Quran by Topic
The Expanding Universe
الكون المتّسع
In a 7th-century Arabian desert, the Quran describes the heavens as constructed with strength and expanded by the Creator — a claim only confirmed by 20th-century cosmology.
5 verses from the Quran
#01
"And the heaven We constructed with strength, and indeed, We are its expander (مُوسِعُونَ). The verb 'we are expanding' is in the present continuous — a state, not a one-time event. Hubble's law (1929) confirmed that the universe is expanding."
Arabic
وَٱلسَّمَآءَ بَنَيْنَٰهَا بِأَيْي۟دٍۢ وَإِنَّا لَمُوسِعُونَ
English (Sahih International)
And the heaven We constructed with strength, and indeed, We are [its] expander.
#02
"The heavens and earth were a joined entity, then We split them, and We made from water every living thing. The 'joined then split' framing reads as a singularity-to-expansion description."
Arabic
أَوَلَمْ يَرَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوٓا۟ أَنَّ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ كَانَتَا رَتْقًۭا فَفَتَقْنَٰهُمَا ۖ وَجَعَلْنَا مِنَ ٱلْمَآءِ كُلَّ شَىْءٍ حَىٍّ ۖ أَفَلَا يُؤْمِنُونَ
English (Sahih International)
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?
#03
"Then He directed Himself to the heaven while it was smoke (دُخَانًا) and said to it and to the earth, 'come, willingly or unwillingly.' They said, 'we come willingly.' A primordial 'smoke' — gas/dust cloud — is the state the universe is described in, before structure."
Arabic
ثُمَّ ٱسْتَوَىٰٓ إِلَى ٱلسَّمَآءِ وَهِىَ دُخَانٌۭ فَقَالَ لَهَا وَلِلْأَرْضِ ٱئْتِيَا طَوْعًا أَوْ كَرْهًۭا قَالَتَآ أَتَيْنَا طَآئِعِينَ
English (Sahih International)
Then He directed Himself to the heaven while it was smoke and said to it and to the earth, "Come [into being], willingly or by compulsion." They said, "We have come willingly."
#04
"Do you not see how Allah created seven heavens in layers (طِبَاقًا)? The word 'layers' (طِبَاق) is exact — not stacked, not piled, but layered, as in atmospheric or cosmic shells."
Arabic
أَلَمْ تَرَوْا۟ كَيْفَ خَلَقَ ٱللَّهُ سَبْعَ سَمَٰوَٰتٍۢ طِبَاقًۭا
English (Sahih International)
Do you not consider how Allah has created seven heavens in layers
#05
"Are you a more difficult creation or is the heaven? Allah constructed it (بَنَاهَا) and raised (رَفَعَ) its canopy, and gave it order (سَوَّاهَا). The 'raised its canopy' phrasing describes cosmic elevation, not a flat roof."
Arabic
ءَأَنتُمْ أَشَدُّ خَلْقًا أَمِ ٱلسَّمَآءُ ۚ بَنَىٰهَا
English (Sahih International)
Are you a more difficult creation or is the heaven? Allah constructed it.
All Arabic text from the Uthmani edition · All English from Sahih International translation · Topical groupings are based on classical tafsir; scholars may differ on inclusion of specific verses