Maariful Quran - Mufti Shafi Usmani RA - Vol - 5 - Page

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held by early thinkers; or, taken to be orbitally moving, as determined
by some early and most modern scientists. Under both these views, this
phenomenon would have caused terristerial turbulence which is identified
as shaking, swinging or swaying from side to side. To stop this turbulence
and to provide a balance for the terristerial composition, Allah
Ta'ZlZ placed on the Earth the weight of mountains so that it would not
shake. As for its orbital movement like all planets which is the commonly
held view from Pythagorus to modern scientists made more explicit
through contemporary experiments, it is something which the Holy
Qur'Zn neither affirms nor rejects. In fact, this possible turbulence which
has been stopped through the use of mountains should be more conducive
to this orbital movement which is credited to the Earth like other
planets. Allah knows best.
In the last verse (16), it was said: S;'& p $4; i+j 'And(He created)
signs. And through stars they find the right pith.' Since trade-oriented
travel was mentioned above, it was considered appropriate that conveniences
which Allah Ta%Z has provided in the heavens and the earth
designed to help travellers cover distances and reach destinations be
mentioned alongside. Therefore, it was said: ,a3 (ma 'alTimEt), that is,
'We have set up many signs in the form of mountains, rivers, trees,
homes and things like that in order to help people find their way on the
earth.' It is obvious that, had the earth been flat, there was no way man
would stray around in his effort to reach his destination.
As for the last statement in the verse: S;'& p $4; that is, the way
, ,
travellers know their bearing through territorial signs, quite similarly,
they also find out their orientation through stars as well. The modality
of the address here seems to hint that the initial purpose of the creation
of the stars is, for that matter, something else - however, alongwith it,
their additional benefit is that they help in the charting of one's course
when travelling.
Verses 17 - 23