اللَّهُ الَّذِي خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتٍ وَمِنَ الْأَرْضِ مِثْلَهُنَّ يَتَنَزَّلُ الْأَمْرُ بَيْنَهُنَّ لِتَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ أَحَاطَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عِلْمًا
١٢
It is Allah Who has created seven heavens and of the earth the like thereof. His command descends between them, that you may know that Allah has power over all things, and that Allah surrounds all things with
(His) knowledge
(12)
Allah the Exalted asserts His perfect power and infinite greatness, so that the great religion that He has legislated is honored and implemented,
اللَّهُ الَّذِي خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتٍ
(It is Allah Who has created seven heavens) Allah said in similar Ayat, like what Prophet Nuh said to his people,
أَلَمْ تَرَوْا كَيْفَ خَلَقَ اللَّهُ سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتٍ طِبَاقًا
(See you not how Allah has created the seven heavens one above another?) (71:15), and,
تُسَبِّحُ لَهُ السَّمَاوَاتُ السَّبْعُ وَالْأَرْضُ وَمَنْ فِيهِنَّ ۚ
(The seven heavens and the earth and all that is therein, glorify him.) (17:44) Allah's statement,
وَمِنَ الْأَرْضِ مِثْلَهُنَّ
(and of the earth the like thereof.) means, He created seven earths. In the Two Sahihs, there is a Hadith that states,
مَنْ ظَلَمَ قِيدَ شِبْرٍ مِنَ الْأَرْضِ طُوِّقَهُ مِنْ سَبْعِ أَرَضِينَ
(Whoever usurps the land of somebody unjustly, even if it was a mere hand span, then his neck will be encircled with it down to the seven earths.) And in Sahih Al-Bukhari the wording is:
خُسِفَ بِهِ إِلَى سَبْعِ أَرَضِينَ
(...he will sink down to the seven earths.) In the beginning of my book, Al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah, I mentioned the various narrations for this Hadith when I narrated the story of the creation of the earth. All the thanks and praise is due to Allah.
Those who explained this Hadith to mean the seven continents have brought an implausible explanation that contradicts the letter of the Qur'an and the Hadith without having proof.
This is the end of the Tafsir of Surat At-Talaq, all the thanks and praise is due to Allah.
