What is the difference between the sky and heaven, and how does the Holy Qur’an speak of the heavens?

The sky usually refers to what is visible and physical. The word heaven has a wider range and can mean the whole universe, spiritual heights or Paradise. What both share is the idea of what lies above us.

English has two words where German has only one. Sky refers mainly to the visible, physical expanse above us and is seldom used figuratively. Heaven is much wider. It can mean the physical universe, it can carry a spiritual meaning, and sometimes it simply means Paradise.

Both meanings have something in common. They describe what lies above us relative to where we stand. Whoever steps outside and looks up sees the sky, wherever on earth they may be.

How people understand the sky has changed along with their knowledge. Once it was imagined as a dome, like a cover, with a second, a third and finally a seventh layer above it. Because the earth was thought to be flat, there was only one direction upwards. As knowledge grew, these words took on new meanings and shed old ones. Today the sky, taken literally, means almost the entire universe. The first verse above speaks of seven heavens in perfect harmony and leaves room for all that human beings have yet to discover.

Alongside this stands the spiritual meaning. The second verse speaks of a Paradise whose price is the heavens and the earth. Here it is not about distance or height, but about a value that surpasses everything material. So the same word can direct our gaze upwards into space and, at the same time, upwards to God.