I n  S h o r t : The All-Powerful One of Glory created the seven heavens from ether, and forming it into levels, ordered it with a truly fine and wondrous order and sowed the stars  in it. Since the Qur’an of Miraculous Exposition is a pre-eternal address speaking to all the classes of all mankind and the jinn, for sure each of those classes will receive its share from  the Qur’an’s verses and its verses will contain various and numerous meanings, both explicit and implicit, in a way that will satisfy the understanding of each. Yes,  the  breadth  of  the  Qur’anic  address  and  the  comprehensiveness  of  its meanings  and  indications  and  its  conforming to  and  flattering all the  degrees  of understanding from the most uneducated common people to the highest of the elite shows  that  all  its  verses  have  an  aspect  which  looks  to  each  class.  Thus,  in consequence of  this mystery,  as an example, seven classes of men understand  as follows the  meaning  of  seven  various  levels  from  the  universal  meaning  “seven heavens:”

A short-sighted and narrow-minded  class of men understands the atmosphere from the verse “and fashioned them into seven heavens.” While another class of men befogged by astronomy understands the famous stars known popularly as the seven planets,  and  their  orbits.  Yet  another  group  understands  seven  celestial  globes resembling our globe, which  are inhabited by living creatures.5   A further group of men understands the solar system being separated into seven levels, and seven solar systems together with our system. And yet another group undertands the ether being separated into seven levels. Another class of men  with broader ideas counts all the visible skies gilded with stars as a heaven, and saying that it is this world’s heaven, understands that there are six levels of heavens besides it. And mankind’s seventh and highest class do not consider the seven heavens to be restricted to the Manifest World, and understands that the Worlds of the Hereafter and the Unseen, and this world, andthe World of Similitudes all have seven heavens, each of which is an encompassing container and roof.

Similarly,  there are many further  particular  meanings  in  the universal of the verse,   like   the  above-mentioned  seven  levels  of  meaning  of  the  seven  levels. Everyone  receives his share according to his understanding and everyone finds his sustenance at that heavenly table.

Since  the  verse  has  thus  numerous  points  confirming  it,  the  unreasoning philosophers and foolish astronomers attacking the verse in that way on the pretext of denying the heavens is like silly children throwing stones at a star in the hope of making it fall. Because if one of the points confirming it from the verse’s  universal meaning is correct, the universal meaning is correct and true.

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5   See, al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak, ii, 535; al-Tabari, Jami‘ al-Bayan, xxviii, 153-4.