Mountains as Pegs (Awtād) أَوْتَادًا

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In Sūrah An-Naba the Qur'an calls the mountains awtād — pegs or stakes (78:7) — one of a sequence of signs pointing to a Creator who orders the world.

Overview

In the signs of creation that open Sūrah An-Naba, God asks, “and the mountains as pegs?” (78:7). The image is of the mountains as stakes that steady the earth, set alongside the earth made a resting place (78:6).

Etymology and meaning

The word أَوْتَاد (awtād) is the plural of watad, the peg or stake that holds a tent firm. The metaphor frames the mountains as anchoring weights that keep the earth stable.

Qur'anic references

78:7 — “and the mountains as pegs”
16:15 — “And He has cast into the earth firmly set mountains, lest it shift with you”
21:31 — “And We placed within the earth firmly set mountains, lest it should shift with them”
79:32 — “and the mountains He set firmly”

Significance

The peg image is offered as a sign (āya) inviting reflection: the same God who steadied the earth can raise the dead, which is the argument of the sūrah. It pairs naturally with the adjacent sign of the earth as a resting place.

References

The Qur'an, Sūrah An-Naba 78:7; cross-references 16:15, 21:31, 79:32.