Shooting Stars in the Quran and Science and the Seven Earths: Difference between pages

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(→‎Islamic literature: Added in some early commentaries of authors conflating stars and meteors (especially before the differences known by astronomers were widely known to religious scholars) to support interpretation argument.)
 
(→‎Seven Universes: I have added in some sub-headings on this page. And a small sub-section on the issue of apologetics changing the meaning of the word heaven with 'Universe' in the context of it being night and day of the whole universe - altering some text originally from the Geocentrism page (and linking it in full).)
 
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[[File:ShootingStars.jpg|right|thumb|175px|Long exposure photograph of a meteor shower]]
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In a number of verses the Quran states that Allah adorned and guarded the nearest heaven with stars, and has made them (the stars) missiles against devils who attempt to eavesdrop on heavenly meetings. The devils are pelted from every side, pursued by a bright burning flame if they overhear anything. These verses were understood by early Muslims as a reference to meteors, or "shooting stars", which in reality are completely distinct from the distant stars, though in the ancient world the concepts were commonly confused. Academic scholars have situated the Quranic concept in the context of ancient near east mythologies about eavesdropping devils and celestial phenomena.
[[File:Sunset from the ISS.JPG|right|thumb|250px|Limb view of the Earth's atmosphere. Colors roughly denote the layers of the atmosphere.]]
The [[Qur'an]] and a number of [[Sahih]] [[Hadith]] make the claim that there are seven different earths. This concept of multiple different earths or worlds is not unusual in the ancient world; by comparison, in Norse mythology there are nine world or realms counting Hel, the underworld. Some modern du'aah, though, seeking to protect the supposed scientific infallibility of the Qur'an have proposed that this description of seven earths (and also description of seven heavens) actually is a type of scientific miracle whereby the Quran and Sunnah actually predicted the findings of modern earth sciences by over one thousand years. In point of fact no exegete before the modern period ever interpreted the verses this way; such an interpretation is novel and meant to fit the Qur'an into the modern, scientific view of the universe rather than taking the Qur'an and Sunnah as texts of their time and interpreting them in line with their author's intent. Besides ignoring what the texts themselves have to say, these modern apologetic claims themselves ignore or badly mangle the actual earth sciences they are attempting to co-opt in order to justify their claims of an inerrant, scientifically accurate Qur'an and prophetic tradition.  


==Ancient beliefs around stars and meteors pre-Islam==
==Qur'an and Sunnah==
Humans have always looked up at night and seen the stars lighting the sky. Folklore around stars, before our modern understanding of them as gigantic balls of gases, [https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-earthscience/chapter/nuclear-fusion/ creating light energy via nuclear fusion,]which [https://www.pbs.org/seeinginthedark/astronomy-topics/light-as-a-cosmic-time-machine.html takes years to reach us], has been creative and varied.


Due to their similar visual size and appearance, many ancient people have confused meteors, which are small rocky masses or grains of debris which burn up after entering the earth's atmosphere as stars streaking across the sky, which is why they were often called shooting stars (as we do in English), broken stars or falling stars.
The Qur'an itself makes the claim that there are 7 earths and 7 heavens:


On a typical night it means you might see just a few meteors an hour streaking randomly across the sky. These are called sporadic meteors. At certain times of the year these numbers can increase to around 100 meteors an hour in events called meteor showers, as Earth ploughs through denser streams of particles in its orbit around the Sun.<ref>[https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/space-science/what-causes-meteor-shower What causes a meteor shower?] ''BBC Sky at Night Magazine. 2023. Penny Wozniakiewicz''</ref>
{{Quote|{{Quran|65|12}}|ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَمَٰوَٰتٍ وَمِنَ ٱلْأَرْضِ مِثْلَهُنَّ يَتَنَزَّلُ ٱلْأَمْرُ بَيْنَهُنَّ لِتَعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ وَأَنَّ ٱللَّهَ قَدْ أَحَاطَ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عِلْمًۢا


'''Meteors as stars'''
Allah is He Who created seven Firmaments and of the earth a similar number. Through the midst of them (all) descends His Command: that ye may know that Allah has power over all things, and that Allah comprehends, all things in (His) Knowledge.}}


For example, in Ancient Egypt civilisation, we see a strong resemblance of a shooting star by the author of ‘[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tale_of_the_Shipwrecked_Sailor The Shipwrecked Sailor]’ (c. 2000-1900 BC), which recounts a series of many fantastic adventures, including a star falling to Earth:
The tradition of the seven earths is also found in hadith collections of Sahih Al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, and Tirmidhi:
{{Quote|{{cite web| url=https://ia802907.us.archive.org/1/items/TheLiteratureOfAncientEgyptKellySimpsonBySamySalah/The%20Literature%20of%20Ancient%20Egypt%20-%20Kelly%20Simpson%20By%20Samy%20Salah.pdf | title=Literature of Ancient Egypt : An Anthology of Stories, Instructions, Stelae, Autobiographies, and Poetry. William Kelly Simpson, ed., The Literature of Ancient Egypt (Cairo, 2003), p. 51. }}|...Then a star fell.
{{Quote|{{Bukhari|4|54|418}}|Narrated Salim's father:
And because of it these went up in fire.
This happened utterly...}}
Dr Lloyd D. Graham has linked this event to being a meteorite,<ref>[https://www.academia.edu/35137388 Then a Star Fell:” Folk-Memory of a Celestial Impact Event in the Ancient Egyptian Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor?] Dr Lloyd D. Graham. 2022).<BR />Also available[https://hcommons.org/deposits/objects/hc:27978/datastreams/CONTENT/content?download=true here]</ref> and Aly Barakat has discussed a theoretically catastrophic impact in ancient Egypt.<ref>''Aly Barakat, ‘Did the Kamil Meteorite Fall Contribute to the Downfall of the Old Kingdom?’, The Ostracon: Journal of the Egyptian Study Society, XXIV (Fall 2013), pp. 12–21.</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_T0MWfFWfo Egypt's Impact Catastrophe Found (!?) & Old Kingdom's End. cf-apps7865. 2019.] ''- YouTube video covering Aly Barakat, ‘Did the Kamil Meteorite Fall Contribute to the Downfall of the Old Kingdom?’, The Ostracon: Journal of the Egyptian Study Society, XXIV (Fall 2013), pp. 12–21.''</ref>


'''Biblical motifs'''
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Any person who takes a piece of land unjustly will sink down the seven earths on the Day of Resurrection."}}{{Quote|{{Bukhari|4|54|417}}|حَدَّثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، أَخْبَرَنَا ابْنُ عُلَيَّةَ، عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ الْمُبَارَكِ، حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ أَبِي كَثِيرٍ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ بْنِ الْحَارِثِ، عَنْ أَبِي سَلَمَةَ بْنِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ، كَانَتْ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ أُنَاسٍ خُصُومَةٌ فِي أَرْضٍ، فَدَخَلَ عَلَى عَائِشَةَ فَذَكَرَ لَهَا ذَلِكَ، فَقَالَتْ يَا أَبَا سَلَمَةَ اجْتَنِبِ الأَرْضَ، فَإِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ‏


Though there are no direct stories of the functions of stars in this way in the bible (or biblical literature), Dr Julien Decharneux notes in his book ''Creation and Contemplation: The Cosmology of the Qur'ān and Its Late Antique Background'', which explores the connections between the cosmology of the Qur’ān and various cosmological traditions of Late Antiquity, with a focus on Syriac Christianity,<ref>Julien Decharneux (2023), ''[https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110794083/html Creation and Contemplation: The Cosmology of the Qur’ān and Its Late Antique Background]'', Berlin: De Gruyter.</ref> that there are some general motifs which link to this imagery; such as Talmudic stories of demons listening in to divine councils, and separately fire as weapons from the upper skies. However, there is no direct story for this (yet) found in biblical literature. He notes it is more likely rooted in Iranian mythology:{{Quote|Decharneux, Julien. (2023) Creation and Contemplation: The Cosmology of the Qur'ān and Its Late Antique Background (Studies in the History and Culture of the Middle East Book 47)  Berlin: De Gruyter. (pp. 316-317).|The image of fallen angels trying to approach the firmament in order to listen to the heavenly council is found in the Talmud. Crone in fact already notes the presence of the motif in the first-century Greek Testament of Solomon. Here however, demons are not chased by fiery missiles, but they themselves look like shooting stars after falling from the sky out of exhaustion. Although a systematic skimming of the sources would probably reveal the presence of the motif of stars chasing demons away from the heavenly council in patristic and Christian apocryphal literature, our sources show that it was still lively in the imagery of the 8th century in the Church of the East. Theodore bar Koni, in his Scolion, discusses the activity of demons:
"‏ مَنْ ظَلَمَ قِيدَ شِبْرٍ طُوِّقَهُ مِنْ سَبْعِ أَرَضِينَ ‏"
<i>Can the demons ascend to the place on high anyway? They cannot because they are held back by the power of the one who destroyed them. It is not proper that defiled ones approach the Tent of the Saints […]. The fact that our Lord compared him to a lightning means two things: either that he lasted in his domination for the time of the sight of a lightning, or that when while he was shining as a lightning in glory, he was quenched at once and no traces of his splendour was left.</i>
In fact, the motif of demons chased by flames finds particularly original renderings in the writings of Pseudo-Macarius and that of Syriac mystic authors studied in the second chapter. Building on the motif the inner divine fire that animates the mystic, they hold that it is the flames of this fire that chase away the demons from the heart. All in all, we see that Crone’s hypothesis of an eastern origin and development for the motif is quite likely. The image of fire and flames chasing demons away was not only widespread in Jewish circle as witnessed by the Babylonian Talmud, but it was also quite in use in the Church of the East tradition.}}


