In the Islamic perspective, the Qur'an presents the cosmos as a finely designed, purposeful, and ordered structure, rather than a result of random chaos. The concept of "Woven Paths" or the "Cosmic Web" is frequently cited in discussions regarding Quranic verses that describe the sky with intricate, interconnected structures, often interpreted alongside modern astrophysical discoveries.
In Islamic perspectives, the concept of "Celestial Signs" and the "Sky's Woven Paths" primarily centers on:
بِسْمِ ٱللّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
وَٱلسَّمَآءِ ذَاتِ ٱلْحُبُكِ ٧
˹And˺ by the heavens in their marvellous design!
(Surah Adh-Dhariyat/51: Ayat 7)
where the Qur'an states: "By the sky full of pathways" (or hubuk). This verse is often interpreted through both classical theological lenses and modern scientific reflections.
The Qur'anic Conception of "Woven Paths"
The primary verse regarding the "woven" nature of the sky is:
"By the sky full of pathways (or weaves)," — Surah Adh-Dhariyat (51:7).
Classical Interpretation: Early scholars like Al-Tabari and Ibn Kathir interpreted the Arabic term Al-Hubuk (الْحُبُكِ) in this verse to mean the beauty, intricacy, and specific tracks of stars. It refers to the interwoven paths of celestial bodies.
Woven Fabric Metaphor: The term suggests a, "perfectly woven fabric," analogous to a well-textured cloth. Some commentators compare this to the delicate patterns left by winds on sand, translated into a celestial, interconnected tapestry.
Constellations as Intertwined Fabric: Some analyses suggest Hubuk refers to the specific arrays or lines of stars forming constellations (like Orion or Ursa Major), creating beautiful, fixed, and interconnected patterns.
Parallel to Modern Cosmology: The Cosmic Web
Contemporary Muslim scientists and scholars have noted a remarkable resonance between this 7th-century description and the modern understanding of the universe's structure.
The Cosmic Web: Modern astrophysics, specifically through large-scale simulations (e.g., the Millennium Simulation), has revealed that galaxies are not randomly scattered but are organized into a web-like structure composed of filaments and superclusters, with vast voids in between.
Intricate Connections: The filaments of galaxies in this cosmic web are interconnected in a manner that closely resembles a "weave" or "mesh" of fibers, matching the descriptive language used in the Quranic verse.
Related Quranic Concepts of Cosmic Order
"Expanding" Sky: "And the heaven We constructed with strength, and indeed, We are [its] expander."
بِسْمِ ٱللّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
وَٱلسَّمَآءِ ذَاتِ ٱلْحُبُكِ ٧
˹And˺ by the heavens in their marvellous design!
(Surah Adh-Dhariyat/51: Ayat 7)
This is often linked to the Hubble discovery of the expanding universe.
"No Flaws" in Design: "And We have made the heaven a roof, safe and well guarded."
بِسْمِ ٱللّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
وَجَعَلْنَا ٱلسَّمَآءَ سَقْفًۭا مَّحْفُوظًۭا ۖ وَهُمْ عَنْ ءَايَـٰتِهَا مُعْرِضُونَ ٣٢
[And We have made the sky a well-protected canopy, still they turn away from its signs].1
(Surah Al Anbiya: Ayat 32)
and "no rifts" , emphasizing a cohesive, structured cosmos.
بِسْمِ ٱللّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
أَفَلَمْ يَنظُرُوٓا۟ إِلَى ٱلسَّمَآءِ فَوْقَهُمْ كَيْفَ بَنَيْنَـٰهَا وَزَيَّنَّـٰهَا وَمَا لَهَا مِن فُرُوجٍۢ ٦
[Have they not then looked at the sky above them: how We built it and adorned it ˹with stars˺, leaving it flawless?]
