Stars Close to the Earth
The Quran has a tendency to inform us that there are seven heavens (i.e., skies), one above the other:
He it is Who created for you all that is in the earth. Then turned He to the heaven, and fashioned it as seven heavens. And He is knower of all things.
2:29
The seven heavens and the earth, and all beings therein, declare His glory; there is not a thing but celebrates His praise; and yet ye understand not how they declare His glory! Verily He is Oft-Forbear, Most Forgiving!
17:44
And indeed, We created above you seven levels (of heaven), and We are never unmindful of creation.
23:17
Say: "Who is Lord of the seven heavens, and Lord of the Tremendous Throne?"
23:86
So He completed them as seven firmaments in two Days, and He assigned to each heaven its duty and command. And We adorned the lower heaven with lights, and (provided it) with guard. Such is the Decree of (Him) the Exalted in Might, Full of Knowledge.
41:12
Allah is He Who hath created seven heavens, and of the earth the like thereof. The commandment cometh down among them slowly, that ye may know that Allah is Able to do all things, and that Allah surroundeth all things in knowledge.
65:12
He Who created the seven heavens one above another; no want of proportion wilt thou see in the Creation of (Allah) Most Gracious. So turn thy vision again; seest thou any flaw?
67:3
See ye not how Allah has created the seven heavens one above another?
71:15
And We have built above you seven strong (heavens).
78:12
And that the stars are in the lower heaven:
We have indeed decked the lower heaven with beauty (in) the stars.
37:6
So He completed them as seven firmaments in two Days, and He assigned to each heaven its duty and command. And We adorned the lower heaven with lights, and (provided it) with guard. Such is the Decree of (Him) the Exalted in Might, Full of Knowledge.
41:12
Have they not then observed the sky above them, how We have constructed it and adorned it (with stars), and how there are no rifts therein?
50:6
And we have adorned the lowest heaven with lamps, and We have made them missiles to drive away the Evil Ones, and have prepared for them the Penalty of the Blazing Fire.
67:5
However, some critics quote a verse in the Quran to prove that the moon is depicted as "being inside the seven heavens," where in reality, the stars are much further away from the Earth than the moon:
And made the moon a light in their midst, and made the sun as a (Glorious) Lamp?
71:16
Now, if someone says that he has a book in the shelf, it doesn't necessarily mean that the book is in the centre of the shelf, or closer to the door, or even at the top or bottom of the shelf. The information is not enough to conclude the position of the book. 71:16 is misunderstood in the same way, as it was assumed that the moon is exactly in the middle of the heaven while quoting Yusuf Ali's inaccurate translation, whereas the verse simply mentions that the moon is present in the heaven without mentioning its position at all (i.e., central or closer to any boundary or any other specific position).
In fact, the verse is focusing that moon is a lightening object in the heaven reflecting the sun's burning source of light, a simple fact nowadays unheard of to people 1400 years ago. If we were to correctly translate the Arabic text, we'll see that the word Fīhinn (فيهنّ) simply means "therein," otherwise the verse would've used the word Baynahunn (بينهنّ) instead, meaning "in their midst," or any other words clearly asserting locations, so this is a mere mistranslation, and a more accurate translation becomes:
And made the moon therein a light and made the sun a burning lamp?
71:16
The verse doesn't originally ascertain the position of the moon, and this is only an inaccurately translated verse, whereas the real meaning of the verse simply mentions that moon is a reflection of the source of the light (i.e., the sun), without actually mentioning the position of the moon at all.