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Islamic Views on the Shape of the Earth: Difference between revisions
Removed long but irrelevant academic quote and reddit link to google translation of tafsirs (need to use credible sources, already have similar link to better source). Corrected another change as the earliest tafsirs rarely comment on the literalism of the muddy spring story but focus on the variant readings "muddy" or "hot", not to be confused with interpretation. Removed another unimportant addition which interupted an argument flow. Added debunk of a new "diameters" argument.
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m (→Flat Earth in the hadiths: Added in a link to the Science and the Seven Earths pages where relevant. And a small line highlighting (and linking to) the many verses Al-Jalalayn believed showed a clear flat earth - not only the one listed.) |
Lightyears (talk | contribs) (Removed long but irrelevant academic quote and reddit link to google translation of tafsirs (need to use credible sources, already have similar link to better source). Corrected another change as the earliest tafsirs rarely comment on the literalism of the muddy spring story but focus on the variant readings "muddy" or "hot", not to be confused with interpretation. Removed another unimportant addition which interupted an argument flow. Added debunk of a new "diameters" argument.) |
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Michael Hoskin and Owen Gingerich, Professor Emeritus of Astronomy and of the History of Science at Harvard University<ref>{{cite web| url=https://histsci.fas.harvard.edu/people/owen-gingerich | title=Owen Gingerich | author= | publisher=Harvard University | date= | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200528204925/https://histsci.fas.harvard.edu/people/owen-gingerich | deadurl=no| accessdate= December 11, 2020| quote=Owen Gingerich is Professor Emeritus of Astronomy and of the History of Science at Harvard University and a senior astronomer emeritus at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. In 1992-93 he chaired Harvard's History of Science Department.}}</ref>, write: | Michael Hoskin and Owen Gingerich, Professor Emeritus of Astronomy and of the History of Science at Harvard University<ref>{{cite web| url=https://histsci.fas.harvard.edu/people/owen-gingerich | title=Owen Gingerich | author= | publisher=Harvard University | date= | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200528204925/https://histsci.fas.harvard.edu/people/owen-gingerich | deadurl=no| accessdate= December 11, 2020| quote=Owen Gingerich is Professor Emeritus of Astronomy and of the History of Science at Harvard University and a senior astronomer emeritus at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. In 1992-93 he chaired Harvard's History of Science Department.}}</ref>, write: | ||
{{Quote|{{citation| last=Hoskin| first=Michael| last2=Gingerich| first2=Owen| chapter=Islamic Astronomy| title=The Cambridge Concise History of Astronomy| ISBN=9780521576000| url=https://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/physics/history-philosophy-and-foundations-physics/cambridge-concise-history-astronomy?format=PB&isbn=9780521576000| pages=50-52| year=1999| publisher=Cambridge University press| location: Cambridge| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20201226174539/https://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/physics/history-philosophy-and-foundations-physics/cambridge-concise-history-astronomy?format=PB&isbn=9780521576000}}|In 762 [Muhammad’s] successors in the Middle East founded a new capital, Baghdad, by the river Tigris at the point of nearest approach of the Euphrates, and within reach of the Christian physicians of Jundishapur. Members of the Baghdad court called on them for advice, and these encounters opened the eyes of prominent Muslims to the existence of a legacy of intellectual treasures from Antiquity - most of which were preserved in manuscripts lying in distant libraries and written in a foreign tongue. Harun al-Rashid (caliph from 786) and his successors sent agents to the Byzantine empire to buy Greek manuscripts, and early in the ninth century a translation centre, the House of Wisdom, was established in Baghdad by the Caliph al-Ma’mun. […] Long before translations began, a rich tradition of folk astronomy already existed in the Arabian peninsula. This merged with the view of the heavens in Islamic commentaries and treatises, to create a simple cosmology based on the actual appearances of the sky and unsupported by any underlying theory.