'''Weapons against demons'''
Narrated Muhammad bin Ibrahim bin Al-Harith:
Many cultures had mythology surrounding meteors and meteorites, with some believing they were weapons, such as in ancient Africa and Mesopotamia:{{Quote|Golia, Maria, Meteorite: Nature and Culture (Earth), Reaktion Books, p. 72|'The indigenous San people of southern Africa also consider meteorites dangerous: ‘They can kill people, and at the times of the meteor showers when many are moving about and falling, the sky is very bad.’ Echoing themes from Mesopotamian and classical antiquity, the San god Koa xa, ‘lord of the animals’, used a meteorite to fight lions that attacked his son.'}}


And this may have inspired their use much later in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism,] (which was a prominent religion in the Persian (Iranian) empire both before and during the time of the prophet Muhammad/beginning of Islam), where we see the link between stars and meteors as weapons:
from Abu Salama bin `Abdur-Rahman who had a dispute with some people on a piece of land, and so he went to `Aisha and told her about it. She said, "O Abu Salama, avoid the land, for Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, 'Any person who takes even a span of land unjustly, his neck shall be encircled with it down seven earths.' "}}Although the number is not explicitly given, the plural of word for "earth", "أرض" is used here, أرضين meaning "earths." This is used again in conjunction with the plural of the word سماء "sky" or "heavens", سموات, meaning "heavens":{{Quote|{{Bukhari|6|60|335}}| حَدَّثَنَا آدَمُ، حَدَّثَنَا شَيْبَانُ، عَنْ مَنْصُورٍ، عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، عَنْ عَبِيدَةَ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ قَالَ جَاءَ حَبْرٌ مِنَ الأَحْبَارِ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ يَا مُحَمَّدُ، إِنَّا نَجِدُ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَجْعَلُ السَّمَوَاتِ عَلَى إِصْبَعٍ وَالأَرَضِينَ عَلَى إِصْبَعٍ، وَالشَّجَرَ عَلَى إِصْبَعٍ، وَالْمَاءَ وَالثَّرَى عَلَى إِصْبَعٍ، وَسَائِرَ الْخَلاَئِقِ عَلَى إِصْبَعٍ، فَيَقُولُ أَنَا الْمَلِكُ‏.‏ فَضَحِكَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم حَتَّى بَدَتْ نَوَاجِذُهُ تَصْدِيقًا لِقَوْلِ الْحَبْرِ ثُمَّ قَرَأَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏{‏وَمَا قَدَرُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ قَدْرِهِ وَالأَرْضُ جَمِيعًا قَبْضَتُهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَالسَّمَوَاتُ مَطْوِيَّاتٌ بِيَمِينِهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ‏}‏‏


{{Quote|Golia, Maria. Meteorite: Nature and Culture (Earth) Reaktion Books. p. 57|..an understanding of the stars set men apart, as evidenced in the emergence of the prophet Zoroaster around 1100 BC. An early Christian text suggests that Zoroaster, ‘a very great observer of the stars’, used his wisdom to his advantage: ‘wishing to be regarded as a divine being [he] began to elicit sparks from the stars and show them to people’. This brief passage and a story recorded in the first century AD have been interpreted as describing a meteor shower that Zoroaster may have anticipated. The oldest portions of Avestan scripture, thought to record Zoroaster’s words, say the sky is made of ‘hardest stone’ and worn as armour by Ahura Mazda, god of creation and cosmic order. Avestan texts contain many astronomical references, and the word asana means both ‘sky’ and ‘stone’. On one occasion, Zoroaster was said to have defeated demons with ‘a massive stone received from God’...}}Patricia Crone and other Islamic scholars examine these relationships further in the [https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110445909/html?lang=en 2012-13 Qur'an Seminar Commentary] (a series of academic conferences) in pages 305 - 317 and 385 - 398.
Narrated `Abdullah:


==Islamic literature==
A (Jewish) Rabbi came to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and he said, "O Muhammad! We learn that Allah will put all the heavens on one finger, and the earths on one finger, and the trees on one finger, and the water and the dust on one finger, and all the other created beings on one finger. Then He will say, 'I am the King.' Thereupon the Prophet (ﷺ) smiled so that his pre-molar teeth became visible, and that was the confirmation of the Rabbi. Then Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) recited: 'No just estimate have they made of Allah such as due to Him.' (Qur'an 39.67)}}


===The Qur'an===
{{Quote|{{Bukhari|6|60|335}}| حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الدَّوْرَقِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الصَّمَدِ، - يَعْنِي ابْنَ عَبْدِ الْوَارِثِ - حَدَّثَنَا حَرْبٌ، - وَهُوَ ابْنُ شَدَّادٍ - حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى، - وَهُوَ ابْنُ أَبِي كَثِيرٍ - عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ، إِبْرَاهِيمَ أَنَّ أَبَا سَلَمَةَ، حَدَّثَهُ وَكَانَ، بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ قَوْمِهِ خُصُومَةٌ فِي أَرْضٍ وَأَنَّهُ دَخَلَ عَلَى عَائِشَةَ فَذَكَرَ ذَلِكَ لَهَا فَقَالَتْ يَا أَبَا سَلَمَةَ اجْتَنِبِ الأَرْضَ فَإِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ‏
The Qur'an states that stars (kawakib ٱلْكَوَاكِبِ), lamps (masabih مَصَٰبِيحَ) and/or great stars/constellations (burūj بُرُوجًا) adorn the heavens and guard against devils (shayāṭīn شياطين).


The Qur'an further asserts that Allah has made them (the stars/lamps) missiles to ward away devils (who are believed to be [[jinn]] in Islam), who attempt to listen in on heavenly meetings (known as the Exalted Assembly). The Quranic concept has a close parallel in an earlier [[Pre-Islamic Arab Religion in Islam#Shooting Stars and Eavesdropping Shaytans|Jewish development from Zoroastrian mythology]]. Such myths are best understood as pre-modern attempts to explain the common phenomenon of meteors streaking across the night sky. The relevant verses are below:{{Quote|{{Quran-range|37|6|10}}|Indeed, We have adorned the nearest heaven [al-samā’a l-dunyā] with an adornment of <b>stars [al-kawākibi],</b> And as protection against every rebellious devil [wa-ḥifẓan min kulli shayṭānin mārida][So] they may not listen to the exalted assembly [of angels] and are pelted from every side, Repelled; and for them is a constant punishment, Except one who snatches [some words] by theft, <b>but they are pursued by a burning flame, piercing [in brightness] [fa-’atbaʿa-hu shihābun thāqibun].</b>}}{{Quote|{{Quran|67|5}}|And we have, (from of old), adorned <b>the lowest heaven [al-samā’a l-dunyā] with lamps [bi-maṣābīḥa], and We have made such (Lamps) (as) missiles to drive away the Evil Ones [wa-jaʿalnā-hā rujūman li-l-shayāṭīni]</b>, and have prepared for them the Penalty of the Blazing Fire.}}{{Quote|{{Quran|15|16-18}}|<b>It is We Who have set out the zodiacal signs in the heavens [laqad jaʿalnā fī l-samā’i burūjan],</b> and have beautified it for the beholders; And (moreover) We have guarded them from every <b>cursed devil [shayṭānin rajīmin]</b>: But any that gains a hearing by stealth, <b>is pursued by a flaming fire, bright (to see) [fa-’atbaʿa-hu shihābun mubīnun].</b>}}{{Quote|{{Quran|72|8-9}}|And we have sought [to reach] the heaven but found it filled with <b>powerful guards [ḥarasan shadīdan]</b> and <b>burning flames [wa-shuhuban].</b> And we used to sit therein in positions for hearing, but whoever listens now will find a burning flame lying in wait for him. [yajidu la-hu shihāban raṣadan].}}
"‏ مَنْ ظَلَمَ قِيدَ شِبْرٍ مِنَ الأَرْضِ طُوِّقَهُ مِنْ سَبْعِ أَرَضِينَ ‏"


The same Arabic words are used at the start of {{Quran|67|5}} as in {{Quran|37|6}} (زَيَّنَّا ٱلسَّمَآءَ ٱلدُّنْيَا), except that in Quran 67:5 the word lamps is used instead of stars. The lamps that 'adorn the heaven' must refer to stars (and perhaps also the 5 visible planets), which are always there.
Muhammad b. Ibrahim said that Abu Salama reported to him that there was between him and his people dispute over a piece of land, and he came to 'A'isha and mentioned that to her, whereupon she said:


Stars and visible planets were often called the same thing ([https://corpus.quran.com/qurandictionary.jsp?q=kwkb#(82:2:2) kawakib ٱلْكَوَاكِبِ]) due to their similar appearance, with stars appearing 'fixed' and planets notably 'moving', usually differentiated by astronomers by labelling them respectively. This is confirmed by astronomers such as [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abd_al-Rahman_al-Sufi Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi] who around 964 wrote the astronomical [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_Fixed_Stars book of fixed stars] كتاب صور الكواكب kitāb suwar ''al-kawākib''. As professor David Cook notes, "Eventually in Arabic, najm generally came to mean 'a fixed star' while kawkab 'a planetary body' but there are plenty of exceptions to this rule. Planets were believed to be moving stars."<ref>Cook, D. (2016). [https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-94-007-7747-7_8525 Comets and Meteors in the Islamic World]. In: Selin, H. (eds) Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Springer, Dordrecht.</ref>
Abu Salama, abstain from getting this land, for Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: He who usurps even a span of land would be made to wear around his neck seven earths.}}


In {{Quran|67|5}}, the word translated "missiles" is rujūman (رُجُومًا), which are things that are thrown, especially stones.<ref>رُجُومًا - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume3/00000214.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 1048]</ref>
==Apologetic Claims==


In {{Quran|15|16}} the phrase translated "zodiacal signs" is [https://corpus.quran.com/search.jsp?q=constellations Burūj بُرُوجًا], meaning great stars or constellations; Surah 85 (Al-Burūj) is called [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Burooj The Great Star].
{{Quote||"Allah is He Who Created seven firmaments and of the earth a similar number. Through the midst of them (all) descends His command: that ye may know that Allah has power over all things, and that Allah comprehends all things In (His) Knowledge. (The Noble Quran, 65:12)"


Other relevant verses are {{Quran|55|33-35}} (flame of fire and smoke, though a slightly different context):
According to Noble Verse 65:12 above, Allah Almighty created 7 Heavens for form the universe. The new scientific discovery had revealed to us that the earth that we currently live on today is also formed from seven layers. The very bottom layer contains most of the uranium and potonium ("sic") and all the materials that we need to create nuclear weapons and energy. Noble Verse 65:12 above does indeed say that the earth was created with seven layers. <BR>. . .<BR>
The Seven "Heavens" refers to the layers of our atmosphere.


