(22:15) As for the one who presumes that Allah will neither help him in this world nor in the Hereafter, he should (if he can) ascend the sky by a rope and cut a hole into it and then peep through it and see for himself whether any device of his can avert his doom, which he abhors *22

---

---

*22) There is a great divergence of opinion about the exact meaning of this verse. Some of the interpretations are:
(1) One who presumes that Allah will not help him (Muhammad: Allah's peace be upon him), he should hang himself by a rope from the ceiling.
(2) One who presumes that Allah will not help him (Muhammad: Allah's peace be upon him), he should ascend thesky by a rope and try to stop Allah's help.
(3) One who presumes that Allah will not help him (Muhammad: Allah's peace be upon him), he should ascend the sky and stop the process of Revelations.
(4) One who presumes that Allah will not help him (Muhammad: Allah's peace be upon him), he should ascend the sky and stop his provisions.
(5) The one who presumes that Allah will not help him (the presumer himself), he should hang himself by a rope from the ceiling of his house.
(6) The one who presumes that Allah will not help him (the presumer himself), he should try to ascend the sky to seek help.
The first four interpretations are obviously irrelevant to the context, and the last two, though they might fit in with the context, do not explain the real meaning of the verse. If we consider this in the context, it becomes obvious that the one who presumes is "the one who serves Allah standing on the border" . This is to rebuke him, as if to say, "You may do whatever you can to change the decrees of Allah, but you will see that no device of yours can succeed, whether these decrees are favourable to your designs or unfavourable to them. " Obviously, "he should ascend the sky ...... cut a hole into it" has not been used in the literal but in the figurative sense.