The narrative of the heavens and earth starting as a joined entity and being physically split apart by a deity is a foundational mythological motif predating the Quran by millennia. This concept of cosmic separation is prominent in ancient Sumerian, Babylonian, and Egyptian creation myths (such as the separation of the earth god Geb and the sky goddess Nut). From a scientific standpoint, the verse conflicts with the Big Bang model: the Earth did not exist at the initiation of the universe, but rather formed nearly 9 billion years later from a stellar accretion disk. The heavens and the Earth were never a singular solid mass waiting to be ripped apart.