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قQuranicpediaEncyclopedia of the Glorious Qur’an

Earth as a Resting Place الْأَرْض مِهَادًا

In review — pending scholar verification

The Quranic image of the earth as a "cradle" or "resting place" prepared for human habitation — named in Surah An-Naba 78:6 and several other verses.

Overview

The Quran describes the earth as a resting place or cradle prepared for human habitation. The most prominent verse is Surah An-Naba 78:6: "Have We not made the earth a resting place (mihādan)?" The Arabic mihād (root m-h-d) conveys preparation, smoothing, and readying — the same word used for an infant's cradle. Several related Quranic terms — firāsh ("spread"), bisāṭ ("expanse"), qarār ("settlement"), kifāt ("a place that gathers") — communicate the same theme.

Quranic references

  • Surah An-Naba 78:6 — "Have We not made the earth a resting place?"
  • Surah Al-Baqarah 2:22 — "He who made for you the earth a spread (firāshan)."
  • Surah Nūḥ 71:19 — "And Allah has made the earth a wide expanse (bisāṭan)."
  • Surah Ghāfir 40:64 — "It is Allah who made for you the earth a place of settlement (qarāran)."
  • Surah Al-Mursalāt 77:25–26 — "Have We not made the earth a kifāt (gatherer) of the living and the dead?"

See also

References

  1. The Quran: Surahs Al-Baqarah 2:22; Al-Mursalāt 77:25–26; An-Naba 78:6; Nūḥ 71:19; Ghāfir 40:64.
  2. Ibn Kathir, Tafsīr, on Surah An-Naba.