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[[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> ]] | [[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> ]] | ||
Islamic [[scriptures]] imply, adhere to, and describe a flat-Earth cosmography ([[Geocentrism and the Quran|arranged in a geocentric system]]) which conceives of the earth as existing in the form of a large plane or disk. While some early Islamic authorities maintained that the earth existed in the shape of a "ball", such notions are entirely absent in the earliest Islamic scriptures. | Islamic [[scriptures]] imply, adhere to, and describe a flat-Earth cosmography ([[Geocentrism and the Quran|arranged in a geocentric system]]) which conceives of the earth as existing in the form of a large plane or disk. While some early Islamic authorities maintained that the earth existed in the shape of a "ball", such notions are entirely absent in the earliest Islamic scriptures. | ||
Nonetheless, as knowledge of the Earth's spherical form has existed to greater or lesser degree since at least classical Greek (4th Century BCE) | Nonetheless, as knowledge of the Earth's spherical form has existed to greater or lesser degree since at least classical Greek (4th Century BCE), it has been frequently argued in recent times that the early scholars of Islam, the first followers of Muhammad, and indeed Islamic scripture itself supported the spherical-earth model, although evidence for these claims is lacking. | ||
Knowledge of the spherical shape of the Earth prominently entered the Islamic milieu in the 9th century CE when many Greek texts were being translated into Arabic for the first time under the sponsorship of the of Abbasid [[Khilafah (Caliphate)|caliphate]]. While there may have been earlier exposure to these ideas among Muslims, the later idea that Islamic scriptures themselves indicated a spherical Earth was a creative act of reinterpretation. Clear descriptions and assumptions made in the [[Qur'an]], [[hadith]], [[Tafsir|tafsirs]], and writings of early Islamic scholars demonstrate that Muhammad and his companions did not know the Earth was spherical and in fact held it to be flat and disk like. | |||
Today, some Islamic scholars still argue that Islamic scriptures and their first audiences were fully aware of the spherical shape of the Earth. However, other, often more senior scholars and the majority of educated Muslims today understand scriptures from a historical standpoint: Muhammad and his companions did not know the Earth was spherical, and so Islamic scriptures do not say as much. Rather, the Qur'an speaks from the perspective of its 7th-century contemporaries - to the unaided eye, the Earth is indeed flat, and this is the framework within which the Qur'an operates. | |||
==Greek and Indian astronomical knowledge== | ==Greek and Indian astronomical knowledge== | ||
Ptolemy’s ''Almagest'', written in the mid 2nd century CE, was translated into Arabic in the | Ptolemy’s ''Almagest'', written in the mid 2nd century CE, was translated into Arabic in the 9<sup>th</sup> century CE after the Qur’an had been completed and [[Textual History of the Qur'an|standardized]]. Ptolemy recorded in book five of the ''Almagest'' the discovery of Hipparchus, and of Aristarchus before him, that the sun is much larger than the earth and much more distant than the moon, as well as the Aristotelian view which maintains that the Earth is spherical and that the heavens are celestial spheres.<ref>{{citation| chapter=Ptolemy and his Greek predecessors| title=Astronomy before the Telescope| first=G. J.| last=Toomer| location=New York| publisher=St. Martin's Press| year=1996| url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/astronomy-before-the-telescope/oclc/36922915| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215163704/https://www.worldcat.org/title/astronomy-before-the-telescope/oclc/36922915| editor-last=Walker| editor-first=Christopher| ISBN=9780312154073|page=86}}</ref> | ||
Professor Kevin Van Bladel, Professor of Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations at Yale University<ref>{{cite web| url=https://nelc.yale.edu/people/kevin-van-bladel| title=Kevin van Bladel| author=| publisher=Yale University| date=| archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jun/29/world/fg-abortion29&date=2011-09-17 | deadurl=no| accessdate=December 11, 2020| quote=Kevin T. van Bladel is a philologist and historian studying texts and societies of the Near East of the period 200-1200 with special attention to the history of scholarship, the transition from Persian to Arab rule, and historical sociolinguistics. His research focuses on the interaction of different language communities and the translation of learned traditions between Arabic, Iranian languages, Aramaic, Greek, and Sanskrit.}}</ref>, writes: | Professor Kevin Van Bladel, Professor of Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations at Yale University<ref>{{cite web| url=https://nelc.yale.edu/people/kevin-van-bladel| title=Kevin van Bladel| author=| publisher=Yale University| date=| archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jun/29/world/fg-abortion29&date=2011-09-17 | deadurl=no| accessdate=December 11, 2020| quote=Kevin T. van Bladel is a philologist and historian studying texts and societies of the Near East of the period 200-1200 with special attention to the history of scholarship, the transition from Persian to Arab rule, and historical sociolinguistics. His research focuses on the interaction of different language communities and the translation of learned traditions between Arabic, Iranian languages, Aramaic, Greek, and Sanskrit.}}</ref>, writes: | ||
{{Quote||When the worldview of educated Muslims after the establishment of the Arab Empire came to incorporate principles of astrology including the geocentric, spherical, Aristotelian-Ptolemaic world picture – particularly after the advent of the ‘Abbāsid dynasty in 750 – the meaning of these passages came to be interpreted in later Islamic tradition not according to the biblical-quranic cosmology, which became obsolete, but according to the Ptolemaic model, according to which the Quran itself came to be interpreted. | {{Quote|{{citation | last = Van Bladel| first =Kevin| title=Heavenly cords and prophetic authority in the Quran and its Late Antique context| date=July 11th, 2007| publisher=Cambridge University Press| periodical=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies| volume=70| issue=2| pages=223-246, p. 241| url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bulletin-of-the-school-of-oriental-and-african-studies/article/abs/heavenly-cords-and-prophetic-authority-in-the-quran-and-its-late-antique-context/DDF890784AD2034CAE98DC46561204F5| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20201226172221if_/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bulletin-of-the-school-of-oriental-and-african-studies/article/abs/heavenly-cords-and-prophetic-authority-in-the-quran-and-its-late-antique-context/DDF890784AD2034CAE98DC46561204F5}}|When the worldview of educated Muslims after the establishment of the Arab Empire came to incorporate principles of astrology including the geocentric, spherical, Aristotelian-Ptolemaic world picture – particularly after the advent of the ‘Abbāsid dynasty in 750 – the meaning of these passages came to be interpreted in later Islamic tradition not according to the biblical-quranic cosmology, which became obsolete, but according to the Ptolemaic model, according to which the Quran itself came to be interpreted.}} | ||
Earlier in the same paper, Van Bladel describes how Christian theologians in the region of Syria in the sixth century CE shared the view that the Earth was flat and the heaven, or series of heavens was like a dome or tent above the Earth, based on their reading of the Hebrew and New Testament scriptures. This was a rival view to that of the churchmen of Alexandria who supported the Aristotelian-Ptolemaic view of a spherical Earth surrounded by spinning celestial spheres.<ref name="KVB">ibid. pp.224-226. Here are some more excerpts: | Earlier in the same paper, Van Bladel describes how Christian theologians in the region of Syria in the sixth century CE shared the view that the Earth was flat and the heaven, or series of heavens was like a dome or tent above the Earth, based on their reading of the Hebrew and New Testament scriptures. This was a rival view to that of the churchmen of Alexandria who supported the Aristotelian-Ptolemaic view of a spherical Earth surrounded by spinning celestial spheres.<ref name="KVB">ibid. pp.224-226. Here are some more excerpts:<BR> | ||
<BR> | |||
{{Quote||Entering into the debate was John Philoponus, a Christian philosopher of sixth-century Alexandria, who wrote his commentary on Genesis to prove, against earlier, Antiochene, theologians like Theodore of Mopsuestia, that the scriptural account of creation described a spherical geocentric world in accord with the Ptolemaic cosmology. [...] | {{Quote||Entering into the debate was John Philoponus, a Christian philosopher of sixth-century Alexandria, who wrote his commentary on Genesis to prove, against earlier, Antiochene, theologians like Theodore of Mopsuestia, that the scriptural account of creation described a spherical geocentric world in accord with the Ptolemaic cosmology. [...] | ||
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David A. King, Professor of History of Science at Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, writes: | David A. King, Professor of History of Science at Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, writes: | ||
{{Quote||The Arabs of the Arabian peninsula before Islam possessed a simple yet developed astronomical folklore of a practical nature. This involved a knowledge of the risings and settings of stars, associated in particular with the cosmical setting of groups of stars and simultaneous heliacal risings of others, which marked the beginning of periods called naw’, plural anwā’. […] Ptolemy’s Almagest was translated at least five times in the late eighth and ninth centuries. The first was a translation into Syriac and the others into Arabic, the first two under Caliph al-Ma’mūn in the middle of the first half of the ninth century, and the other two (the second an improvement of the first) towards the end of that century […] In this way Greek planetary models, uranometry and mathematical methods came to the attention of the Muslims. | {{Quote|{{citation| chapter=Islamic Astronomy| title=Astronomy before the Telescope| first=David A.| last=King| pages=143-174| location=London| publisher=British Museum Press| year=1996| url=https://muslimheritage.com/islamic-astronomy/| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222044602/https://muslimheritage.com/islamic-astronomy/| editor-last=Walker| editor-first=Christopher| ISBN=978-0714127330}}|The Arabs of the Arabian peninsula before Islam possessed a simple yet developed astronomical folklore of a practical nature. This involved a knowledge of the risings and settings of stars, associated in particular with the cosmical setting of groups of stars and simultaneous heliacal risings of others, which marked the beginning of periods called naw’, plural anwā’. […] Ptolemy’s Almagest was translated at least five times in the late eighth and ninth centuries. The first was a translation into Syriac and the others into Arabic, the first two under Caliph al-Ma’mūn in the middle of the first half of the ninth century, and the other two (the second an improvement of the first) towards the end of that century […] In this way Greek planetary models, uranometry and mathematical methods came to the attention of the Muslims.}} | ||