(Surah Qaf: Ayat 6)
Orbits and Motion: "And He is the One who created the night and the day, and the Sun and the Moon, each floating in an orbit"
بِسْمِ ٱللّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
وَهُوَ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ ٱلَّيْلَ وَٱلنَّهَارَ وَٱلشَّمْسَ وَٱلْقَمَرَ ۖ كُلٌّۭ فِى فَلَكٍۢ يَسْبَحُونَ ٣٣
And He is the One Who created the day and the night, the sun and the moon—each travelling in an orbit.
(Surah Al Anbiya: Ayat 33)
reinforcing that the paths are dynamic, not static.
Seven Layers: "And We have created above you seven layered heavens."
بِسْمِ ٱللّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا فَوْقَكُمْ سَبْعَ طَرَآئِقَ وَمَا كُنَّا عَنِ ٱلْخَلْقِ غَـٰفِلِينَ ١٧
"And indeed, We created above you seven levels ˹of heaven˺. We are never unmindful of ˹Our˺ creation".
(Surah Al Mukminun: Ayat 17)
interpreted as stacked or layered structures of the cosmos.
Spiritual and Philosophical Perspectives
Signs for Contemplation (Verse): The Qur'an urges believers to contemplate the cosmos as a sign of divine wisdom. The complex and beautiful structure of the sky is intended to lead people to understand the power and majesty of the Creator.
Non-Aimless Creation: The Quran explicitly states that the sky and earth were not created in vain
بِسْمِ ٱللّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
ٱلَّذِينَ يَذْكُرُونَ ٱللَّهَ قِيَـٰمًۭا وَقُعُودًۭا وَعَلَىٰ جُنُوبِهِمْ وَيَتَفَكَّرُونَ فِى خَلْقِ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ رَبَّنَا مَا خَلَقْتَ هَـٰذَا بَـٰطِلًۭا سُبْحَـٰنَكَ فَقِنَا عَذَابَ ٱلنَّارِ ١٩١
"They are˺ those who remember Allah while standing, sitting, and lying on their sides, and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth ˹and pray˺, “Our Lord! You have not created ˹all of˺ this without purpose. Glory be to You! Protect us from the torment of the Fire."
(Surah Ali Imran: Ayat 191)
countering the idea of a chaotic or purposeless universe.
Order and Harmony: The "woven paths" mean that all celestial entities—from stars to galaxies—move within a highly structured system designed to prevent collisions and maintain balance.
In summary, the Quranic depiction of the "woven sky."
بِسْمِ ٱللّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
وَٱلسَّمَآءِ ذَاتِ ٱلْحُبُكِ ٧
"And˺ by the heavens in their marvellous design!1
(Surah Adh Dzariyat: Ayat 7)
is regarded within Islamic commentary as a profound, poetic description of a highly ordered universe, which finds strong modern parallels in the scientific understanding of the cosmic web and the interconnected nature of the cosmos.
1. The Meaning of "Al-Hubuk" (The Woven Paths)
The Arabic term al-hubuk (حُبُكِ) is multi-layered and historically defined by scholars in several ways:
Intricate Weaving: Rooted in method, it refers to a knot or a weave, similar to the precision of a perfectly woven cloth.
Natural Patterns: Early commentators like Al-Baghawi likened it to the wavy patterns formed in sand or water when disturbed by wind, or the curls in wavy hair.
Orbits and Tracks: Classical exegetes (such as Al-Tabari and Ibn Kathir) explained it as the "tracks" or "paths" of celestial bodies, including the orbits of stars and planets that appear fixed yet move in an ordered manner.
2. Modern Perspective: The Cosmic Web
Contemporary Islamic discourse frequently connects this "woven" imagery to the Cosmic Web, a large-scale structure of the universe discovered by 20th-century astrophysics.
Filaments and Voids: Just as the Qur'an describes "woven paths," modern science reveals that galaxies are not randomly scattered but distributed along interconnected filaments of gas and dark matter, separated by vast voids.
Visual Resonance: Computer simulations of the universe's large-scale structure (like the Millennium Simulation) strikingly resemble an intricate fabric or net, echoing the linguistic essence of hubuk.