{{Quote|{{Quran|55|33-35}}|O company of jinn and mankind, if you are able to pass beyond the regions of the heavens and the earth, then pass. You will not pass except by authority [from Allah]. So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny? There will be sent upon you a flame of fire and smoke, and you will not defend yourselves.}}Note that no astronauts or human-made robots leaving Earth have yet been hit by fire and smoke, both which cannot actually occur in space due to the lack of oxygen.<ref>''[https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24733000-900-lighting-fires-in-space-is-helping-us-make-greener-energy-on-earth/ Lighting fires in space is helping us make greener energy on Earth.]'' New Scientist. 2020. Philip Ball.</ref>  
1. troposphere<BR>2. stratosphere<BR>3. ozone layer<BR>4. mesosphere<BR>5. thermosphere<BR>6. ionosphere<BR>7. exosphere


And [https://quran.com/21?startingVerse=32 Quran 21:32], which many classical commentators have associated with protection against devils:
The Seven "Earths" refer to the layers that literally make up the Earth
{{Quote|{{Quran|21|32}}|And We made the sky a protected ceiling, but they, from its signs, are turning away.}}
=== The Hadith ===
A hadith collected in Sahih Muslim and Sunan al Tirmidhi confirms that the 'pursuant flames / missiles' in the two verses refer to visible meteors which they saw shooting across the sky.


{{Quote|{{Muslim|26|5538}}|'Abdullah. Ibn 'Abbas reported: A person from the Ansar who was amongst the Companions of Allah's Messenger (pbuh reported to me: As we were sitting during the night with Allah's Messenger (pbuh), a meteor shot gave a dazzling light. Allah's Messenger (pbuh) said: What did you say in the pre-Islamic days when there was such a shot (of meteor)? They said: Allah and His Messenger know best (the actual position), but we, however, used to say that that very night a great man had been born and a great man had died, whereupon Allah's Messenger pbuh) said: (These meteors) are shot neither at the death of anyone nor on the birth of anyone. Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, issues Command when He decides to do a thing. Then (the Angels) supporting the Throne sing His glory, then sing the dwellers of heaven who are near to them until this glory of God reaches them who are in the heaven of this world. Then those who are near the supporters of the Throne ask these supporters of the Throne: What your Lord has said? And they accordingly inform them what He says. Then the dwellers of heaven seek information from them until this information reaches the heaven of the world. In this process of transmission (the jinn snatches) what he manages to overhear and he carries it to his friends. And when the Angels see the jinn they attack them with meteors. If they narrate only which they manage to snatch that is correct but they alloy it with lies and make additions to it.}}
1. crust<BR>2. lithosphere<BR>3. upper mantle<BR>4. astenoshpere ("sic")<BR>5. lower mantle<BR>6. outer core<BR>7. inner core


{{Quote|{{Al Tirmidhi||5|44|3224}}|Narrated Ibn 'Abbas:
OR they could refer to the "7 Continents" (in the context that "al-ard" means ground)
"We were with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), while he was sitting with a group of his Companions, when they saw a glowing shooting star. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'When you saw the likes of this during Jahiliyyah, what would you say about it?' They said: 'We would say that a great man died, or that a great man has been born.' The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'It is not shot due to the death of anyone, nor his coming into life. Rather when our Lord [Blessed is His Name and Most High] decrees a matter, He is glorified by the bearers of the Throne. Then He is glorified by the inhabitants who are below them, then those below them, until such glorification reaches this Heaven. Then the inhabitants of the sixth Heaven ask the inhabitants of the seventh Heaven: "What did your Lord say?" He said: 'So they inform them; then the inhabitants of each Heaven seek the information, until the news is conveyed to the inhabitants of the Heavens of the earth. The Shayatin try to overhear so they are shot at, so they cast it down to their friends. Whatever they came with is true, as it is, but they distort it and add to it.'"}}


These also seem to reinforce the incorrect idea of stars being shooting stars, and give us yet a fourth word for stars.
1. North America<BR>2. South America<BR>3. Australia<BR>4. Asia<BR>5. Africa<BR>6. Antarctica<BR>7. Europe}}


In both cases we see the word (najm/نجم) is used to describe the shooting star. Literally: رُمِيَ was thrown<ref>رمي - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume3/00000327.pdf Lane's Lexicon page 1161]</ref> بِنَجْمٍ a star<ref>نجم - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000282.pdf Lane's Lexicon Supplement page 3028]</ref> فَاسْتَنَارَ then it flamed<ref>نار - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000119.pdf Lane's Lexicon page 2865]</ref> (نار in Arabic form X, derived from نور light). It is sometimes said that a najm (نجم) could refer to any kind of celestial body and not necessarily a star, but it is at least clear that these hadiths refer to what we now understand are visible meteors.
==Analysis==


A hadith in Sunan Ibn Majah's collection also conveys the concept, though without clarifying the nature of the shihab (the word translated as "burning flame" in the Quran verses quoted above):
===Seven Layers of Earth's Atmosphere===


{{Quote|{{Ibn Majah||1|1|194}}|The Prophet said: "When Allah decrees a matter in heaven, the angels beat their wings in submission to his decree (with a sound) like a chain beating a rock. Then "When fear is banished from their hearts, they say: 'What is it that your Lord has said?' They say: 'The truth. And He is The Most High, The Most Great." He said: 'Then the eavesdroppers (from among the jinn) listen out for that, one above the other, so (one of them) hears the words and passes it on to the one beneath him. The Shihab (shooting star) may strike him before he can pass it on to the one beneath him and the latter can pass it on to the soothsayer or sorcerer, or it may not strike him until he has passed it on. And he ads one hundred lies to it, and only that word which was overheard from the heavens is true."}}
Before beginning, notice that verse 37:6 says that the stars are in the lowest heaven, and thus the seven heavens cannot mean the Earth's atmosphere.  


{{Quote|{{Quran|37|6}}| Surely We have adorned the nearest heaven with an adornment, the stars}}




'''Other companions'''
Nevertheless, let's look again at the apologetic claim:


Although much of the commentary is disputed to actually come from [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_Abbas Ibn Abbas] (the prophets cousin), the tafsir on the Qur'an attributed to him states:
{{Quote||
{{Quote|{{cite web| url=https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Abbas/67.5 | title=Abbas - Tanwîr al-Miqbâs min Tafsîr Ibn ‘Abbâs 67:5}}|(And verily We have beatified the world's heaven) the first heaven (with lamps) with stars, (and We have made them) i.e. the stars (missiles for the devils) such that some of them become bewitched, some are killed while others are burnt, (and for them) for the devils (We have prepared) in the Hereafter (the doom of flame.}}
The Seven "Heavens" refers to the layers of our atmosphere.
Which even if not from him directly, gives us a more contemporary view of these verses.


=== Contemporary Commentaries ===
1. troposphere<BR>2. stratosphere<BR>3. ozone layer<BR>4. mesosphere<BR>5. thermosphere<BR>6. ionosphere<BR>7. exosphere}}
Early more contemporary commentaries also conflated the two, such as Muqatil ibn Sulayman (~80-150AH), believed to be the earliest full authentic tafsir to survive.<ref>John Wansbrough, "The Sectarian Milieu: Content and Composition of Islamic Salvation History" 2006 (Original 1978). Prometheus. 2006. ISBN 10: 1591023785ISBN 13: 9781591023784</ref>
{{Quote|{{cite web| url=https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=67&tSoraNo=37&tAyahNo=6&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1 | title=Tafsir al-Kabir on Verse 37:6 | author= Muqatil ibn Sulayman }}|<b>{Dhura} means being expelled by meteors from the stars/planets, then the stars/planets return to their places {And for them is a heavy punishment} </b>[verse: 9] meaning permanent for the doubters whoever listens to them, and whoever does not listen is a permanent punishment in the Hereafter, and the stars/planets hurt and do not diminish, their counterpart in Blessed be {And indeed We have adorned the heaven. The world is full of lamps, and We have made it a pit for the devils, and We have prepared for them the torment of the blazing fire.} [Blessed be He: 5].


