Surah Al-Anbiyaa · Ayah 16·Makkī

16

وَمَا وَمَا ﴿١٦﴾

Translation

Saheeh International

And We did not create the heaven and earth and that between them in play.

Compare all 34 translations →

Tafsīr

No commentary indexed for this ayah yet.

Verse DNA · this āyah at a glance

Vocabulary and recitation are counted from the morphology and the Uthmani marks; commentary reports whether an authored tafsīr entry reaches this āyah. A structural read, not a judgement — a denser strip is not a weightier verse.

Vocabulary · 5 roots in 5 of 7 words

Recitation · 9 points across 3 rule families

  • Madd ṭabīʿī6
  • Qalqalah1
  • Lām shamsiyyah2

Commentary

No tafsīr entry reaches this āyah yet — the interpretive layer covers a pilot, not the whole Book.

Shape

7 words · 34 letters · āyah 16 of 112

once in the Qurʾān2–10×11–50×51–300×300+×

Similar verses by meaning

Ranked by semantic similarity over translation embeddings — a model’s proxy for meaning, not a claim about it, and not tafsīr. Verses may be kin in theme while differing entirely in wording.

  • Quran 38:27 · Saadclose

    وَمَا خَلَقْنَا ٱلسَّمَآءَ وَٱلْأَرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا بَٰطِلًا ذَٰلِكَ ظَنُّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ فَوَيْلٌ لِّلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ مِنَ ٱلنَّارِ

    And We did not create the heaven and the earth and that between them aimlessly. That is the assumption of those who disbelieve, so woe to those who disbelieve from the Fire.

  • Quran 46:3 · Al-Ahqafclose

    مَا خَلَقْنَا ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَآ إِلَّا بِٱلْحَقِّ وَأَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى وَٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ عَمَّآ أُنذِرُوا۟ مُعْرِضُونَ

    We did not create the heavens and earth and what is between them except in truth and [for] a specified term. But those who disbelieve, from that of which they are warned, are…

  • Quran 40:57 · Al-Ghaafirclose

    لَخَلْقُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ أَكْبَرُ مِنْ خَلْقِ ٱلنَّاسِ وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ ٱلنَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ

    The creation of the heavens and earth is greater than the creation of mankind, but most of the people do not know.

  • Quran 15:85 · Al-Hijrclose

    وَمَا خَلَقْنَا ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَآ إِلَّا بِٱلْحَقِّ وَإِنَّ ٱلسَّاعَةَ لَـَٔاتِيَةٌ فَٱصْفَحِ ٱلصَّفْحَ ٱلْجَمِيلَ

    And We have not created the heavens and earth and that between them except in truth. And indeed, the Hour is coming; so forgive with gracious forgiveness.

  • Quran 52:36 · At-Turclose

    أَمْ خَلَقُوا۟ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ بَل لَّا يُوقِنُونَ

    Or did they create the heavens and the earth? Rather, they are not certain.

  • Quran 50:38 · Qaafclose

    وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا فِى سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍ وَمَا مَسَّنَا مِن لُّغُوبٍ

    And We did certainly create the heavens and earth and what is between them in six days, and there touched Us no weariness.

Verses built from the same roots

Ranked by shared vocabulary (idf-cosine over each verse’s root-set). Shared words are a fact about form — they do not by themselves mean two verses are about the same thing.

  • Ad-Dukhaan 44:385 shared roots

    وَمَا خَلَقْنَا ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا لَٰعِبِينَ

    ل-ع-بخ-ل-قس-م-وأ-ر-ضب-ي-ن

  • Al-Ankaboot 29:443 shared roots

    خَلَقَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ بِٱلْحَقِّ إِنَّ فِى ذَٰلِكَ لَـَٔايَةً لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ

    خ-ل-قس-م-وأ-ر-ض

  • At-Tur 52:363 shared roots

    أَمْ خَلَقُوا۟ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ بَل لَّا يُوقِنُونَ

    خ-ل-قس-م-وأ-ر-ض

  • Taa-Haa 20:43 shared roots

    تَنزِيلًا مِّمَّنْ خَلَقَ ٱلْأَرْضَ وَٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ ٱلْعُلَى

    خ-ل-قس-م-وأ-ر-ض

  • Saad 38:274 shared roots

    وَمَا خَلَقْنَا ٱلسَّمَآءَ وَٱلْأَرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا بَٰطِلًا ذَٰلِكَ ظَنُّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ فَوَيْلٌ لِّلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ مِنَ ٱلنَّارِ

    خ-ل-قس-م-وأ-ر-ضب-ي-ن

  • Az-Zukhruf 43:93 shared roots

    وَلَئِن سَأَلْتَهُم مَّنْ خَلَقَ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ لَيَقُولُنَّ خَلَقَهُنَّ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْعَلِيمُ

    خ-ل-قس-م-وأ-ر-ض

Questions

Which verses are similar to Quran 21:16?

Verses close in meaning to Quran 21:16 include Quran 38:27 (Surah Saad), Quran 46:3 (Surah Al-Ahqaf), Quran 40:57 (Surah Al-Ghaafir), and Quran 15:85 (Surah Al-Hijr). For example, 38:27 reads: “And We did not create the heaven and the earth and that between them aimlessly. That is the assumption of those who disbelieve, so woe to those who disbelieve from the Fire.” These are ranked by comparing translations of every verse in the Qurʾān, so they are a measure of similar wording and theme — not a tafsīr ruling.

What does Quran 21:16 say?

In Saheeh International, Quran 21:16 (Surah Al-Anbiyaa, The Prophets) reads: “And We did not create the heaven and earth and that between them in play.”

Which surah is verse 21:16 in?

Quran 21:16 is āyah 16 of Surah Al-Anbiyaa (The Prophets), chapter 21 of the Qurʾān — a Meccan (Makkī) surah of 112 verses.

In how many languages can I read Quran 21:16?

Tartīl presents Quran 21:16 in the original Arabic alongside 34 translations, with audio recitation.