3. Spiritual Significance of Celestial Signs
The Qur'an uses these celestial structures as verses (signs) to direct the human intellect towards the Creator:
Design and Order: Verses such as:
بِسْمِ ٱللّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَمَـٰوَٰتٍۢ طِبَاقًۭا ۖ مَّا تَرَىٰ فِى خَلْقِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ مِن تَفَـٰوُتٍۢ ۖ فَٱرْجِعِ ٱلْبَصَرَ هَلْ تَرَىٰ مِن فُطُورٍۢ ٣ثُمَّ ٱرْجِعِ ٱلْبَصَرَ كَرَّتَيْنِ يَنقَلِبْ إِلَيْكَ ٱلْبَصَرُ خَاسِئًۭا وَهُوَ حَسِيرٌۭ ٤
˹He is the One˺ Who created seven heavens, one above the other. You will never see any imperfection in the creation of the Most Compassionate.1 So look again: do you see any flaws?Then look again and again—your sight will return frustrated and weary.
(Surah Al Mulk: Ayat 3-4)
Challenge observers to look for "rifts" or flaws in the sky, emphasizing a flawless, well-ordered cosmos that follows precise natural laws.
Guidance: Stars are explicitly mentioned as "guiding signs" for travelers in the darkness of land and sea:
بِسْمِ ٱللّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
وَهُوَ ٱلَّذِى جَعَلَ لَكُمُ ٱلنُّجُومَ لِتَهْتَدُوا۟ بِهَا فِى ظُلُمَـٰتِ ٱلْبَرِّ وَٱلْبَحْرِ ۗ قَدْ فَصَّلْنَا ٱلْـَٔايَـٰتِ لِقَوْمٍۢ يَعْلَمُونَ ٩٧
(And He is the One Who has made the stars as your guide through the darkness of land and sea. We have already made the signs clear for people who know.)
(Surah Al Ana'am: Ayat 97)
- symbolizing both physical and spiritual direction.
Stability Without Pillars: The sky is described as being raised "without pillars that you can see";
بِسْمِ ٱللّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِى رَفَعَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ بِغَيْرِ عَمَدٍۢ تَرَوْنَهَا ۖ ثُمَّ ٱسْتَوَىٰ عَلَى ٱلْعَرْشِ ۖ وَسَخَّرَ ٱلشَّمْسَ وَٱلْقَمَرَ ۖ كُلٌّۭ يَجْرِى لِأَجَلٍۢ مُّسَمًّۭى ۚ يُدَبِّرُ ٱلْأَمْرَ يُفَصِّلُ ٱلْـَٔايَـٰتِ لَعَلَّكُم بِلِقَآءِ رَبِّكُمْ تُوقِنُونَ ٢
"It is Allah Who has raised the heavens without pillars—as you can see—then established Himself on the Throne. He has subjected the sun and the moon, each orbiting for an appointed term. He conducts the whole affair. He makes the signs clear so that you may be certain of the meeting with your Lord."
(Surah Ar Ra'd: Ayat 2)
Which modern readers often correlate with the invisible force of gravity that maintains cosmic structure.
Expansion: In Verse:
بِسْمِ ٱللّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
وَٱلسَّمَآءَ بَنَيْنَـٰهَا بِأَيْي۟دٍۢ وَإِنَّا لَمُوسِعُونَ ٤٧
'We built the universe with ˹great˺ might, and We are certainly expanding,
(Surah Adh Dzariyat: Ayat 47)
It states, "We have built the heaven with might, and We are its expander," which many modern scholars view as a reference to the expanding universe.
4. The "Seven Heavens" as Layers
Islamic cosmology describes seven heavens in layers.
بِسْمِ ٱللّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَمَـٰوَٰتٍۢ طِبَاقًۭا ۖ مَّا تَرَىٰ فِى خَلْقِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ مِن تَفَـٰوُتٍۢ ۖ فَٱرْجِعِ ٱلْبَصَرَ هَلْ تَرَىٰ مِن فُطُورٍۢ ٣
(Surah Al Mulk: Ayat 3)
Some modern interpretations suggest these represent levels of the universe, ranging from our solar system and the Milky Way to superclusters and the furthest reaches of the observable cosmic web.
