Al-Ghāshiyah 88:18

Exposition

And the sky, how it has been raised? alludes to its perfection. It is in line with other verses that invite man to stare at the heavens – and then look away and stare again – to see if they can find any flaw in its creation (67:3), and how it has been raised without any visible support (13:2) and adorned with celestial objects and innumerable galaxies for one who gazes at them (15:16, 50:6) in a starry night sky. We have built the sky with might, and indeed it is We who are its expanders (51:47).

Consider its complexity and size, the Quran asks, and then compare this cosmos with the weak, vulnerable man who arrogantly denies his Creator and assumes its clockwork perfection (36:38-40) was an accident: Are you harder to create or the heavens? He built it! (79:27). To God, of course, creating neither is more challenging or remarkable than the other, regardless of size or complexity; but it is asked from man’s perspective as a point of reflection.