Islamic Views on the Shape of the Earth: Difference between revisions

Islamic Views on the Shape of the Earth (view source)

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-{{Quote||"The earth is flat. Whoever claims it is round is an atheist deserving of punishment."<BR>
-—'''Sheik Abdul-Aziz Ibn Baaz, supreme religious authority of Saudi Arabia, 1993''' <ref>Sheik Abdul-Aziz Ibn Baaz, supreme religious authority of Saudi Arabia, 1993 - printed in "[{{Reference archive|1=http://www.nytimes.com/1995/02/12/world/muslim-edicts-take-on-new-force.html|2=2011-11-30}} Muslim Edicts Take on New Force]", New York Times, February 12, 1995.</ref><ref>Sheikh Abdul Aziz Ben Baz (1395 AH [1974 AD]), ''"Evidence that the Earth is Standing Still"'', Islamic University of Medina, Saudi Arabia. First edition, p. 23.</ref><ref>Doubts on the authenticity of this quote have been raised by Muslim apologists. A reasoned discussion can be read [{{Reference archive|1=http://www.rationalskepticism.org/islam/islamic-verdict-on-the-form-of-the-earth-t20785.html|2=2011-12-10}} here] at ''rationalskepticism.org'', and we leave the reader to make up their own mind.</ref>}}
 [[File:Flat Earth The Wonders of Creation.jpg|right|thumb|175px|Taken from Zekeriya Kazvinî's "Acaib-ül Mahlûkat" (The Wonders of Creation). Translated into Turkish from Arabic. Istanbul: ca. 1553. <BR>This map depicts "a traditional Islamic projection of the world as a flat disk surrounded by the sundering seas which are restrained by the encircling mountains of Qaf".<ref>[http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/world/earth.html Views of the Earth] - World Treasures of the Library of Congress, July 29, 2010</ref> ]]
+This article takes a closer look at some of the [[Qur'an|Qur'anic]] verses that imply its author assumed the earth is flat.
 == Introduction ==
-Today, the knowledge that the earth is not flat would be rather difficult to deny. We have satellite imaging, first-hand testimonies of astronauts from various space flights, and so on. But what of the past, before the creation of these modern-day inventions? Is the sphericity of the earth something only known to us through our privileged vantage point?
 The fact that the earth is not flat has been known for thousands of years. The Ancient [[Greece|Greeks]] Pythagoras (570 - 495 BC), Aristotle (384 - 322 BC) and Hipparchus (190 - 120 BC) all knew this. The [[India|Indian]] astronomer and mathematician, Aryabhata (476 - 550 AD) knew this. And so did the early Christian scholars Anicius Boëthius (480 - 524 AD), Bishop Isidore of Seville (560 - 636 AD), Bishop Rabanus Maurus (780 - 856 AD), the monk Bede (672 - 735 AD), Bishop Vergilius of Salzburg (700 - 784 AD) and Thomas Aquinas (1225 - 1274 AD). In fact, contrary to what we are often told, the sphericity of the earth was common knowledge among early medieval [[Europe|Europeans]]<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Myth_of_the_Flat_Earth&oldid=403735303 Myth of the Flat Earth] - Wikipedia, accessed December 27, 2010</ref> and the Holy Roman Empire from as early as 395 AD used an orb to represent the spherical Earth.<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Globus_cruciger&oldid=312872920 Globus cruciger] - Wikipedia, accessed September 9, 2009</ref>
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 If the [[Qur'an]] is a letter-by-letter dictation from [[Allah]], it should also concur with this fact that was known throughout the world ''before'' its [[revelation]], and it should contradict the flat earth model widely believed in by the 7<sup>th</sup> century Bedouins of Arabia.
-== Analysis of Qur'an Verses ==
+== Analysis==
 === Qur'an 15:19 ===
 {{Quote|{{Quran|15|19}}|''' والارض مددناها''' والقينا فيها رواسي وانبتنا فيها من كل شئ موزون'''
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 == Conclusion ==
-As quoted in the beginning of this article, Sheik Abdul-Aziz Ibn Baaz, the supreme religious authority of [[Saudi Arabia]], believes the earth is flat, and so does Muslim Researcher on Astronomy Fadhel Al-Sa'd, who declared in a televised debate aired on [[Iraq|Iraqi]] Al-Fayhaa TV (October 31, 2007) that the Earth is flat as evidenced by Qur'anic verses and that the sun is much smaller than the Earth and revolves around it.<ref>[http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/1684.htm Iraqi Researcher Defies Scientific Axioms: The Earth Is Flat and Much Larger than the Sun (Which Is Also Flat)] - MEMRI TV, Video No. 1684</ref>
+Shaykh Abdul-Aziz Ibn Baaz, the supreme religious authority of [[Saudi Arabia]], believes the earth is flat,<ref>[{{Reference archive|1=http://www.nytimes.com/1995/02/12/world/muslim-edicts-take-on-new-force.html|2=2011-11-30}} Muslim Edicts Take on New Force] - New York Times, February 12, 1995.</ref><ref>Sheikh Abdul Aziz Ben Baz (1395 AH [1974 AD]), ''"Evidence that the Earth is Standing Still"'', Islamic University of Medina, Saudi Arabia. First edition, p. 23.</ref> and so does Muslim Researcher on Astronomy Fadhel Al-Sa'd, who declared in a televised debate aired on [[Iraq|Iraqi]] Al-Fayhaa TV (October 31, 2007) that the Earth is flat as evidenced by Qur'anic verses and that the sun is much smaller than the Earth and revolves around it.<ref>[http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/1684.htm Iraqi Researcher Defies Scientific Axioms: The Earth Is Flat and Much Larger than the Sun (Which Is Also Flat)] - MEMRI TV, Video No. 1684</ref>
 As devout Muslims, they have good reason to conclude the Earth is flat; the Qur'anic verses 15:19, 20:53, 43:10, 50:7, 51:48, 71:19, 78:6, 79:30, 88:20 and 91:6 all clearly state this and not a single verse in the Qur'an hint to a spherical earth.
-While many have attempted to explain away this oddity, they prey on their listeners ignorance of the Arabic language. In short, there is no escaping the fact that, according to the Qur'an, the earth is flat.
 {{Core Science}}