Here Allah denounces the idolators who worship other gods apart from Him although He is the Creator, Subduer and Controller of all things. He says:

meaning, false gods whom you worship alongside Him?'

{That is the Lord of the that exists.} the Creator of all things is the Lord of all the creatures. Here the Ayah:

is explained in more detail; the creation of the earth and the creation of the heaven are discussed separately. Allah says that He created the earth first, because it is the foundation, and the foundation should be built first, then the roof. Allah says elsewhere:

{Are you more difficult to create or is the heaven that He constructed?} until;

So He mentioned the creation of the heavens before the earth, then He said:

{Say: "Do you verily disbelieve in Him Who created the earth in two Days?..."} until;

{We come willingly.} Here He mentioned the creation of the earth before the creation of the heavens. And He says:

{All-Hearer, All-Seer}. It is as if He was and is no longer.'

Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, replied:

this will happen when the Trumpet is blown for the first time.

and at that time there will be no kinship among them, nor will they ask of one another. Then when the Sur will be blown again,

With regard to the Ayat,

{By Allah, our Lord, we were not those who joined others in worship with Allah} and

Allah will forgive the sincere believers their sins, then the idolators will say, "Let us say that we never joined others in worship with Allah." Then a seal will be placed over their mouths, and their hands will speak. Then it will be known that not a single fact can be hidden from Allah, and at that point,

Allah created the earth in two days, then He created the heavens, then He (Istawa ila) the heaven and gave it its shape in two more days. Then He spread the earth, which means that He brought forth therefrom its water and its pasture. And He created the mountains, sands, inanimate things, rocks and hills and everything in between, in two more days. This is what Allah says:

And Allah's saying:

{(He) created the earth in two Days} So He created the earth and everything in it in four days, and He created the heavens in two days.

This is how He described Himself, and this is how He still is. Whatever Allah wills comes to pass, so do not be confused about the Qur'an, for all of it comes from Allah." This was recorded by Al-Bukhari.

{(He) created the earth in two Days} means, on Sunday and Monday.

means, He blessed it and gave it the potential to be planted with seeds and bring forth produce.

means, what its people need of provision and places in which to plant things and grow crops. This was on Tuesday and Wednesday, which together with the two previous days add up to four days.

meaning, for those who want to ask about that, so that they might know. 'Ikrimah and Mujahid said concerning the Ayah:

{and measured therein its sustenance}: "He placed in every land that which is not suited for any other land." Ibn 'Abbas, Qatadah and As-Suddi said, concerning the Ayah,

{equal for all those who ask}: this means, "For whoever wants to ask about that." Ibn Zayd said:

"According to whatever a person who is need of provision wants, Allah measures out for him what he needs." This is like what they said concerning the Ayah:

{And He gave you of all that you asked for}. And Allah knows best.

i.e., steam which arose from it when the earth was created.

meaning, 'Respond to My command and be subjected to this action, willingly or unwillingly.'

{They both said: "We come willingly."} meaning, 'we will respond to You willingly and everything that You want to create in us - angels, Jinn and men - will all be obedient to You.'

means, He finished forming them as seven heavens in two more days, which were Thursday and Friday.

means, He placed in each heaven whatever it needs of angels and things which are known only unto Him.

means, the stars and planets which shine on the people of the earth.

{as well as to guard.} means, as protection against the Shayatin, lest they listen to the angels on high.

means, the Almighty Who has subjugated all things to His control, the All-Knower Who knows all the movements of His creatures.