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Michael Hoskin and Owen Gingerich, Professor Emeritus of Astronomy and of the History of Science at Harvard University<ref>{{cite web| url=https://histsci.fas.harvard.edu/people/owen-gingerich | title=Owen Gingerich | author= | publisher=Harvard University | date= | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200528204925/https://histsci.fas.harvard.edu/people/owen-gingerich | deadurl=no| accessdate= December 11, 2020| quote=Owen Gingerich is Professor Emeritus of Astronomy and of the History of Science at Harvard University and a senior astronomer emeritus at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. In 1992-93 he chaired Harvard's History of Science Department.}}</ref>, write: | Michael Hoskin and Owen Gingerich, Professor Emeritus of Astronomy and of the History of Science at Harvard University<ref>{{cite web| url=https://histsci.fas.harvard.edu/people/owen-gingerich | title=Owen Gingerich | author= | publisher=Harvard University | date= | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200528204925/https://histsci.fas.harvard.edu/people/owen-gingerich | deadurl=no| accessdate= December 11, 2020| quote=Owen Gingerich is Professor Emeritus of Astronomy and of the History of Science at Harvard University and a senior astronomer emeritus at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. In 1992-93 he chaired Harvard's History of Science Department.}}</ref>, write: | ||
{{Quote|{{citation| last=Hoskin| first=Michael| last2=Gingerich| first2=Owen| chapter=Islamic Astronomy| title=The Cambridge Concise History of Astronomy| ISBN=9780521576000| url=https://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/physics/history-philosophy-and-foundations-physics/cambridge-concise-history-astronomy?format=PB&isbn=9780521576000| pages=50-52| year=1999| publisher=Cambridge University press| location: Cambridge| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20201226174539/https://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/physics/history-philosophy-and-foundations-physics/cambridge-concise-history-astronomy?format=PB&isbn=9780521576000}}|In 762 [Muhammad’s] successors in the Middle East founded a new capital, Baghdad, by the river Tigris at the point of nearest approach of the Euphrates, and within reach of the Christian physicians of Jundishapur. Members of the Baghdad court called on them for advice, and these encounters opened the eyes of prominent Muslims to the existence of a legacy of intellectual treasures from Antiquity - most of which were preserved in manuscripts lying in distant libraries and written in a foreign tongue. Harun al-Rashid (caliph from 786) and his successors sent agents to the Byzantine empire to buy Greek manuscripts, and early in the ninth century a translation centre, the House of Wisdom, was established in Baghdad by the Caliph al-Ma’mun. […] Long before translations began, a rich tradition of folk astronomy already existed in the Arabian peninsula. This merged with the view of the heavens in Islamic commentaries and treatises, to create a simple cosmology based on the actual appearances of the sky and unsupported by any underlying theory.}} | {{Quote|{{citation| last=Hoskin| first=Michael| last2=Gingerich| first2=Owen| chapter=Islamic Astronomy| title=The Cambridge Concise History of Astronomy| ISBN=9780521576000| url=https://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/physics/history-philosophy-and-foundations-physics/cambridge-concise-history-astronomy?format=PB&isbn=9780521576000| pages=50-52| year=1999| publisher=Cambridge University press| location: Cambridge| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20201226174539/https://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/physics/history-philosophy-and-foundations-physics/cambridge-concise-history-astronomy?format=PB&isbn=9780521576000}}|In 762 [Muhammad’s] successors in the Middle East founded a new capital, Baghdad, by the river Tigris at the point of nearest approach of the Euphrates, and within reach of the Christian physicians of Jundishapur. Members of the Baghdad court called on them for advice, and these encounters opened the eyes of prominent Muslims to the existence of a legacy of intellectual treasures from Antiquity - most of which were preserved in manuscripts lying in distant libraries and written in a foreign tongue. Harun al-Rashid (caliph from 786) and his successors sent agents to the Byzantine empire to buy Greek manuscripts, and early in the ninth century a translation centre, the House of Wisdom, was established in Baghdad by the Caliph al-Ma’mun. […] Long before translations began, a rich tradition of folk astronomy already existed in the Arabian peninsula. This merged with the view of the heavens in Islamic commentaries and treatises, to create a simple cosmology based on the actual appearances of the sky and unsupported by any underlying theory.}}Ahmed Dallal, president of the American University in Cairo, writes in regards to scientific astronomical knowledge advancing across the early caliphate:<ref>Dallal, Ahmad. ''[https://yalebooks.co.uk/book/9780300177718/islam-science-and-the-challenge-of-history/ Islam, Science, and the Challenge of History (The Terry Lectures Series)]'' . Yale University Press. 2012.</ref> | ||