Would you like to explore the specific classical commentaries (Tafsir) on these verses in more detail, or perhaps look at how other celestial bodies like the sun and moon are described?
Translation: “By
the sky full of pathways,” – or in another
translation: “By the heaven with its woven structure,”. Refer to the above (Surah Adh-Dhariyat: Verse 7).
Simulation of a segment of the cosmic web: filaments of galaxies and gas (light areas) stretch across space, forming an immense interwoven structure. The Qur’an swears “by the sky full of pathways (or weaves)”(Surah Adh-Dhariyat: Verse 7), evoking the idea of an intricately connected universe.
Reflection: This verse is an oath – God swears “by the sky” characterized in a very evocative way. The Arabic “dhāt al-ḥubuk” can mean possessing paths, or woven patterns, or threads neatly knit together. Classical commentators have offered interpretations like: the sky with its well-ordered paths (perhaps referring to the orbits of stars/planets or the tracks of angels), or the sky adorned with beautifully intertwined clouds or star configurations, analogous to a woven tapestry. Either way, it conveys the notion of a sky that is not chaos but has a cohesive, patterned structure. In the Qur’anic context, oaths by natural phenomena serve to draw attention to their significance and to assert the truth of whatever statement follows (in this case, verses about the truth of resurrection and divine judgment follow in the surah). So “the sky full of pathways” is invoked as a witness to God’s power and precision. Spiritually, one can reflect on how the heavens above are multi-layered and interconnected: perhaps it hints at the invisible highways (like the routes taken by angels or the decrees descending, as other verses mention “affairs descending through the heavens”).
It gives an
impression of the cosmos as a grand, woven carpet or a well-structured dome,
not a random expanse. This can instill a sense of security and awe –
we live under a sky that is firm, reliable, and richly patterned by the
Creator. It’s also humbling: if the very fabric of heaven is complex and
orderly, how much beyond our full comprehension is the Creator who wove it! In
an era without telescopes, just seeing the Milky Way band on a dark night might
evoke the idea of a celestial “web” of stars. This oath encourages believers to
contemplate the majesty above and realize that the same God who made the “fabric”
of the universe is fully capable of weaving the events of our lives and
history with purpose.
Scientific Insight: The
phrase “sky full of pathways / woven structure” is
intriguingly resonant with modern discoveries about the large-scale
structure of the universe. For a long time, when astronomers looked at the
distribution of galaxies, it seemed roughly uniform at very large scales. But
with more data (especially late 20th and early 21st century), we found that
galaxies are not evenly spread like dust in a room – they form a cosmic
web: immense filaments and sheets of galaxies interlaced, with huge voids
(relatively empty bubbles) in between. Supercomputers simulating the universe’s
evolution (under gravity and dark matter influence) show that matter clumps
along filaments like the strands of a spiderweb, where filaments intersect, you
get galaxy clusters (nodes in the web), and vast empty spaces stretch between
these filaments. Actual observations, such as the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, have
mapped hundreds of thousands of galaxies and revealed this web pattern –
sometimes poetically described as the “universe’s hidden highways” or “interwoven
filaments.” An image generated from a simulation or a deep survey looks
remarkably like a piece of lymph or neural network – a lace-like
structure on the scale of hundreds of millions of light-years. This is a far
cry from how the night sky looks to the naked eye (which is just stars mostly
within our own galaxy), but it is the reality of the cosmos on its grandest scales.
