An-Naba · Makki · ayah 19 of 40

An-Naba 78:19

وَفُتِحَتِ ٱلسَّمَآءُ فَكَانَتْ أَبْوَٰبًا

“And the heaven is opened and will become gateways”

Saheeh International

Essence

The strong, seamless sky is opened as easily as a door and becomes nothing but gateways, for the angels descending on the Day.

A reflection

Eight years through a mountain

Deep inside a mountain, two giant boring machines have been grinding towards each other for eight years. Thousands of workers, billions of pounds, endless surveys. On the day the last wall of rock between them crumbles, the engineers cheer and hug, and the photograph goes round the world. It is a genuine triumph of human effort.

Now read this ayah. 'And the heaven is opened, and becomes gateways.' Earlier the surah described the heavens as seven, built strong, with no cracks (78:12). Here the same vast structure is simply opened.

One classical commentator notices the choice of word. Elsewhere the Quran speaks of the sky being split and torn apart. Here it says 'opened', the ordinary word for opening a door. He suggests the reason is to show the perfection of Allah's power. Splitting that immense body is, for Him, as easy and as quick as opening a door. The verb is in the past tense, 'was opened', because what He has decided is as good as done.

This is humbling in the best way. Our greatest achievements take years of struggle against resistant matter. We are right to be glad of them. But the ego is tempted to think that our tunnels and towers show what power really is. Against the One who opens the sky like a door, our eight-year breakthrough is a child pushing through a curtain.

Is this a boast? The Quran is clear that Allah needs nothing, including our awe. The description is for us. It sets our achievements at their true scale, and it tells us that nothing we fear is too hard for Him to open.

The engineers deserve their celebration. But when you next feel proud of something difficult you have done, remember the door. The sky itself will open at His word, with less effort than you spent turning the handle to leave the house this morning.

The full entry has 4 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.