Maryam · Makki · ayah 90 of 98

Maryam 19:90

تَكَادُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتُ يَتَفَطَّرْنَ مِنْهُ وَتَنشَقُّ ٱلْأَرْضُ وَتَخِرُّ ٱلْجِبَالُ هَدًّا

“The heavens almost rupture therefrom and the earth splits open and the mountains collapse in devastation”

Saheeh International

Essence

At the claim that the Most Merciful has a son, creation itself almost tears: heavens splitting, earth cracking, mountains falling with a crash.

A reflection

Creation built on His oneness

The heavens almost burst from it, the earth splits open, and the mountains fall in ruins. This is the reaction of the largest things a human being can see, to four words spoken by human beings.

A narration-based commentary explains why. The heavens, the earth and the mountains almost do this on hearing the claim from the wicked among humankind. They do it out of reverence and awe for their Lord. They were created, it says, and founded on His oneness. There is no god but He, with no partner, no equal, no child and no consort. It quotes a line of verse that has travelled far. In everything there is a sign of Him, showing that He is One.

An early report preserved in another narration-based commentary goes further. The claim of a partner terrified the heavens, the earth, the mountains and every created thing, except humans and jinn. They nearly ceased to be, from the greatness of Allah.

Notice who is not terrified. The only creatures unmoved by the claim are the ones who can make it. A mountain trembles; a human being shrugs.

That is the most humbling line in the ayah, though it is not written in it. The heavens have no pride to protect, so they react truthfully. The human ego, which has the most to lose by bowing, is the one that can speak such words without shaking.

A reader who wants to know how to feel about Allah's oneness could begin by borrowing the mountains' reverence. They know whom they were made by.

The full entry has 6 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.