And when the benefit of the mention is presented, it is the transfer from one creation to another. It is known that moving a mountain from its place is easier than moving a person from his creation and his state. It has been established that the reward for striving in that is the described gardens. This requires complete ability, which indicates His power, glorified and exalted is He, by His saying: ﴿Allah﴾, meaning the One who has all the attributes of perfection, of which comprehensive ability is one. Then He informed about it with what indicates that, for the creation indicates the creator and what he has of attributes. He said: ﴿Who created﴾, meaning He alone brought into existence from nothing by His power according to what He planned with His knowledge in this marvelous and close manner: ﴿Seven heavens﴾, meaning they witness the greatness of that and testify that only one with complete knowledge and perfect ability can accomplish it. Then He added to that what you are more familiar with, saying: ﴿And of the earth, like them﴾, meaning seven, as indicated by the hadith of Sa'id ibn Zayd and Abdullah ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with them, in the two Sahihs: "Whoever takes a span of land unjustly, he will be made to wear a collar of seven earths." [And the wording of Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, is: "He will be swallowed up on the Day of Resurrection to seven earths."]. It has previously been mentioned in Surah As-Sajdah what is beneficial in that. Its apparent meaning indicates that just as they are equal in number, they are equal in spherical shape and the encompassing of each one of them by that which is beneath it. The one we are on is the seventh highest, like the seventh heaven, whose ceiling is the Throne. This indicates the completeness of knowledge and the comprehensiveness of ability in the inference of it by His saying: ﴿Descends﴾, meaning gradually, ﴿The command﴾, meaning what the Most Merciful bestows in terms of management, from the command of religion and creation from the Throne and the Chair ﴿Between them﴾ by revelation from the highest seventh heaven to the lowest seventh earth, and you see them without gaps, so I pass between them until I penetrate them. [And] that - and Allah knows best - is what He intends from His great management by sending down the books, sending the messengers, establishing one law and abrogating another, and directing causes to their effects, such as rain, vegetation, night, day, seasons, the creation of animals, minerals, and all plants, and the repetition of angels with all creations. This is what the apparent texts of the Book and the Sunnah indicate. Some of them interpreted it as seven regions, which is rejected after the principle that interpretation without evidence is playing with what comes from the clear prophetic hadith and the precise speech regarding what is to be interpreted and what is not to be interpreted. The transmitted reports are of four categories: definitive in chain and indication, probable in both, probable in chain and definitive in indication, and the opposite: definitive in chain and probable in indication. The first must be believed in its apparent meaning, and whoever opposes it has disbelieved. The rest must be believed in their apparent meanings as long as they do not contradict. If they are contradicted by something definitive, it is agreed that one must abandon the apparent meaning. Whoever believes in it has disbelieved. Then, for the people after that, there are two schools: as for the predecessors, they delegate the intended meaning to Allah, the Exalted. As for the successors, if there is one specific interpretation for that, they specify it. If there are multiple interpretations, they mention them without specifying anything among them, while acknowledging that they are not certain that the intended meaning is something among what they mentioned. Rather, it is something appropriate to the situation and knowledge with Allah, and that the way of the predecessors is closer and safer. And that (p-174) what led them to interpretation was nothing but the spread of innovators and their notoriety with their innovations among the people. Imam Alaa ad-Din Al-Qawnui, may Allah have mercy on him, said in the section on biographies from his explanation of Al-Hawi: The Imam - meaning the Imam of the Two Sanctuaries - said: If the people had remained on what they were upon from the purity of Islam, we would not have required engaging in the science of theology; rather, we might have prohibited it. But now, as innovations have arisen, there is no way to leave them, as their waves crash, so it is necessary to prepare what calls to the true path and clarifies the doubts. Thus, engaging with the evidence of reason and resolving doubts has become one of the communal obligations. Whoever doubts in a fundamental principle of the foundations of belief must strive to remove it until his creed is upright - this has ended.

