their creation in two days, so He finished creating the heavens and the earth in six days. Then He directed Himself on the seventh day above His heavens, then He said to the heavens and the earth: "Come, willingly or by compulsion, to what I have intended for you both, so settle upon it willingly or by compulsion." They said: "We have come willingly" (1).

So Ibn Ishaq has informed that God, majestic be His praise, directed Himself to the heaven — after creating the earth (2) and what is in it — while they were seven of smoke, so He fashioned them as he described. We have only cited the statement of Ibn Ishaq as evidence for our statement that we said regarding that, because it is clearer in explanation — concerning the creation of the heavens (3), that they were seven of smoke before our Lord directed Himself to them to fashion them — than others (4), and better in explaining what we wanted to infer, that the meaning of the heaven about which God, exalted be His mention, said: "Then He directed Himself to the heaven" is in the meaning of the plural (5), according to what we have described. And that He, majestic be His praise, only said: "and fashioned them (fa-sawwāhunna)," since the heaven was in the meaning of the plural, according to what we have clarified.

Abu Ja'far said: So if a questioner says to us: What is the description of the fashioning of the heavens by God, majestic be His praise, which He mentioned in His statement "and fashioned them," since they had been created as seven before His fashioning them? And what is the reason for mentioning their creation after mentioning the creation of the earth? Is it because they were created before it, or for a meaning other than that (6)?

It is said: We have mentioned that in the report which we narrated from Ibn Ishaq, and we emphasize that firmly with what we join to it of the reports of some of the early predecessors and their statements (7).