{Except for him who is snatched} of the devils {snatching} of the angels {and then a piercing shooting star follows him} [verse: 10] of the angels the stars, meaning by the piercing shooting star, a luminous fire, as Moses said: {Or will I bring to you a shining shooting star? } [An-Naml: 7], meaning With a bright fire, there is an offering.}}
There is only one atmosphere, but you can classify this one atmosphere by different criteria.
And Al-Tabari (224-310 AH (see also commentary on verse [https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=1&tSoraNo=67&tAyahNo=5&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1 67:5]):
If you partition it by temperature, you get 5 layers. By aerodynamical state 4 layers, by radiophysical state 3 layers and by chemical processes 2 layers. There is no classification into 7 layers.
{{Quote|{{cite web| url=https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=1&tSoraNo=15&tAyahNo=16&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1 | title=Al-Tabari Tafsir on Verse 15:16-18}}|...{And indeed We have placed constellations in the sky} He said: Stars/Planets. Bishr told us, he said: Yazid told us, he said: Saeed told us, on the authority of Qatada, his saying: {And We have placed constellations in the sky} <b>and their constellations are their stars.</b> Muhammad bin Abdul-Ala told us, he said: Muhammad bin Thawr told us, on the authority of Muammar, on the authority of Qatada: {zodiac signs} he said: <b>the stars/planets.</b> God Almighty says: And We preserved the lower heaven from every accursed devil whom God had stoned and cursed. {Except he who eavesdrops} He says: But some of the devils may eavesdrop on what is happening in the sky, and then a <b>meteor from the fire</b> follows it clearly, showing its effect on it, either by disturbing it and corrupting it or by burning it.}}


===Muslim Historians===
To reach the needed "seven layers" different criteria are being mixed to reach the desired number 7. For example, Earth's atmosphere is commonly divided into five main layers based on temperature. From highest to lowest, these layers are:
Meteor showers were of unknown cause to 7th Century Arabs, as the later (than the Quran's writing) historian and geographer [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ya%27qubi Al-Ya'qubi] (d 897/8AD) reports several meteor showers that happened just before and during Muhammad's lifetime (In 571 AD and 609 AD), attributing them to shooting stars/planets striking devils, with the multitude of them potentially leading to the idea they are 'pelted from every side'. Further Muslim historians such as [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_%27Idhari Ibn 'Idhari] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_al-Jawzi Ibn al-Jawzi] confirm this understanding, with a summary of their assessment of meteor showers held in this [https://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-iarticle_query?bibcode=1992QJRAS..33....5R&db_key=AST&page_ind=6&plate_select=NO&data_type=GIF&type=SCREEN_GIF&classic=YES Royal Astronomical Society publication.]


== Versus modern science ==
#Exosphere
As mentioned in the introduction, while stars are giant balls of gas thousands of times larger than the earth, meteors are now known to be distinct from the distant stars, being small rocky masses or grains of debris which burn up after entering the earth's atmosphere. This debris is not even 'star-like', but just rocks, metal and dust with no light source, and therefore cannot accurately be said to match the description of 'lamps'.
#Thermosphere
#Mesosphere
#Stratosphere
#Troposphere


They are often not much larger than grains of sand and only become visible for a second when they burn up, generating light in the Earth's atmosphere. Many ancient people confused the two, as meteors look like stars that are streaking across the sky; this is why they were often called shooting stars or falling stars (see: [https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-science-of-shooting-stars/ The Scientific American. The Science of Shooting Stars. 2023. Phil Plait.] for a further explanation of the science for the casual reader).
Within the five principal layers which are largely determined by temperature, several secondary layers may be distinguished by other properties:


Large increases in meteors occur on a predictable schedule each year as the Earth's orbit passes through the stream of particles and debris left in the wake of a number of comets (or in a few cases, of asteroids). They only burn in Earths atmosphere due to friction from travelling extremely fast in a vacuum which takes no energy, to being compressed by air in the atmosphere, rising the temperature and setting fire where there is oxygen.<ref name=":0">Science. How stuff works. ''[https://science.howstuffworks.com/question308.htm Meteors burn up when they hit the Earth's atmosphere. Why doesn't the space shuttle?]''</ref><ref>NASA Science. Spaceplace. ''[https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/mesosphere/en/ Explore Earth and Space. Mesosphere.]''</ref> The most visible is usually the annual [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perseids Perseid meteor shower] in August, which easily look like stars with flames being used a weapon in the sky. Meteor showers look like stars 'pelting' from every side. 
#Ozone layer
#Ionosphere
#Homosphere and heterosphere
#Planetary boundary layer<ref>{{cite web|url= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmosphere_of_Earth|title= Atmosphere of Earth|publisher= Wikipedia|author= |date= accessed January 2, 2014|archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FAtmosphere_of_Earth&date=2014-01-03 |deadurl=no}}</ref>


If the flaming missiles mentioned by the Quran are to be identified with meteors burning up in the Earth's atmosphere, this would locate the eavesdropping devils (or jinn) in the upper atmosphere too, which leaves no way for the (extremely distant) stars to serve as guards in this process as outlined in the verses. Also, meteor paths are dictated by physics, so it is unclear how they could pursue a jinn/devil that moved out of it's directed course.
[[Apologists]] include all five principle layers in their count, then arbitrarily add the ozone layer (which is contained within the stratosphere) and the ionosphere (which forms the inner edge of the magnetosphere) to reach the desired number 7.


Stars are an average 5 light years away from each other in our galaxy.<ref>National Radio Astronomy Observatory. 2021. Jeff Mangum. [https://public.nrao.edu/ask/what-is-the-average-distance-between-stars-in-our-galaxy/ ''What is the Average Distance Between Stars in our Galaxy?'']</ref> For context, a light year is the distance light travels in one year, which is 5.88 trillion miles/9.46 trillion kilometres.<ref>NASA. Exoplanet Exploration. FAQs. ''[https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/faq/26/what-is-a-light-year/ What is a light-year?]''</ref> This again makes them an odd choice for a protection/guard, with trillions of miles/kilometers of mostly empty space between them.
If two of the secondary layers are included in the total count, there is no logically viable reason to exclude the planetary boundary layer (the part of the troposphere that is closest to Earth's surface) or the homosphere and heterosphere (which are contained within all five principle layers).


The results of many stellar size measurements over the years have shown that most nearby stars are roughly the size of the Sun, with typical diameters of a million kilometers or so.<ref>Lumen Learning. Astronomy. ''[https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-astronomy/chapter/diameters-of-stars/ The Stars: A Celestial Census. Diameters of Stars.]''</ref> An example of a calculation to demonstrate the size of this, is the sun can fit around 22 billion billion billion (10^28) people in, with the full workings found in this [https://www.quora.com/How-many-people-can-fit-in-the-sun Quora answer] as an estimate. This of course makes them absurdly large to be used as an object to be thrown by angels at jinn, both of which are approximately human size and visit Earth.
===Seven Layers of the Earth===


Also, stars do not actually 'burn' or cause flame which is caused by chemical burning on Earth needing oxygen.<ref>''[https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24733000-900-lighting-fires-in-space-is-helping-us-make-greener-energy-on-earth/ Lighting fires in space is helping us make greener energy on Earth.]'' New Scientist. 2020. Philip Ball.</ref> Stars create energy via nuclear fusion instead with no flames.
{{Quote||
The Seven "Earths" refer to the layers that literally make up the Earth  


However, these verses would of course fit a relatively small universe as imagined by 7th century Arabs, in which a heavenly firmament is adorned with small stars which appear relatively close to each other, able to pelt shooting stars at any devils or jinn in their vicinity, seeming to cover visible interstellar distances in a flaming streak across the sky.  
1. crust<BR>2. lithosphere<BR>3. upper mantle<BR>4. astenoshpere ("sic")<BR>5. lower mantle<BR>6. outer core<BR>7. inner core}}


==Modern Apologetic interpretations==
Note the same dishonest approach taken to assign seven layers of the atmosphere - i.e. the ''double counting of layers''.


===Meteors come from stars===
The general scientific view is that the earth is composed of four or five major layers depending on whether one splits the mantle or not.<ref>Lisa Gardiner - [http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/earth/Interior_Structure/interior.html&edu=high Structure of the Interior of Earth] - Windows to the Universe, January 18, 2010</ref><ref>Eugene C. Robertson - [http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/interior/ The Interior of the Earth] - U.S. Geological Survey, May 21, 2007</ref><ref>Maggi Glasscoe - [http://scign.jpl.nasa.gov/learn/plate1.htm Structure of the Earth] - Southern California Integrated GPS Network (SCIGN), August 14, 1998</ref>  
Some apologists, for example, the highly influential [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abul_A'la_Maududi Abul Ala-Maududi] (d. 1979 AD) writing in light of much more modern science in his modern tasfir wrote:{{Quote|{{cite web| url=https://myislam.org/surah-al-mulk/ayat-5/#:~:text=Ala%2DMaududi,9. | title= Tasfir Abul Ala-Maududi 67.5}}|This does not mean that the stars themselves are pelted at the Satans, nor that the meteorites shoot out only to drive away the Satans, <b>but it means that the countless meteorites which originate from the stars and wander in space at tremendous speeds and which also fall to the earth in a continuous shower prevent the Satans of the earth from ascending to the heavens.</b> Even if they try to ascend heavenward these meteorites drive them away. This thing has been mentioned here because the Arabs believed about the soothsayers, and this also was the claim made by the soothsayers themselves, that the Satans were under their control, or that they had a close contact with them, and through them they received news of the unseen, and thus, could foretell the destinies of the people. That is why at several places in the Quran, it has been stated that there is absolutely no possibility for the Satans ascending to the heavens and bringing news of the unseen. For explanation, see (Surah Al-Hijr, ayat 16-18) note 9-12, (Surah As-Saaffat, ayat 7-10) note 6,7. As for the truth about meteorites, man’s information in this regard is still without a scientific basis. However, the theory which seems best to account for all the facts known today and the information gathered from the examination of the meteorites fallen on the earth, is that meteorites originate from the disintegration of one or more planets and wander in space and sometimes fall to the earth under its gravitational pull. (See Encyclopedia Britannica, vol. XV, under Meteorites).}}
''Note: the claim that meteorites ('Meteorites' are specifically 'space rocks', i.e. the debris that have survived the burning all the way to Earth’s surface from meteors, not meteors themselves which are the burning objects and mostly come from comet debris) come from planets disintegrating is highly misleading and out-of-date. Very few meteors become meteorites (only 5-10%),<ref>Space.com. ''[https://www.space.com/33695-thousands-meteorites-litter-earth-unpredictable-collisions.html How Often do Meteorites Hit the Earth?]'' 2016. Samantha Mathewson. </ref> and of those that do, ~99.8% percent of meteorites are believed to originate from asteroids with the remaining small fraction (~0.2%) of meteorites originating from an asteroid or comet colliding with either the Mars or the Moon (split roughly equally between them), and the debris eventually falling into Earths gravitational pull.<ref>''NASA. [https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/meteors-meteorites/facts/ Meteors and Meteorites: Facts.]''</ref> The moon is never mentioned having this function, and Mars is only one of approximately 700 quintillion planets, with the rest being too far away for this.<ref>''[https://www.zmescience.com/feature-post/space-astronomy/astronomy-articles/how-many-planets-universe/ There are over 700 quintillion planets in the universe — but there’s no place like home.]'' ZME Science. 2023. Tibi Puiu.</ref> Planets themselves, just like stars, are not missiles throw to become meteors.''


