A Deep Thinking

One fact about the universe revealed in the verses of the Qur'an
is that the sky is made up of seven layers:

It is He Who created everything on the earth for you
and then directed His attention up to heaven and arranged it into seven regular
heavens. He has knowledge of all things. (Qur'an, 2:29)

Then He turned to heaven when it was smoke. In two
days He determined them as seven heavens and revealed, in every heaven, its own
mandate. (Qur'an, 41:11-12)

The word "heavens," which appears in many verses in the Qur'an, is
used to refer to the sky above the Earth, as well as the entire universe. Given
this meaning of the word, it is seen that the Earth's sky, or the atmosphere, is
made up of seven layers.

Today, it is known that the
world's atmosphere consists of different layers that lie on top of each
other.19 Based on the criteria of chemical contents or
air temperature, the definitions made have determined the atmosphere of the
earth as seven layers.20 According
to the "Limited Fine Mesh Model (LFMMII)," a model of atmosphere used to
estimate weather conditions for 48 hours, the atmosphere is also 7 layers.
According to the modern geological definitions the seven layers of atmosphere
are as follows:

1. Troposphere

2. Stratosphere

3. Mesosphere

4. Thermosphere

5. Exosphere

6. Ionosphere

7. Magnetosphere

The Qur'an says, "[He] revealed, in every heaven, its own
mandate," in Surah Fussilat 12. In other words, Allah is stating that
He assigned each heaven its own duty. Truly, as will be seen in following
chapters, each one of these layers has vital duties for the benefit of human
kind and all other living things on the Earth. Each layer has a particular
function, ranging from forming rain to preventing harmful rays, from reflecting
radio waves to averting the harmful effects of meteors.

The verses below inform us about the appearance of the seven
layers of the atmosphere:

Do you not see how He created seven heavens in
layers? (Qur'an, 71:15)

He Who created the seven heavens in layers… (Qur'an,
67:3)

The Arabic word "tibaqan" in these verses, translated
into English as "layer" means "layer, the appropriate cover or covering for
something," and thus stresses how the top layer is well suited to the lower. The
word is also used in the plural here: "layers." The sky, described in the verse
as being in layers, is without doubt the most perfect expression of the
atmosphere. It is a great miracle that these facts, which could not possibly be
discovered without the technology of the 20th century, were explicitly stated by
the Qur'an 1,400 years ago.

19. Michael Pidwirny, “Atmospheric
Layers,” 1996,
http://royal.okanagan.bc.ca/mpidwirn/atmosphereandclimate/atmslayers.html.
20. “Numerical Prediction Models used by NWS,”
Integrated Publishing, www.tpub.com/weather3/4-27.htm.