The Number of the Heavens and the Earth

Question : The questioner says: One of the professors who teach us about the nature of the heavens and the earth stated that it is a heaven, then an earth, then a heaven, then an earth, and so on up to seven. He justified this statement by saying that it is an earth relative to the angels, and a heaven relative to us. He also said that whatever is above you is a heaven, and whatever is below you is an earth. He cited as evidence the saying of Allah the Exalted:

Answer : Here we say that Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, mentioned the heavens using the plural form. He also mentioned them with an explicit number: Therefore, all seven heavens are called heavens, and there is no earth among them. Even if the angels are on these heavens, we do not call them earth; rather, we call them as Allah, Mighty and Majestic, named them. We call them earth, we call them heaven. It is correct that he said that whatever is above you is a heaven, but this is relative to those on the earth, for whatever is above them is a heaven. Thus, the lower heavens and everything above them are all called heavens, each one of them, and it is not correct to call them earth. As for the saying of Allah the Exalted: , it indicates the opposite of what this person who cited it as evidence claimed.
Because Allah the Exalted distinguished between them, saying: This indicates that the heavens are heavens and the earth is earth, and this does not fall under the designation of that. The meaning of "like them" is like them in number, not like them in attribute, due to the obvious great difference between the heavens.