When the Qur’an refers to the sky (heaven) as having a “woven” quality, it is tempting to see a parallel here. Of course, no human could see the cosmic web until very recently, and we doubt 7th-century Arabs thought of galaxies at all. They might have thought of the cloud belts or star clouds or the way the sky can have streaky cirrus clouds that look woven. But the metaphor of weaving is interestingly apt for how space is structured. Today, we also speak of the “fabric of spacetime” in relativity – a different concept (smooth geometry rather than a clumpy web), but nothing space as something with properties that can curve or ripple (gravitational waves detected in 2015 are like vibrations through that fabric). If one extends “paths” to mean the orbits and trajectories of celestial bodies, then indeed the sky is crisscrossed by the paths of planets, comets, stars orbiting centers, and galaxies orbiting each other. Space is dynamic and threaded by these invisible lanes. In fact, one old interpretation of
بِسْمِ ٱللّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
وَٱلسَّمَآءِ ذَاتِ ٱلْحُبُكِ ٧
"And˺ by the heavens in their marvellous design!1
(Surah Adh Dzariyat: Ayat 7)
by early Muslims was that it refers to
the paths of the stars, which we now call orbits or the apparent
annual paths (the ecliptic for the sun, etc.). On long exposure photography,
star trails form concentric woven rings around the pole – quite literally
showing “paths in the sky.”
Another possibility is atmospheric:
the Arabic word for “woven” (ḥubuk) can imply well-knit or also ripples.
There’s a phenomenon called airplane contrails or cloud streets that
make sky patterns, but clearly, the Qur’an isn’t referencing human airplanes.
However, naturally, sometimes you see wave patterns in high clouds (from
gravity waves in the atmosphere). Also, at a microscopic level, the sky’s
protective layers (like the ozone layer or magnetosphere) have structures, but
those wouldn’t be known then.
Given our modern vantage, the cosmic web interpretation is the most striking. It’s almost a poetic coincidence: scientists speak of the cosmic web, and the Qur’an speaks of a heaven with pathways.
Other Counter on those who don't believe from Quran:
First of all, this answer is not for atheists who don’t believe in the creation of the universe. The Quran does not say much concerning the structure of the universe, but it does draw attention to the marvels of creation as signs of the reality and power of God.
The Quran is not a work of human authorship. The Qur’an was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and exists only in the language in which it was revealed - Arabic. The Qur'an is the word of the Ever-living God; it has been sent down to guide man for all times to come.
As the Qur'an represents the final revelation from Allah to all of humanity, it is the most comprehensive and detailed of the Divinely revealed books that Allah chose to send to mankind.
The Holy Quran is not a book of science. The search for science in the holy Quran is childish. If the creator of all things was dropping hints about science in the divine revelation, surely physics and cosmology should appear alongside minor facts concerning embryos, oceans, or the water cycle.
It is not new that atheists and islamophobes always look for the irreconcilable difference between a Qur’anic assertion and a scientific one to claim that the Quran is not the word of God. It’s their ignorance that Quranic verses have meanings within the verse to correlate with the scientific conclusion. The Qur’ān allows multiple and multi-level meanings. From a linguistic standpoint, a word, phrase, or statement can have more than one layer of meaning, such that one layer would make sense to one audience in one age and era, while another layer of meaning would, without negating the first, be meaningful to another audience in a subsequent age and era.
I just wish to say that Science is not static and keeps changing, but what the Quran says is final as the Quranic message never changes. It remains the same as it was before and will be the same forever.
To summarise, while the Qur’an cannot be turned into an encyclopedia of any sort, least of all of science, one must keep in mind the fact that if the Qur’an is to be taken seriously and respectfully, one must uphold the principle of ‘no possible conflict’ (between the word of God and the work of God).
I am not an expert in cosmology. However, what I understand as per my knowledge is that the Qur'ān and the universe form an inseparable whole. The Qur’an is the guide that demonstrates the right way of seeing the universe, and the universe is the evidence and witness of the rightness of the truths preached by the Qur’an.
references:
https://www.reddit.com/r/DebateReligion/comments/1nmkjwl/the_quran_mentions_the_cosmic_web_1440_years_ago/#:~:text=Islam,but%20contains%20precisely%20drawn%20paths.
https://thequran.love/2025/04/09/14767/#:~:text=Simulation%20of%20a%20segment%20of,%2C%20vast%2C%20and%20perfect%20cosmos.
https://myislam.org/surah-dhariyat/ayat-7/#:~:text=5.,combination%20resembles%20any%20other%20combination.
https://classic.sdss.org/home.php
