What Is the Meaning of “Ratqan” (Joined) and “Fataqnahuma” (We Separated Them) in Surah al-Anbiya (21:30)?

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

What is the meaning of “ratqan” and “fataqnahuma” in Surat al-Anbiya (21:30), and how do scholars interpret the verse about the heavens and the earth being joined and then separated?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.

Ratqan— The word رَتَق (ratq) means to fuse and close, and فَتَق (fatq) means to open and divide. When used in combination, the words mean complete control in the management and execution of a job.

Allah Most High said,

“Or can those who disbelieve not have considered that the heavens and earth were fused as one; Then We divided them; And We made everything of water alive…” [Quran, 21:30]

Commentary of Verse [Quran:21:30]

The translation of the verse is that the earth and the sky were fused and closed, and Allah opened them up and divided them.

Different exegetists have explained differently the sense of the words “closing” and “opening”, but the meanings which the companions of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and the majority of the exegetists have adopted are that closing of sky and earth means shutting off rainfall from the sky and vegetation from the earth, and opening means the opening of these two i.e. the rainfall and vegetation.

The following story about ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar (Allah be pleased with him) is related to Ibn Kathir’s commentary on the authority of Ibn Abi Hatim. A man went to ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar (Allah be pleased with him) and requested him to explain the meaning of this verse to him. He pointed out towards Ibn ‘Abbas (Allah be pleased with him) and told him to go to him for an explanation of the verse. He also requested that he let him know the explanation that Ibn ‘Abbas (Allah be pleased with him) gave to him.

The man went to Ibn ‘Abbas and asked him what the words رَتَقاً (ratqan) and فَتَقنَا (fataqna) mean in the verse. Ibn ‘Abbas replied that initially, the sky was closed, and there was no rainfall; likewise, the earth was closed, and there was no growth. When Allah Most High sent man down to earth to live here, He opened up rainfall from the sky and the vegetation from the earth. After learning the explanation of the verse, the man went back to Ibn ‘Umar and repeated to him what he had learnt from Ibn  Abbas. Then Abdullah Ibn Umar remarked that he was left with no doubt that Allah Most High had graciously bestowed upon Ibn Abbas complete knowledge of the Quran.

He further said that he used to consider Ibn ‘Abbas’s explanations of the Quran bold attempts, which he disapproved of. But now he was convinced that Allah Most High had granted him special insight into the meaning of the Quran and that the explanation he gave of the words رَتق و فَتق was correct.

This story of Sayyidna Ibn ‘Abbas is also reported in Ruh al-Ma‘ani through Ibn Mundhir, Abu Nu’aym, and a group of hadith scholars, including Hakim, the writer of Mustadrak, who has accepted the tradition as authentic. [Shafi, Ma’rif al-Quran]

I would like you to go through the valuable answers and links below. Insha’Allah, you will receive guidance and direction.

Related

• Earth Archive
• The Quran: Science and the Unseen
• Did Allah Literally Create the World in Six Days?
• Hadiths On The Cosmos On Cosmic Revolution, Time, The Dying Sun, And Energy

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I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Mawlana Ilyas Patel has received a traditional education in various countries. He started his schooling in the UK and completed his hifz of the Quran in India. After that, he joined an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied secular and Aalimiyya sciences. Later, he traveled to Karachi, Pakistan, and other Middle Eastern countries to further his education. Mawlana has served as an Imam in the Republic of Ireland for several years and taught the Quran and other Islamic sciences to both children and adults. He also worked as a teacher and librarian at a local Islamic seminary in the UK for 12 years. Presently, he lives in the UK with his wife and is interested in books and gardening.