}} | {{Quote|{{citation| last=Hoskin| first=Michael| last2=Gingerich| first2=Owen| chapter=Islamic Astronomy| title=The Cambridge Concise History of Astronomy| ISBN=9780521576000| url=https://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/physics/history-philosophy-and-foundations-physics/cambridge-concise-history-astronomy?format=PB&isbn=9780521576000| pages=50-52| year=1999| publisher=Cambridge University press| location: Cambridge| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20201226174539/https://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/physics/history-philosophy-and-foundations-physics/cambridge-concise-history-astronomy?format=PB&isbn=9780521576000}}|In 762 [Muhammad’s] successors in the Middle East founded a new capital, Baghdad, by the river Tigris at the point of nearest approach of the Euphrates, and within reach of the Christian physicians of Jundishapur. Members of the Baghdad court called on them for advice, and these encounters opened the eyes of prominent Muslims to the existence of a legacy of intellectual treasures from Antiquity - most of which were preserved in manuscripts lying in distant libraries and written in a foreign tongue. Harun al-Rashid (caliph from 786) and his successors sent agents to the Byzantine empire to buy Greek manuscripts, and early in the ninth century a translation centre, the House of Wisdom, was established in Baghdad by the Caliph al-Ma’mun. […] Long before translations began, a rich tradition of folk astronomy already existed in the Arabian peninsula. This merged with the view of the heavens in Islamic commentaries and treatises, to create a simple cosmology based on the actual appearances of the sky and unsupported by any underlying theory.}}Mohammad Ali Tabatabaʾi and Saida Mirsadri of Tehran University note in their paper surveying Qur'anic cosmography that the Qur'an "takes for granted" the flatness of the earth, a common motif among the scientifically naive people at that time, while it has "not even one hint of a spherical earth"<ref>{{citation |last1=Tabatabaʾi |first1=Mohammad A. |last2=Mirsadri |first2=Saida |date=2016 |title=The Qurʾānic Cosmology, as an Identity in Itself |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24811784 |journal=Arabica |volume=63 |issue=3/4 |pages=201-234}} p. 211; also available on [https://www.academia.edu/23427168/The_Quranic_Cosmology_as_an_Identity_in_Itself academia.edu]</ref> They also note that the pre-Islamic poet Umayya ibn Abī al‐Ṣalt (d. 5 / 626) described the earth as a carpet (bisāṭan, like {{Quran|71|19}}) and likened it to the uplifted heavens. | ||
Mohammad Ali Tabatabaʾi and Saida Mirsadri of Tehran University note in their paper surveying Qur'anic cosmography that the Qur'an "takes for granted" the flatness of the earth, a common motif among the scientifically naive people at that time, while it has "not even one hint of a spherical earth"<ref>{{citation |last1=Tabatabaʾi |first1=Mohammad A. |last2=Mirsadri |first2=Saida |date=2016 |title=The Qurʾānic Cosmology, as an Identity in Itself |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24811784 |journal=Arabica |volume=63 |issue=3/4 |pages=201-234}} p. 211; also available on [https://www.academia.edu/23427168/The_Quranic_Cosmology_as_an_Identity_in_Itself academia.edu]</ref> They also note that the pre-Islamic poet Umayya ibn Abī al‐Ṣalt (d. 5 / 626) described the earth as a carpet (bisāṭan, like {{Quran|71|19}}) and likened it to the uplifted heavens. | |||
{{Quote|Dīwān, Umayya ibn Abī al‐Ṣalt, p. 179 cited in {{citation |last1=Tabatabaʾi |first1=Mohammad A. |last2=Mirsadri |first2=Saida |date=2016 |title=The Qurʾānic Cosmology, as an Identity in Itself |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24811784 |journal=Arabica |volume=63 |issue=3/4 |pages=201-234}} p. 226<BR />See [https://www.aldiwan.net/poem36172.html here] for the poem in Arabic.|And [he] shaped the earth as a carpet then he ordained it, [the area] under the firmament [are] just like those he uplifted}} | {{Quote|Dīwān, Umayya ibn Abī al‐Ṣalt, p. 179 cited in {{citation |last1=Tabatabaʾi |first1=Mohammad A. |last2=Mirsadri |first2=Saida |date=2016 |title=The Qurʾānic Cosmology, as an Identity in Itself |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24811784 |journal=Arabica |volume=63 |issue=3/4 |pages=201-234}} p. 226<BR />See [https://www.aldiwan.net/poem36172.html here] for the poem in Arabic.|And [he] shaped the earth as a carpet then he ordained it, [the area] under the firmament [are] just like those he uplifted}} | ||
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==Direct references to a flat Earth in the Qur'an== | ==Direct references to a flat Earth in the Qur'an== | ||