{{Quote|Dallal, Ahmad. Islam, Science, and the Challenge of History (The Terry Lectures Series) . Yale University Press. 2012. 9780300177718. Kindle Edition. Location 425-440|...mathematics and astronomy were partly integrated into the curricula of religious schools, through the disciplines of farā’iḍ (algebra of inheritance) and ilm al-mīqāt (timekeeping). And while we have some evidence for the teaching of theoretical astronomy in religious schools after the thirteenth century, we are much more informed about the institutional framework for the practice of the science of astronomy. One such institution where it was practiced was the observatory. The earliest planned and programmed astronomical observations were produced during the last years of the reign of Al-Ma’mūn (r. 813-33), at the outset of the translation movement. Under al-Ma’mūn, a program of astronomical observation was organized in Baghdad (Shammāsiyya) and Damascus (Mount Qāsiyūn). Like any organized research project, this one endowed astronomical activity in the Islamic world with formal prestige. It also set a precedent for future support of scientific activity by other rulers and established patronage as one of the modes of supporting scientific activity. The professed purpose of the program was to verify and correct the Ptolemaic observations for the sun and the moon by comparing the results derived by calculation, based on the Ptolemaic models, with actual observations conducted in Baghdad and Damascus some seven hundred years after Ptolemy...}} | |||
Mohammad Ali Tabatabaʾi and Saida Mirsadri of Tehran University note in their paper surveying Qur'anic cosmography that the Qur'an "takes for granted" the flatness of the earth, a common motif among the scientifically naive people at that time, while it has "not even one hint of a spherical earth"<ref>{{citation |last1=Tabatabaʾi |first1=Mohammad A. |last2=Mirsadri |first2=Saida |date=2016 |title=The Qurʾānic Cosmology, as an Identity in Itself |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24811784 |journal=Arabica |volume=63 |issue=3/4 |pages=201-234}} p. 211; also available on [https://www.academia.edu/23427168/The_Quranic_Cosmology_as_an_Identity_in_Itself academia.edu]</ref> They also note that the pre-Islamic poet Umayya ibn Abī al‐Ṣalt (d. 5 / 626) described the earth as a carpet (bisāṭan, like {{Quran|71|19}}) and likened it to the uplifted heavens. | Mohammad Ali Tabatabaʾi and Saida Mirsadri of Tehran University note in their paper surveying Qur'anic cosmography that the Qur'an "takes for granted" the flatness of the earth, a common motif among the scientifically naive people at that time, while it has "not even one hint of a spherical earth"<ref>{{citation |last1=Tabatabaʾi |first1=Mohammad A. |last2=Mirsadri |first2=Saida |date=2016 |title=The Qurʾānic Cosmology, as an Identity in Itself |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24811784 |journal=Arabica |volume=63 |issue=3/4 |pages=201-234}} p. 211; also available on [https://www.academia.edu/23427168/The_Quranic_Cosmology_as_an_Identity_in_Itself academia.edu]</ref> They also note that the pre-Islamic poet Umayya ibn Abī al‐Ṣalt (d. 5 / 626) described the earth as a carpet (bisāṭan, like {{Quran|71|19}}) and likened it to the uplifted heavens. | ||
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==Direct references to a flat Earth in the Qur'an== | ==Direct references to a flat Earth in the Qur'an== | ||
The Qur'an frequently describes, in explicit terms, the creation of "al-ard", which can be translated as either "Earth" or "land", as a flat structure. The use of metaphors and words intimately associated with flat objects (such as beds and carpets) is especially common in cases where the context of the verse makes it clear that the word "al-ard" is being used to describe the creation of the Earth at the beginning of time alongside the creation of the "heavens" (rather than in the more limited sense of a certain portion of "land"). The best example of this is perhaps [[Islamic Views on the Shape of the Earth#Qur.27an_88:20_-_sutihat_.28.22spread_out_flat.22.29|verse 88:20]]. | The Qur'an frequently describes, in explicit terms, the creation of "al-ard", which can be translated as either "Earth" or "land", as a flat structure. The use of metaphors and words intimately associated with flat objects (such as beds and carpets) is especially common in cases where the context of the verse makes it clear that the word "al-ard" is being used to describe the creation of the Earth at the beginning of time alongside the creation of the "heavens" (rather than in the more limited sense of a certain portion of "land"). The best example of this is perhaps [[Islamic Views on the Shape of the Earth#Qur.27an_88:20_-_sutihat_.28.22spread_out_flat.22.29|verse 88:20]]. | ||
