Tafsir for verse: 21:16
وَمَا خَلَقۡنَا ٱلسَّمَآءَ وَٱلۡأَرۡضَ وَمَا بَيۡنَهُمَا لَٰعِبِينَ ١٦ ﴿16
16We did not create the heavens and the earth and what lies between them for play.
AI-Assisted Translation: This translation was produced by AI agents carefully trained over several months and thoroughly reviewed. It does NOT replace the scholarship of traditional scholars and is intended as a step in the right direction to make classical tafsir more accessible. There may still be inaccuracies—please report them promptly so we can improve the translation quality.

Commentary

And when He reproached them for playing and clarified that He acts in the destruction of oppression and the salvation of justice with the action of the serious in establishing the truth by avenging its people, and in annihilating falsehood by uprooting it from its origin, the intended meaning was: And it is not appropriate for us to act other than that from the actions of wisdom that are free from play. We did not create people in vain so that they disobey us and are not held accountable. He then referred to His saying: 'And We did not create' meaning by Our greatness which necessitates seriousness and cannot be otherwise.

And when the creation of the heavens is sufficient to indicate wisdom, how much more so with more than that! He affirmed and said: 'the heaven' meaning in its height and perfection (p-398) 'and the earth' in its vastness and expanse 'and what is between them' of what We have arranged for the completion of benefits from various wonders and strange creations. 'Playing' without intending by that to establish the truths and abolish falsehoods, rather We created [for you -] that as a great sign sufficient for reaching Us so that justice may appear in the recompense of everyone according to what they deserve, filled with what nourishes the bodies, stirs the souls, opens the chests, refreshes the spirits, and prompts reflection, for everyone who has insight, to indicate Our wisdom and the necessity of Our oneness. Yet you took what exceeded the need as a distraction that diverts from good, calling to harm.

Explore Other Scholars on This Verse

Compare different scholarly perspectives on Surah Al-Anbya verse 16

Al-Biqa'iBurhān ad-Dīn Ibrāhīm al-Biqāʿī
Learn more about Al-Biqa'i
2450 / 6181