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||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.}} | ||
==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- | 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]]. | ||
===Qur'an 2:22 - ''firashan'' (thing spread to sit or lie upon)=== | ===Qur'an 2:22 - ''firashan'' ("thing spread to sit or lie upon")=== | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|2|22}}|'''ٱلَّذِى جَعَلَ لَكُمُ ٱلْأَرْضَ فِرَٰشًا''' وَٱلسَّمَآءَ بِنَآءً وَأَنزَلَ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مَآءً فَأَخْرَجَ بِهِۦ مِنَ ٱلثَّمَرَٰتِ رِزْقًا لَّكُمْ ۖ فَلَا تَجْعَلُوا۟ لِلَّهِ أَندَادًا وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ | {{Quote|{{Quran|2|22}}|'''ٱلَّذِى جَعَلَ لَكُمُ ٱلْأَرْضَ فِرَٰشًا''' وَٱلسَّمَآءَ بِنَآءً وَأَنزَلَ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مَآءً فَأَخْرَجَ بِهِۦ مِنَ ٱلثَّمَرَٰتِ رِزْقًا لَّكُمْ ۖ فَلَا تَجْعَلُوا۟ لِلَّهِ أَندَادًا وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ | ||
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فِرَٰشًا = firashan = a thing that is spread upon the ground, a thing that is spread for one to sit or lie upon.<ref>فِرَٰشًا firashan - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000155.pdf Lane's Lexicon] page 2371</ref> | فِرَٰشًا = firashan = a thing that is spread upon the ground, a thing that is spread for one to sit or lie upon.<ref>فِرَٰشًا firashan - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000155.pdf Lane's Lexicon] page 2371</ref> | ||
===Qur'an 15:19 - ''madad'' (extend, stretch out)=== | ===Qur'an 15:19 - ''madad'' ("extend", "stretch out")=== | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|15|19}}|''' والارض مددناها''' والقينا فيها رواسي وانبتنا فيها من كل شئ موزون''' | {{Quote|{{Quran|15|19}}|''' والارض مددناها''' والقينا فيها رواسي وانبتنا فيها من كل شئ موزون''' | ||
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مَدَدْ = madad = extend by drawing or pulling, stretch out, expand<ref>مد madda (مدد) - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume7/00000223.pdf Lane's Lexicon] page 2695</ref> | مَدَدْ = madad = extend by drawing or pulling, stretch out, expand<ref>مد madda (مدد) - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume7/00000223.pdf Lane's Lexicon] page 2695</ref> | ||
===Qur'an 20:53 - ''mahdan'' (bed)=== | ===Qur'an 20:53 - ''mahdan'' ("bed")=== | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|20|53}}| '''الذي جعل لكم الارض مهدا''' وسلك لكم فيها سبلا وانزل من السماء ماء فاخرجنا به ازواجا من نبات شتى | {{Quote|{{Quran|20|53}}| '''الذي جعل لكم الارض مهدا''' وسلك لكم فيها سبلا وانزل من السماء ماء فاخرجنا به ازواجا من نبات شتى | ||
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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> | ||
===Qur'an 43:10 - ''mahdan'' (bed)=== | ===Qur'an 43:10 - ''mahdan'' ("bed")=== | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|43|10}}| '''الذي جعل لكم الارض مهدا''' وجعل لكم فيها سبلا لعلكم تهتدون | {{Quote|{{Quran|43|10}}| '''الذي جعل لكم الارض مهدا''' وجعل لكم فيها سبلا لعلكم تهتدون | ||
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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> | ||
===Qur'an 50:7 - ''madad'' (expand, stretch out)=== | ===Qur'an 50:7 - ''madad'' ("expand", "stretch out")=== | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|50|7}}| '''والارض مددناها''' والقينا فيها رواسي وانبتنا فيها من كل زوج بهيج | {{Quote|{{Quran|50|7}}| '''والارض مددناها''' والقينا فيها رواسي وانبتنا فيها من كل زوج بهيج | ||
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مَدَدْ = madad = extend by drawing or pulling, stretch out, expand<ref>مد madda (مدد) - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume7/00000223.pdf Lane's Lexicon] page 2695</ref> | مَدَدْ = madad = extend by drawing or pulling, stretch out, expand<ref>مد madda (مدد) - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume7/00000223.pdf Lane's Lexicon] page 2695</ref> | ||
===Qur'an 51:48 - ''farasha'' (spread out) ''mahidoon'' (spreaders)=== | ===Qur'an 51:48 - ''farasha'' ("spread out") ''mahidoon'' ("spreaders")=== | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|51|48}}| والارض فرشناها فنعم الماهدون | {{Quote|{{Quran|51|48}}| والارض فرشناها فنعم الماهدون | ||
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And the earth have We laid out, how gracious is the Spreader (thereof)! }} | And the earth have We laid out, how gracious is the Spreader (thereof)! }} | ||
فَرَشَْ = farasha ([[Islamic Views on the Shape of the Earth#Qur. | فَرَشَْ = farasha ([[Islamic Views on the Shape of the Earth#Qur.27an_2:22_-_firashan_.28.22thing_spread_to_sit_or_lie_upon.22.29|verse 2:22]] uses this word in the noun form) = spread or expand, spread a bed or carpet<ref>فرش farasha - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000153.pdf Lane's Lexicon] page 2369</ref> | ||
الْمَهِدُونَ = mahidoon from مهد = make plain, even, smooth, spread a bed<ref>مهد mahada - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume7/00000267.pdf Lane's Lexicon] page 2739</ref> | الْمَهِدُونَ = mahidoon from مهد = make plain, even, smooth, spread a bed<ref>مهد mahada - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume7/00000267.pdf Lane's Lexicon] page 2739</ref> | ||
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}} | }} | ||
===Qur'an 71:19 - ''bisaatan'' (carpet)=== | ===Qur'an 71:19 - ''bisaatan'' ("carpet")=== | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|71|19}}| والله جعل لكم الارض بساطا | {{Quote|{{Quran|71|19}}| والله جعل لكم الارض بساطا | ||
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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: | ||
{{Quote|{{Al Tirmidhi||4|34|2369}}|...Then he came to hug the Prophet (s.a.w) and uttered that his father and mother should be ransomed for him. Then he went to grove of his '''and he spread out a mat for them''' (فَبَسَطَ لَهُمْ بِسَاطًا, ''fa-basata la-hum bisaatan'', literally "and-(he)spread for-them a-mat"). Then he went to a date-palm and returned with a cluster of dates which he put down....}} | {{Quote|{{Al Tirmidhi||4|34|2369}}|...Then he came to hug the Prophet (s.a.w) and uttered that his father and mother should be ransomed for him. Then he went to grove of his '''and he spread out a mat for them''' (فَبَسَطَ لَهُمْ بِسَاطًا, ''fa-basata la-hum bisaatan'', literally "and-(he)spread for-them a-mat"). Then he went to a date-palm and returned with a cluster of dates which he put down....}} | ||
===Qur'an 78:6-7 - ''mihadan'' (bed)=== | ===Qur'an 78:6-7 - ''mihadan'' ("bed")=== | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran-range|78|6|7}}|أَلَمْ نَجْعَلِ ٱلْأَرْضَ مِهَٰدًا وَٱلْجِبَالَ أَوْتَادًا | {{Quote|{{Quran-range|78|6|7}}|أَلَمْ نَجْعَلِ ٱلْأَرْضَ مِهَٰدًا وَٱلْجِبَالَ أَوْتَادًا | ||
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مِهَٰدًا (same as 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> | مِهَٰدًا (same as 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> | ||
===Qur'an 88:20 - ''sutihat'' (spread out flat)=== | ===Qur'an 88:20 - ''sutihat'' ("spread out flat")=== | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|88|20}}| وَإِلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ كَيْفَ سُطِحَتْ | {{Quote|{{Quran|88|20}}| وَإِلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ كَيْفَ سُطِحَتْ | ||
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سَطَّحَ = spread out or forth, expand | سَطَّحَ = spread out or forth, expand | ||
The word ''sataha'' is used to describe making the flat top or roof of a house or chamber and making a top surface flat. Words derived from the same root mean: the flat top surface or roof of a house or chamber, a bounded plane in geometry, a level place upon which dates can be spread, a rolling pin (which expands the dough), plane or flat.<ref>سطَح sataha - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume4/00000081.pdf Lanes Lexicon] page 1357</ref> Indeed, the modern Arabic phrase used to refer to the "flat earth" today is الأرض مسطحة (''al-ard musattaha'')<ref> | The word ''sataha'' is used to describe making the flat top or roof of a house or chamber and making a top surface flat. Words derived from the same root mean: the flat top surface or roof of a house or chamber, a bounded plane in geometry, a level place upon which dates can be spread, a rolling pin (which expands the dough), plane or flat.<ref>سطَح sataha - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume4/00000081.pdf Lanes Lexicon] page 1357</ref> Indeed, the modern Arabic phrase used to refer to the "flat earth" today is الأرض مسطحة (''al-ard musattaha'')<ref>{{Citation|title=Translation of "flat earth" in Arabic|url=https://context.reverso.net/translation/english-arabic/flat+earth|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20201214041522/https://context.reverso.net/translation/english-arabic/flat+earth|publisher=ReversoContext|access-date=December 13, 2020}}</ref>, the word ''musattaha'' is from the same root as the word ''sutihat''. | ||
In the tafsir Al-Jalalayn (from the 15th century) the word ''sutihat'' is used to explain that the Earth. The author of this section, al-Mahalli (d. 1460), maintains that the flat-earth is | In the tafsir Al-Jalalayn (from the 15th century) the word ''sutihat'' is used to explain that the Earth is flat. The author of this section, al-Mahalli (d. 1460), maintains that the flat-earth is the opinion of the scholars of the revealed law. | ||
