The phrasing of the sky as a 'protected ceiling' or 'canopy' was universally understood in Late Antiquity as a literal, solid dome encompassing the flat earth. Classical Islamic exegesis did not view this as a gaseous atmospheric layer protecting against ultraviolet radiation or meteorites. Instead, scholars interpreted the 'protection' as God guarding the physical dome of the heavens from being breached by rebellious jinn (demons) attempting to listen to the angels, an understanding heavily reinforced by other verses describing stars as literal missiles thrown at devils.