Question
What is the meaning of this verse: And the heaven shall be opened, and it will become as gates. [1]
Answer
Praise be to Allaah.
This precious verse points to events on the Day of Judgement: the gates of the heaven will be open from all directions; there will be many gates, from which the angels will descend; Allah Almighty says: And (remember) the Day when the heaven shall be sent asunder with clouds, and angels will be sent down, with a grand descending. The sovereignty on that Day will be the true (sovereignty), belonging to the Most Beneficent (Allaah), and it will be the hard Day for disbelievers. [2] And this verse points out to this opening. It has been recited in two ways: The first one: And the heaven shall been opened, and it will become as gates. And the Second one: And the heaven has been opened, and it will become as gates. The Second one is more impressive as it implies exaggeration and abundance.
[1] An-Naba 78:19 [2] Al-Furqan 25:25,26
Shaykh Muhammad bin Saalih al-`Uthaymeen
Fatawa Islamiyah Vol. 7 Page 120
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