{{Quote| | {{Quote|[https://tafsir.app/jalalayn/88/20 Tafsir al-Jalalayn 88:20]|And the earth how it was laid out flat? and thus infer from this the power of God exalted be He and His Oneness? The commencing with the mention of camels is because they are closer in contact with it the earth than any other animal. '''As for His words sutihat ‘laid out flat’ this on a literal reading suggests that the earth is flat which is the opinion of''' most [the word "most" is not included in the original Arabic: "وعليه علماء الشرع"; see citation for full text] '''of the scholars of the revealed Law and not a sphere as astronomers ahl al-hay’a have it''' even if this latter does not contradict any of the pillars of the Law. | ||
}} | }} | ||
===Qur'an 91:6 - ''taha'' (spread out)=== | ===Qur'an 91:6 - ''taha'' ("spread out")=== | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|91|6}}| والارض وماطحاها | {{Quote|{{Quran|91|6}}| والارض وماطحاها | ||
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{{Quote|{{Quran|17|78}}|Establish worship at the going down of the sun until the dark of night, and (the recital of) the Qur'an at dawn. Lo! (the recital of) the Qur'an at dawn is ever witnessed.}} | {{Quote|{{Quran|17|78}}|Establish worship at the going down of the sun until the dark of night, and (the recital of) the Qur'an at dawn. Lo! (the recital of) the Qur'an at dawn is ever witnessed.}} | ||
For instance, in Aberdeen, Scotland, the time between the night prayer (Isha) and the dawn prayer (Fajr) is around 4 and a half hours in June, such that a practicing Muslim would be required to regularly awaken around 3:20am for prayer. These matters are further complicated by the increasingly relevant and real cases of space travel, and even simply travel through the air aboard a plane, as it is not entirely clear whether someone flying in or opposite the direction of the sun would be required to repeat or skip certain prayers due to the rapidly changing time of day. By these appearances, the rituals and instructions set out in the Qur'an were intended for the limited audience and understanding of a 7th-century desert city. | For instance, in Aberdeen, Scotland, the time between the night prayer (Isha) and the dawn prayer (Fajr) is around 4 and a half hours in June, such that a practicing Muslim would be required to regularly awaken around 3:20am for prayer. These matters are further complicated by the increasingly relevant and real cases of space travel, and even simply travel through the air aboard a plane, as it is not entirely clear whether someone flying in or opposite the direction of the sun would be required to repeat or skip certain prayers due to the rapidly changing time of day. By these appearances, the rituals and instructions set out in the Qur'an were intended for the more limited audience and understanding of a 7th-century desert city. | ||
Before embarking on the 1985 Discovery space shuttle flight he had been chosen to serve on as payload engineer, Saudi prince Sultan bin Salman, the first Muslim in space, said the following memorable lines to Sheikh Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz, later the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia: | |||
{{Quote|{{citation| url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Inside_the_Kingdom/VEYsi7ZmtywC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PT99&printsec=frontcover| title=Inside the Kingdom: Kings, Clerics, Modernists, Terrorists, and the Struggle for Saudi Arabia| author=Robert Lacey| publisher=Penguin| date=2009| chapter=Chapter 10| ISBN=9781101140734}}|“‘Look,’” Sultan remembers telling him, “‘we’re going to be traveling at eighteen thousand miles per hour. I’m going to see sixteen sunrises and sunsets every twenty-four hours. So does that mean I’ll get Ramadan finished in two days?' The sheikh loved that one—he laughed out loud.” . . . “It would be no good trying to face Mecca,” remembers the prince. “By the time I’d lined up | |||
on it, it would be behind me.”}} | |||
===Qur'an 2:144 - praying towards the Ka'bah=== | ===Qur'an 2:144 - praying towards the Ka'bah=== | ||
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(He is) Lord of the two Easts and Lord of the two Wests}} | (He is) Lord of the two Easts and Lord of the two Wests}} | ||
Classical tafsirs unanimously<ref>https://tafsir.app/55/17</ref> understand this verse to refer to the two places where the sun rises on the summer and winter solstices (almashriqayni) and where it sets on those solstice days (almaghribayni), which also fits with the literal meanings of mashriq<ref>مَشْرِقُ mashriq - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume4/00000265.pdf Lane's Lexicon] page 1541</ref> and maghrib<ref>مَغْرِبُ maghrib - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000025.pdf Lane's Lexicon] page 2241</ref>. Similarly, verse 70:40 ({{Quran|70|40}}) was classically understood to refer to all the different places where the sun rises and sets between these ranges (almashariqi waalmagharibi).<ref>https://tafsir.app/70/40</ref> Taken literally, these descriptions can only concord with a flat Earth, as on a spherical Earth, the "two Easts" and "two Wests" are only relative and everchanging positions lacking any definite, physical nature - that is, there is no place or even direction on Earth that could be definitely and universally described as "one of the two Easts", for instance. | Classical tafsirs unanimously<ref>[https://tafsir.app/55/17 Tafsirs 55:17]</ref> understand this verse to refer to the two places where the sun rises on the summer and winter solstices (almashriqayni) and where it sets on those solstice days (almaghribayni), which also fits with the literal meanings of mashriq<ref>مَشْرِقُ mashriq - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume4/00000265.pdf Lane's Lexicon] page 1541</ref> and maghrib<ref>مَغْرِبُ maghrib - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000025.pdf Lane's Lexicon] page 2241</ref>. Similarly, verse 70:40 ({{Quran|70|40}}) was classically understood to refer to all the different places where the sun rises and sets between these ranges (almashariqi waalmagharibi).<ref>[https://tafsir.app/70/40 Tafsirs 70:40]</ref> Taken literally, these descriptions can only concord with a flat Earth, as on a spherical Earth, the "two Easts" and "two Wests" are only relative and everchanging positions lacking any definite, physical nature - that is, there is no place or even direction on Earth that could be definitely and universally described as "one of the two Easts", for instance. | ||
===Qur'an 2:22 - the heavens are a canopy / building=== | ===Qur'an 2:22 - the heavens are a canopy / building=== | ||
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Who has made the earth your couch, and the heavens your canopy; and sent down rain from the heavens; and brought forth therewith Fruits for your sustenance; then set not up rivals unto Allah when ye know (the truth). }} | Who has made the earth your couch, and the heavens your canopy; and sent down rain from the heavens; and brought forth therewith Fruits for your sustenance; then set not up rivals unto Allah when ye know (the truth). }} | ||
The word translated as canopy is binaa or binaan ( بِنَاء ). This word means "building"<ref>بِنَاء binaa - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume1/00000298.pdf Lane's Lexicon] page 261</ref>. Here, the heavens are described as a multi-story building over the earth. There are seven layers or stories to this building called the heavens. The heavens are built on a foundation called "the earth". The tafsir of Ibn Kathir, among others, elaborates this<ref>https://tafsir.app/2/22</ref>: | The word translated as canopy is binaa or binaan ( بِنَاء ). This word means "building"<ref>بِنَاء binaa - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume1/00000298.pdf Lane's Lexicon] page 261</ref>. Here, the heavens are described as a multi-story building over the earth. There are seven layers or stories to this building called the heavens. The heavens are built on a foundation called "the earth". The tafsir of Ibn Kathir, among others, elaborates this<ref>[https://tafsir.app/2/22 Tafsirs 2:22]</ref>: | ||
{{quote || These Ayat indicate that Allah started creation by creating earth, then He made heaven into seven heavens. This is how building usually starts, with the lower floors first and then the top floors, <ref>[http://tafsir.com/default.asp?sid=2&tid=1494 Tafsir 'ibn Kathir]</ref> }} | {{quote || These Ayat indicate that Allah started creation by creating earth, then He made heaven into seven heavens. This is how building usually starts, with the lower floors first and then the top floors, <ref>[http://tafsir.com/default.asp?sid=2&tid=1494 Tafsir 'ibn Kathir]</ref> }} | ||
==Flat Earth in the | ==Flat Earth in the hadiths== | ||
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. | ||
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I was sitting behind the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) who was riding a donkey while the sun was setting. He asked: Do you know where this sets? I replied: Allah and his Apostle know best. He said: It sets in a spring of warm water (Hamiyah).}} | I was sitting behind the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) who was riding a donkey while the sun was setting. He asked: Do you know where this sets? I replied: Allah and his Apostle know best. He said: It sets in a spring of warm water (Hamiyah).}} | ||
A similar, more elaborate hadith in Sahih Muslim includes "from its rising place" (min matli'iha مَطْلِعِهَا ) and "from the place of your setting" (min maghribiki مِنْ مَغْرِبِكِ). The sun is commanded to go to some particular place. The | A similar, more elaborate hadith in Sahih Muslim includes "from its rising place" (min matli'iha مَطْلِعِهَا ) and "from the place of your setting" (min maghribiki مِنْ مَغْرِبِكِ). The sun is commanded to go to some particular place. The words "matli'" and "maghrib", when juxtaposed, refer to a "rising place" and "setting place", while the words "mashriq" and "maghrib", when juxtaposed, refer more generically to "east" and "west", although some English translations attempt to obscure this detail. The use of the words "matli'" and "maghrib" in reference to specific locations as opposed to general directions is further confirmed by the usage of possessive pronouns which make these "the sun's matli'" and "the sun's maghrib" - if the narration were referring to the "east" and "west" generically, the hadith would not refer to "the sun's east" and "the sun's west". | ||
{{Quote|{{Muslim|1|297}}|It is narrated on the authority of Abu Dharr that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) one day said: | {{Quote|{{Muslim|1|297}}|It is narrated on the authority of Abu Dharr that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) one day said: | ||