'''Objections to this claim'''
The five layers are as follows:


The claim appears to be that stars create heavier elements<ref>National Science Foundation. Science Matters. ''[https://new.nsf.gov/science-matters/stars-within-us The stars within us.]''
#crust
#upper mantle
#lower mantle
#outer core
#inner core


</ref> which eventually go on to become the sources of debris which can become meteors.


However, there are objections to this interpretation.
<center>[[File:Lithosphere.gif|450px]]</center>


1. Qur'an does not state that the shooting stars 'come from stars' (mostly many billions of years ago), which would be very easy to do - so put bluntly this isn't what is being said in the text. It is the stars themselves that are a protection and are thrown. I.e. you state that something is a missile, all rules of grammar and logic lead you to assume that it's the thing that is mentioned that is the missile, not something that part of it get its elements from after going through many other processes to become billions of years later.


2. Meteors do not even come directly from stars, but rather form asteroids and comets either hitting earth or occasionally breaking into Mars or the Moon, with the debris getting burned up in Earths atmosphere (''again, see: [https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-science-of-shooting-stars/ The Scientific American. The Science of Shooting Stars. 2023. Phil Plait.] for a further explanation of the science''). It is only true to say all the elements which make up everything (and not just space debris) in the universe were once part of a star.
There are two ways to classify the composition of the geosphere - chemically, into crust, mantle, and core, or functionally, in the case of the outer layers (crust and mantle) into lithosphere and asthenosphere.<ref>Dr. Michael Pidwirny - [http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/10h.html Fundamentals of Physical Geography/ Structure of the Earth] - 2nd Edition, 2006</ref><ref>[http://www.palaeos.com/Earth/Geosphere/structure.htm The history of life on Earth] - Palaeos</ref>


3. In light of the previous point, naming stars/lamps/constellations as a protection is a totally pointless link to make as they have nothing to do with the story, which should focus only on the flames if meteors were what was being mentioned. The stars could have been described as being made for anything else in the universe as they create heavy elements for everything, yet they only are in this context where it is easy for humans to confuse the two.


4. If it meant something like the unknown sources of meteors at the time, it easily could have used another of the many generic words for objects/things in the heavens rather than those which have a different meaning.
<center>[[File:Geosphere.gif]]</center>


In other words, this has involved twisting the text into something that isn't there.
===Cosmic rays===
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abul_A'la_Maududi Abul Ala-Maududi] (d. 1979 AD) also wrote:{{Quote|{{cite web| url=https://myislam.org/surah-al-hijr/ayat-18/ | title= Tasfir Abul Ala-Maududi 15.18}}|In Arabic the word shihab-i-mubin literally means a fiery flame. In Surah (Surah As-Saffat, Ayat 10), the same thing has been called shihab-i-thaqib (flame that pierces through darkness). <b>This may or may not necessarily be a meteor for it is just possible that it may be some type of rays such as cosmic rays or even a stronger type which we have not been able to discover as yet. </b>Anyhow, if the fiery flame that pursues Satans may be taken to be a meteor, a countless number of these can form a fortification around our sphere of the universe. Scientific observations made with the help of the telescope have shown that billions of these meteors are rushing from space in a mass of rainfall. towards the earth’s atmosphere. Such a scene was witnessed in an eastern pan of North America on November 13, 1833. This is so strong a fortification that it can prevent Satans from passing through any fortified sphere.}}''Note the meteor shower being referred to here Leonid Meteor Storm, where fragments of ice, rock, and dust left behind by the Comet Tempel-Tuttle. About every 33 years, the Leonid meteor shower intensifies, increasing the possibility of a dazzling display of lights.<ref>''[https://blog.newspapers.com/november-12-13-1833-the-night-the-stars-fell/ November 12-13, 1833: The Night the Stars Fell.] Newspapers.com. 2022. Jenny Ashcraft.''</ref> This comes from a predictable pattern of material left behind by the comet entering earths atmosphere and burning up,<ref>Royal Museums Greenwich. ''[https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/leonid-meteor-shower-when-and-where-see-it-uk When and where to see the Leonid meteor shower.]''</ref> they do not actually form a flame in space which is impossible due to there being no oxygen.<ref>''[https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24733000-900-lighting-fires-in-space-is-helping-us-make-greener-energy-on-earth Lighting fires in space is helping us make greener energy on Earth.]'' New Scientist. 2020. Philip Ball.</ref>''


Two other alternative interpretations popular in modern times<ref>''[https://www.facebook.com/100PROOFSGODEXISTS/photos/are-meteors-or-shooting-stars-used-as-missiles-for-the-devilsjinn-answer-no1-qur/1438650339514784/ Quran and Science in Harmony.]'' Facebook Group. 2017.</ref> as seen above, are that the Quran is referring to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronal_mass_ejection coronal mass ejections] (large eruptions of charged matter from the sun or other stars), or [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_ray cosmic rays] (high energy, sub-atomic particles travelling through interstellar space). However, coronal mass ejections move slowly in cosmic terms, disperse over distance and do not come from surprise directions ({{Quran|37|8}}  states that the devils are pelted from every side, and pursued by a piercing flame if they escape with anything they overheard). Cosmic rays do not emit light as they travel through space and therefore nor could these be the flaming missiles of fire and smoke in the Quran.
From the evidence above, one can see the apologetic deceit because they double-count the lithosphere/asthenosphere while they also count the crust and upper mantle. Note that this is dishonest because these are alternative classifications. One cannot honestly count all lithosphere, asthenosphere, crust, and upper mantle together as one would be recounting the same rocks.  


==Additional points==
Recently new scientific hypotheses proposed by J. Marvin Herndon and Prof Xiaodong Song suggest the inner core may be further subdivided into four layers; the inner core, the innermost core, a sub-shell of fission material and decay products, and a subcore of uranium and plutonium forming the georeactor.<ref>D. F. Hollenbach, and J. M. Herndon - [http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/98/20/11085 Deep-Earth reactor: Nuclear fission, helium, and the geomagnetic field] - PNAS 2001 vol. 98 no. 20 pp 11085-11090</ref> If this new theory is accepted the number of layers of the earth will rise from five to eight.
On a separate note, though stars are described as an ornament or beauty for the sky in {{Quran|37|6}}, and {{Quran|67|5}}, there are an estimated minimum c.100 septillion stars<ref>NASA. Universe Exploration. ''[https://universe.nasa.gov/stars/basics/ Basics. Stars.]''</ref> in the known universe, but only a few thousand are actually visible to the naked eye.<ref>[https://lovethenightsky.com/how-many-stars-can-i-see/ ''How many stars can I see at night?''] Astronomy. Lovethenightsky.  Tanya C. Forde.</ref>  


There is also nothing said of their function of holding planetary systems together,<ref>NASA Science. Astrophysics. Focus Areas. ''[https://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/how-do-stars-form-and-evolve/ Stars.]''</ref> which could have easily been done by differentiation of fixed stars from moving stars, and shown genuine scientific foreknowledge.
Apologists sometimes depict the hydrosphere in their diagrams but are themselves inconsistent in counting/not counting it as one of their seven layers. Even on the crust, there are many layers of rocks one below the other.<ref>For example, here are the illustrated layers of [https://www.nps.gov/zion/learn/nature/images/ZionStratColumn_small_1.jpg Zion National Park], [http://www.grandcanyonguide.net/sites/default/files/geologic-cross-section-photo_1000.png Grand Canyon], [https://www.steinmann.uni-bonn.de/arbeitsgruppen/strukturgeologie/lehre/wissen-gratis/Abb.315ProfileNKA.jpg the Alps] and [http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39076000/gif/_39076834_everest_composition_inf416.gif Himalayas].</ref> Their exact number varies from place to place but they can easily number in dozens, and the diversity of these rock layers forms the very basis of geology. Why are apologists ignoring these layers?
 
===Seven Continents of the Earth===
 
The same apologists try to hedge their bets by claiming it is either seven layers or seven continents.
 
