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Is it valid to interpret "Then He directed Himself to the heaven" as meaning He intended it with care and made it a magnificent creation?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The meaning of "Then He rose to the heaven" (ثم استوى إلى السماء) is that He intended it or ascended. The word "istawa" (استوى) can mean ascension, as stated by Abu Al-Aliyah, Ibn Abbas, and most of the early exegetes (Salaf). Alternatively, it can mean intending and turning towards something, as stated by Ibn Kathir, Al-Farra, and Al-Saadi. According to Al-Saadi, the word "istawa" (استوى) appears in the Qur'an with three meanings: perfection, when not followed by a preposition; highness and elevation, when followed by "ila" (إلى - to); and intention, when followed by "ala" (على - upon). Ibn Uthaymeen chose the meaning of "Then He rose to the heaven" (ثم استوى إلى السماء) to be complete intention and firm will.

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

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