The Qur'an frequently describes, in explicit terms, the creation of "al-ard", which can be translated as either "Earth" or "land", as a flat structure. The use of metaphors and words intimately associated with flat objects (such as beds and carpets) is especially common in cases where the context of the verse makes it clear that the word "al-ard" is being used to describe the creation of the Earth at the beginning of time alongside the creation of the "heavens" (rather than in the more limited sense of a certain portion of "land"). The best example of this is perhaps [[Islamic Views on the Shape of the Earth#Qur.27an_88:20_-_sutihat_.28.22spread_out_flat.22.29|verse 88:20]]. | The Qur'an frequently describes, in explicit terms, the creation of "al-ard", which can be translated as either "Earth" or "land", as a flat structure. The use of metaphors and words intimately associated with flat objects (such as beds and carpets) is especially common in cases where the context of the verse makes it clear that the word "al-ard" is being used to describe the creation of the Earth at the beginning of time alongside the creation of the "heavens" (rather than in the more limited sense of a certain portion of "land"). The best example of this is perhaps [[Islamic Views on the Shape of the Earth#Qur.27an_88:20_-_sutihat_.28.22spread_out_flat.22.29|verse 88:20]]. | ||
The same term 'al-ard' is even used to describe the creation of the next Earth after judgement day,<ref>E.g. {{Quran|14|48}}</ref> and is commonly used alongside 'the heavens' (i.e. the heavens and the Earth) as a reference to the whole Islamic conception of the universe - it's meaning of the whole Earth can be seen in further verses where it is used on [https://corpus.quran.com/search.jsp?t=3&q=the%20earth QuranCorpus]. | |||
===Qur'an 2:22 - ''firashan'' ("thing spread to sit or lie upon")=== | ===Qur'an 2:22 - ''firashan'' ("thing spread to sit or lie upon")=== | ||
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'''[It is He] who has made for you the earth as a bed [spread out]''' and inserted therein for you roadways and sent down from the sky, rain and produced thereby categories of various plants.}} | '''[It is He] who has made for you the earth as a bed [spread out]''' and inserted therein for you roadways and sent down from the sky, rain and produced thereby categories of various plants.}} | ||
مَهْدًا = mahdan = cradle or bed; a plain, even, or smooth expanse<ref>مَهْدً mahdan - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume7/00000267.pdf Lane's Lexicon] page 2739</ref> | مَهْدًا = mahdan = cradle or bed; a plain, even, or smooth expanse<ref>مَهْدً mahdan - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume7/00000267.pdf Lane's Lexicon] page 2739</ref> | ||
Sinai 2023 notes that also in {{Quran|13|18}}, hell that is called a mihād, a “resting-place spread out.”<ref>Footnote 47 (p. 40): S''inai, Nicolai. Key Terms of the Qur'an: A Critical Dictionary'' (p. 128). Princeton University Press.</ref> This may give further weight to the seven earths found in {{Quran|65|12}} being flat discs one above the other as discussed in the hadith section below, with the lowest being hell as was believed by a number of early and medieval Muslims as this IslamQA post shows.<ref>[https://islamqa.info/en/answers/215011/where-are-paradise-and-hell Where Are Paradise and Hell?] IslamQA. 2015. </ref> | |||
===Qur'an 43:10 - ''mahdan'' ("bed")=== | ===Qur'an 43:10 - ''mahdan'' ("bed")=== | ||
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'''And Allah has made the earth for you as a carpet (spread out),''' }} | '''And Allah has made the earth for you as a carpet (spread out),''' }} | ||
بِسَاطًا = bisaatan = A thing that is spread or spread out or forth, and particularly a carpet (from the same root we also have بَسَاطٌ = basaatun = Land, expanded and even; and wide or spacious) | بِسَاطًا = bisaatan = A thing that is spread or spread out or forth, and particularly a carpet (from the same root we also have بَسَاطٌ = basaatun = Land, expanded and even; and wide or spacious).<ref>بِسَاطًا bisaatan - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume1/00000241.pdf Lane's Lexicon] page 204</ref> | ||
<ref>بِسَاطًا bisaatan - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume1/00000241.pdf Lane's Lexicon] page 204</ref> | |||
This appears to be paraphrasing a similar pre-Islamic poem mentioning the creation and spreading of the Earth attributed to ʿAdī ibn Zayd (wa-basaṭa l-arḍa basṭan), whose motif can be traced back to at least the Hebrew Bible (Isaiah 42:5 and 44:24, Psalms 136:6).<ref>''arḍ | earth; land'' Sinai, Nicolai. Key Terms of the Qur'an: A Critical Dictionary (pp. 40-41). Princeton University Press.</ref> | |||
A hadith in Tirmidhi uses the word ''bisaatan'' to describe the spreading or rolling out of a mat: | A hadith in Tirmidhi uses the word ''bisaatan'' to describe the spreading or rolling out of a mat: | ||
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===Qur'an 18:86 and 18:90 - setting and rising places of the sun=== | ===Qur'an 18:86 and 18:90 - setting and rising places of the sun=== | ||
{{Main|Dhul-Qarnayn and the Sun Setting in a Muddy Spring - Part One}}{{Quote|{{Quran|18|86}}| حتى اذا بلغ مغرب الشمس وجدها تغرب في عين حمئة ووجد عندها قوما قلنا ياذا القرنين اما ان تعذب واما ان تتخذ فيهم حسنا | {{Main|Dhul-Qarnayn and the Sun Setting in a Muddy Spring - Part One|Dhul-Qarnayn and the Sun Setting in a Muddy Spring - Part Two}}{{Quote|{{Quran|18|86}}| حتى اذا بلغ مغرب الشمس وجدها تغرب في عين حمئة ووجد عندها قوما قلنا ياذا القرنين اما ان تعذب واما ان تتخذ فيهم حسنا | ||