{{Quote||OR they could refer to the "7 Continents" (in the context that "al-ard" means ground)<BR>1. North America<BR>2. South America<BR>3. Australia<BR>4. Asia<BR>5. Africa<BR>6. Antarctica<BR>7. Europe}}
 
The former explanation (seven layers) would seem more accurate as all translations refer to "earth" and not ground. Nevertheless, although the number of continents is traditionally considered seven, some geographers and scientists think there are only six as Europe and Asia are technically a single land mass (i.e. Eurasia) and on the same tectonic plate.<ref>Matt Rosenberg - [http://geography.about.com/library/misc/blcont.htm Continents] - About.com</ref> Therefore, the traditional number of seven continents is more a cultural bias than an actual geographical/geological fact.
 
===Seven Earths===
 
There are some who claim that Allah created seven earths.<ref>[http://www.justread.20m.com/scientific%20truth.htm Layers of the Earth] - Justread.20m.com</ref> This is in fact the correct understanding of verse 65:12 supported by various [[hadith]]s and [[tafsir]] commentaries. However, we only know of one, our own. To get around this problem, apologists such as Maurice Bucaille claim scientists have just not discovered the other six yet.<ref>Dr. Maurice Bucaille - [http://web.archive.org/web/20030514172921/http://www.masmn.org/Books/Maurice_Bucaille/The_Bible_The_Quran_and_Science/043.htm The Bible, The Qur'an and Science/ Confrontation with the data in the Qur'an concerning the creation]</ref>
 
To further complicate matters for apologists, Islamic sources state the seven earths being referred to in verse 65:12 are flat islands, one under the other. For example:
 
{{Quote|1=[{{Reference archive|1=http://www.oocities.org/tirmidhihadith/page8.html|2=2014-01-07}} Al Tirmidhi 5735]|2=Narrated AbuHurayrah:
 
While Allah's Prophet (peace be upon him) and his companions were sitting clouds came over them and Allah's Prophet (peace be upon him) asked, "Do you know what these are?" On their replying that Allah and His Messenger knew best, he said, "These are the clouds (anan), these are the water-carriers of the Earth, which Allah drives to people who do not thank Him or call upon him." He then asked, "Do you know what is above you?" On their replying that Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) knew best, he said, "It is the firmament, a ceiling which is guarded and waves which are kept back." He then asked, "Do you know what is between you and it?" On their replying that Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) knew best, he said, "Between you and it are five hundred years." He then asked, "Do you knew what is above that?" On their replying that Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) best he said, "Two heavens with a distance of five hundred years between them." He went on speaking like that till he counted seven heavens, the distance between each pair being like between Heaven and Earth. He then asked, "Do you know what is above that?" On their replying that Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) knew best, he said, "Above that is the Throne, and the distance between it and the (seventh) heaven is the same as that between each pair of heavens." He then asked, '''"Do you know what is below you?" On their replying that Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) knew best, he said, "It is the earth." He then asked, "Do you know what is under that?" On their replying that Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) knew best, he said, "Under it there is another Earth with a journey of five hundred years between them," and so on till he had counted seven earths with a journey of five hundred years between each pair. He then said, "By Him in Whose hand Muhammad's soul is, if you were to drop a rope to the lowest earth it would not pass out of Allah's knowledge."''' He then recited, "He is the First and the Last, the Outward and the Inward, and He is omniscient." (Tirmidhi commented that Allah's Messenger's recitation of the verse indicates that it would go down within Allah's knowledge, power and authority, for Allah's knowledge, power and authority are everywhere, while He is on the Throne, as He described Himself in His Book.)}}
 
{{Quote|{{Tabari|1|pp. 207-208}}|According to Muhammad b. Sahl b. 'Askar-Isma'il b. 'Abd al-Karim-Wahb, mentioning some of his majesty (as being described as follows): The heavens and the earth and the oceans are in the haykal, and the haykal is in the Footstool. God's feet are upon the Footstool. He carries the Footstool. It became like a sandal on His feet. When Wahb was asked: What is the haykal? He replied: Something on the heavens' extremities that surrounds the earth and the oceans like ropes that are used to fasten a tent. And when Wahb was asked how earths are (constituted), he replied: '''They are seven earths that are flat and islands'''. Between each two earths, there is an ocean. All that is surrounded by the (surrounding) ocean, and the haykal is behind the ocean.}}
 
===Seven Universes===
Another common apologetic claim is that these seven heavens are actually seven universes which we are yet to discover, and that we know only our one universe so far (due to the Quran stating the nearest/lowest heaven is adorned with stars which cover the known visible universe).
 
==== Gates and water of the universe ====
The following verse contradicts such a claim since it says rain was made to fall from heaven. Certainly, rain does not come from outer space, let alone from gates at the edge of the universe which would be ~46.5 billion light years away.<ref>[https://www.mos.org/mos-at-home/pulsar/how-far-away-is-the-edge-of-the-universe#:~:text=We're%20looking%20back%20in,again%2C%20is%20what%20cosmologists%20do. ''How Far Away is the Edge of the Universe?''] Museum of Science Podcast. Janine Myszka. </ref> The word used for heaven here is ''sama'', the same as that for the seven heavens.
 
{{Quote|{{cite web|url=http://islamawakened.com/quran/54/11/default.htm |title=Qur'an 54:11 |publisher= |author= |date= |archiveurl= |deadurl=no}}|So We opened the gates of heaven, with water pouring forth. }}
 
==== Earth created before the Universe ====
The Quran also has the Earth created before the heavens (universes) are created, while the heaven is 'smoke' (''see [[Quran and a Universe from Smoke]]''). Obviously the Earth cannot be created before the Universe is made:
{{Quote|{{Quran|41|9-12}}|Say: Is it that ye deny Him Who created the earth in two Days? And do ye join equals with Him? He is the Lord of (all) the Worlds. He set on the (earth), mountains standing firm, high above it, and bestowed blessings on the earth, and measure therein all things to give them nourishment in due proportion, in four Days, in accordance with (the needs of) those who seek (Sustenance).
Then turned He to the heaven when it was smoke, and said unto it and unto the earth: Come both of you, willingly or loth. They said: We come, obedient. Then He ordained them seven heavens in two Days and inspired in each heaven its mandate; and We decked the nether heaven with lamps, and rendered it inviolable. That is the measuring of the Mighty, the Knower.}}
 
==== The universe as a roof/ceiling ====
The sky/heavens are also called a roof/protected ceiling, which even being generous as a metaphorical interpretation does not match the description of a complex universe, however does perfectly match the antiquity view of the sky being a literal solid object, made up of 'firmaments':
{{Quote|{{Quran|2|22}}|[He] who made for you the earth a bed [spread out] and the sky a ceiling and sent down from the sky, rain and brought forth thereby fruits as provision for you. So do not attribute to Allah equals while you know [that there is nothing similar to Him].}}{{Quote|{{Quran|21|32}}|And We made the sky a protected ceiling, but they, from its signs, are turning away.}}
 
==== The universe as day and night ====
''Main page: [[Geocentrism and the Quran]]''
 
The Quran also states that the night and morning are said to be an attribute of the heaven (l-samāu) which God built (banāhā) and raised (rafaʿa) as a ceiling (samkahā) and ordered it (fasawwāhā) when he created the heaven and earth. The possessive hā suffix in laylahā (its night) and ḍuḥāhā (its morning light) relates night and day to the heaven - which does not apply at all to the whole universe.
 
In reality, the night and day we experience is a feature of the earth's rotation on its axis and is only applicable to Earth itself. There is no sense in which the earth's night and day apply across the wider cosmos as it would need to to be able to substitute the word/modern concept 'universe' with heaven/heavens.
{{Quote|{{Quran|79|27-29}}|Is your creation more prodigious or that of the heaven He has built? He raised its vault and fashioned it, and darkened its night, and brought forth its forenoon.}}
 
==See Also==
 
*[[Scientific Miracles in the Quran]]
 
{{Hub4|Harun Yahya|Harun Yahya}}
 
{{Hub4|Cosmology|Cosmology}}


==External Links==
==External Links==


* [https://atheism-vs-islam.com/index.php/scientific-mistakes-in-the-revelation/101-meteors-as-shooting-stars-a-list-of-seven-quranic-mistakes Meteors as Shooting Stars: A List of SEVEN Quranic Mistakes] - Atheism-vs-Islam.com article covering this topic
*[{{Reference archive|1=http://www.answering-islam.org./Quran/Science/seven_earths.html|2=2011-12-05}} Qur'an & Science Problem: The Seven Earths] ''- Answering Islam''
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuhtSEY91kU The Exalted Assembly الملأ الأعلى] ''- YouTube video''


==References==
==References==
<references />
{{Reflist|30em}}


[[Category:Qur'an]]
[[Category:Islam and Science]]
[[Category:Islam and Science]]
[[Category:Cosmology]]
[[Category:Cosmology]]
[[Category:Qur'an]]
[[Category:Harun Yahya]]
[[Category:Apologetics]]
<!-- ==To Do==
 
Expand to include the claim that the "seven layers" applies to the [http://www.miraclesofthequran.com/scientific_19.html http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.miraclesofthequran.com%2Fscientific_19.html&date=2014-01-03 earth's atmosphere]. There are only 5 not 7 principal layers to the [[W:Atmosphere of Earth|earth's atmosphere]] http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FAtmosphere_of_Earth&date=2014-01-03  determined by temperature. Within the five principal layers there are several more layers determined by other properties. Also see [http://councilofexmuslims.com/index.php?topic=5823.0 http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fcouncilofexmuslims.com%2Findex.php%3Ftopic%3D5823.0&date=2014-01-03  here] for a little more info. Once complete, rename the article, "Earth or its Atmosphere Made of Seven Layers" -->

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Limb view of the Earth's atmosphere. Colors roughly denote the layers of the atmosphere.