The same term 'al-ard' is even used to describe the creation of the next Earth after judgement day,<ref>E.g. {{Quran|14|48}}</ref> and is commonly used alongside 'the heavens' (i.e. the heavens and the Earth) as a reference to the whole Islamic conception of the universe - it's meaning of the whole Earth can be seen in further verses where it is used on [https://corpus.quran.com/search.jsp?t=3&q=the%20earth QuranCorpus]. | |||
===Qur'an 2:22 - ''firashan'' ("thing spread to sit or lie upon")=== | ===Qur'an 2:22 - ''firashan'' ("thing spread to sit or lie upon")=== | ||
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'''[It is He] who has made for you the earth as a bed [spread out]''' and inserted therein for you roadways and sent down from the sky, rain and produced thereby categories of various plants.}} | '''[It is He] who has made for you the earth as a bed [spread out]''' and inserted therein for you roadways and sent down from the sky, rain and produced thereby categories of various plants.}} | ||
مَهْدًا = mahdan = cradle or bed; a plain, even, or smooth expanse<ref>مَهْدً mahdan - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume7/00000267.pdf Lane's Lexicon] page 2739</ref> | مَهْدًا = mahdan = cradle or bed; a plain, even, or smooth expanse<ref>مَهْدً mahdan - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume7/00000267.pdf Lane's Lexicon] page 2739</ref> | ||
Sinai 2023 notes that also in {{Quran|13|18}}, hell that is called a mihād, a “resting-place spread out.”<ref>Footnote 47 (p. 40): S''inai, Nicolai. Key Terms of the Qur'an: A Critical Dictionary'' (p. 128). Princeton University Press.</ref> This may give further weight to the seven earths found in {{Quran|65|12}} being flat discs one above the other as discussed in the hadith section below, with the lowest being hell as was believed by a number of early and medieval Muslims as this IslamQA post shows.<ref>[https://islamqa.info/en/answers/215011/where-are-paradise-and-hell Where Are Paradise and Hell?] IslamQA. 2015. </ref> | |||
===Qur'an 43:10 - ''mahdan'' ("bed")=== | ===Qur'an 43:10 - ''mahdan'' ("bed")=== | ||
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'''And Allah has made the earth for you as a carpet (spread out),''' }} | '''And Allah has made the earth for you as a carpet (spread out),''' }} | ||
بِسَاطًا = bisaatan = A thing that is spread or spread out or forth, and particularly a carpet (from the same root we also have بَسَاطٌ = basaatun = Land, expanded and even; and wide or spacious) | بِسَاطًا = bisaatan = A thing that is spread or spread out or forth, and particularly a carpet (from the same root we also have بَسَاطٌ = basaatun = Land, expanded and even; and wide or spacious).<ref>بِسَاطًا bisaatan - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume1/00000241.pdf Lane's Lexicon] page 204</ref> | ||
<ref>بِسَاطًا bisaatan - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume1/00000241.pdf Lane's Lexicon] page 204</ref> | |||
This appears to be paraphrasing a similar pre-Islamic poem mentioning the creation and spreading of the Earth attributed to ʿAdī ibn Zayd (wa-basaṭa l-arḍa basṭan), who's motif can be traced back to at least the Hebrew Bible (Isaiah 42:5 and 44:24, Palms 136:6).<ref>''arḍ | earth; land'' Sinai, Nicolai. Key Terms of the Qur'an: A Critical Dictionary (pp. 40-41). Princeton University Press.</ref> | |||
A hadith in Tirmidhi uses the word ''bisaatan'' to describe the spreading or rolling out of a mat: | A hadith in Tirmidhi uses the word ''bisaatan'' to describe the spreading or rolling out of a mat: | ||
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===Qur'an 18:86 and 18:90 - setting and rising places of the sun=== | ===Qur'an 18:86 and 18:90 - setting and rising places of the sun=== | ||
{{Main|Dhul-Qarnayn and the Sun Setting in a Muddy Spring - Part One}}{{Quote|{{Quran|18|86}}| حتى اذا بلغ مغرب الشمس وجدها تغرب في عين حمئة ووجد عندها قوما قلنا ياذا القرنين اما ان تعذب واما ان تتخذ فيهم حسنا | {{Main|Dhul-Qarnayn and the Sun Setting in a Muddy Spring - Part One|Dhul-Qarnayn and the Sun Setting in a Muddy Spring - Part Two}}{{Quote|{{Quran|18|86}}| حتى اذا بلغ مغرب الشمس وجدها تغرب في عين حمئة ووجد عندها قوما قلنا ياذا القرنين اما ان تعذب واما ان تتخذ فيهم حسنا | ||
Hatta itha balagha maghriba alshshamsi wajadaha taghrubu fee AAaynin hami-atin wawajada AAindaha qawman qulna ya tha alqarnayni imma an tuAAaththiba wa-imma an tattakhitha feehim husnan | Hatta itha balagha maghriba alshshamsi wajadaha taghrubu fee AAaynin hami-atin wawajada AAindaha qawman qulna ya tha alqarnayni imma an tuAAaththiba wa-imma an tattakhitha feehim husnan | ||