Hatta itha balagha maghriba alshshamsi wajadaha taghrubu fee AAaynin hami-atin wawajada AAindaha qawman qulna ya tha alqarnayni imma an tuAAaththiba wa-imma an tattakhitha feehim husnan | Hatta itha balagha maghriba alshshamsi wajadaha taghrubu fee AAaynin hami-atin wawajada AAindaha qawman qulna ya tha alqarnayni imma an tuAAaththiba wa-imma an tattakhitha feehim husnan | ||
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While the Islamic tradition maintain and modern academics contest whether so-called authentic hadiths can be reliably traced back to the prophet and his companions, all agree that hadiths, whether authentic or inauthentic represent the beliefs of various populations among the earliest Muslims. That is, even if a hadith is weak, it's fabrication, existence, and circulation attest to the simple fact that at least some early Muslims, even if this did not include Muhammad and his companions, believed that hadith's contents. | While the Islamic tradition maintain and modern academics contest whether so-called authentic hadiths can be reliably traced back to the prophet and his companions, all agree that hadiths, whether authentic or inauthentic represent the beliefs of various populations among the earliest Muslims. That is, even if a hadith is weak, it's fabrication, existence, and circulation attest to the simple fact that at least some early Muslims, even if this did not include Muhammad and his companions, believed that hadith's contents. | ||
This said, there exist a variety of hadiths in canonical and authentic collections of hadith that explicitly and implicitly attest and adhere to a flat Earth. Countless weak hadiths can be counted which, in addition to these authentic hadiths, confirm that the earliest Muslims believed in a flat earth. | This said, there exist a variety of hadiths in canonical and authentic collections of hadith that explicitly and implicitly attest and adhere to a flat Earth. Countless weak hadiths can be counted which, in addition to these authentic hadiths, reflect the beliefs before the translations of Greek astronomy and philosophy had taken hold, and confirm that the earliest Muslims believed in a flat earth.<ref>Hannam, James. The Globe: How the Earth Became Round REAKTION BOOKS. 2023. ''See Chapter 15: Islam: ‘The Earth laid out like a carpet’.'' Quote on (p. 197): | ||
''..it became evident that a great many of Muhammad’s alleged utterances had been invented later on, to win an argument or prove a point. Their numbers proliferated, and blatant inconsistencies crept into the canon. Muslim scholars were alive to this issue and went to great efforts to authenticate the sayings by verifying the chain of oral transmission. Many were declared ‘weak’ and so treated with scepticism. By AD 900, specialist researchers had winnowed down the thousands of sayings into six overlapping canonical compilations that, according to Muslim consensus, enjoy a high level of reliability.'' | |||
''The sayings are an invaluable record of the debates and thinking of Muslim scholars in the earliest years of Islam. In particular, they reflect the intellectual environment before the translations of Greek astronomy and philosophy had taken hold. In this respect, a weak hadith, while not reflecting the words of Muhammad himself, is still evidence of Muslim opinion in the years before 900.''</ref> | |||
===Seven stacked earths=== | ===Seven stacked earths=== | ||
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==Flat Earth in tafsirs== | ==Flat Earth in tafsirs== | ||
===The spring where the sun sets=== | ===The spring where the sun sets=== | ||
{{Main|Dhul-Qarnayn and the Sun Setting in a Muddy Spring - Part One}} | {{Main|Dhul-Qarnayn and the Sun Setting in a Muddy Spring - Part One|Dhul-Qarnayn and the Sun Setting in a Muddy Spring - Part Two}} | ||
Early Tafsirs (commentaries on the Quran from Muslim Scholars) had no issue stating that the Quran supports a flat Earth cosmology. In fact the earliest surviving authentically attributed tafsir, Tafsir Muqātil ibn Sulaymān (d. 767 CE), i.e. who lived closer to the time of Muhammad than any other scholar, reports on verse 18:86 a view attributed to the companion Ibn Abbas that the sun is hotter when it rises than when it sets, which implies the existence of setting and rising places and therefore a flat earth. | |||
{{Quote|1=[https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=67&tSoraNo=18&tAyahNo=83&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1 Tafsir Muqātil ibn Sulaymān on Verses 18:83-86]|2={Until when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it setting in a spring of mud}, meaning hot and black. Ibn Abbas said: When the sun rises, it is hotter than when it sets.}} | |||