The Qur'an and a number of Sahih Hadith make the claim that there are seven different earths. This concept of multiple different earths or worlds is not unusual in the ancient world; by comparison, in Norse mythology there are nine world or realms counting Hel, the underworld. Some modern du'aah, though, seeking to protect the supposed scientific infallibility of the Qur'an have proposed that this description of seven earths (and also description of seven heavens) actually is a type of scientific miracle whereby the Quran and Sunnah actually predicted the findings of modern earth sciences by over one thousand years. In point of fact no exegete before the modern period ever interpreted the verses this way; such an interpretation is novel and meant to fit the Qur'an into the modern, scientific view of the universe rather than taking the Qur'an and Sunnah as texts of their time and interpreting them in line with their author's intent. Besides ignoring what the texts themselves have to say, these modern apologetic claims themselves ignore or badly mangle the actual earth sciences they are attempting to co-opt in order to justify their claims of an inerrant, scientifically accurate Qur'an and prophetic tradition.

Qur'an and Sunnah

The Qur'an itself makes the claim that there are 7 earths and 7 heavens:

ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَمَٰوَٰتٍ وَمِنَ ٱلْأَرْضِ مِثْلَهُنَّ يَتَنَزَّلُ ٱلْأَمْرُ بَيْنَهُنَّ لِتَعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ وَأَنَّ ٱللَّهَ قَدْ أَحَاطَ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عِلْمًۢا Allah is He Who created seven Firmaments and of the earth a similar number. Through the midst of them (all) descends His Command: that ye may know that Allah has power over all things, and that Allah comprehends, all things in (His) Knowledge.
Quran 65:12

The tradition of the seven earths is also found in hadith collections of Sahih Al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, and Tirmidhi:

Narrated Salim's father: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Any person who takes a piece of land unjustly will sink down the seven earths on the Day of Resurrection."
Sahih Bukhari 4:54:418
حَدَّثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، أَخْبَرَنَا ابْنُ عُلَيَّةَ، عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ الْمُبَارَكِ، حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ أَبِي كَثِيرٍ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ بْنِ الْحَارِثِ، عَنْ أَبِي سَلَمَةَ بْنِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ، كَانَتْ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ أُنَاسٍ خُصُومَةٌ فِي أَرْضٍ، فَدَخَلَ عَلَى عَائِشَةَ فَذَكَرَ لَهَا ذَلِكَ، فَقَالَتْ يَا أَبَا سَلَمَةَ اجْتَنِبِ الأَرْضَ، فَإِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ‏

"‏ مَنْ ظَلَمَ قِيدَ شِبْرٍ طُوِّقَهُ مِنْ سَبْعِ أَرَضِينَ ‏"

Narrated Muhammad bin Ibrahim bin Al-Harith:

from Abu Salama bin `Abdur-Rahman who had a dispute with some people on a piece of land, and so he went to `Aisha and told her about it. She said, "O Abu Salama, avoid the land, for Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, 'Any person who takes even a span of land unjustly, his neck shall be encircled with it down seven earths.' "
Sahih Bukhari 4:54:417

Although the number is not explicitly given, the plural of word for "earth", "أرض" is used here, أرضين meaning "earths." This is used again in conjunction with the plural of the word سماء "sky" or "heavens", سموات, meaning "heavens":

حَدَّثَنَا آدَمُ، حَدَّثَنَا شَيْبَانُ، عَنْ مَنْصُورٍ، عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، عَنْ عَبِيدَةَ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ قَالَ جَاءَ حَبْرٌ مِنَ الأَحْبَارِ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ يَا مُحَمَّدُ، إِنَّا نَجِدُ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَجْعَلُ السَّمَوَاتِ عَلَى إِصْبَعٍ وَالأَرَضِينَ عَلَى إِصْبَعٍ، وَالشَّجَرَ عَلَى إِصْبَعٍ، وَالْمَاءَ وَالثَّرَى عَلَى إِصْبَعٍ، وَسَائِرَ الْخَلاَئِقِ عَلَى إِصْبَعٍ، فَيَقُولُ أَنَا الْمَلِكُ‏.‏ فَضَحِكَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم حَتَّى بَدَتْ نَوَاجِذُهُ تَصْدِيقًا لِقَوْلِ الْحَبْرِ ثُمَّ قَرَأَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏{‏وَمَا قَدَرُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ قَدْرِهِ وَالأَرْضُ جَمِيعًا قَبْضَتُهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَالسَّمَوَاتُ مَطْوِيَّاتٌ بِيَمِينِهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ‏}‏‏


Narrated `Abdullah:

A (Jewish) Rabbi came to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and he said, "O Muhammad! We learn that Allah will put all the heavens on one finger, and the earths on one finger, and the trees on one finger, and the water and the dust on one finger, and all the other created beings on one finger. Then He will say, 'I am the King.' Thereupon the Prophet (ﷺ) smiled so that his pre-molar teeth became visible, and that was the confirmation of the Rabbi. Then Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) recited: 'No just estimate have they made of Allah such as due to Him.' (Qur'an 39.67)
Sahih Bukhari 6:60:335
حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الدَّوْرَقِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الصَّمَدِ، - يَعْنِي ابْنَ عَبْدِ الْوَارِثِ - حَدَّثَنَا حَرْبٌ، - وَهُوَ ابْنُ شَدَّادٍ - حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى، - وَهُوَ ابْنُ أَبِي كَثِيرٍ - عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ، إِبْرَاهِيمَ أَنَّ أَبَا سَلَمَةَ، حَدَّثَهُ وَكَانَ، بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ قَوْمِهِ خُصُومَةٌ فِي أَرْضٍ وَأَنَّهُ دَخَلَ عَلَى عَائِشَةَ فَذَكَرَ ذَلِكَ لَهَا فَقَالَتْ يَا أَبَا سَلَمَةَ اجْتَنِبِ الأَرْضَ فَإِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ‏

"‏ مَنْ ظَلَمَ قِيدَ شِبْرٍ مِنَ الأَرْضِ طُوِّقَهُ مِنْ سَبْعِ أَرَضِينَ ‏"


Muhammad b. Ibrahim said that Abu Salama reported to him that there was between him and his people dispute over a piece of land, and he came to 'A'isha and mentioned that to her, whereupon she said:

Abu Salama, abstain from getting this land, for Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: He who usurps even a span of land would be made to wear around his neck seven earths.
Sahih Bukhari 6:60:335

Apologetic Claims

"Allah is He Who Created seven firmaments and of the earth a similar number. Through the midst of them (all) descends His command: that ye may know that Allah has power over all things, and that Allah comprehends all things In (His) Knowledge. (The Noble Quran, 65:12)"

According to Noble Verse 65:12 above, Allah Almighty created 7 Heavens for form the universe. The new scientific discovery had revealed to us that the earth that we currently live on today is also formed from seven layers. The very bottom layer contains most of the uranium and potonium ("sic") and all the materials that we need to create nuclear weapons and energy. Noble Verse 65:12 above does indeed say that the earth was created with seven layers.
. . .
The Seven "Heavens" refers to the layers of our atmosphere.

1. troposphere
2. stratosphere
3. ozone layer
4. mesosphere
5. thermosphere
6. ionosphere
7. exosphere

The Seven "Earths" refer to the layers that literally make up the Earth

1. crust
2. lithosphere
3. upper mantle
4. astenoshpere ("sic")
5. lower mantle
6. outer core
7. inner core

OR they could refer to the "7 Continents" (in the context that "al-ard" means ground)

1. North America
2. South America
3. Australia
4. Asia
5. Africa
6. Antarctica
7. Europe

Analysis

Seven Layers of Earth's Atmosphere

Before beginning, notice that verse 37:6 says that the stars are in the lowest heaven, and thus the seven heavens cannot mean the Earth's atmosphere.

Surely We have adorned the nearest heaven with an adornment, the stars
Quran 37:6


Nevertheless, let's look again at the apologetic claim:

The Seven "Heavens" refers to the layers of our atmosphere.

1. troposphere
2. stratosphere
3. ozone layer
4. mesosphere
5. thermosphere
6. ionosphere
7. exosphere

There is only one atmosphere, but you can classify this one atmosphere by different criteria. If you partition it by temperature, you get 5 layers. By aerodynamical state 4 layers, by radiophysical state 3 layers and by chemical processes 2 layers. There is no classification into 7 layers.

To reach the needed "seven layers" different criteria are being mixed to reach the desired number 7. For example, Earth's atmosphere is commonly divided into five main layers based on temperature. From highest to lowest, these layers are:

  1. Exosphere
  2. Thermosphere
  3. Mesosphere
  4. Stratosphere
  5. Troposphere

Within the five principal layers which are largely determined by temperature, several secondary layers may be distinguished by other properties:

  1. Ozone layer
  2. Ionosphere
  3. Homosphere and heterosphere
  4. Planetary boundary layer[1]

Apologists include all five principle layers in their count, then arbitrarily add the ozone layer (which is contained within the stratosphere) and the ionosphere (which forms the inner edge of the magnetosphere) to reach the desired number 7.

If two of the secondary layers are included in the total count, there is no logically viable reason to exclude the planetary boundary layer (the part of the troposphere that is closest to Earth's surface) or the homosphere and heterosphere (which are contained within all five principle layers).

