'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' His saying, exalted and glorious is He: "Then He directed Himself to the heaven while it was smoke, and said to it and to the earth, 'Come both of you, willingly or by compulsion.' They said, 'We have come willingly.'" "So He completed them as seven heavens in two days and inspired in every heaven its command. And We adorned the nearest heaven with stars and as protection. That is the decree of the Exalted in Might, the Knowing." The phrase "He directed Himself to the heaven" means: by His power and creation, that is: to the creation of the heaven and its existence. And His saying, exalted and glorious is He: "while it was smoke" has been narrated that it was a soft body like smoke or vapor. It has also been narrated that it was from what Allah commanded Him to rise from the water. Here, there is a word left out, and its meaning is indicated by the context. Its interpretation is: He brought it into existence, perfected it, and completed its matter. At that time, it was said to it and to the earth: "Come both of you, willingly or by compulsion." The majority read: "Come," from the root أتى (to come). They said, "We have come willingly," in the form of فَعَلْنا (we did). This means: come according to My commands and My will for you both. Ibn Abbas, Ibn Jubair, and Mujahid read: "Come," from آتى (to give). They said, "We have come willingly," in the form of أفْعَلْنا (we did). This means: give from yourselves the obedience that I desired from you both. This all refers to their subjugation and what Allah has decreed of their actions. And His saying, exalted and glorious is He: "or by compulsion" has something omitted and is concise. The interpretation is: come willingly, otherwise you will come by compulsion. His saying, exalted and glorious is He: "They said" refers to the two mentioned groups, and He made the heavens one heaven and the earths one earth. This is similar to the poet's saying: 'Did it not sadden you that the ropes of my people and your people have separated?' He made them two groups and expressed them by saying 'separated.' And His saying: "willingly" indicates that it is from those who speak - and it is in a state of understanding - the pronoun in "willingly" follows that course. This is like His saying, exalted and glorious is He: "I saw them prostrating to me." People have differed regarding this statement from the heaven and the earth. One group said: They spoke truthfully, and Allah, exalted and glorious is He, granted them life and perception that necessitated their speaking. Another group said: This is metaphorical, and the meaning is that they manifested from their choice of obedience, submission, and humility what is equivalent to the saying: "We have come willingly." The first statement is better; because nothing prevents it, and the lesson from it is more complete, and the power in it is more evident. And His saying, exalted and glorious is He: "So He completed them" means: He brought them into existence. From this is the saying of Abu Dhuhair: 'And upon them are two garments He completed them, either by David or by the making of the armor.' And His saying, exalted and glorious is He: "And He inspired in every heaven its command" Mujahid and Qatadah said: He inspired to its inhabitants and those who dwell in it from the angels, and to it itself what Allah, exalted and glorious is He, willed of the matters by which it is sustained and made right. Al-Suddi and Qatadah said: Of the matters that are for others, like what is in it of hailstones and the like. And Allah, exalted and glorious is He, added the command to it as far as it is in it.

Then Allah, the Most High, informed that He adorned the lowest heaven with the stars. This is evident from the wording and is according to what the sense of sight necessitates. His saying: "and as a protection" is in the accusative case due to an implied verb, meaning: and We have protected it as a protection. His saying: "that" refers to all that has been mentioned, meaning: He created it by His power and might, and He perfected it by His knowledge.