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{{Quote|{{Quran|2|144}}|We have seen the turning of thy face to heaven (for guidance, O Muhammad). And now verily We shall make thee turn (in prayer) toward a qiblah which is dear to thee. So turn thy face toward the Inviolable Place of Worship, and ye (O Muslims), wheresoever ye may be, turn your faces (when ye pray) toward it. Lo! Those who have received the Scripture know that (this revelation) is the Truth from their Lord. And Allah is not unaware of what they do.}} | {{Quote|{{Quran|2|144}}|We have seen the turning of thy face to heaven (for guidance, O Muhammad). And now verily We shall make thee turn (in prayer) toward a qiblah which is dear to thee. So turn thy face toward the Inviolable Place of Worship, and ye (O Muslims), wheresoever ye may be, turn your faces (when ye pray) toward it. Lo! Those who have received the Scripture know that (this revelation) is the Truth from their Lord. And Allah is not unaware of what they do.}} | ||
This verse instructs prayer towards the [[Ka'bah]] (the word ''qiblah'' referring to the direction that one has to face in order to pray towards the Ka'bah). Taken literally, "turning one's face" toward the Ka'bah is only possible on a flat Earth, since on a spherical Earth, | This verse instructs prayer towards the [[Ka'bah]] (the word ''qiblah'' referring to the direction that one has to face in order to pray towards the Ka'bah). Taken literally, "turning one's face" toward the Ka'bah is only possible on a flat Earth, since on a spherical Earth, facing any direction when located anywhere other than the immediate vicinity of the Ka'bah will point along a tangent to the Earth's surface and ultimately off into outer-space, not Mecca. For this reason, the [[w:Great circle|great circle]] method from spherical geometry is used. Nevertheless, other Islamic practices such as defecting opposite the Ka'bah and sleeping facing the Ka'bah are thereby complicated. Indeed, in facing the Ka'bah perfectly, one's hind side would also, on a sphere, necessarily face the Ka'bah with equal perfection. | ||
Other | Other problems emerge as well. The Americas are largely contained in the hemisphere of the antipode (point directly opposite on a sphere) to Mecca. The great circle lines across the continent diverge from the antipode before they start to converge when they enter the hemisphere of Mecca, causing people north and south across the Americas to face away from each other as they pray, with those on the west coast of North America even facing Northwards over the Arctic. To many this feels unnatural or uncomfortable, so among American Muslims the [[W:Rhumb line|rhumb line]] method is often preferred (a rhumb line appears as a straight line on [[w:Mercator_projection|Mercator projection]] world maps). The two very different methods can lead to disagreement and criticism among Muslims in the same country. Another difficult implication is that a person located at the antipode of Mecca itself would simultaneously be facing toward and directly away from Mecca no matter which direction they turned, a situation similar to that a person attempting to pray within the walls of the Ka'bah itself. | ||
While a non-literal reading of the passage helps to escape these implications, critics argue that it remains the case that the author of the verse | While a non-literal reading of the passage helps to escape some of these implications, critics argue that it remains the case that the author of the verse did not appreciate the complications with his instruction to face the Ka'bah, suggesting that he held the Earth to be flat. | ||
===Qur'an 18:47 - when the mountains are removed, the entire Earth will be apparent=== | ===Qur'an 18:47 - when the mountains are removed, the entire Earth will be apparent=== | ||
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While the Islamic tradition maintain and modern academics contest whether so-called authentic hadiths can be reliably traced back to the prophet and his companions, all agree that hadiths, whether authentic or inauthentic represent the beliefs of various populations among the earliest Muslims. That is, even if a hadith is weak, it's fabrication, existence, and circulation attest to the simple fact that at least some early Muslims, even if this did not include Muhammad and his companions, believed that hadith's contents. | While the Islamic tradition maintain and modern academics contest whether so-called authentic hadiths can be reliably traced back to the prophet and his companions, all agree that hadiths, whether authentic or inauthentic represent the beliefs of various populations among the earliest Muslims. That is, even if a hadith is weak, it's fabrication, existence, and circulation attest to the simple fact that at least some early Muslims, even if this did not include Muhammad and his companions, believed that hadith's contents. | ||