Seven Layers of the Earth

The Seven "Earths" refer to the layers that literally make up the Earth

1. crust
2. lithosphere
3. upper mantle
4. astenoshpere ("sic")
5. lower mantle
6. outer core
7. inner core

Note the same dishonest approach taken to assign seven layers of the atmosphere - i.e. the double counting of layers.

The general scientific view is that the earth is composed of four or five major layers depending on whether one splits the mantle or not.[2][3][4]

The five layers are as follows:

  1. crust
  2. upper mantle
  3. lower mantle
  4. outer core
  5. inner core


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There are two ways to classify the composition of the geosphere - chemically, into crust, mantle, and core, or functionally, in the case of the outer layers (crust and mantle) into lithosphere and asthenosphere.[5][6]


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From the evidence above, one can see the apologetic deceit because they double-count the lithosphere/asthenosphere while they also count the crust and upper mantle. Note that this is dishonest because these are alternative classifications. One cannot honestly count all lithosphere, asthenosphere, crust, and upper mantle together as one would be recounting the same rocks.

Recently new scientific hypotheses proposed by J. Marvin Herndon and Prof Xiaodong Song suggest the inner core may be further subdivided into four layers; the inner core, the innermost core, a sub-shell of fission material and decay products, and a subcore of uranium and plutonium forming the georeactor.[7] If this new theory is accepted the number of layers of the earth will rise from five to eight.

Apologists sometimes depict the hydrosphere in their diagrams but are themselves inconsistent in counting/not counting it as one of their seven layers. Even on the crust, there are many layers of rocks one below the other.[8] Their exact number varies from place to place but they can easily number in dozens, and the diversity of these rock layers forms the very basis of geology. Why are apologists ignoring these layers?

Seven Continents of the Earth

The same apologists try to hedge their bets by claiming it is either seven layers or seven continents.

OR they could refer to the "7 Continents" (in the context that "al-ard" means ground)
1. North America
2. South America
3. Australia
4. Asia
5. Africa
6. Antarctica
7. Europe

The former explanation (seven layers) would seem more accurate as all translations refer to "earth" and not ground. Nevertheless, although the number of continents is traditionally considered seven, some geographers and scientists think there are only six as Europe and Asia are technically a single land mass (i.e. Eurasia) and on the same tectonic plate.[9] Therefore, the traditional number of seven continents is more a cultural bias than an actual geographical/geological fact.

Seven Earths

There are some who claim that Allah created seven earths.[10] This is in fact the correct understanding of verse 65:12 supported by various hadiths and tafsir commentaries. However, we only know of one, our own. To get around this problem, apologists such as Maurice Bucaille claim scientists have just not discovered the other six yet.[11]

To further complicate matters for apologists, Islamic sources state the seven earths being referred to in verse 65:12 are flat islands, one under the other. For example:

Narrated AbuHurayrah: While Allah's Prophet (peace be upon him) and his companions were sitting clouds came over them and Allah's Prophet (peace be upon him) asked, "Do you know what these are?" On their replying that Allah and His Messenger knew best, he said, "These are the clouds (anan), these are the water-carriers of the Earth, which Allah drives to people who do not thank Him or call upon him." He then asked, "Do you know what is above you?" On their replying that Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) knew best, he said, "It is the firmament, a ceiling which is guarded and waves which are kept back." He then asked, "Do you know what is between you and it?" On their replying that Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) knew best, he said, "Between you and it are five hundred years." He then asked, "Do you knew what is above that?" On their replying that Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) best he said, "Two heavens with a distance of five hundred years between them." He went on speaking like that till he counted seven heavens, the distance between each pair being like between Heaven and Earth. He then asked, "Do you know what is above that?" On their replying that Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) knew best, he said, "Above that is the Throne, and the distance between it and the (seventh) heaven is the same as that between each pair of heavens." He then asked, "Do you know what is below you?" On their replying that Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) knew best, he said, "It is the earth." He then asked, "Do you know what is under that?" On their replying that Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) knew best, he said, "Under it there is another Earth with a journey of five hundred years between them," and so on till he had counted seven earths with a journey of five hundred years between each pair. He then said, "By Him in Whose hand Muhammad's soul is, if you were to drop a rope to the lowest earth it would not pass out of Allah's knowledge." He then recited, "He is the First and the Last, the Outward and the Inward, and He is omniscient." (Tirmidhi commented that Allah's Messenger's recitation of the verse indicates that it would go down within Allah's knowledge, power and authority, for Allah's knowledge, power and authority are everywhere, while He is on the Throne, as He described Himself in His Book.)
Al Tirmidhi 5735
According to Muhammad b. Sahl b. 'Askar-Isma'il b. 'Abd al-Karim-Wahb, mentioning some of his majesty (as being described as follows): The heavens and the earth and the oceans are in the haykal, and the haykal is in the Footstool. God's feet are upon the Footstool. He carries the Footstool. It became like a sandal on His feet. When Wahb was asked: What is the haykal? He replied: Something on the heavens' extremities that surrounds the earth and the oceans like ropes that are used to fasten a tent. And when Wahb was asked how earths are (constituted), he replied: They are seven earths that are flat and islands. Between each two earths, there is an ocean. All that is surrounded by the (surrounding) ocean, and the haykal is behind the ocean.
Al-Tabari, Vol. 1, pp. 207-208

Seven Universes

Another common apologetic claim is that these seven heavens are actually seven universes which we are yet to discover, and that we know only our one universe so far (due to the Quran stating the nearest/lowest heaven is adorned with stars which cover the known visible universe).

Gates and water of the universe

The following verse contradicts such a claim since it says rain was made to fall from heaven. Certainly, rain does not come from outer space, let alone from gates at the edge of the universe which would be ~46.5 billion light years away.[12] The word used for heaven here is sama, the same as that for the seven heavens.

So We opened the gates of heaven, with water pouring forth.
"Qur'an 54:11", http://islamawakened.com/quran/54/11/default.htm. 

Earth created before the Universe

The Quran also has the Earth created before the heavens (universes) are created, while the heaven is 'smoke' (see Quran and a Universe from Smoke). Obviously the Earth cannot be created before the Universe is made:

Say: Is it that ye deny Him Who created the earth in two Days? And do ye join equals with Him? He is the Lord of (all) the Worlds. He set on the (earth), mountains standing firm, high above it, and bestowed blessings on the earth, and measure therein all things to give them nourishment in due proportion, in four Days, in accordance with (the needs of) those who seek (Sustenance). Then turned He to the heaven when it was smoke, and said unto it and unto the earth: Come both of you, willingly or loth. They said: We come, obedient. Then He ordained them seven heavens in two Days and inspired in each heaven its mandate; and We decked the nether heaven with lamps, and rendered it inviolable. That is the measuring of the Mighty, the Knower.
Quran 41:9-12

The universe as a roof/ceiling

The sky/heavens are also called a roof/protected ceiling, which even being generous as a metaphorical interpretation does not match the description of a complex universe, however does perfectly match the antiquity view of the sky being a literal solid object, made up of 'firmaments':

[He] who made for you the earth a bed [spread out] and the sky a ceiling and sent down from the sky, rain and brought forth thereby fruits as provision for you. So do not attribute to Allah equals while you know [that there is nothing similar to Him].
Quran 2:22
And We made the sky a protected ceiling, but they, from its signs, are turning away.
Quran 21:32

The universe as day and night

Main page: Geocentrism and the Quran

The Quran also states that the night and morning are said to be an attribute of the heaven (l-samāu) which God built (banāhā) and raised (rafaʿa) as a ceiling (samkahā) and ordered it (fasawwāhā) when he created the heaven and earth. The possessive hā suffix in laylahā (its night) and ḍuḥāhā (its morning light) relates night and day to the heaven - which does not apply at all to the whole universe.

In reality, the night and day we experience is a feature of the earth's rotation on its axis and is only applicable to Earth itself. There is no sense in which the earth's night and day apply across the wider cosmos as it would need to to be able to substitute the word/modern concept 'universe' with heaven/heavens.

Is your creation more prodigious or that of the heaven He has built? He raised its vault and fashioned it, and darkened its night, and brought forth its forenoon.
Quran 79:27-29

See Also

  • Harun Yahya - A hub page that leads to other articles related to Harun Yahya
  • Cosmology - A hub page that leads to other articles related to Cosmology

External Links

References

  1. ↑ "Atmosphere of Earth", Wikipedia, accessed January 2, 2014 (archived), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmosphere_of_Earth. 
  2. ↑ Lisa Gardiner - Structure of the Interior of Earth - Windows to the Universe, January 18, 2010
  3. ↑ Eugene C. Robertson - The Interior of the Earth - U.S. Geological Survey, May 21, 2007
  4. ↑ Maggi Glasscoe - Structure of the Earth - Southern California Integrated GPS Network (SCIGN), August 14, 1998
  5. ↑ Dr. Michael Pidwirny - Fundamentals of Physical Geography/ Structure of the Earth - 2nd Edition, 2006
  6. ↑ The history of life on Earth - Palaeos
  7. ↑ D. F. Hollenbach, and J. M. Herndon - Deep-Earth reactor: Nuclear fission, helium, and the geomagnetic field - PNAS 2001 vol. 98 no. 20 pp 11085-11090
  8. ↑ For example, here are the illustrated layers of Zion National Park, Grand Canyon, the Alps and Himalayas.
  9. ↑ Matt Rosenberg - Continents - About.com
  10. ↑ Layers of the Earth - Justread.20m.com
  11. ↑ Dr. Maurice Bucaille - The Bible, The Qur'an and Science/ Confrontation with the data in the Qur'an concerning the creation
  12. ↑ How Far Away is the Edge of the Universe? Museum of Science Podcast. Janine Myszka.
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