Tafsir for verses: 21:16, 21:17
وَمَا خَلَقۡنَا ٱلسَّمَآءَ وَٱلۡأَرۡضَ وَمَا بَيۡنَهُمَا لَٰعِبِينَ ١٦ ﴿16 لَوۡ أَرَدۡنَآ أَن نَّتَّخِذَ لَهۡوٗا لَّٱتَّخَذۡنَٰهُ مِن لَّدُنَّآ إِن كُنَّا فَٰعِلِينَ ١٧ ﴿17
16We did not create the heavens and the earth and what lies between them for play. 17Had We intended to have a pastime, We would have had it from Our own, if We were ever to do so.
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Commentary

That is: And We did not create this raised roof and this laid bedding, and what is between them from various types of creatures, filled with kinds of wonders and marvels, just as tyrants level their roofs and their furnishings and all their decorations, for amusement and play. Rather, We created them for religious benefits and divine wisdom, to be places for reflection, consideration, reasoning, and observation for Our servants, along with the countless benefits and innumerable resources related to them. Then it clarified that the reason for refraining from taking amusement and play and their absence from My actions is that wisdom diverts from it. Otherwise, I am capable of taking it if I were to do so, for I am capable of all things. And His saying, 'We would have taken it from Us,' is like His saying, 'Provision from Us,' meaning from the aspect of Our power. It is said that amusement means children in the language of Yemen. It is said to mean women. It is said to mean from Us, meaning from the angels, not from humans, in response to the birth of Christ and Ezra.

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