Meaning of the verse “It is Allah Who has created seven heavens and of the earth the like thereof”

Allah, may He
be glorified and exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“It is Allah
Who has created seven heavens and of the earth the like thereof (i.e.
seven). His Command descends between them (heavens and earth), that you may
know that Allah has power over all things, and that Allah surrounds
(comprehends) all things in (His) Knowledge.”

[at-Talaaq
65:12]. 

In this verse
Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, tells us that He created seven
heavens and seven earths, between which His command descends; this refers to
His laws and commandments, and His decrees by which all things are
controlled and His signs are made clear, so that His slaves may know that to
Him belong the creation and the command, and that He has the utmost wisdom
and perfect might; to Him belong the most beautiful names and sublime
attributes; not even the weight of an atom (or small ant), in the highest
heaven or the lowest earth, is beyond His power and knowledge; and so that
they may know that He is able to bring people back to life after they have
died, and raise them up and resurrect them from their graves, so that they
will love Him and worship Him, and they will be obedient to Him and to His
Messengers. This is the purpose for which He created mankind. 

Ibn Katheer
(may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

Allah, may He
be exalted, tells us of His perfect might and absolute power, so that this
will motivate us to venerate the true religion that He has ordained. Allah
says (interpretation of the meaning):

“It is Allah
Who has created seven heavens and of the earth the like thereof (i.e.
seven).”

[at-Talaaq
65:12].

End quote from
Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 8/156 

Ash-Shawkaani
(may Allah have mercy on him) said: “and of the earth the like thereof”
means, and He created the earth something like them, i.e., seven. There was
a difference of opinion concerning the nature of the levels of the earth.
Al-Qurtubi said in his Tafseer: They (the scholars) differed
concerning them, and there are two opinions. One of them, which is the view
of the majority, is that there are seven earths in layers, one above
another, and between each two earths there is a distance like that between
heaven and earth. Ad-Dahhaak said: They are in layers, one above another,
with no gap in between, unlike the heavens. But the former view is more
correct, because the reports indicate that.

End quote from
Fath al-Qadeer, 5/346 

As-Sa‘di (may
Allah have mercy on him) said: 

Allah, may He
be exalted, tells us that He created all of creation, including the seven
heavens and all that dwell therein, and the seven earths and all that dwell
therein, and whatever is between them, and that He sent down His command,
which is the laws and religious rulings that He revealed to His Messengers
to remind and exhort His slaves, and His decrees by means of which he
controls all of creation. All of that is so that His slaves will know Him
and will understand that His power encompasses all things and His Knowledge
encompasses all things. Then they will know Him by His holy attributes and
beautiful names, and they will worship Him, love Him and fulfil their duties
towards Him. This is the purpose behind creation and the command: to know
Allah and worship Him. Those of the righteous slaves of Allah who were
guided understood this and acted accordingly, but those who wronged
themselves turned away from that.

End quote from
Tafseer as-Sa‘di, p. 872 

At-Tabaraani
narrated in al-Mu‘jam al-Kabeer (8987) with a hasan isnaad from Ibn
Mas‘ood that he said: The distance between the lowest heaven and the next
one is the distance of five hundred years’ travel, and the distance between
each heaven and the next is the distance of five hundred years’ travel. 

So the heavens
are seven, and the earths are seven, and that is by the perfect might of
Allah, may He be exalted, and the command and decree of Allah descend
between them. 

What is
required of us is to adhere to what is known from sharee‘ah, and not
overstep the mark. The Qur’an and the saheeh Sunnah have told us that there
are seven heavens and seven earths. 

We know from
the Sunnah that each heaven has its inhabitants, but there is nothing that
tells us about the earths other than the one in which we live. So what we
must do is adhere to what the reports say, and believe that there are seven
earths, without seeking to know further, or to find out whether this is
proven by modern science or not, or other things that may generate doubt and
uncertainty. Rather we must believe that complete knowledge and power over
these higher and lower realms belongs to Allah alone. This is part of
knowing that He has power over all things, and that He encompasses all
things in His knowledge. Nevertheless, we say: We hear, we obey and we
believe. 

See also the
answer to question no. 112059 

And Allah
knows best.