Meaning: the heavens · Also translated as: the sky, the heaven, and the sky, heavens
Forms in the Quran
ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ×182
ٱلسَّمَآءِ×109
وَٱلسَّمَآءَ×9
سَمَٰوَٰتٍ×4
وَٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتُ×3
وَيَٰسَمَآءُ×1
سَمَٰوَاتٍ×1
سَمَآءٍ×1
Its root in the classical dictionaries
سماء كل شيء: أعلاه، قال الشاعر في وصف فرس:244-وأحمر كالديباج أما سماؤه ... فريا وأما أرضه فمحول
قوله تعالى: ﴿ثم استوى إلى السماء﴾ [البقرة: 29]. السماء كل ما علاك فأظلك من سقف ونحوه. وعليه قوله تعالى: ﴿وجعلنا السماء سقفا محفوظا﴾ [الأنبياء: 32] ولفظها مفرد والمراد به جمع بدليل قوله: ﴿فسواهن﴾ [البقرة: 29]. وهمزتها عن واو لأنها من سما يسموا أي ارتفع. ويجمع تكسيرا على أسمية نحو كساء وأكسية. وقيل: للسحاب سماء…
Or (another similitude)
Is that of a rain-laden cloud
From the sky: in it are zones
Of darkness, and thunder and lightning:
They press their fingers in their ears
To keep out the stunning thunder-clap,
The while they are in terror of death.
But God is ever round
The rejecters of Faith!
Who has made the earth your couch,
And the heavens your canopy;
And sent down rain from the heavens;
And brought forth therewith
Fruits for your sustenance;
Then set not up rivals unto God
When ye know (the truth).
It is He Who hath created for you
All things that are on earth;
Moreover His design comprehended the heavens,
For He gave order and perfection
To the seven firmaments;
And of all things
He hath perfect knowledge.
He said: "O Adam! tell them
Their natures." When he had told them,
God said: "Did I not tell you
That I know the secrets of heaven
And earth, and I know what ye reveal
And what ye conceal?"
But the transgressors
Changed the word from that
Which had been given them;
So We sent on the transgressors
A plague from heaven,
For that they infringed
(Our command) repeatedly.
We see the turning
Of thy face (for guidance)
To the heavens: now
Shall We turn thee
To a Qibla that shall
Please thee. Turn then
Thy face in the direction
Of the sacred Mosque:
Wherever ye are, turn
Your faces in that direction.
The people of the Book
Know well that that is
The truth from their Lord.
Nor is God unmindful
Of what they do.
Behold! In the creation
Of the heavens and the earth;
In the alternation
Of the Night and the Day;
In the sailing of the ships
Through the Ocean
For the profit of mankind;
In the rain which God
Sends down from the skies,
And the life which He gives therewith
To an earth that is dead;
In the beasts of all kinds
That He scatters
Through the earth;
In the change of the winds,
And the clouds which they
Trail like their slaves
Between the sky and the earth;—
(Here) indeed are Signs
For a people that are wise.
God! There is no god
But He,—the Living,
The Self-subsisting, Eternal.
No slumber can seize Him
Nor sleep. His are all things
In the heavens and on earth.
Who is there can intercede
In His presence except
As He permitteth? He knoweth
What (appeareth to His creatures
As) Before or After
Or Behind them.
Nor shall they compass
Aught of His knowledge
Except as He willeth.
His Throne doth extend
Over the heavens
And the earth, and He feeleth
No fatigue in guarding,
And preserving them
For He is the Most High,
The Supreme (in glory).
To God belongeth all
That is in the heavens
And on earth. Whether
Ye show what is in your minds
Or conceal it, God
Calleth you to account for it.
He forgiveth whom He pleaseth,
And punisheth whom He pleaseth.
For God hath power
Over all things.
Say: "Whether ye hide
What is in your hearts
Or reveal it,
God knows it all:
He knows what is
In the heavens,
And what is on earth.
And God has power
Over all things.
Do they seek
For other than the Religion
Of God?—while all creatures
In the heavens and on earth
Have, willing or unwilling,
Bowed to His Will
(Accepted Islam),
And to Him shall they
All be brought back.
To God belongeth all
That is in the heavens
And on earth.
He forgiveth whom He pleaseth
And punisheth whom He pleaseth
But God is Oft-Forgiving,
Most Merciful.
Be quick in the race
For forgiveness from your Lord,
And for a Garden whose width
Is that (of the whole)
Of the heavens
And of the earth,
Prepared for the righteous,—
And let not those
Who covetously withhold
Of the gifts which God
Hath given them of His Grace,
Think that it is good for them:
Nay, it will be the worse
For them: soon shall the things
Which they covetously withheld
Be tied to their necks
Like a twisted collar,
On the Day of Judgment.
To God belongs the heritage
Of the heavens and the earth;
And God is well-acquainted
With all that ye do.