Then indeed, you find that the scholars differ regarding some of the evidences. Some of them apply it to the apparent meaning, while others interpret it. This is due to the difference in the opposing arguments, whether they are definitive in their indication or not. This is the case here, for the apparent meanings of the Book and the Sunnah indicate that the earths are like the heavens in number, in that there is emptiness between them, and that in each one there are creations that only Allah knows. Indeed, some reports almost decisively affirm this, but they have not escaped being speculative. Most scholars and their researchers agree that the opposing argument—what the people of the science of astronomy have said regarding the evidence of their being one—is not definitive. They interpreted their being seven as referring to the seven regions. I have seen in the multiplicity a clear hadith, but I do not know its condition. Ibn Burjan mentioned it in his commentary on the names of Allah, the King, saying: The Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: 'Do you know what is beneath this earth?' They said: 'Allah and His Messenger know best.' He said: '[Water-] Do you know what is beneath that?' They said: 'Allah and His Messenger know best.' He said: 'Air. Do you know what is beneath that?' They said: 'Allah and His Messenger know best.' He said: 'Earth. Do you know what is beneath that?' They said: 'Allah and His Messenger know best.' Until he counted seven earths.

And when He, glorified and exalted is He, mentioned the creation as a reminder for contemplation in it and taking lessons from it, He mentioned that its fruit is the knowledge of His attributes after the inability to encompass knowledge of His essence, exalted is He. He said: ﴿That you may know﴾ meaning by this world which He created by arranging each one of the two kinds in seven, with each one having a distant space between it and the other, along with the increased density. And you know that a body, especially a dense one, cannot be separated from another like it except by a powerful barrier with a remarkable strength and evident ability, and comprehensive knowledge of what that requires. So how if it is upon this marvelous methodology and this strong face throughout the ages and eras, and the succession of months and years, upon a known account and an organized system, which only the most knowledgeable and the most accurate of people can comprehend, along with the benefits that are preferred over its inhabitants, and the facilities that glorify the Creator with their effects and appearances, and awaken the heedless and alert the ignorant and refute the obstinate with their proof. For no one can dispute its creation, and whoever created it is capable of managing it as mentioned, and whoever is like that is certainly free from having a partner, and whoever is like that is capable of everything. Thus He said: ﴿Indeed, Allah﴾ meaning the Most High King who has complete encompassing. ﴿Over all things﴾ meaning from outside this world, it is possible to fall under His will, for it is in the sense of being a product of another world like this world, and more wondrous than it, and more wondrous than that creation to what has no end by reasoning from this world. For whoever is capable of creating a particle from nothing is capable of creating what is less than it, and like it, and above it to what has no end, for there is no difference in that between little and much, great or insignificant. ﴿You do not see in the creation of the Most Merciful any disparity﴾ [Al-Mulk: 3]. And beware of turning to those who say: [Indeed, it is not possible for anything more wondrous than this world], for it is a wicked philosophical doctrine, and the verse is a text that refutes it. Even if some of the heretics attributed it to Al-Ghazali, I have no doubt that it is a fabrication against him, for it is a wicked philosophical doctrine by the testimony of Al-Ghazali, as I have explained in my book 'The Destruction of the Foundations Against Those Who Say There is Nothing More Wondrous Than What Exists' and my book 'The Indication of the Proof that There is Something More Wondrous Than What Exists' and my book 'The Binding of the Shackles Around the Necks of Misguidance.' And while it is the doctrine of the philosophers, the most heretical of the deviants, Ibn Arabi, took it and placed it in his Fuṣūṣ and other than that from his books, and he relied on it in some of them to Al-Ghazali for the sake of his deceit - may Allah protect us from his evil. And Al-Ghazali is innocent of him by the testimony of what he found of his beliefs in the Ihya and other works. ﴿Capable﴾ meaning possessing great power.

And when the encompassing of knowledge indicates the completeness of ability, and to Him return all names and attributes, He said: ﴿Indeed, He has encompassed﴾ for the completeness of His ability ﴿all things﴾ absolutely. And when He ascribed the encompassing to Him, glorified and exalted is He, to magnify it, He distinguished its direction by shifting away from the doer and said: ﴿Knowledge﴾. So, He has complete knowledge of what He commands regarding the rulings in knowledge of its benefits and harms. Therefore, treat Him as one who knows the encompassing of His knowledge, knowing that He is watchful over you. So when you divorce, do what He has commanded you to do to submit in religion and to be happy in this life and the Hereafter. And plan in all your affairs as He has planned your affairs in your upbringing and your dwelling, its land and its roof. For He has placed therein all that you need and has spread His bounty upon those who please Him and those who displease Him. And He has spread His forbearance and virtue, and delayed His wrath and justice. Indeed, the last of it is a barrier to the first of it, and between its general and its detailed. And Allah knows what is in the hearts.