We are never unmindful of creation.

Muhammad Sarwar

We have created seven heavens above you and have never been neglectful to Our Creation.

Qaribullah & Darwish

We have created seven ways above you; of Our creation, We are never inattentive.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

And indeed We have created above you seven Tara'iq, and We are never unaware of the creation.

Wahiduddin Khan

We have created seven paths above you; We have never been unmindful of Our creation.

Talal Itani

We created above you seven pathways, and We are never heedless of the creation.

Tafsir jalalayn

And verily We created above you seven paths, that is, [seven] heavens (tar'iq is the plural of tarqa [so called] because they are the paths used by the angels) and of creation, that lies beneath these [paths], We are never unmindful, lest these should fall upon them and destroy them. Nay, but We hold them back, as [stated] in the verse; And He holds back the heaven lest it should fall upon the earth [Q. 22;65].

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

His Sign in the creation of the Heavens

Allah says here,

وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا فَوْقَكُمْ سَبْعَ طَرَايِقَ وَمَا كُنَّا عَنِ الْخَلْقِ غَافِلِينَ



And indeed We have created above you seven Tara'iq, and We are never unaware of the creation.

After mentioning the creation of man, Allah then mentions the creation of the seven heavens.

Allah often mentions the creation of the heavens and earth alongside the creation of man, as He says elsewhere;

لَخَلْقُ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ أَكْـبَرُ مِنْ خَلْقِ النَّاسِ

The creation of the heavens and the earth is indeed greater than the creation of mankind. (40;57)
A similar Ayah appears at the beginning of Surah As-Sajdah, which the Messenger of Allah used to recite on Friday mornings. At the beginning it mentions the creation of the heavens and earth, then it says how man was created from semen from clay, and it also discusses the resurrection and rewards and punishments, and other matters.

سَبْعَ طَرَايِقَ
(seven Tara'iq).

Mujahid said,

"This means the seven heavens."

This is like the Ayat;

تُسَبِّحُ لَهُ السَّمَـوَتُ السَّبْعُ وَالاٌّرْضُ وَمَن فِيهِنَّ

The seven heavens and the earth and all that is therein, glorify Him. (17;44)

أَلَمْ تَرَوْاْ كَيْفَ خَلَقَ اللَّهُ سَبْعَ سَمَـوَتٍ طِبَاقاً

See you not how Allah has created the seven heavens one above another! (71;15)

اللَّهُ الَّذِى خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَمَـوَتٍ وَمِنَ الاٌّرْضِ مِثْلَهُنَّ يَتَنَزَّلُ الاٌّمْرُ بَيْنَهُنَّ لِّتَعْلَمُواْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ أَحَاطَ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عِلْمَا

It is Allah Who has created seven heavens and of the earth the like thereof. His command descends between them (heavens and earth), that you may know that Allah has power over all things, and that Allah surrounds all things in (His) knowledge. (65;12)

Similarly, Allah says here;

وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا فَوْقَكُمْ سَبْعَ طَرَايِقَ وَمَا كُنَّا عَنِ الْخَلْقِ غَافِلِينَ


And indeed We have created above you seven Tara'iq, and We are never unaware of the creation.

meaning, Allah knows what goes into the earth and what comes out of it, what comes down from heaven and what goes up into it. He is with you wherever you are, and Allah sees what you do. No heaven is hidden from Him by another and no earth is hidden from Him by another. There is no mountain but He knows its features, and no sea but He knows what is in its depths. He knows the numbers of what is in the mountains, the hills, the sands, the seas, the landscapes and the trees.

وَمَا تَسْقُطُ مِن وَرَقَةٍ إِلاَّ يَعْلَمُهَا وَلَا حَبَّةٍ فِى ظُلُمَـتِ الاٌّرْضِ وَلَا رَطْبٍ وَلَا يَابِسٍ إِلاَّ فِى كِتَـبٍ مُّبِينٍ

And not a leaf falls, but He knows it. There is not a grain in the darkness of the earth nor anything fresh or dry, but is written in a Clear Record. (6;59)