Surah Ya Sin (Ya Sin) 36 : 81

Explanatory Note

The sūrah then further examines the question of man’s initial creation and his subsequent resurrection:

“Is, then, He who has created the heavens and the earth unable to create their like? Of course He can. He alone is the supreme Creator, the All-Knowing.” (Verse 81)

The heavens and the earth are great and wonderful creations. This earth where we live with millions of other species, and compared to which we are very little in size, and about which our knowledge remains scanty, is no more than a small satellite of the sun. Our earth depends totally on the light and heat it receives from the sun. However, the sun is only one out of a hundred million suns in this galaxy which forms our neighbouring world. The universe includes numerous other galaxies. Using their best, but limited observatories, astronomers estimate that there are one hundred million galaxies, but they could discover more if they used more powerful telescopes. The distance between our galaxy and the next is estimated at 750,000 light years. In addition, there are also vast nebula containing distant clusters of stars. But this is as far as our limited knowledge can reach.

Most of these countless stars have planets like our own star, and each planet and star has its own orbit in which it moves according to an accurate system which allows no stoppage or deviation. Otherwise, collisions would occur in outer space. We simply cannot try to describe what this great expanse contains: it is simply beyond our imagination. However, the question remains:

“Is, then, He who has created the heavens and the earth unable to create their like?” How do people compare with such great, unimaginable creation? “Of course He can. He alone is the supreme Creator, the All- Knowing.” (Verse 81)