Divorce: (12) Allah is the One Who created...

Al-Kalbi said: He created seven heavens, one above the other, like a dome. And from the earth, [He created] the like of them (in number).

This refers to them being layered (ṭibāqan mutalāṣiqah), as is the common view that the earth consists of three layers:

1. A purely terrestrial layer.
2. A muddy layer, which is not purely terrestrial.
3. A layer that is partially exposed (the inhabited part) and partially covered by the sea.

There is no issue with the phrase: {And from the earth, the like of them} meaning that the earth is divided into seven regions (aqālīm) corresponding to the seven heavens and the seven wandering stars (planets). For each of these planets has specific properties whose effects manifest in each region of the earth, thus making them seven by this consideration.

These are the interpretations that reason does not reject. As for other interpretations transmitted from the exegetes, they are those that reason rejects. For example, the saying:

• The seven heavens are: the first is a restrained wave, the second is rock, the third is iron, the fourth is copper, the fifth is silver, the sixth is gold, and the seventh is ruby.
• And the saying of those who claim that the distance between each heaven is a journey of five hundred years, and the thickness of each heaven is likewise.

These views are not considered valid by the people of verification (ahl al-taḥqīq), unless they are transmitted through an uninterrupted chain (nuql mutawātir). It is possible that the reality is even greater than that, and Allah knows best what it is and how it is.

The phrase {Allah Who created} is a subject and a predicate.

It has been recited:

• {the like of them} (mithlahunna) with the accusative case (naṣb), as an apposition to {seven heavens} (sabʿa samāwāt).
• And with the nominative case (rafʿ), as an independent subject, with its predicate being {from the earth} (min al-arḍ).

And His saying, the Exalted: {The command descends between them} (yatanazzalu al-amru baynahunna).

• ‘Aṭā meant: Revelation descends between them to His creation in every earth and in every heaven.
• Muqātil meant: Revelation descends from the highest heaven to the lowest earth.
• Mujāhid meant: {The command descends between them} refers to the life of some and the death of others, the safety of this one and the destruction of that one, for example.
• Qatādah meant: In every one of His heavens and every one of His earths, there is a creation of His, a command of His, and a decree of His.

It has also been recited: {Yanzilu al-amru baynahunna} (The command descends between them).

His saying, the Exalted: {That you may know that Allah is over all things competent} (li-taʿlamū anna Allāha ʿalā kulli shayʾin qadīr).

It has been recited: {li-yaʿlamū} (that they may know) with the letter Yā’ (implying 'they') and Tā’ (implying 'you'). This means: so that you may know, when you reflect upon the creation of the heavens and the earth and the management occurring therein, that He whose power has reached this extent—which cannot belong to anyone else—His power is inherent, and nothing can frustrate what He wills.

And His saying: {Indeed, Allah is over all things competent} is in reference to what was previously mentioned.

And {And that Allah has encompassed all things in knowledge} (wa anna Allāha qad aḥāṭa bi-kulli shayʾin ʿilman), meaning concerning all things, both generalities and particulars. Not even the weight of an atom in the earth or in the heaven escapes His knowledge. He is the Knower of all things and the Capable of creating after annihilation.

Blessed is Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. There is no might nor power except with Allah, the Most High, the Great. And peace and blessings be upon our Master Muhammad, the Master of the Messengers, the Imam of the Pious, and the Seal of the Prophets, and upon his family and all his companions.