This said, there exist a variety of hadiths in canonical and authentic collections of hadith that explicitly and implicitly attest and adhere to a flat Earth. Countless weak hadiths can be counted which, in addition to these authentic hadiths, confirm that the earliest Muslims believed in a flat earth. | This said, there exist a variety of hadiths in canonical and authentic collections of hadith that explicitly and implicitly attest and adhere to a flat Earth. Countless weak hadiths can be counted which, in addition to these authentic hadiths, reflect the beliefs before the translations of Greek astronomy and philosophy had taken hold, and confirm that the earliest Muslims believed in a flat earth.<ref>Hannam, James. The Globe: How the Earth Became Round REAKTION BOOKS. 2023. ''See Chapter 15: Islam: ‘The Earth laid out like a carpet’.'' Quote on (p. 197): | ||
''..it became evident that a great many of Muhammad’s alleged utterances had been invented later on, to win an argument or prove a point. Their numbers proliferated, and blatant inconsistencies crept into the canon. Muslim scholars were alive to this issue and went to great efforts to authenticate the sayings by verifying the chain of oral transmission. Many were declared ‘weak’ and so treated with scepticism. By AD 900, specialist researchers had winnowed down the thousands of sayings into six overlapping canonical compilations that, according to Muslim consensus, enjoy a high level of reliability.'' | |||
''The sayings are an invaluable record of the debates and thinking of Muslim scholars in the earliest years of Islam. In particular, they reflect the intellectual environment before the translations of Greek astronomy and philosophy had taken hold. In this respect, a weak hadith, while not reflecting the words of Muhammad himself, is still evidence of Muslim opinion in the years before 900.''</ref> | |||
===Seven stacked earths=== | ===Seven stacked earths=== | ||
''Main article: [[Science and the Seven Earths]]'' | |||
Various narrations describe seven stacked flat earths (not spherical layers, طوّقه means put on a neck-ring<ref>طوق tawwaqa [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume5/00000179.pdf Lane's Lexicon] p. 1894</ref>):{{Quote|{{Bukhari|3|43|634}}|Narrated Salim's father (i.e. `Abdullah): | Various narrations describe seven stacked flat earths (not spherical layers, طوّقه means put on a neck-ring<ref>طوق tawwaqa [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume5/00000179.pdf Lane's Lexicon] p. 1894</ref>):{{Quote|{{Bukhari|3|43|634}}|Narrated Salim's father (i.e. `Abdullah): | ||
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==Flat Earth in tafsirs== | ==Flat Earth in tafsirs== | ||
===The spring where the sun sets=== | ===The spring where the sun sets=== | ||
{{Main|Dhul-Qarnayn and the Sun Setting in a Muddy Spring - Part One}} | {{Main|Dhul-Qarnayn and the Sun Setting in a Muddy Spring - Part One|Dhul-Qarnayn and the Sun Setting in a Muddy Spring - Part Two}} | ||
Early Tafsirs (commentaries on the Quran from Muslim Scholars) had no issue stating that the Quran supports a flat Earth cosmology. In fact the earliest surviving authentically attributed tafsir, Tafsir Muqātil ibn Sulaymān (d. 767 CE), i.e. who lived closer to the time of Muhammad than any other scholar, says on verse 18:86 that this means the sun is setting in a muddy spring, which is only possible on a flat (and geocentric) Earth. | |||
{{Quote|1=[https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=67&tSoraNo=18&tAyahNo=83&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1 Tafsir Muqātil ibn Sulaymān on Verses 18:83-86]|2={Until when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it setting in a spring of mud}, meaning hot and black. Ibn Abbas said: When the sun rises, it is hotter than when it sets.}} | |||
In the tafsir of al-Tabari (b. 224 AH / 839 CE) for {{Quran|18|86}}, the following remarks are made about the nature of the spring into which the sun sets. For another, full English translation of the relevant page in al-Tabari's tafsir [https://theislamissue.wordpress.com/2022/03/23/tafsir-al-tabari-for-q1886/ see this article]. The similar sounding words hami'ah (muddy) and hamiyah (hot) seem to have become confused at some point in the transmission of the Qur'anic script: | In the tafsir of al-Tabari (b. 224 AH / 839 CE) for {{Quran|18|86}}, the following remarks are made about the nature of the spring into which the sun sets. For another, full English translation of the relevant page in al-Tabari's tafsir [https://theislamissue.wordpress.com/2022/03/23/tafsir-al-tabari-for-q1886/ see this article]. The similar sounding words hami'ah (muddy) and hamiyah (hot) seem to have become confused at some point in the transmission of the Qur'anic script: | ||
