Quran Universe
30:25

وَمِنۡ ءَايَٰتِهِۦٓ أَن تَقُومَ ٱلسَّمَآءُ وَٱلۡأَرۡضُ بِأَمۡرِهِۦۚ ثُمَّ إِذَا دَعَاكُمۡ دَعۡوَةٗ مِّنَ ٱلۡأَرۡضِ إِذَآ أَنتُمۡ تَخۡرُجُونَ

Wamin ayatihi an taqooma alssamao waalardu biamrihi thumma itha daAAakum daAAwatan mina alardi itha antum takhrujoona

And of His signs is that the heaven and earth remain by His command. Then when He calls you with a [single] call from the earth, immediately you will come forth.

Word by word
  1. وَمِنۡAnd among
  2. ءَايَٰتِهِۦٓHis Signs
  3. أَن(is) that
  4. تَقُومَstands
  5. ٱلسَّمَآءُthe heavens
  6. وَٱلۡأَرۡضُand the earth
  7. بِأَمۡرِهِۦۚby His Command
  8. ثُمَّThen
  9. إِذَاwhen
  10. دَعَاكُمۡHe calls you
  11. دَعۡوَةٗ(with) a call
  12. مِّنَfrom
  13. ٱلۡأَرۡضِthe earth
  14. إِذَآbehold
  15. أَنتُمۡYou
  16. تَخۡرُجُونَwill come forth
Ar-Rum · 30:25Makkah

Sky and earth stand by His command, until He calls.

One call, and everyone comes out

What holds it up
His commandholds sky and earth
until
a single callfrom the earth
and
you come outat once
Why the world is stable
it just isphysics on autopilot
He holds itmoment by moment

Ibn Kathir notes that when 'Umar swore a strong oath he would say, No, by the One by whose command the heaven and the earth stand. They stand firm by His command. On the Day of Resurrection, one call will bring the dead out of their graves.

You stand on a balcony and the city is still there, every building upright. You take it for granted that the ground will hold tomorrow. It holds because He holds it. And the same command will one day call you by name.

The world runs on its own.

Everything stands by Allah's command, and one day His call will raise me.

Try this

Next time you stand outside, look at the sky for ten seconds and remember who holds it.

Related22:6535:4117:52
Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (shared passage from 30:24)

And among His signs is that He shows you the lightning, for fear and for hope, and He sends down water from the sky, and therewith revives the earth after its death. Verily, in that are indeed signs for a people who understand (24)And among His signs is that the heaven and the earth stand by His command. Then afterwards when He will call you by a single call, behold, you will come out from the earth.) Allah say (25)

وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ 

(And among His signs) which speak of His greatness,

يُرِيكُمُ الْبَرْقَ خَوْفًا وَطَمَعًا 

(He shows you the lightning, for fear and for hope,) Sometimes you fear the heavy rain and destructive thunderbolts that follow it, and sometimes you feel hope, when you see a flash of lightning, that much-needed rain will come. Allah says:

وَيُنَزِّلُ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً فَيُحْيِي بِهِ الْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا

(and He sends down water from the sky, and therewith revives the earth after its death.) After it was barren, with nothing growing there, then the water comes to it and

اهْتَزَّتْ وَرَبَتْ وَأَنْبَتَتْ مِنْ كُلِّ زَوْجٍ بَهِيجٍ

(it is stirred, and it swells and puts forth every lovely kind (of growth).)(22:5). In this is a clear sign and proof of the resurrection and the coming of the Hour. Allah says:

إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِقَوْمٍ يَعْقِلُونَ

(Verily, in that are indeed signs for a people who understand.) Then Allah says:

وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ أَنْ تَقُومَ السَّمَاءُ وَالْأَرْضُ بِأَمْرِهِ ۚ 

(And among His signs is that the heaven and the earth stand by His command.) This is like the Ayat:

وَيُمْسِكُ السَّمَاءَ أَنْ تَقَعَ عَلَى الْأَرْضِ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِ

(He withholds the heaven from falling on the earth except by His leave)(22: 65).

إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُمْسِكُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ أَنْ تَزُولَا ۚ 

(Verily, Allah grasps the heavens and the earth lest they should move away from their places)(35:41). Whenever 'Umar bin Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, swore an emphatic oath, he would say, "No, by the One by Whose command the heaven and the earth stand," i.e., they stand firm by His command to them and His subjugation of them. Then, when the Day of Resurrection comes, the Day when the earth will be exchanged with another earth and the dead will come forth from their graves, brought back to life by His command and His call to them,

ثُمَّ إِذَا دَعَاكُمْ دَعْوَةً مِنَ الْأَرْضِ إِذَا أَنْتُمْ تَخْرُجُونَ 

(Then afterwards when He will call you by a single call, behold, you will come out from the earth.) This is like the Ayat:

يَوْمَ يَدْعُوكُمْ فَتَسْتَجِيبُونَ بِحَمْدِهِ وَتَظُنُّونَ إِنْ لَبِثْتُمْ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا 

(On the Day when He will call you, and you will answer with His praise and obedience, and you will think that you have stayed but a little while!)(17:52)

فَإِنَّمَا هِيَ زَجْرَةٌ وَاحِدَةٌ - فَإِذَا هُمْ بِالسَّاهِرَةِ

(But it will be only a single Zajrah. When behold, they find themselves on the surface of the earth alive after their death.)(79:13-14), and

إِنْ كَانَتْ إِلَّا صَيْحَةً وَاحِدَةً فَإِذَا هُمْ جَمِيعٌ لَدَيْنَا مُحْضَرُونَ 

(It will be but a single Sayhah, so behold they will all be brought up before Us!)(36:53).