Continuation of the explanation of the chapter: The saying of Allah the Exalted: “And it is He who created the heavens and the earth with truth.”

The Shaykh : The preposition "ba" indicates association and purpose, meaning He created them with truth; no one other than Him created them. The purpose of their creation is truth, as Allah the Exalted said: . "Created" means to bring into existence from non-existence. The heavens were non-existent, and the earths were non-existent, and Allah the Exalted created them. He, Glorified and Exalted is He, explained to us that He created them in six days. He mentioned this in general terms and then in detail. This is part of the excellence of teaching, the excellence of Allah’s teaching, that He mentions a thing in general terms and then mentions it in detail. Why? Because the general statement causes the matter to settle in the soul, and then the soul desires the detail, so the detail is presented to it while it is prepared to accept what is presented to it. Allah the Exalted detailed these six days in Surat al-Fussilat, and for this reason it was named al-Fussilat. Allah the Exalted said: These are two days; He created them in two days. These are three matters. Together with the two previous days, meaning the two previous days and the two days for the three matters. For this reason He said: "Equal," meaning it does not exceed. How many is this? Four days. He created the earth in two days, set in it mountains rising from above, blessed it, and determined in it its sustenance in two days. So the total is four days. There is no harm in us digressing on this verse because it is important. He said: And He did not say "in its middle" or "beneath it" because these mountains that were set from above have a great benefit in being above the earth, because they are more stable for balance, and because of the caves and grottos and other great benefits that occur from these great mountains. The great valleys that fill the plains—where do they come from? From the mountains, because flat lands do not produce wadis. Therefore, you find the wadis in which there are towering mountains to be more beneficial and greater. Also, these great mountains above the earth block the great, fierce winds that come from here and there. In them are benefits known to people of geography. Where He said: Allah sent down in it the blessing. Therefore, it carries the children of Adam, the livestock of the children of Adam, and the sustenance of the children of Adam, despite the many who are born and die on this earth. It is blessed; He determined in it its sustenance. He placed in every region its sustenance that it needs, and He made these sustenances exist in one region rather than another, and in one country rather than another, so that people would exchange trade among themselves, transferring these to those and those to these. For this reason He said: And before that He said: Because the sustenances are determined according to need and according to the benefit that exists among the children of Adam. In four days, equal for those who ask. After He created the earth and blessed it and determined in it its sustenance in four days, He directed Himself to the heaven while it was smoke, meaning like smoke. Some scholars said: This is water vapor, because the earth and the heaven were water, as Allah the Exalted said: He directed Himself to the heaven while it was smoke. Look at the great wisdom: the heavens were not detailed as the earth was detailed, and their creation was not extended as the creation of the earth was extended, even though they are greater than the earth by multiplied multiples. But this is so that it becomes clear to people the care of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, for what directly concerns them of benefits. Where are people, in the heaven or on the earth? On the earth. So look at the care of Allah. And so that it becomes clear to you that the fact that Allah created the heavens and the earth in four days and the heaven in two days is not weakness on His part. Where does He create the earth in an instant? And so He created the heavens, which are greater than it, in two days, half the duration of the earth. If Allah extended the creation of the earth to four days, it is not for weakness or incapacity, but for wisdom, as evidenced by the fact that He created the heaven, which is greater than it, in a shorter duration than the creation of the earth. And yet: This may be for threat or for choice, so that He, the Exalted, sees how the heavens and the earth submit to Him. What did they say? And here He said, "We have come, willing," even though the heaven and the earth are inanimate, and inanimate things do not take the plural of masculine soundness, because the condition for the plural of masculine soundness, as you know in the Alfiyyah, is that it be a name or attribute for a masculine rational being. So how did He say, "We have come, willing"? Some exegetes said a strange thing. They said: They said, "We have come with those within us," and those within them are humans, jinn, and angels, willing. So the rational overrode the non-rational. But the correct view is the opposite, because people had not yet been created when the heavens and the earth were created. But the meaning is that since they were addressed and they address, they became in the position of a rational being, so He said, "We have come, willing." And this is a matter in which there is no doubt.
The summary is that Allah created the heavens and the earth in six days, mentioning it in general terms and then in detail. If He had willed, He could have created them in an instant, "Be, and it is." If He had said to the heaven and the earth, "Be earth, be heaven," they would have been so in an instant. But the scholars said: Allah the Exalted extended the creation to six days to teach the servants that when they do things, they should do them with quality, deliberation, and perfection, without haste and rushing. This is from one aspect. From another aspect, Allah is Wise, and creation requires gradualness, so wisdom required that He create them gradually until they reach perfection, just as the date palm is sown and then grows little by little until it reaches perfection. And whichever explanation we say, this or that, it is only a speculative explanation. Otherwise, Allah has wisdoms and secrets beyond our minds. For making the creation in six days, rather than in an instant, means for us to say, "He created them in six days, despite His ability to create them in an instant, for a matter we do not know." And do we say this truthfully or untruthfully? Truthfully. And are we thereby incapable or capable? Incapable of grasping the wisdom, but capable of answering. Yes, we are incapable of grasping the wisdom, but we are capable of answering by saying, "Allah knows best." If we deduce a wisdom and it is the correct one, that is from the kindness of Allah to us and His opening for us. And if it is not, we ask Allah to forgive our error. Now, the creation of the heavens and the earth was a beginning from no prior existence, in the hand of Allah the Exalted. And His saying, Glorified and Exalted is He, "with truth," you know its meaning.