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Al-Tabari (d. 923) in his ''History of the Prophets and Kings'' and al-Baydawi (d. 1286) in his tafsir mention the opinion that the sun has 360 springs into which it can set. A similar idea is found in the so-called pre-Islamic "Jahili" Arab poems. | Al-Tabari (d. 923) in his ''History of the Prophets and Kings'' and al-Baydawi (d. 1286) in his tafsir mention the opinion that the sun has 360 springs into which it can set. A similar idea is found in the so-called pre-Islamic "Jahili" Arab poems. | ||
A longer list of scholars who took this as literal can be found in this reddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/CritiqueIslam/comments/12e8bh9/update_a_comprehensive_and_longer_list_of_the/?rdt=43496 thread] on R/CritiqueIslam, where one can see it only become 'metaphorical' as Ptolemy's round Earth views became more widely accepted. As historian of science James Hamman notes, ''when the translation movement began in the late eighth century, the study of the Koran was already a mature discipline. And since the Koran was the product of a very different environment from multicultural Baghdad, its world picture didn’t cohere with the cosmology transmitted by the foreign sciences of Indian and Greek astronomy''.<ref>Hannam, James. ''The Globe: How the Earth Became Round'' (pp. 194-195). REAKTION BOOKS. 2023.</ref> | |||
===The sky as a dome above the Earth=== | ===The sky as a dome above the Earth=== | ||
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===The Earth on the back of the Islamic Whale=== | ===The Earth on the back of the Islamic Whale=== | ||
{{Main|The Islamic Whale}} | {{Main|The Islamic Whale}} | ||
Al-Tabari's tafsir regarding {{Quran|68|1}}, which mysteriously starts with the Arabic letter | Al-Tabari's tafsir regarding {{Quran|68|1}}, which mysteriously starts with the Arabic letter Nun, records, along with many other classical tafsirs and sahih narrations<ref>[https://tafsir.app/68/1 Tafsirs 68:1]</ref><ref>{{Citation|title=Islam & the whale that carries the Earth on its back|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVhsVjXJzKM&ab_channel=TheMaskedArab|publisher=The Masked Arab|publication-date=February 25, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|url=https://answeringislamblog.wordpress.com/2016/10/19/muhammads-magical-mountain-one-whale-of-a-tale/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701144708/https://answeringislamblog.wordpress.com/2016/10/19/muhammads-magical-mountain-one-whale-of-a-tale/|publisher=Answering Islam Blog|publication-date=October 19, 2016|chapter=Muhammad’s Magical Mountain: One Whale of a Tale!}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|author=Sam Shamoun|publisher=Answering Islam|url=https://www.answering-islam.org/Shamoun/whale_nun.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112030934/https://www.answering-islam.org/Shamoun/whale_nun.htm|chapter=The Quran and the Shape of the Earth}}</ref>, that one of the interpretations among sahabah such as ibn 'Abbas was that the 'nun' is a whale on whose back the Earth is carried (other interpretations were that "Nun" is an inkwell or a name of Allah). While there may not have been a consensus on the existence of the whale, the plausibility and acceptability of the idea implies a flat Earth and radically non-modern cosmology. | ||
=== Mount Qaf === | |||
Similarly Surah 50 begins with the Arabic letter Qaf, which Scott Noegel and Brannon Wheeler (2010) note many Muslim exegetes take to refer to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Qaf Mount. Qaf] ''(Q 50:1) as a “world mountain,” which surrounds the earth and holds up the sky, thus connecting the heavens and the earth.''<ref>Noegel, Scott B.; Wheeler, Brannon M.. ''The A to Z of Prophets in Islam and Judaism (The A to Z Guide Series Book 176).'' 2010. pp 68 (Kindle Edition pp. 148). See under a section titled "Cosmology and Cosmogony" pp. 67-68: | |||
''Much like the classical Greek conception, the earth or the middle realm of the cosmos is envisioned as a flat disc surrounded by the world ocean on all sides. The Quran describes the earth as flat and spread out (Q 71:19), wide and expansive (Q 29:56). There are points on the earth that serve as conduits or points of contact with the lower realms (pits, caves, water sources) and the upper realms (mountains, trees, high buildings). Muslim exegetes describe '''Mt. Qaf (Q 50:1)''' as a "world mountain," which surrounds the earth and holds up the sky, thus connecting the heavens and the earth.'' | |||
