Tafsir of Al-Mu'minoon 23:17

His Sign in the creation of the Heavens Allah says here,

ولقد خلقنا فوقكم سبع طرايق وما كنا عن الخلق غافلين

And indeed We have created above you seven Tara'iq, and We are never unaware of the creation. After mentioning the creation of man, Allah then mentions the creation of the seven heavens. Allah often mentions the creation of the heavens and earth alongside the creation of man, as He says elsewhere:

لخلق السموت واﻻرض أكبر من خلق الناس

The creation of the heavens and the earth is indeed greater than the creation of mankind. (40:57) A similar Ayah appears at the beginning of Surah As-Sajdah, which the Messenger of Allah used to recite on Friday mornings. At the beginning it mentions the creation of the heavens and earth, then it says how man was created from semen from clay, and it also discusses the resurrection and rewards and punishments, and other matters

سبع طرايق

(seven Tara'iq). Mujahid said, "This means the seven heavens.'' This is like the Ayat:

تسبح له السموت السبع واﻻرض ومن فيهن

The seven heavens and the earth and all that is therein, glorify Him. (17:44)

ألم تروا كيف خلق الله سبع سموت طباقا

See you not how Allah has created the seven heavens one above another! (71:15)

الله الذى خلق سبع سموت ومن اﻻرض مثلهن يتنزل اﻻمر بينهن لتعلموا أن الله على كل شء قدير وأن الله قد أحاط بكل شء علما

It is Allah Who has created seven heavens and of the earth the like thereof. His command descends between them (heavens and earth), that you may know that Allah has power over all things, and that Allah surrounds all things in (His) knowledge. (65:12) Similarly, Allah says here:

ولقد خلقنا فوقكم سبع طرايق وما كنا عن الخلق غافلين

And indeed We have created above you seven Tara'iq, and We are never unaware of the creation. meaning, Allah knows what goes into the earth and what comes out of it, what comes down from heaven and what goes up into it. He is with you wherever you are, and Allah sees what you do. No heaven is hidden from Him by another and no earth is hidden from Him by another. There is no mountain but He knows its features, and no sea but He knows what is in its depths. He knows the numbers of what is in the mountains, the hills, the sands, the seas, the landscapes and the trees

وما تسقط من ورقة إﻻ يعلمها وﻻ حبة فى ظلمت اﻻرض وﻻ رطب وﻻ يابس إﻻ فى كتب مبين

And not a leaf falls, but He knows it. There is not a grain in the darkness of the earth nor anything fresh or dry, but is written in a Clear Record. (6:59)