In the tafsir of al-Tabari (b. 224 AH / 839 CE) for {{Quran|18|86}}, the following remarks are made about the nature of the spring into which the sun sets. For another, full English translation of the relevant page in al-Tabari's tafsir [https://theislamissue.wordpress.com/2022/03/23/tafsir-al-tabari-for-q1886/ see this article]. The similar sounding words hami'ah (muddy) and hamiyah (hot) seem to have become confused at some point in the transmission of the Qur'anic script: | In the tafsir of al-Tabari (b. 224 AH / 839 CE) for {{Quran|18|86}}, the following remarks are made about the nature of the spring into which the sun sets. For another, full English translation of the relevant page in al-Tabari's tafsir [https://theislamissue.wordpress.com/2022/03/23/tafsir-al-tabari-for-q1886/ see this article]. The similar sounding words hami'ah (muddy) and hamiyah (hot) seem to have become confused at some point in the transmission of the Qur'anic script: | ||
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Al-Tabari (d. 923) in his ''History of the Prophets and Kings'' and al-Baydawi (d. 1286) in his tafsir mention the opinion that the sun has 360 springs into which it can set. A similar idea is found in the so-called pre-Islamic "Jahili" Arab poems. | Al-Tabari (d. 923) in his ''History of the Prophets and Kings'' and al-Baydawi (d. 1286) in his tafsir mention the opinion that the sun has 360 springs into which it can set. A similar idea is found in the so-called pre-Islamic "Jahili" Arab poems. | ||
As historian of science James Hamman notes, ''when the translation movement began in the late eighth century, the study of the Koran was already a mature discipline. And since the Koran was the product of a very different environment from multicultural Baghdad, its world picture didn’t cohere with the cosmology transmitted by the foreign sciences of Indian and Greek astronomy''.<ref>Hannam, James. ''The Globe: How the Earth Became Round'' (pp. 194-195). REAKTION BOOKS. 2023.</ref> | |||
===The sky as a dome above the Earth=== | ===The sky as a dome above the Earth=== | ||
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===The Earth on the back of the Islamic Whale=== | ===The Earth on the back of the Islamic Whale=== | ||
{{Main|The Islamic Whale}} | {{Main|The Islamic Whale}} | ||
Al-Tabari's tafsir regarding {{Quran|68|1}}, which mysteriously starts with the Arabic letter | Al-Tabari's tafsir regarding {{Quran|68|1}}, which mysteriously starts with the Arabic letter Nun, records, along with many other classical tafsirs and sahih narrations<ref>[https://tafsir.app/68/1 Tafsirs 68:1]</ref><ref>{{Citation|title=Islam & the whale that carries the Earth on its back|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVhsVjXJzKM&ab_channel=TheMaskedArab|publisher=The Masked Arab|publication-date=February 25, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|url=https://answeringislamblog.wordpress.com/2016/10/19/muhammads-magical-mountain-one-whale-of-a-tale/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701144708/https://answeringislamblog.wordpress.com/2016/10/19/muhammads-magical-mountain-one-whale-of-a-tale/|publisher=Answering Islam Blog|publication-date=October 19, 2016|chapter=Muhammad’s Magical Mountain: One Whale of a Tale!}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|author=Sam Shamoun|publisher=Answering Islam|url=https://www.answering-islam.org/Shamoun/whale_nun.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112030934/https://www.answering-islam.org/Shamoun/whale_nun.htm|chapter=The Quran and the Shape of the Earth}}</ref>, that one of the interpretations among sahabah such as ibn 'Abbas was that the 'nun' is a whale on whose back the Earth is carried (other interpretations were that "Nun" is an inkwell or a name of Allah). While there may not have been a consensus on the existence of the whale, the plausibility and acceptability of the idea implies a flat Earth and radically non-modern cosmology. | ||
=== Mount Qaf === | |||
Similarly Surah 50 begins with the Arabic letter Qaf, which Scott Noegel and Brannon Wheeler (2010) note many Muslim exegetes take to refer to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Qaf Mount. Qaf] ''(Q 50:1) as a “world mountain,” which surrounds the earth and holds up the sky, thus connecting the heavens and the earth.''<ref>Noegel, Scott B.; Wheeler, Brannon M.. ''The A to Z of Prophets in Islam and Judaism (The A to Z Guide Series Book 176).'' 2010. pp 68 (Kindle Edition pp. 148). See under a section titled "Cosmology and Cosmogony" pp. 67-68: | |||
''Much like the classical Greek conception, the earth or the middle realm of the cosmos is envisioned as a flat disc surrounded by the world ocean on all sides. The Quran describes the earth as flat and spread out (Q 71:19), wide and expansive (Q 29:56). There are points on the earth that serve as conduits or points of contact with the lower realms (pits, caves, water sources) and the upper realms (mountains, trees, high buildings). Muslim exegetes describe '''Mt. Qaf (Q 50:1)''' as a "world mountain," which surrounds the earth and holds up the sky, thus connecting the heavens and the earth.'' | |||