E.g. see Al-Tabari's commentary on verse [https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=67&tSoraNo=50&tAyahNo=1&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1 50:1] and Mutaqil Ibn Suliman's on Verse [https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=67&tSoraNo=50&tAyahNo=1&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1 50:1] and [https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=67&tSoraNo=18&tAyahNo=85&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1 18:86] </ref> This (a mountain that surrounds the world) is of course only possible on a flat Earth. It was even associated with the mythical city of “Jabalq,” allegedly to be located in the extreme east or west, at the edges of the earth.<ref>Noegel, Scott B.; Wheeler, Brannon M.. ''The A to Z of Prophets in Islam and Judaism (The A to Z Guide Series Book 176)''. 2010. (pp. 271-272). Scarecrow Press. Kindle Edition. | |||
''The Arab geographer Yaqut describes Qaf as a mountain that encompasses and encloses the earth. It is made out of blue or green crystal, and all mountains in the world are tributaries of Qaf. Mt. Qaf is associated with the city of “Jabalq,” which can be read also as “Mt. Qaf” [Ar. Jabal-Qaf] in Arabic. This city is supposed to be located in the extreme east or west, at the edges of the earth. Qaf is also linked to the mountain on which Adam was supposed to have stood and peered into heaven after his expulsion from the Garden of Eden.''</ref> | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|50|1}}|Qaf. By the Glorious Qur'an,}} | |||
==Classical perspectives== | ==Classical perspectives== | ||
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===Ibn Kathir (d. 1373)=== | ===Ibn Kathir (d. 1373)=== | ||
Ibn Kathir says the heavens are a dome or roof or like the floors of a building over the Earth which is its foundation in his tafsir for verses [http://m.qtafsir.com/Surah-Al-Baqara/The-Beginning-of-the-Creation 2:29], [http://m.qtafsir.com/Surah-Ar-Rad/Clarifying-Allahs-Perfect-Abi--- 13:2], [http://m.qtafsir.com/Surah-Al-Anbiya/In-everything-there-is-a-Sign---- 21:32], [http://m.qtafsir.com/Surah-Ya-Seen/Among-the-Signs-of-the-Might-a--- 36:38], and [http://m.qtafsir.com/Surah-Fussilat/Some-Details-of-the-Creation-o--- 41:9-12]. | Ibn Kathir says the heavens are a dome or roof or like the floors of a building over the Earth which is its foundation in his tafsir for verses [http://m.qtafsir.com/Surah-Al-Baqara/The-Beginning-of-the-Creation 2:29], [http://m.qtafsir.com/Surah-Ar-Rad/Clarifying-Allahs-Perfect-Abi--- 13:2], [http://m.qtafsir.com/Surah-Al-Anbiya/In-everything-there-is-a-Sign---- 21:32], [http://m.qtafsir.com/Surah-Ya-Seen/Among-the-Signs-of-the-Might-a--- 36:38], and [http://m.qtafsir.com/Surah-Fussilat/Some-Details-of-the-Creation-o--- 41:9-12]. It is also clear like those before him he is directly aware of astronomers theories. | ||
{{Quote|[https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Kathir/36.37 Tafsir Ibn Kathir for Quran 36:38]|(on its fixed course for a term (appointed). ) (The first view) is that it refers to its fixed course of location, which is beneath the Throne, beyond the earth in that direction. Wherever it goes, it is beneath the Throne, it and all of creation, <b>because the Throne is the roof of creation and it is not a sphere as many astronomers claim.</b> Rather it is a dome supported by legs or pillars, carried by the angels, and it is above the universe, above the heads of people. When the sun is at its zenith at noon, it is in its closest position to Throne, and when it runs in its fourth orbit at the opposite point to its zenith, at midnight, it is in its furthest position ...}} | |||
===Jalal ad-Din al-Maḥalli (d. 1460)=== | ===Jalal ad-Din al-Maḥalli (d. 1460)=== | ||
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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"]]. | 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"]]. | ||
See also their commentary on [https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Jalal/91.6 91.6], [https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Jalal/71.19 71.19], [https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Jalal/13.3 13.3], [https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Jalal/15.19 15.19], [https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Jalal/51.48 51.48], [https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Jalal/79.30 79:30] etc. | |||
===Others=== | ===Others=== | ||
Many further examples of scholars expressing a flat earth interpretation of the Quran are collated in [https://theislamissue.wordpress.com/2019/03/22/scholarly-consensus-of-a-round-earth/ another article ]. These | Many further examples of scholars expressing a flat earth interpretation of the Quran are collated in [https://theislamissue.wordpress.com/2019/03/22/scholarly-consensus-of-a-round-earth/ another article.] One can see that all early mufassirūn (Quranic scholars who wrote commentaries/tafsirs) (''which can be viewed directly on [https://www.altafsir.com/ tafsir.com]'') that commented on the relevant verses took the view the Qur'an was describing a flat earth with the sun literally setting in a muddy spring. | ||