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Allah descends every night to the lowest heaven '''when one-third of the first part of the night is over''' and says: I am the Lord; I am the Lord: who is there to supplicate Me so that I answer him? Who is there to beg of Me so that I grant him? Who is there to beg forgiveness from Me so that I forgive him? '''He continues like this till the day breaks.'''}} | Allah descends every night to the lowest heaven '''when one-third of the first part of the night is over''' and says: I am the Lord; I am the Lord: who is there to supplicate Me so that I answer him? Who is there to beg of Me so that I grant him? Who is there to beg forgiveness from Me so that I forgive him? '''He continues like this till the day breaks.'''}} | ||
==Flat Earth in | ==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}} | {{Main|Dhul-Qarnayn and the Sun Setting in a Muddy Spring}} | ||
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When the Almighty says, ‘Until he reached,’ He is addressing Zul-Qarnain. Concerning the verse, ‘the place of the setting of the sun he found it set in a spring of murky water,’ the people differed on how to pronounce that verse. Some of the people of Madina and Basra read it as ‘Hami’a spring,’ meaning that the sun sets in a spring that contains mud. While a group of the people of Medina and the majority of the people of Kufa read it as, ‘Hamiya spring’ meaning that the sun sets in a spring of warm water. The people of commentary have differed on the meaning of this depending on the way they read the verse.}} | When the Almighty says, ‘Until he reached,’ He is addressing Zul-Qarnain. Concerning the verse, ‘the place of the setting of the sun he found it set in a spring of murky water,’ the people differed on how to pronounce that verse. Some of the people of Madina and Basra read it as ‘Hami’a spring,’ meaning that the sun sets in a spring that contains mud. While a group of the people of Medina and the majority of the people of Kufa read it as, ‘Hamiya spring’ meaning that the sun sets in a spring of warm water. The people of commentary have differed on the meaning of this depending on the way they read the verse.}} | ||
So he says of the | So he says of the Basran reading of the Qur'an: | ||
{{Quote||بـمعنى: أنها تغرب فـي عين ماء ذات حمأة | {{Quote||بـمعنى: أنها تغرب فـي عين ماء ذات حمأة | ||
Meaning: that it sets in a spring of muddy water.}} | "Meaning: that it sets in a spring of muddy water."}} | ||
And the Kufan | And he says of the Kufan reading of the Qur'an: | ||
{{Quote||يعنـي أنها تغرب فـي عين ماء حارّة | {{Quote||يعنـي أنها تغرب فـي عين ماء حارّة | ||
It means that it sets in a spring of hot water}} | "It means that it sets in a spring of hot water"}} | ||
Early authorities such as Ibn 'Abbas explain this to mean that the sun sets in black mud: | Early authorities such as Ibn 'Abbas explain this to mean that the sun sets in black mud: | ||
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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. | ||
===The sky | ===The sky as a dome above the Earth=== | ||
Al-Tabari in his tafsir for {{Quran|2|22}} includes narrations from some of the earliest Muslims about the sky being a dome or ceiling over the Earth: | Al-Tabari in his tafsir for {{Quran|2|22}} includes narrations from some of the earliest Muslims about the sky being a dome or ceiling over 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 nun, records, along with many other classical tafsirs and sahih narrations<ref>[https://tafsir.app/68/1 Tafsirs 68:1]</ref><ref> | 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. | ||
==Classical perspectives== | ==Classical perspectives== | ||
Knowledge of the spherical nature of the Earth existed, at the very least, for nearly a millennium prior to the emergence of [[Islam]] in the 7th century. However, due to the non-uniform distribution of knowledge across the world and the pervasive assumption of a flat-Earth in Islamic scriptures, it is widely held that Muhammad and his [[companions]] were almost certainly ignorant of the matter. In the absence of explicit and authentic formulations from [[Muhammad]] and his companions on the topic, however, full confidence is impossible and modern inquirers are left to infer the cosmology of the earliest Muslims on the basis of indirect scriptural allusions. Such allusions are plenty and uniformly point to the assumption of a flat-Earth. | Knowledge of the spherical nature of the Earth existed, at the very least, for nearly a millennium prior to the emergence of [[Islam]] in the 7th century. However, due to the non-uniform distribution of knowledge across the world and the pervasive assumption of a flat-Earth in Islamic scriptures, it is widely held that Muhammad and his [[companions]] were almost certainly ignorant of the matter. In the absence of explicit and authentic formulations from [[Muhammad]] and his companions on the topic, however, full confidence is impossible and modern inquirers are left to infer the cosmology of the earliest Muslims on the basis of indirect scriptural allusions. Such allusions are plenty and uniformly point to the assumption of a flat-Earth. | ||
Militating against these appearances are statements from the works of ibn Taymiyyah and ibn Hazm, who are often cited as evidence<ref> | Militating against these appearances are statements from the works of ibn Taymiyyah and ibn Hazm, who are often cited as evidence<ref name="IslamQAarticle">{{Citation|publisher=Islam Question & Answer|editor=Muhammad Saalih al-Munajjid|publication-date=April 6, 2014|url=https://islamqa.info/en/answers/118698/consensus-that-the-earth-is-round|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112020029/https://islamqa.info/en/answers/118698/consensus-that-the-earth-is-round|chapter=Consensus that the Earth is round}}</ref> of an early Islamic consensus on a spherical earth. While the notion of a spherical earth had undoubtedly entered the Islamic milieu in the centuries following [[Muhammad's Death|Muhammad's death]] to a limited extent, claims of anything approaching an early consensus on a spherical earth are unfounded, and attempts to extend this to Muhammad's generation, entirely fanciful. | ||
===Al Mawardi (d. 1058)=== | ===Al Mawardi (d. 1058)=== | ||
Al-Mawardi (d. 450 / 1058 CE), in his commentary on {{Quran|13|3}}, | Al-Mawardi (d. 450 / 1058 CE), in his commentary on {{Quran|13|3}}, regards that verse as a counter-argument to those who claim the Earth is shaped like a ball.<ref>[https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=12&tSoraNo=13&tAyahNo=3&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1 altafsir.com] - Tafsir al-Mawardi for verse 13:3</ref> | ||
===Ibn Hazm (d. 1064)=== | ===Ibn Hazm (d. 1064)=== | ||
One of the three that ibn Taymiyyah cites, ibn Hazm (d. 1064) of Cordoba, asserts that while there is sound evidence that the Earth is round, common people and some non-leading Muslim scholars may think otherwise. Still, he maintains, none of the leading scholars of Islam deny that the Earth is round. | One of the three that ibn Taymiyyah cites, ibn Hazm (d. 1064) of Cordoba, asserts that while there is sound evidence that the Earth is round, common people and some non-leading Muslim scholars may think otherwise. Still, he maintains, none of the leading scholars of Islam deny that the Earth is round.<ref name="IslamQAarticle"></ref> | ||
This can be taken as evidence that it was not uncommon for uneducated lay persons living in Muslim lands in the 11th century to still believe the Earth to be flat. It is likewise clear from the arguments marshalled by Ibn Hazm that, by his time, members of the scholarly class had, in addition to their round-Earth-friendly interpretations of scripture, solid astronomical reasoning on which to base their belief in the round Earth. The same can be said about the other followers of Imam Ahmad cited by Ibn Taymiyyah | This can be taken as evidence that it was not uncommon for uneducated lay persons living in Muslim lands in the 11th century to still believe the Earth to be flat. It is likewise clear from the arguments marshalled by Ibn Hazm that, by his time, members of the scholarly class had, in addition to their round-Earth-friendly interpretations of scripture, solid astronomical reasoning on which to base their belief in the round Earth. The same can be said about the other followers of Imam Ahmad cited by Ibn Taymiyyah (see below). | ||
===Al-Qurtubi (d. 1273)=== | ===Al-Qurtubi (d. 1273)=== | ||
Al-Qurtubi (d. 671 AH / 1273 CE), another prominent exegete, | Al-Qurtubi (d. 671 AH / 1273 CE), another prominent exegete, in his commentary on {{Quran|13|3}} regards that verse as a counter-argument to those who claim the Earth is shaped like a ball.<ref>[https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=5&tSoraNo=13&tAyahNo=3&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1 altafsir.com] - Tafsir al-Qurtubi for verse 13:3</ref> | ||
===Ibn Taymiyyah (d.1328)=== | ===Ibn Taymiyyah (d.1328)=== | ||
In one oft-cited work, [[Ibn Taymiyyah]] (d. 728 AH / 1328 CE) references Abu’l-Husayn Ahmad ibn Ja‘far ibn al Munadi as saying that the scholars from the second level of the companions of Imam Ahmad (d. 241 AH / 855 CE) – i.e. the early Hanbalis – maintained there was consensus among the scholars that both heaven and Earth are balls, the latter consensus being based on astronomical reasoning. However, this evidence does not help determine earlier beliefs, since from the 8th century CE onwards, Muslims had access to Greek and Indian astronomical scholarship, which had already come to learn of the Earth's spherical form (see | In one oft-cited work<ref name="IslamQAarticle"></ref>, [[Ibn Taymiyyah]] (d. 728 AH / 1328 CE) references Abu’l-Husayn Ahmad ibn Ja‘far ibn al Munadi as saying that the scholars from the second level of the companions of Imam Ahmad (d. 241 AH / 855 CE) – i.e. the early Hanbalis – maintained there was consensus among the scholars that both heaven and Earth are balls, the latter consensus being based on astronomical reasoning. However, this evidence does not help determine earlier beliefs, since from the 8th century CE onwards, Muslims had access to Greek and Indian astronomical scholarship, which had already come to learn of the Earth's spherical form (see above). The term 'consensus' ([[Daleel#Ijma .28.D8.A5.D8.AC.D9.85.D8.A7.D8.B9.29|ijma]]) has been used in different ways by different scholars, but essentially means the agreement of Muslim scholars, or, ideally, also of the [[Salaf al-Salih (Pious Predecessors)|salaf]] (the first generations of Muslims)<ref>{{Citation|author=Hisham Muhammad Kabbani|url=http://www.sunnah.org/fiqh/ijma.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200223035158/http://www.sunnah.org/fiqh/ijma.htm|publisher=As-Sunna Foundation of America|chapter=Questions on ijma' (consensus), taqlid (following qualified opinion), and ikhtilaf al-fuqaha' (differences of the jurists)}}</ref>. In this case, it is used to claim the consensus of the scholars, not that of the salaf, and certainly not that of Muhammad and his companions. | ||