E.g. see Al-Tabari's commentary on verse [https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=67&tSoraNo=50&tAyahNo=1&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1 50:1] and Mutaqil Ibn Suliman's on Verse [https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=67&tSoraNo=50&tAyahNo=1&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1 50:1] and [https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=67&tSoraNo=18&tAyahNo=85&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1 18:86] </ref> This (a mountain that surrounds the world) is of course only possible on a flat Earth. It was even associated with the mythical city of “Jabalq,” allegedly to be located in the extreme east or west, at the edges of the earth.<ref>Noegel, Scott B.; Wheeler, Brannon M.. ''The A to Z of Prophets in Islam and Judaism (The A to Z Guide Series Book 176)''. 2010. (pp. 271-272). Scarecrow Press. Kindle Edition. | |||
''The Arab geographer Yaqut describes Qaf as a mountain that encompasses and encloses the earth. It is made out of blue or green crystal, and all mountains in the world are tributaries of Qaf. Mt. Qaf is associated with the city of “Jabalq,” which can be read also as “Mt. Qaf” [Ar. Jabal-Qaf] in Arabic. This city is supposed to be located in the extreme east or west, at the edges of the earth. Qaf is also linked to the mountain on which Adam was supposed to have stood and peered into heaven after his expulsion from the Garden of Eden.''</ref> | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|50|1}}|Qaf. By the Glorious Qur'an,}} | |||
==Classical perspectives== | ==Classical perspectives== | ||
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===Ibn Kathir (d. 1373)=== | ===Ibn Kathir (d. 1373)=== | ||
Ibn Kathir says the heavens are a dome or roof or like the floors of a building over the Earth which is its foundation in his tafsir for verses [http://m.qtafsir.com/Surah-Al-Baqara/The-Beginning-of-the-Creation 2:29], [http://m.qtafsir.com/Surah-Ar-Rad/Clarifying-Allahs-Perfect-Abi--- 13:2], [http://m.qtafsir.com/Surah-Al-Anbiya/In-everything-there-is-a-Sign---- 21:32], [http://m.qtafsir.com/Surah-Ya-Seen/Among-the-Signs-of-the-Might-a--- 36:38], and [http://m.qtafsir.com/Surah-Fussilat/Some-Details-of-the-Creation-o--- 41:9-12]. | Ibn Kathir says the heavens are a dome or roof or like the floors of a building over the Earth which is its foundation in his tafsir for verses [http://m.qtafsir.com/Surah-Al-Baqara/The-Beginning-of-the-Creation 2:29], [http://m.qtafsir.com/Surah-Ar-Rad/Clarifying-Allahs-Perfect-Abi--- 13:2], [http://m.qtafsir.com/Surah-Al-Anbiya/In-everything-there-is-a-Sign---- 21:32], [http://m.qtafsir.com/Surah-Ya-Seen/Among-the-Signs-of-the-Might-a--- 36:38], and [http://m.qtafsir.com/Surah-Fussilat/Some-Details-of-the-Creation-o--- 41:9-12]. It is also clear like those before him he is directly aware of astronomers theories. | ||
{{Quote|[https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Kathir/36.37 Tafsir Ibn Kathir for Quran 36:38]|(on its fixed course for a term (appointed). ) (The first view) is that it refers to its fixed course of location, which is beneath the Throne, beyond the earth in that direction. Wherever it goes, it is beneath the Throne, it and all of creation, <b>because the Throne is the roof of creation and it is not a sphere as many astronomers claim.</b> Rather it is a dome supported by legs or pillars, carried by the angels, and it is above the universe, above the heads of people. When the sun is at its zenith at noon, it is in its closest position to Throne, and when it runs in its fourth orbit at the opposite point to its zenith, at midnight, it is in its furthest position ...}} | |||
===Jalal ad-Din al-Maḥalli (d. 1460)=== | ===Jalal ad-Din al-Maḥalli (d. 1460)=== | ||
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===Others=== | ===Others=== | ||
Many further examples of scholars expressing a flat earth interpretation of the Quran are collated in [https://theislamissue.wordpress.com/2019/03/22/scholarly-consensus-of-a-round-earth/ another article.] One can see that all early mufassirūn (Quranic scholars who wrote commentaries/tafsirs | Many further examples of scholars expressing a flat earth interpretation of the Quran are collated in [https://theislamissue.wordpress.com/2019/03/22/scholarly-consensus-of-a-round-earth/ another article.] One can see that all early mufassirūn (Quranic scholars who wrote commentaries/tafsirs, which can be viewed directly on [https://www.altafsir.com/ tafsir.com]) who commented on the relevant verses took the view the Qur'an was describing a flat earth. | ||
