ٱلْأَعْرَاف : ٥٤

  • إِنَّ Indeed
  • رَبَّكُمُ your Lord
  • ٱللَّهُ (is) Allah
  • ٱلَّذِي the One Who
  • خَلَقَ created
  • ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ the heavens
  • وَٱلۡأَرۡضَ and the earth
  • فِي in
  • سِتَّةِ six
  • أَيَّامٖ epochs
  • ثُمَّ then
  • ٱسۡتَوَىٰ He ascended
  • عَلَى on
  • ٱلۡعَرۡشِۖ the Throne
  • يُغۡشِي He covers
  • ٱلَّيۡلَ the night
  • ٱلنَّهَارَ (with) the day
  • يَطۡلُبُهُۥ seeking it
  • حَثِيثٗا rapidly
  • وَٱلشَّمۡسَ and the sun
  • وَٱلۡقَمَرَ and the moon
  • وَٱلنُّجُومَ and the stars
  • مُسَخَّرَٰتِ subjected
  • بِأَمۡرِهِۦٓۗ by His command
  • أَلَا Unquestionably
  • لَهُ for Him
  • ٱلۡخَلۡقُ (is) the creation
  • وَٱلۡأَمۡرُۗ and the command
  • تَبَارَكَ blessed
  • ٱللَّهُ (is) Allah
  • رَبُّ Lord
  • ٱلۡعَٰلَمِينَ (of) the worlds
Indeed, your Lord is Allāh, who created the heavens and earth in six days and then established Himself above the Throne.1 He covers the night with the day, [another night] chasing it rapidly; and [He created] the sun, the moon, and the stars, subjected by His command. Unquestionably, His is the creation and the command; blessed is Allāh, Lord of the worlds.
Footnotes
1 - There are several linguistic meanings of the words "istawā ʿalā," among them: to settle upon, to assume ascendancy above, and to assert authority over. However, it is known that all the attributes of Allāh are eternal, i.e., they have always existed and were present before He created. Thus, it cannot be said that He "rose" above the Throne, as Allāh has always been ascendant. Because the Creator may not be compared to His creation, the Prophet's companions and early scholars refused speculation as to how His actions could be interpreted, considering any such attempt unlawful. Similarly, the true nature of the Throne is known only to Allāh, the Exalted.
Surely your Lord is God, Who created the skies and the earth in six days, of the days of this world, that is to say, in the equivalent thereof, since there was no sun then. Had He willed He could have created them in an instant; but the reason for His not having done so is that He wanted to teach His creatures to be circumspect; then presided upon the Throne, a presiding befitting of Him (al-'arsh, 'throne', in the [classical] language is the elevated seat on which a king sits). He cloaks (read yughshee or yughashshee) the night with the day, that is, He covers each one with the other: each following the other in swift pursuit - and the sun and the moon and the stars (if all of these are read in the accusative, then they constitute a supplement to al-samaawaat, 'the skies', and if in the nominative, then they constitute the subject of the sentence, the predicate of which follows) have been made subservient, [have been] subdued, by His command, by His power. Verily, His is, all, creation and the command, in its entirety. Blessed, Magnified, be God, the Lord, the Master, of the Worlds!