THE 7 HEAVENS ARE INTERPRETED AS THE ATMOSPHERE IN THE VERSES BELOW. IT IS NOT HOWEVER ALWAYS UNDERSTOOD TO BE THE ATMOSPHERE
49(11-12)And He completed them as seven heavens within two days and inspired in each heaven its command.
And We adorned the nearest heaven (sama ad dunya) with lamps (stars) to be an adornment as well as to guard.
67 (3-5)Who has created the seven heavens one above another, you can see no fault in the creations of the Most Beneficent. Then look again: “Can you see any rifts?”Then look again and yet again, your sight will return to you in a state of humiliation and worn out.
And indeed We have adorned the nearest heaven (sama ad dunya) with lamps(stars)
1-7 Heavens in the Quran should not be restricted to having one interpretation but multiple depending on the context.In the verses above it understood to be the atmosphere
2-In theses 2 verses of the Quran we can deduce that the saba samawaat ie the 7 heavens is not the samaa ad dunya ie the universe BECAUSE AFTER COMPLETION OF THE CREATION OF THE SABA SAMAWAAT IE THE SEVEN HEAVENS,ALLAH SWT MAKES REFERENCE TO THE SAMAA AD DUNYA IE. UNIVERSE.
The saba samawaat and the samaa ad dunya ARE 2 SEPARATE ENTITIES.
3-The samaa ad dunya as made reference to in the Quran is understood to be the universe because we are informed that stars occur in the samaa ad dunya
4-Allah SWT makes a distinction between the 7 heavens (saba samawat) and the universe (samaa ad dunya) in the verses above.ie immediately after the 7 heavens are expounded upon, we are informed that stars occur in the universe
5-We thus conclude that the 7 heavens is not the universe in the verses above.
6-If 7 heavens is understood to be the atmosphere in the verses above then theses verses are in harmony with our present understanding of the evolution of planet earth.
7-Allah SWT and His Prophet SAW know best