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What is the wisdom behind singling out "the earth" and conjoining it with "the heavens" in the plural form in the verses of the Holy Qur'an?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Scholars have differed on the reason why "heavens" is mentioned in the plural and "earth" in the singular in the Holy Qur'an, presenting four views: The first is that there are seven heavens, while there is only one earth, even though the earth is divided into seven climes. The second is that the earth's vastness is very small compared to the heavens, so it was considered as one. The third is that the earth represents the worldly life, which the Qur'an diminishes in significance, but this view is weak because the earth and the heavens were created together and will perish together. The fourth is that "earth" refers to what is low and beneath, and these are not pluralized linguistically, although they can be pluralized if parts of them are intended, as in the hadith: "Whoever takes a hand span of land unjustly, it will be a collar around his neck from seven earths on the Day of Resurrection."

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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