In another instance<ref>For the full chapter in Arabic see [https://ar.wikisource.org/wiki/مجموع_الفتاوى/المجلد_السادس/سئل_عن_رجلين_تنازعا_في_كيفية_السماء_والأرض Wikisource.org], and for someone's English translation for most of the relevant parts see [http://www.salafitalk.net/st/viewmessages.cfm?Forum=6&Topic=1859 Salafitalk forum]</ref>, ibn Taymiyyah, answering a question about the shape of the heavens and Earth, cites Abu’l-Husayn Ahmad ibn Ja‘far ibn al Munadi (a second time), Abu’l-Faraj ibn al-Jawzi (d. 597 AH / 1201 CE), and ibn Hazm (d. 456 AH / 1064 CE) as saying that there is a consensus that the heavens are round. In this instance, Ibn Taymiyyah makes no mention of the shape of the Earth. He further mentions that these authorities have provided evidence for the shape of the heavens from the Qur'an, sunnah, and narrations from the companions (sahabah) and second generation. | In another instance<ref>For the full chapter in Arabic see [https://ar.wikisource.org/wiki/مجموع_الفتاوى/المجلد_السادس/سئل_عن_رجلين_تنازعا_في_كيفية_السماء_والأرض Wikisource.org], and for someone's English translation for most of the relevant parts see [http://www.salafitalk.net/st/viewmessages.cfm?Forum=6&Topic=1859 Salafitalk forum]</ref>, ibn Taymiyyah, answering a question about the shape of the heavens and Earth, cites Abu’l-Husayn Ahmad ibn Ja‘far ibn al Munadi (a second time), Abu’l-Faraj ibn al-Jawzi (d. 597 AH / 1201 CE), and ibn Hazm (d. 456 AH / 1064 CE) as saying that there is a consensus that the heavens are round. In this instance, Ibn Taymiyyah makes no mention of the shape of the Earth. He further mentions that these authorities have provided evidence for the shape of the heavens from the Qur'an, sunnah, and narrations from the companions (sahabah) and second generation. | ||
==== | ====Evidence cited by Ibn Taymiyyah==== | ||
Ibn Taymiyyah proceeds to directly give this evidence for the round shapes of the heavens from the Qur'an, sunnah, and narrations from the early Muslims. Here, he argues that a round heavens and Earth is supported by what specialists on tafsir and language have said about certain words in the Qur'an. | Ibn Taymiyyah proceeds to directly give this evidence for the round shapes of the heavens from the Qur'an, sunnah, and narrations from the early Muslims. Here, he argues that a round heavens and Earth is supported by what specialists on tafsir and language have said about certain words in the Qur'an. | ||
The Qur'an verses cited by ibn Taymiyyah in support of the round shape of the heavens are {{Quran|21|33}}, {{Quran|36|40}}, {{Quran|39|5}}, and {{Quran|67|5}}). These evidences are, however, indirect, and rely on what Ibn Taymiyyah and those he references argue is implied by their extrapolations on the grammatical nuances of the verses discussed. The solitary piece of direct evidence that Ibn Taymiyyah brings from the companions about round shape of the heavens is a narration where ibn 'Abbas and others comment on {{Quran|36|40}}, which describes the heavenly bodies [[Geocentrism and the Quran|swimming in a falak]] (rounded course): | The Qur'an verses cited by ibn Taymiyyah in support of the round shape of the heavens are {{Quran|21|33}}, {{Quran|36|40}}, {{Quran|39|5}}, and {{Quran|67|5}}). These evidences are, however, indirect, and rely on what Ibn Taymiyyah and those he references argue is implied by their extrapolations on the grammatical nuances of the verses discussed. The solitary piece of direct evidence that Ibn Taymiyyah brings from the companions about the round shape of the heavens is a narration where ibn 'Abbas and others comment on {{Quran|36|40}}, which describes the heavenly bodies [[Geocentrism and the Quran|swimming in a falak]] (rounded course): | ||
{{Quote|1=[https://tafsir.app/ibn-katheer/36/40 Ibn Kathir 36:40]; see also: [https://tafsir.app/tabari/36/40 al-Tabari 36:40]|2=فِي فَلْكَة كَفَلْكَةِ الْمِغْزَل | {{Quote|1=[https://tafsir.app/ibn-katheer/36/40 Ibn Kathir 36:40]; see also: [https://tafsir.app/tabari/36/40 al-Tabari 36:40]|2=فِي فَلْكَة كَفَلْكَةِ الْمِغْزَل | ||
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in a whirl (whorl), like the whirl of a spindle}} | in a whirl (whorl), like the whirl of a spindle}} | ||
A whirl or whorl was a small wheel or hemisphere that was constructed around a spindle for the purpose of clothes-making<ref>الفَلَكُ falak - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000228.pdf Lane's Lexicon] Volume 1 page 2444. See also the [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000227.pdf previous page]. Lane says that the falak was generally imagined as a celestial hemisphere by the Arabs, but also that the Arab astronomers applied the term to seven spheres for the sun, moon, and the five visible planets, rotating about the celestial pole. This must reflect the post-Qur'anic influence of Ptolemy, whose astronomical work was translated for the Arabs from the 8th century onwards.</ref>. As the sun and moon appear to arc across the sky, even those who imagined the Earth was flat and the heavens a dome (or a sphere) would also imagine some path for the two celestial bodies to continue beneath the Earth upon setting so they could return the for the following day and night cycle. In his commentary on another, related verse ({{Quran|31|29}}), | A whirl or whorl was a small wheel or hemisphere that was constructed around a spindle for the purpose of clothes-making<ref>الفَلَكُ falak - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000228.pdf Lane's Lexicon] Volume 1 page 2444. See also the [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000227.pdf previous page]. Lane says that the falak was generally imagined as a celestial hemisphere by the Arabs, but also that the Arab astronomers applied the term to seven spheres for the sun, moon, and the five visible planets, rotating about the celestial pole. This must reflect the post-Qur'anic influence of Ptolemy, whose astronomical work was translated for the Arabs from the 8th century onwards.</ref>. As the sun and moon appear to arc across the sky, even those who imagined the Earth was flat and the heavens a dome (or a sphere) would also imagine some path for the two celestial bodies to continue beneath the Earth upon setting so they could return the for the following day and night cycle. In his commentary on another, related verse ({{Quran|31|29}}), Ibn Kathir quotes Ibn Abbas again, saying exactly this. The sun runs in its falak (فَلَكهَا) in the sky / heaven (السَّمَاء) during the day, and when it sets it runs during the night (بِاللَّيْلِ - omitted from the translation) in the very same "falak" beneath the Earth until it rises from its rising place (من مشرقها - translated below as "in the east").<ref>[https://tafsir.app/ibn-katheer/31/29 Tafsir Ibn Kathir 31:29]</ref> | ||
{{Quote|1=[http:// | {{Quote|1=[http://m.qtafsir.com/Surah-Luqman/The-Might-and-Power-of-Allah-A--- Tafsir ibn Kathir 31:29]|2=Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Ibn ’Abbas said, “The sun is like flowing water, running in its course in the sky during the day. When it sets, it travels in its course beneath the earth until it rises in the east.” He said, “The same is true in the case of the moon.” Its chain of narration is Sahih.}} | ||
Ibn Taymiyyah follows this with a hadith recorded in Sunan Abu Dawud which, unlike the above sahih hadith, is graded as "da'if" or weak (see: {{Abu Dawud||4726|darussalam}} and in which Muhammad forms a dome with his fingers above his head and proceeds to say that Allah's throne is above the heavens. Ibn Taymiyyah here interprets the narration to mean that the throne is dome shaped. | Ibn Taymiyyah follows this with a hadith recorded in Sunan Abu Dawud which, unlike the above sahih hadith, is graded as "da'if" or weak (see: {{Abu Dawud||4726|darussalam}} and in which Muhammad forms a dome with his fingers above his head and proceeds to say that Allah's throne is above the heavens. Ibn Taymiyyah here interprets the narration to mean that the throne is dome shaped. | ||
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{{Quote|{{Bukhari|9|93|519}}|The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Whoever believes in Allah and His Apostle offers prayers perfectly and fasts (the month of) Ramadan then it is incumbent upon Allah to admit him into Paradise, whether he emigrates for Allah's cause or stays in the land where he was born." They (the companions of the Prophet) said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! Should we not inform the people of that?" He said, "There are one-hundred degrees in Paradise which Allah has prepared for those who carry on Jihad in His Cause. The distance between every two degrees is like the distance between the sky and the Earth, so if you ask Allah for anything, ask Him for the Firdaus, for <b>it is the last part of Paradise ["فَإِنَّهُ أَوْسَطُ الْجَنَّةِ", "أَوْسَطُ" is better translated as "midmost" or "medial"<ref>[https://ejtaal.net/aa/#ll=3039,hw4=1262,ls=74,la=h4830,sg=h1231,ha=h880,br=h1049,pr=h168,aan=h720,mgf=h856,vi=h385,kz=h2934,mr=h796,mn=h1557,uqw=h1850,umr=h1171,ums=h987,umj=h941,ulq=h1799,uqa=h450,uqq=h429,bdw=h954,amr=h694,asb=h1077,auh=h1747,dhq=h609,mht=h973,msb=h259,tla=h98,amj=h920,ens=h1,mis=h1 Lane's Lexicon]</ref>]</b> and the highest part of Paradise, and at its top there is the Throne of Beneficent, and from it gush forth the rivers of Paradise."}} | {{Quote|{{Bukhari|9|93|519}}|The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Whoever believes in Allah and His Apostle offers prayers perfectly and fasts (the month of) Ramadan then it is incumbent upon Allah to admit him into Paradise, whether he emigrates for Allah's cause or stays in the land where he was born." They (the companions of the Prophet) said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! Should we not inform the people of that?" He said, "There are one-hundred degrees in Paradise which Allah has prepared for those who carry on Jihad in His Cause. The distance between every two degrees is like the distance between the sky and the Earth, so if you ask Allah for anything, ask Him for the Firdaus, for <b>it is the last part of Paradise ["فَإِنَّهُ أَوْسَطُ الْجَنَّةِ", "أَوْسَطُ" is better translated as "midmost" or "medial"<ref>[https://ejtaal.net/aa/#ll=3039,hw4=1262,ls=74,la=h4830,sg=h1231,ha=h880,br=h1049,pr=h168,aan=h720,mgf=h856,vi=h385,kz=h2934,mr=h796,mn=h1557,uqw=h1850,umr=h1171,ums=h987,umj=h941,ulq=h1799,uqa=h450,uqq=h429,bdw=h954,amr=h694,asb=h1077,auh=h1747,dhq=h609,mht=h973,msb=h259,tla=h98,amj=h920,ens=h1,mis=h1 Lane's Lexicon]</ref>]</b> and the highest part of Paradise, and at its top there is the Throne of Beneficent, and from it gush forth the rivers of Paradise."}} | ||