These interpretations contrast with claims of an Islamic scholarly consensus for a round earth. As Dr Omar Anchassi says '<nowiki/>''It is clear that the Aristotelian-Ptolemaic vision of the cosmos remained contested by theologians of all stripes to the end of the fifth/eleventh century''<nowiki/>'<ref>''[https://www.academia.edu/93485940/Against_Ptolemy_Cosmography_in_Early_Kal%C4%81m_2022_ Against Ptolemy? Cosmography in Early Kalām (2022).]'' Omar Anchassi. ''Journal of the American Oriental Society'', ''142''(4), 851–881. <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.7817/jaos.142.4.2022.ar033</nowiki></ref> in his article '''[https://doi.org/10.7817/jaos.142.4.2022.ar033 Against Ptolemy? Cosmography in Early Kalām]''<nowiki/>' (2022). | |||
These interpretations contrast with claims of an Islamic scholarly consensus for a round earth. As Dr Omar Anchassi says '<nowiki/>''It is clear that the Aristotelian-Ptolemaic vision of the cosmos remained contested by theologians of all stripes to the end of the fifth/eleventh century''<nowiki/>'<ref>''[https://www.academia.edu/93485940/Against_Ptolemy_Cosmography_in_Early_Kal%C4%81m_2022_ Against Ptolemy? Cosmography in Early Kalām (2022).]'' Omar Anchassi. ''Journal of the American Oriental Society'', ''142''(4), 851–881. <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.7817/jaos.142.4.2022.ar033</nowiki></ref> in his article '''Against Ptolemy? Cosmography in Early Kalām''<nowiki/>' (2022). | |||
==Modern perspectives and criticisms thereof== | ==Modern perspectives and criticisms thereof== | ||
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The shape of the ''madaahi'', whether in the form of a stone or some other object, is said to be like a "small round cake of bread" or a "قرصة".<ref name=":0" /> Such cakes of bread are defined as being "very small", "of a round, flattened form", like the apparent "disk of the sun"<ref>{{Citation|title=Lane's Lexicon|page=2572|chapter=قرض|url=http://ejtaal.net/aa/#hw4=h898,ll=2609,ls=h8,la=h3587,sg=h848,ha=h610,br=h777,pr=h126,aan=h519,mgf=h722,vi=h296,kz=h2114,mr=h532,mn=h1107,uqw=h1300,umr=h875,ums=h734,umj=h652,ulq=h1407,uqa=h345,uqq=h305,bdw=h711,amr=h517,asb=h787,auh=h1286,dhq=h452,mht=h732,msb=h197,tla=h84,amj=h640,ens=h1,mis=h633}}</ref>, and, on the whole, far more similar in shape to discs or extremely-oblate spheroids than they are to the only very slightly oblate Earth. | The shape of the ''madaahi'', whether in the form of a stone or some other object, is said to be like a "small round cake of bread" or a "قرصة".<ref name=":0" /> Such cakes of bread are defined as being "very small", "of a round, flattened form", like the apparent "disk of the sun"<ref>{{Citation|title=Lane's Lexicon|page=2572|chapter=قرض|url=http://ejtaal.net/aa/#hw4=h898,ll=2609,ls=h8,la=h3587,sg=h848,ha=h610,br=h777,pr=h126,aan=h519,mgf=h722,vi=h296,kz=h2114,mr=h532,mn=h1107,uqw=h1300,umr=h875,ums=h734,umj=h652,ulq=h1407,uqa=h345,uqq=h305,bdw=h711,amr=h517,asb=h787,auh=h1286,dhq=h452,mht=h732,msb=h197,tla=h84,amj=h640,ens=h1,mis=h633}}</ref>, and, on the whole, far more similar in shape to discs or extremely-oblate spheroids than they are to the only very slightly oblate Earth. | ||
===Qur'an 55:33 - ''aqṭāri'' (regions of the heavens and earth, said to mean diameters)=== | |||
Verse 55:33 asserts that men and Jinn may not pass beyond the heavens and earth without Allah's authority. It contains a word typically translated as "regions" or "zones". This aligns with late antique notions of a heavenly firmament, including other Quranic verses which for example describe the heaven as a guarded ceiling ({{Quran|21|32}}) or include imagery of a stairway to heaven ({{Quran|6|35}}). | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|55|33}}|O company of jinn and mankind, if you are able to pass beyond the regions of the heavens and the earth, then pass. You will not pass except by authority [from Allah].}} | |||
In modern times, some Islamic websites have claimed that the word here translated "regions" actually means "diameters" in this verse, supposedly implying a spherical earth (not to mention spherical heavens). However, critics have pointed out that this claim is based on a post-classical definition. Even without the anachronism, "diameters" would just as well refer to the furthest reaches of a flat Earth and heavenly dome. | |||
The word in Q 55:33 [https://quranx.com/Analysis/55.33#word_9 is the plural noun aqṭāri] (with a genitive 'i' suffix). The same word (with possessive suffix) appears as aqṭārihā in {{Quran|33|14}}, "If the enemy had entered from all sides". Lane's lexicon says it means a side, part, portion, quarter, tract, or region of the heavens and earth. Another meaning was the diameter of a circle, but Lane notes that this post-dates the start of the classical period. | |||
