Quran Universe
17:37

وَلَا تَمۡشِ فِي ٱلۡأَرۡضِ مَرَحًاۖ إِنَّكَ لَن تَخۡرِقَ ٱلۡأَرۡضَ وَلَن تَبۡلُغَ ٱلۡجِبَالَ طُولٗا

Wala tamshi fee alardi marahan innaka lan takhriqa alarda walan tablugha aljibala toolan

And do not walk upon the earth exultantly. Indeed, you will never tear the earth [apart], and you will never reach the mountains in height.

Word by word
  1. وَلَاAnd (do) not
  2. تَمۡشِwalk
  3. فِيin
  4. ٱلۡأَرۡضِthe earth
  5. مَرَحًاۖ(with) insolence
  6. إِنَّكَIndeed,you
  7. لَنwill never
  8. تَخۡرِقَtear
  9. ٱلۡأَرۡضَthe earth
  10. وَلَنand will never
  11. تَبۡلُغَreach
  12. ٱلۡجِبَالَthe mountains
  13. طُولٗا(in) height
Al-Isra · 17:37Makkah

You cannot split the earth or rise as tall as mountains.

Arrogance meets reality

Sizing up
the strutwalking with pride
against
the earthyou cannot tear it
the mountainsyou cannot reach them
How big you are
I am a big deal
small, and loved humble

The surah's list of commands turns to how a person walks. Ibn Kathir says this forbids walking boastfully, like arrogant oppressors. He mentions Qarun, who came out to his people in his finery, and the earth swallowed him and his house.

The new car, the new title on your email signature, the way you walk into the room after the promotion. Stand next to a mountain and see. The earth under your feet was here long before you and will be here after.

My success gives me the right to carry myself above others.

Next to the earth and the mountains, I am small, and that is freeing.

Try this

Go outside and look at the sky or a hill for one minute. Feel your real size.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir

And walk not on the earth with conceit and arrogance. Verily, you can neither rend nor penetrate the earth nor can you attain a stature like the mountains in height (37)All the bad aspects of these (the above mentioned things) are hateful to your Lord (38)

Condemnation of strutting

Allah forbids His servants to strut and walk in a boastful manner:

وَلَا تَمْشِ فِي الْأَرْضِ مَرَحًا

(And walk not on the earth with conceit and arrogance.) meaning, walking in boastful manner and acting proud, like those who are arrogant oppressors.

إِنَّكَ لَن تَخْرِقَ الْأَرْضَ

(Verily, you can neither rend nor penetrate the earth) means, you cannot penetrate the earth with your walking. This was the opinion of Ibn Jarir.

وَلَن تَبْلُغَ الْجِبَالَ طُولًا

(nor can you attain a stature like the mountains in height)

means, with your arrogance, pride and self-admiration. Indeed, such behavior may bring about the opposite of what one pretends to be, as was reported in the Sahih:

"While a man from the people before you was walking arrogantly in his garments, the earth swallowed him and he is still sinking down into it, until the Day of Resurrection."

Allah also tells us about Qarun, who went to his people wearing his finery, then Allah caused the earth to swallow him and his house.

كُلُّ ذَٰلِكَ كَانَ سَيِّئُهُ عِندَ رَبِّكَ مَكْرُوهًا

(All the bad aspects of these (the above mentioned things) are Sayi'uhu (hateful) to your Lord.)

Some scholars recite this as Sayi'atan, meaning evil deeds, i.e., everything mentioned is forbidden, from the Ayah,

وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا أَوْلَادَكُمْ خَشْيَةَ إِمْلَاقٍ

(And kill not your children for fear of poverty)[17:31]

up to this [38] Ayah. So everything that is mentioned here is a Sayi'ah (evil deed) for which a person is to be blamed before Allah, Who does not like or accept these deeds. As for the recitation Sayi'uhu, it is a genetive construction, meaning the bad aspects of these i.e., everything mentioned from the Ayah,

وَقَضَىٰ رَبُّكَ أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوا إِلَّا إِيَّاهُ

(And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him.)[17:23]

up to this Ayah [17:38] meaning that the worst of these mentioned are disliked by Allah. This was the view of Ibn Jarir, may Allah have mercy on him.