Given that Ibn Taymiyyah cited the above-mentioned scholars, the narrations he uses to argue for the spherical shape of the heavens (when asked about the shape of both the heavens and Earth), were most probably the best available. Stronger and clearer evidence might reasonably be expected if a consensus for the round shape of the Earth (in addition to that of the heavens) went back to Muhammad and the companions. | |||
===Ibn Kathir (d. 1373)=== | ===Ibn Kathir (d. 1373)=== | ||
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{{Quote|1=[http://main.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=74&tSoraNo=88&tAyahNo=20&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2 Tafsir al-Jalalayn for Qur'an 88:20]|2=As for His words sutihat ‘laid out flat’ this on a literal reading suggests that the earth is flat which is the opinion of most of the scholars of the revealed Law and not a sphere as astronomers (ahl al-hay’a) have it even if this latter does not contradict any of the pillars of the Law.}} | {{Quote|1=[http://main.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=74&tSoraNo=88&tAyahNo=20&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2 Tafsir al-Jalalayn for Qur'an 88:20]|2=As for His words sutihat ‘laid out flat’ this on a literal reading suggests that the earth is flat which is the opinion of most of the scholars of the revealed Law and not a sphere as astronomers (ahl al-hay’a) have it even if this latter does not contradict any of the pillars of the Law.}} | ||
The word "sutihat" in {{Quran|88|20}} [[Flat Earth and the Quran#Qur. | The word "sutihat" in {{Quran|88|20}} [[Flat Earth and the Quran#Qur.27an_88:20_-_sutihat_.28.22spread_out_flat.22.29|means "laid out flat"]]. | ||
==Modern perspectives== | ==Modern perspectives and criticisms thereof== | ||
===Qur'an 22:61 | ===Qur'an 22:61 and 31:29 - night and day merging=== | ||
{{Main|Geocentrism and the | {{Main|Geocentrism and the Quran}}{{Quote|{{Quran|22|61}}| ذلك بان الله يولج الليل في النهار ويولج النهار في الليل وان الله سميع بصير | ||
Thalika bi-anna Allaha yooliju allayla fee alnnahari wayooliju alnnahara fee allayli waanna Allaha sameeAAun baseerun | Thalika bi-anna Allaha yooliju allayla fee alnnahari wayooliju alnnahara fee allayli waanna Allaha sameeAAun baseerun | ||
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Grade: Sahih (Darussalam)}} | Grade: Sahih (Darussalam)}} | ||
==== 39:5 ==== | ====39:5 - night and day overlapping==== | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|39|5}}| خلق السماوات والارض بالحق يكور الليل على النهار ويكور النهار على الليل وسخر الشمس والقمر كل يجري لاجل مسمى الا هو العزيز الغفار | {{Quote|{{Quran|39|5}}| خلق السماوات والارض بالحق يكور الليل على النهار ويكور النهار على الليل وسخر الشمس والقمر كل يجري لاجل مسمى الا هو العزيز الغفار | ||
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He created the heavens and the earth in true (proportions): He makes the Night overlap the Day, and the Day overlap the Night: He has subjected the sun and the moon (to His law): Each one follows a course for a time appointed. Is not He the Exalted in Power - He Who forgives again and again?}} | He created the heavens and the earth in true (proportions): He makes the Night overlap the Day, and the Day overlap the Night: He has subjected the sun and the moon (to His law): Each one follows a course for a time appointed. Is not He the Exalted in Power - He Who forgives again and again?}} | ||
In verse 39:5 the word يُكَوِّرُ yukawwiru (he overlaps / winds around<ref>كور kawara - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume7/00000165.pdf Lane's Lexicon] page 2637</ref>) is used, and the verb كور was used for, among other things, wrapping a turban around a head. Today, it is also sometimes argued that this wrapping connotation of the word comports with a spherical conception of the Earth. Additionally, {{Quran|21|33}}, which mentions the "falak" or "rounded course" (now popularly translated as "orbit") of the sun and the moon seems to confirm this wrapping-like pattern of movement. | In the very similar verse 39:5 the word يُكَوِّرُ yukawwiru (he overlaps / winds around<ref>كور kawara - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume7/00000165.pdf Lane's Lexicon] page 2637</ref>) is used, and the verb كور was used for, among other things, wrapping a turban around a head. Today, it is also sometimes argued that this wrapping connotation of the word comports with a spherical conception of the Earth. Additionally, {{Quran|21|33}}, which mentions the "falak" or "rounded course" (now popularly translated as "orbit") of the sun and the moon seems to confirm this wrapping-like pattern of movement. | ||
While the words used in 39:5 and 21:33 do not violate a spherical model of the Earth, they are also equally comfortable with a flat model of the Earth. Since all positive evidence in the Islamic scriptures demonstrates that the earliest Muslims though the Earth to be flat, and since these two verses do not contradict that worldview, the simplest explanation of these verses is that they describe the motions of the sun and moon around what was thought to be a flat Earth, even if the verses don't clash in any obvious ways with modern cosmology. | While the words used in 39:5 and 21:33 do not violate a spherical model of the Earth, they are also equally comfortable with a flat model of the Earth. Since all positive evidence in the Islamic scriptures demonstrates that the earliest Muslims though the Earth to be flat, and since these two verses do not contradict that worldview, the simplest explanation of these verses is that they describe the motions of the night, day, sun and moon around what was thought to be a flat Earth, even if the verses don't clash in any obvious ways with modern cosmology. Verse 39:5 specifically describes the night and the day as overlapping (or wrapping) each other, with no mention of the Earth, its shape or its rotation. In any case, these two verses are largely irrelevant to the question of the Earth's shape, as it is possible for one to "wrap around" and "orbit" an object of any shape, whether it be flat, spherical, cylindrical, or cubical. | ||
===Qur'an 79:30 - daha (spread out | ===Qur'an 79:30 - ''daha'' ("spread out", said to mean "ostrich egg")=== | ||
Verse 79:30 uses the word دَحَىٰهَآ (dahaha), commonly translated as ‘He spread it’ or ‘He stretched it’, to describe to describe a step in the creation of the Earth. Today, it is sometimes argued that word means something to the effect of "he made it to be like an ostrich egg", the implication being that because an ostrich egg is both spherical and slightly oval-shaped, it is comparable to the shape of the Earth. Such a translation and interpretation is, however, not backed by any dictionary of classical Arabic and features in no authoritative translation or tafsir of the Qur'an. | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|79|30}}| '''Arabic:''' والارض بعد ذلك دحاها | {{Quote|{{Quran|79|30}}| '''Arabic:''' والارض بعد ذلك دحاها | ||
'''Transliteration:''' ''Waal-arda baAAda thalika dahaha'' | '''Transliteration:''' ''Waal-arda baAAda thalika dahaha'' | ||
'''Literal:''' And the earth/Planet Earth after that He stretched/spread it. <ref name="ia-79-30">[http://islamawakened.org/Quran/3/default.htm#003_054 Islam Awakened - Quran 79:30]</ref> | '''Literal:''' And the earth/Planet Earth after that He stretched/spread it.<ref name="ia-79-30">[http://islamawakened.org/Quran/3/default.htm#003_054 Islam Awakened - Quran 79:30]</ref> | ||
'''Word by word:''' ''Waal-arda'' وَٱلْأَرْضَ (''wa'' - وَ - and; ''al'' - ٱلْ - the; ''ard'' - أَرْضَ - Earth, feminine in Arabic) ''baAAda'' بَعْدَ (after) ''thalika'' ذَٰلِكَ (that) ''dahaha'' دَحَىٰهَآ (''dahaa'' - دَحَىٰ - [he] spread, verb; ''ha'' - هَآ - her or "it" in the English translation, referring to the Earth)}}The هَا (''-ha'') suffix pronoun meaning literally "her" is also repeated in the surrounding verses as a literary device, all referring the different acts of creation Allah is imparting upon the Earth and "the heaven":{{Quote|{{Quran|79|27-32}}|أَأَنْتُمْ أَشَدُّ خَلْقًا أَمِ السَّمَاءُ ۚ بَنَاهَا 79:27 - Aantum ashaddu khalqan ami alssamao bana'''ha''' - Are ye the harder to create, or is the heaven that He built? | |||
79: | 79:28 رَفَعَ سَمْكَهَا فَسَوَّاهَا - RafaAAa samka'''ha''' fasawwa'''ha''' - He raised the height thereof and ordered it; | ||
79: | 79:29 وَأَغْطَشَ لَيْلَهَا وَأَخْرَجَ ضُحَاهَا - Waaghtasha layla'''ha''' waakhraja duha'''ha''' - And He made dark the night thereof, and He brought forth the morn thereof. | ||
79: | 79:30 وَالْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ ذَٰلِكَ دَحَاهَا - Waalarda baAAda thalika daha'''ha''' - And after that He spread the earth, | ||
79: | 79:31 أَخْرَجَ مِنْهَا مَاءَهَا وَمَرْعَاهَا - Akhraja min'''ha''' maa'''ha''' wamarAAa'''ha''' - And produced therefrom the water thereof and the pasture thereof, | ||
79:32 وَالْجِبَالَ أَرْسَاهَا - Waaljibala arsa'''ha''' - And He made fast the hills,}} | |||
Authoritative translations of the Qur'an do not read anything to the effect of an ostrich egg into the verse (see: {{Quran|79|30}}):{{quote || | |||
'''Yusuf Ali:''' And the earth, moreover, hath He extended (to a wide expanse);}} | |||
{{quote || | {{quote || | ||
''' | '''Pickthal:''' And after that He spread the earth,}} | ||
{{quote || | {{quote || | ||
''' | '''Arberry:''' and the earth-after that He spread it out,}} | ||
{{quote || | {{quote || | ||
'''Shakir:''' And the earth, He expanded it after that.}}Some less reliable translations, such as the one rendered by the controversial [[Rashad Khalifa]] and the notoriously edited and confessedly non-literal QXP translation (indeed, the QXP translation is better described as a tafsir rather than a translation of the Qur'an, comparable in style to Tafsir al-Jalalayn)<ref>{{citation|title=The Qur'an As It Explains Itself|url=https://archive.org/details/qxpvi-english/page/n5/mode/2up|first=Shabbir|last=Ahmed|publisher=Lighthouse|publication-date=2003|page=12|isbn=978-0974787985|chapter=Introduction}}{{Quote||QXP is a Tasreef-based understanding of the Qur’an that is easy enough even for teenagers. <b>It is not a literal translation</b>.<br> | |||