{{Quote|Lane's Lexicon on aqṭār <ref>aqṭār أَقْطَارٌ - [https://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume7/00000070.pdf Lane's Lexicon page 2542] and [https://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume7/00000071.pdf 2543]</ref>|قُطْرٌ '''A side, part, portion, quarter, tract, or region, (S, Msb, K,) of the heavens, and of the earth;''' (TA;) as also قُتْرٌ (S, K, art. قتر,) and قُتُرٌ: (K, ibid.) either side of a man: '''pl. أَقْطَارٌ.''' (S, Msb, K.) You say أَلْقَاهُ على احد قُطْرَيْهِ He threw him down on one of his sides. (S, * Msb, * K, * TA.) And لَا أَدْرِى عَلَى أَىِّ قُطْرَيْهِ يَقَعُ [I know not on which of his two sides he will fall; i. e., what will be his final state]. (JK.) and the pl. signifies The outer parts or regions (نَوَاحٍ) of a horse, and of a camel: the prominent parts of a horse, such as the withers (الكَاثِبَة) and the rump: the prominent parts of the upper portions of a camel, and of a mountain. (TA.) قُطْرُ دَائِرَةٍ '''[The diameter of a circle;]''' a straight line extending from one side of a circle to the other side so that its middle falls upon the centre (KT.) '''[But this is app. post-classical.]'''}} | |||
===Plate tectonics=== | ===Plate tectonics=== | ||
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This modern reinterpretation of Qur'anic cosmology significantly aligns with modern science and historiography insofar as it understands the intent of the Qur'an to be based on the worldview of the 7th-century Arabian city where it is said to have been produced - that is, as far as Muhammad and his companions were concerned and could tell, the world was indeed flat, and this is the same perspective assumed by the Qur'an. The Qur'an and its first audience did not know the Earth was spherical and did not say as much. This reading of the Qur'an also benefits from not relying on faulty linguistic, historic, and geometric ideas in order to force fit a round earth reading into the verses. This view is the most common amongst educated Muslims today and is likely to predominate going forward. | This modern reinterpretation of Qur'anic cosmology significantly aligns with modern science and historiography insofar as it understands the intent of the Qur'an to be based on the worldview of the 7th-century Arabian city where it is said to have been produced - that is, as far as Muhammad and his companions were concerned and could tell, the world was indeed flat, and this is the same perspective assumed by the Qur'an. The Qur'an and its first audience did not know the Earth was spherical and did not say as much. This reading of the Qur'an also benefits from not relying on faulty linguistic, historic, and geometric ideas in order to force fit a round earth reading into the verses. This view is the most common amongst educated Muslims today and is likely to predominate going forward. | ||
On the other hand, critics, in line with academic scholars such as those quoted earlier in this article, argue that the context of most of the relevant verses is expressly the creation of the heavens and the earth and that these are therefore statements about the earth as a whole, even if the main purpose of the verses are to remind the audience how Allah has thereby made the earth traversible and hospitable to humans. If the Quranic author was describing the earth only as perceived from a 'human perspective | On the other hand, critics, in line with academic scholars such as those quoted earlier in this article, argue that the context of most of the relevant verses is expressly the creation of the heavens and the earth and that these are therefore statements about the earth as a whole, even if the main purpose of the verses are to remind the audience how Allah has thereby made the earth traversible and hospitable to humans. | ||
If the Quranic author was describing the earth only as perceived from a 'human' or 'local' perspective, critics note that he could easily have stated so explicitly, or with further context: for example, 'see how the Earth ''appears'' spread out like a carpet/bed for you to live on safely', or 'the ground ''in front of you'' is spread out'. And/or ignore flat references, focusing on other aspects of nature's beauty and benefits to make the same point, without denoting a cosmological view that has been directly and repeatedly used by devout Islamic scholars throughout history to argue against a round earth.<ref>Read on the debate within Islamic authorities between those following the traditional cosmological view of the Quran verses, against those incorporating Greek science and philosophy in the first five centuries of Islam (in which the debate was not settled in) in: ''[https://www.academia.edu/93485940/Against_Ptolemy_Cosmography_in_Early_Kal%C4%81m_2022_ Against Ptolemy? Cosmography in Early Kalām (2022)].'' Omar Anchassi. ''Journal of the American Oriental Society'', ''142''(4), 851–881</ref> | |||
==See Also== | ==See Also== | ||
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==External Links== | ==External Links== | ||
* https://www.answering-islam.org/Quran/Science/seven_earths.html | * [https://www.answering-islam.org/Quran/Science/seven_earths.html Qur'an & Science Problem: The Seven Earths - Their Existence and their Location - answering-Islam.org] | ||
* [https://theislamissue.wordpress.com/2019/03/22/scholarly-consensus-of-a-round-earth/ Scholarly consensus of a round earth? - The Islam Issue] | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||