'''Shakir:''' And the earth, He expanded it after that. | Tasreef is the Qur’anic process where verses in one part of the Qur’an explain or provide deeper understanding of the verses in other parts of the Book. Concisely, it means looking at the Qur’an in its Big Picture. Thus the Qur’an lets us look at its terms and concepts from very diverse vantage points. This has helped me explain every verse from within the Qur’an itself.<br> | ||
{{ | |||
{{ | |||
<b>The reader should expect to find “The Qur’an As It Explains Itself” different from the prevalent translations and explanations because of the use of Tasreef and the Quraish dialect, and for rejecting extrinsic sources.</b>}}</ref> have interpolated the ostrich-egg theory into the verse: | |||
{{quote || | {{quote || | ||
'''Khalifa:''' He made the earth egg-shaped. | '''Khalifa:''' He made the earth egg-shaped.}} | ||
{{quote || | {{quote || | ||
'''QXP:''' And after that He made the earth shoot out from the Cosmic Nebula and made it spread out egg-shaped. ('Dahaha' entails all the meanings rendered (21:30), (41:11)). | '''QXP:''' And after that He made the earth shoot out from the Cosmic Nebula and made it spread out egg-shaped. ('Dahaha' entails all the meanings rendered (21:30), (41:11)).}} | ||
==== | ====''Daha'' as derived from ''duhiya'' and related to ''madaahi''==== | ||
The specific argument often advanced today is that that word ''daha'' may derive from the word ''duhiya'', which is said to mean "ostrich egg".<ref>{{Citation|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090621012849/http://www.quranicteachings.co.uk/earth-shape.htm|publisher=The Quranic Teachings|chapter=Quran and the Shape of the Earth}})</ref> The idea here is that, if these words derive from the same root, they both carry the same "signification" of oval-shaped roundness, and, since the Earth is not perfectly spherical but rather slightly oval, this common "signification" serves as evidence that Qur'anic cosmology is essentially modern. Further buttressing this claim, it is argued, are: another sense of the word ''daha'' (which means "he threw" or "he cast", referring particularly to the casting of a ''madaahi'' into its ''udhiyah'')<ref>{{Citation|title=Lane's Lexicon|chapter=دحا|page=863|url=http://ejtaal.net/aa/#hw4=h327,ll=900,ls=h5,la=h1332,sg=h374,ha=h210,br=h324,pr=h55,aan=h184,mgf=h295,vi=h142,kz=h683,mr=h221,mn=h389,uqw=h506,umr=h356,ums=h288,umj=h236,ulq=h695,uqa=h130,uqq=h101,bdw=h297,amr=h219,asb=h279,auh=h557,dhq=h174,mht=h275,msb=h79,tla=h48,amj=h228,ens=h1,mis=h633}} | |||
{{ | |||
See the entry on the same page for مدحاة for the specific connotation and usage of the word in this sense</ref>, the word ''madaahi'' (which refers to a small stone or similar object in the shape of a "small round cake of bread")<ref name=":0">The word مداحي is listed under the entry for مدحاة | |||
{{Citation|title=Lane's Lexicon|chapter=مدحاة|page=863|url=http://ejtaal.net/aa/#hw4=h328,ll=900,ls=h5,la=h1338,sg=h375,ha=h210,br=h325,pr=h55,aan=h185,mgf=h296,vi=h142,kz=h686,mr=h221,mn=h391,uqw=h509,umr=h357,ums=h289,umj=h236,ulq=h696,uqa=h130,uqq=h102,bdw=h298,amr=h220,asb=h280,auh=h558,dhq=h175,mht=h276,msb=h79,tla=h48,amj=h229,ens=h1,mis=h633}}</ref>, and ''udhiyah'' (which refers to a small hole, roughly the size of the ''madaahi'', into which the ''madaahi'' is to be cast as part of a game)<ref name=":0" />. All these terms carrying a similar "signification" of roundness, it is thus concluded, make it so that the creation of the Earth described in 79:30 implies roundness. | |||
While persons are entitled to their own religious interpretations of scripture, such a reading is bereft of any linguistic basis or traditional and scriptural precedent. | |||
=====Definitions===== | |||
Almost every word in Arabic is formed of a root consisting of three letters to which have a variety of vowels, prefixes, and suffixes have been added. For instance, "ka-ta-ba" (to write) is the root for words including ''kitab'' (book), ''maktaba'' (library), ''katib'' (author), and ''maktoob'' (written). | |||
''Duhiya'' is derived from "da-ha-wa" (دحو)<ref name="LanesLexiconDaHaWa">دحو dahawa - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume3/00000023.pdf Lane's Lexicon] page 857</ref>, just like the verb ''dahaha'' (دَحَىٰهَآ) in 79:30 (the final -ha being a pronoun suffix meaning "it"). The word ''Duhiya'', while sometimes used in contexts relating to ostrich eggs, is not attested to actually mean "ostrich egg" in any dictionary. {{quote |[http://ejtaal.net/aa/#hw4=h328,ll=h900,ls=h5,la=1338,sg=h375,ha=h210,br=h325,pr=h55,aan=h185,mgf=h296,vi=h142,kz=h686,mr=h221,mn=h391,uqw=h509,umr=h357,ums=h289,umj=h236,ulq=h696,uqa=h130,uqq=h102,bdw=h298,amr=h220,asb=h280,auh=h558,dhq=h175,mht=h276,msb=h79,tla=h48,amj=h229,ens=h1,mis=h633 Lisan al-Arab الأُدْحِيُّ]| الأُدْحِيُّ و الإدْحِيُّ و الأُدْحِيَّة و الإدْحِيَّة و الأُدْحُوّة مَبِيض النعام في الرمل , وزنه أُفْعُول من ذلك , لأَن النعامة تَدْحُوه برِجْلها ثم تَبِيض فيه وليس للنعام عُشٌّ . و مَدْحَى النعام : موضع بيضها , و أُدْحِيُّها موضعها الذي تُفَرِّخ فيه.ِ<br> | |||
'''Translation:''' Al-udhy, Al-idhy, Al-udhiyya, Al-idhiyya, Al-udhuwwa: The place in sand where an ostrich lays its egg. This is because the ostrich spreads out (تَدْحُوه, tadhooh) the earth with its feet then lays its eggs there, an ostrich doesn't have a nest.}}{{quote |[http://ejtaal.net/aa/#hw4=h328,ll=h900,ls=h5,la=1338,sg=h375,ha=h210,br=h325,pr=h55,aan=h185,mgf=h296,vi=h142,kz=h686,mr=h221,mn=h391,uqw=h509,umr=h357,ums=h289,umj=h236,ulq=h696,uqa=h130,uqq=h102,bdw=h298,amr=h220,asb=h280,auh=h558,dhq=h175,mht=h276,msb=h79,tla=h48,amj=h229,ens=h1,mis=h633 Lisan al-Arab دحا]| الدَّحْوُ البَسْطُ . دَحَا الأَرضَ يَدْحُوها دَحْواً بَسَطَها . وقال الفراء في قوله والأَرض بعد ذلك دَحاها قال : بَسَطَها ; قال شمر : وأَنشدتني أَعرابية : الحمدُ لله الذي أَطاقَا | |||
{{quote || الأُدْحِيُّ و الإدْحِيُّ و الأُدْحِيَّة و الإدْحِيَّة و الأُدْحُوّة مَبِيض النعام في الرمل , وزنه أُفْعُول من ذلك , لأَن النعامة تَدْحُوه برِجْلها ثم تَبِيض فيه وليس للنعام عُشٌّ . و مَدْحَى النعام : موضع بيضها , و أُدْحِيُّها موضعها الذي تُفَرِّخ فيه .ِ | |||
Translation: Al-udhy, Al-idhy, Al-udhiyya, Al-idhiyya, Al-udhuwwa:The place in sand where an ostrich lays its egg. | |||
{{quote || الدَّحْوُ البَسْطُ . دَحَا الأَرضَ يَدْحُوها دَحْواً بَسَطَها . وقال الفراء في قوله والأَرض بعد ذلك دَحاها قال : بَسَطَها ; قال شمر : وأَنشدتني أَعرابية : الحمدُ لله الذي أَطاقَا | |||
بَنَى السماءَ فَوْقَنا طِباقَا | بَنَى السماءَ فَوْقَنا طِباقَا | ||
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على الماء , أَرْسَى عليها الجِبالا | على الماء , أَرْسَى عليها الجِبالا | ||
و دَحَيْتُ الشيءَ أَدْحاهُ دَحْياً بَسَطْته , لغة في دَحَوْتُه ; حكاها اللحياني . وفي حديث عليّ وصلاتهِ , اللهم دَاحِيَ المَدْحُوَّاتِ يعني باسِطَ الأَرَضِينَ ومُوَسِّعَها , ويروى ; دَاحِيَ المَدْحِيَّاتِ . و الدَّحْوُ البَسْطُ . يقال : دَحَا يَدْحُو و يَدْحَى أَي بَسَطَ ووسع | و دَحَيْتُ الشيءَ أَدْحاهُ دَحْياً بَسَطْته , لغة في دَحَوْتُه ; حكاها اللحياني . وفي حديث عليّ وصلاتهِ , اللهم دَاحِيَ المَدْحُوَّاتِ يعني باسِطَ الأَرَضِينَ ومُوَسِّعَها , ويروى ; دَاحِيَ المَدْحِيَّاتِ . و الدَّحْوُ البَسْطُ . يقال : دَحَا يَدْحُو و يَدْحَى أَي بَسَطَ ووسع <br> | ||
Translation: To daha the earth: | '''Translation:''' To daha the earth: to spread it out.}} | ||
The entry in Lisan al-Arab contains Arabic poems whose usage of the word ''daha'' serves as proof for the definition provided by the dictionary{{quote |al-Qamoos al-Muheet دَحَا| دَحَا: الله الأرضَ (يَدْحُوهَا وَيَدْحَاهَا دَحْواً) بَسَطَهة<br> | |||
'''Translation:''' Allah daha the Earth: He spread it out.}} | |||
{{quote |al-Waseet دَحَا| دَحَا الشيءَ: بسطه ووسعه. يقال: دحا اللهُ الأَرض <br> | |||
{{quote || | '''Translation:''' To daha something: to spread it out. It is said: Allah daha the Earth.}} | ||
(يَدْحُوهَا وَيَدْحَاهَا دَحْواً) | {{quote |1=[http://ejtaal.net/aa/#hw4=h328,ll=900,ls=h5,la=h1338,sg=h375,ha=h210,br=h325,pr=h55,aan=h185,mgf=h296,vi=h142,kz=h686,mr=h221,mn=h391,uqw=h509,umr=h357,ums=h289,umj=h236,ulq=h696,uqa=h130,uqq=h102,bdw=h298,amr=h220,asb=h280,auh=h558,dhq=h175,mht=h276,msb=h79,tla=h48,amj=h229,ens=h1,mis=h633 Lane's Lexicon دحو]|2=Dahw (دحو) | ||
Translation: Allah daha the Earth: He spread it out. | |||
{{quote || دَحَا الشيءَ: بسطه ووسعه. يقال: دحا اللهُ الأَرض | |||
Translation: To daha something: | |||
{{quote | | |||
1. Daha (., MM_b;,, 1,) first pers. Dahouth aor, yad'hoo inf. N. dahoo '''He spread; spread out, or forth; expanded; or extended;''' (S, Msb, K; ) a thing; (K; ) and, when said of God, the earth; (Fr, S, Mb, 1V; ) As also daha first pers. dahaithu (K in art. daha) aor. yaad’heae inf. n. dahae: (Msb, and K in art. dahae : ) or '''He (God) made the earth wide, or ample; as explained by an Arab woman of the desert to Sh: (TA : ) also, said of an ostrich, (S, TA,) he expanded, and made wide, (TA,) with his foot, or leg, the place where he was about to deposit his eggs: (S, TA : ) and, said of a man, he spread, &c., and made plain, even, or smooth. (TA in art. dhaha)''' . . .<br> | |||
Ud'hiyy (S.K) (Originally od'huwa of the measure Uf’ool from dhahaithu but said in the S to be of that measure from dhahouthu the dial. var. dhahaithu not being there mentioned,) and and id’hiyy and Ud’hiyyath and ud’huwwath (K) '''The place of the laying''' of eggs, (S, K,) and of the hatching thereof, (S,) , of the ostrich, (S. K. ) '''in the sand; (K; ) because that bird expands it, and makes it wide''', with its foot, or leg; for the ostrich has no (nest such as is termed) Ush (S: ) pl. Adahin (TA in the present art.) and Adahee (i. e., if not a mistranscription, Adahiyyu agreeably with the sing.): (TA in art. dhaha and mudhhiyya (likewise) signifies '''the place of the eggs of the ostrich. (S.)''' . . .}}The modern usage of words derived from the same root as ''daha'', as found in Hans Wehr, is also strongly indicative of the word's original meaning. | |||
{{Quote|1=[http://ejtaal.net/aa/#hw4=328,ll=h900,ls=h5,la=h1338,sg=h375,ha=h210,br=h325,pr=h55,aan=h185,mgf=h296,vi=h142,kz=h686,mr=h221,mn=h391,uqw=h509,umr=h357,ums=h289,umj=h236,ulq=h696,uqa=h130,uqq=h102,bdw=h298,amr=h220,asb=h280,auh=h558,dhq=h175,mht=h276,msb=h79,tla=h48,amj=h229,ens=h1,mis=h633 Hans Wehr دحو]|2=(da-ha-wa) ''daha'' daha: u (dahw) to spread out, flatten, level, unroll | |||
''udhiya'' udhiya: ostrich nest in the ground | |||
:''midha'' midhan: pl. ''midaah'' madahin roller, steam roller}} | |||
======Tradition and scripture====== | |||
Tafsirs explain that this verse describes the Earth to be flat. Two clear and brief examples of this are found in Tafsir al-Jalalayn and Tanwir al-Miqbas.{{Quote|[https://tafsir.app/jalalayn/79/30 Tafsir al-Jalalayn 79:30]|and after that He spread out the earth '''He made it flat''' for it had been created before the heaven but without having been spread out; | |||
}}{{Quote|[http://altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=73&tSoraNo=79&tAyahNo=30&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2 Tanwir Al-Miqbas 79:30]| | |||
==== | |||
{{Quote| | |||
}} | |||
{{Quote| | |||
(And after that He spread the earth) even then '''He spread it on the water'''; it is also said: 2,000 years after that He spread it on the water, | (And after that He spread the earth) even then '''He spread it on the water'''; it is also said: 2,000 years after that He spread it on the water, | ||
}} | }} | ||
There is no mention of the Earth being shaped like an ostrich egg in scripture, however the word "ostrich egg" does appear in a hadith in Ibn Majah, and nothing approximating the words ''dahaha'' or ''duhiya'' is used. Instead, an ostrich egg is referred to as بَيْضِ النَّعَامِ (''bayd al-ni'aam''), the first word (''bayd'') meaning "egg" and the second word (''al-ni'aam'') meaning "the ostrich"; the positioning and grammatical qualities of these two words render the phrase possessive, bringing about the meaning "egg of the ostrich" or, more colloquially, "an ostrich egg". | |||
There is no | {{Quote|{{Ibn Majah||4|25|3086}}; See more examples [https://sunnah.com/search?q=ostrich+egg here (with translations)] and [https://sunnah.one/?s=%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%B6+%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%85 here (Arabic only)]| | ||
{{Quote|{{Ibn Majah||4|25|3086}} | |||
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ مُوسَى الْقَطَّانُ الْوَاسِطِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا يَزِيدُ بْنُ مَوْهَبٍ، حَدَّثَنَا مَرْوَانُ بْنُ مُعَاوِيَةَ الْفَزَارِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ عَبْدِ الْعَزِيزِ، حَدَّثَنَا حُسَيْنٌ الْمُعَلِّمُ، عَنْ أَبِي الْمُهَزِّمِ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ قَالَ فِي بَيْضِ النَّعَامِ يُصِيبُهُ الْمُحْرِمُ " ثَمَنُهُ " | حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ مُوسَى الْقَطَّانُ الْوَاسِطِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا يَزِيدُ بْنُ مَوْهَبٍ، حَدَّثَنَا مَرْوَانُ بْنُ مُعَاوِيَةَ الْفَزَارِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ عَبْدِ الْعَزِيزِ، حَدَّثَنَا حُسَيْنٌ الْمُعَلِّمُ، عَنْ أَبِي الْمُهَزِّمِ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ قَالَ فِي بَيْضِ النَّعَامِ يُصِيبُهُ الْمُحْرِمُ " ثَمَنُهُ " | ||
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“Its cost (must be paid as a penalty).” | “Its cost (must be paid as a penalty).” | ||
}} | }} | ||
[[File:oblate-prolate-ostrich.jpg|An oblate spheroid (top left), a prolate spheroid (bottom left), and an ostrich egg, which is a prolate spheroid, no matter its orientation. Spheres, oblate spheroids, and prolate spheroids are all fundamentally different shapes defined by different mathematical equations.|alt=|thumb]] | |||
=====Problems with the "signification" of roundness===== | |||
In addition to the disagreement of definitions available in dictionaries, translations, and tafsirs with the definitions required to justify this modern reinterpretation, neither of the connections attempted ("ostrich egg" and ''madaahi'') accurately denote or imply the shape of the 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 (sphere-like shapes with flattened poles) than they are to spheres or the Earth. | |||
On the other hand, an ostrich egg, being a prolate spheroid (a sphere-like shape with pointed poles) like most eggs, is also unlike the shape of the Earth, which is only very slightly oblate (the Earth is just 0.3% wider than it is tall).<ref>{{Citation|title=Shape and Size of the Earth|publisher=University of Hawaii Center for Aerospace Education|publication-date=2010|author=Joseph Ciotti|url=http://aerospace.wcc.hawaii.edu/Curriculum_Voyagers/shape.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20191031005204/http://aerospace.wcc.hawaii.edu/Curriculum_Voyagers/shape.html}}</ref> | |||
===Earth is flat only from | ===The Earth is flat, but only from a human perspective=== | ||
{{Quote||According to the people of knowledge the Earth is round. Indeed, Ibn Hazm and other scholars have declared that there is consensus on this matter among the people of knowledge This means that all of the surface of the Earth is connected together so that the form of the planet is like a sphere. | {{Quote|{{citation| url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010427234331/http://www.binbaz.org.sa/RecDisplay.asp?f=n-04-1407-0300007.htm#| title=هل الأرض كروية أم سطحية؟| publisher=Bin Baz official website| author=Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz| trans_title=Is the Earth spherical or flat?| date=accessed April 27th, 2001}}|'''Translation of audio:''' According to the people of knowledge the Earth is round. Indeed, Ibn Hazm and other scholars have declared that there is consensus on this matter among the people of knowledge This means that all of the surface of the Earth is connected together so that the form of the planet is like a sphere. | ||
Nevertheless, Allah has spread out the Earth's surface in relation to us, and He has placed upon it firm mountains, the seas, and life as a mercy for us. For this reason, Allah said: "And (do they not look) at the Earth, how it was spread out flat (sutihat)." [Sûrah al-Ghâshiyah:20] | Nevertheless, Allah has spread out the Earth's surface in relation to us, and He has placed upon it firm mountains, the seas, and life as a mercy for us. For this reason, Allah said: "And (do they not look) at the Earth, how it was spread out flat (sutihat)." [Sûrah al-Ghâshiyah:20] | ||
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Therefore, the '''Earth has been made flat for us in regards to our relationship to it''' to facilitate our lives upon it and our comfort. The fact that it is round does not prevent that its surface has been made flat for us. This is because something that is round and very large, then its surface will become very vast or broad, having a flat appearance to those who are upon it."}} | Therefore, the '''Earth has been made flat for us in regards to our relationship to it''' to facilitate our lives upon it and our comfort. The fact that it is round does not prevent that its surface has been made flat for us. This is because something that is round and very large, then its surface will become very vast or broad, having a flat appearance to those who are upon it."}} | ||
The above fatwa, understanding the statements of scripture to simply describe reality as it is perceived by the unaided human eye, represents another common trend among Islamic scholars today. The example of Ibn Baz's fatwa is especially pertinent since he once maintained that the Earth was flat<ref>{{Citation|author=Robert Lacey|publisher=Penguin|publication-date=2009|pages=89-90|url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Inside_the_Kingdom/VEYsi7ZmtywC?hl=en&gbpv=0|title=Inside the Kingdom: Kings, Clerics, Modernists, Terrorists, and the Struggle for Saudi Arabia}}{{Quote||. . . soon afterward the sheikh gave an interview in which he mused on how we operate day to day on the basis that the ground beneath us is flat, even though science asserts, against our physical experience, that the world is spherical. | |||
“As I remember from when I could see,” he said, “it seemed to be flat.”<br> | |||
It was an honest expression of paradox, particularly moving from a man who had been blind most of his life, and it led him to the belief that he was not afraid to voice and for which he became notorious—'''Bin Baz believed that the earth was flat'''. | |||
At least one senior member of the ulema reproved Bin Baz for his embarrassing assertion, which radicals had seized on to satirize the Wahhabi establishment as “members of the Flat Earth Society.” But the sheikh was unrepentant. If Muslims chose to believe the world was round, that was their business, he said, and he would not quarrel with them religiously. But he was inclined to trust what he felt beneath his feet rather than the statements of scientists he did not know: he would go on believing the earth to be flat until he was presented with convincing evidence to the contrary.}}</ref> and, in a fatwa still hosted on his website, asserts that there is no convincing evidence that the sun is larger than the Earth<ref>{{Citation|publisher=Bin Baz official website|author=Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz|title=مدى صحة قول من قال: بأن الشمس أكبر من الأرض|trans_title=How true is the saying: the sun is larger than the Earth?|url=https://binbaz.org.sa/fatwas/1770/%D9%85%D8%AF%D9%89-%D8%B5%D8%AD%D8%A9-%D9%82%D9%88%D9%84-%D9%85%D9%86-%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%84-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D9%85%D8%B3-%D8%A7%D9%83%D8%A8%D8%B1-%D9%85%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%B6|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20201214031427/https://binbaz.org.sa/fatwas/1770/%D9%85%D8%AF%D9%89-%D8%B5%D8%AD%D8%A9-%D9%82%D9%88%D9%84-%D9%85%D9%86-%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%84-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D9%85%D8%B3-%D8%A7%D9%83%D8%A8%D8%B1-%D9%85%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%B6}}{{Quote||وأما دعوى بعض الفلكيين أن الشمس أكبر من السماوات وأكبر من الأرض إلى غير هذا فهي دعوى مجردة لا نعلم صحتها ولا نعلم دليلاً عليها فهي آية عظيمة، أما القول بأنها أكبر من السماوات والأرض فهذا شيء يحتاج إلى دليل، هذه مجرد دعوى كما يقول العلماء، هذه مجرد دعاوى ليس عليها دليل واضح فيما نعلم.<br>'''Translation:''' As for the claim of some astronomers that the sun is greater than the heavens and greater than the earth to other than this, it is an abstract claim that we do not know its validity and we do not know of evidence for, it is a great sign. Just claims that do not have clear evidence for as far as we know.}}</ref>. Despite the anti-modern nature of views he once held and even, in some cases, apparently held until his passing in 1999, Ibn Baz eventually revised his literal reading of the verses describing the creation and nature of the Earth. Such changes in readings of scripture are characteristic of a large subset of Islamic scholars. | |||
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. This view is the most common amongst educated Muslims today and is likely to predominate going forward. | |||
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