Adding to these lists of mufassirūn we can almost certainly add the main compliers of the hadith (Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawood, al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa'i and ibn Majah), who were themselves extremely important scholars in early Islam. As while they may not have had a 100% consistent view of the cosmos in every aspect, it is clear they adhere to the ancient flat-Earth (with seven flat earths) geocentric worldview, as they would unlikely have trusted or contained so many statements in their collections (such as mentioned above), had they known or believed them to conflict directly with reality or the Qur'an. | |||
These interpretations contrast with claims of an Islamic scholarly consensus for a round earth. As Dr Omar Anchassi says '<nowiki/>''It is clear that the Aristotelian-Ptolemaic vision of the cosmos remained contested by theologians of all stripes to the end of the fifth/eleventh century''<nowiki/>'<ref>''[https://www.academia.edu/93485940/Against_Ptolemy_Cosmography_in_Early_Kal%C4%81m_2022_ Against Ptolemy? Cosmography in Early Kalām (2022).]'' Omar Anchassi. ''Journal of the American Oriental Society'', ''142''(4), 851–881. <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.7817/jaos.142.4.2022.ar033</nowiki></ref> in his article '''[https://doi.org/10.7817/jaos.142.4.2022.ar033 Against Ptolemy? Cosmography in Early Kalām]''<nowiki/>' (2022). | |||
==Modern perspectives and criticisms thereof== | ==Modern perspectives and criticisms thereof== | ||
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This modern reinterpretation of Qur'anic cosmology significantly aligns with modern science and historiography insofar as it understands the intent of the Qur'an to be based on the worldview of the 7th-century Arabian city where it is said to have been produced - that is, as far as Muhammad and his companions were concerned and could tell, the world was indeed flat, and this is the same perspective assumed by the Qur'an. The Qur'an and its first audience did not know the Earth was spherical and did not say as much. This reading of the Qur'an also benefits from not relying on faulty linguistic, historic, and geometric ideas in order to force fit a round earth reading into the verses. This view is the most common amongst educated Muslims today and is likely to predominate going forward. | This modern reinterpretation of Qur'anic cosmology significantly aligns with modern science and historiography insofar as it understands the intent of the Qur'an to be based on the worldview of the 7th-century Arabian city where it is said to have been produced - that is, as far as Muhammad and his companions were concerned and could tell, the world was indeed flat, and this is the same perspective assumed by the Qur'an. The Qur'an and its first audience did not know the Earth was spherical and did not say as much. This reading of the Qur'an also benefits from not relying on faulty linguistic, historic, and geometric ideas in order to force fit a round earth reading into the verses. This view is the most common amongst educated Muslims today and is likely to predominate going forward. | ||
On the other hand, critics, in line with academic scholars such as those quoted earlier in this article, argue that the context of most of the relevant verses is expressly the creation of the heavens and the earth and that these are therefore statements about the earth as a whole, even if the main purpose of the verses are to remind the audience how Allah has thereby made the earth traversible and hospitable to humans. If the Quranic author was describing the earth only as perceived from a 'human perspective | On the other hand, critics, in line with academic scholars such as those quoted earlier in this article, argue that the context of most of the relevant verses is expressly the creation of the heavens and the earth and that these are therefore statements about the earth as a whole, even if the main purpose of the verses are to remind the audience how Allah has thereby made the earth traversible and hospitable to humans. | ||
If the Quranic author was describing the earth only as perceived from a 'human' or 'local' perspective, critics note that he could easily have stated so explicitly, or with further context: for example, 'see how the Earth ''appears'' spread out like a carpet/bed for you to live on safely', or 'the ground ''in front of you'' is spread out'. And/or ignore flat references, focusing on other aspects of nature's beauty and benefits to make the same point, without denoting a cosmological view that has been directly and repeatedly used by devout Islamic scholars throughout history to argue against a round earth.<ref>Read on the debate within Islamic authorities between those following the traditional cosmological view of the Quran verses, against those incorporating Greek science and philosophy in the first five centuries of Islam (in which the debate was not settled in) in: ''[https://www.academia.edu/93485940/Against_Ptolemy_Cosmography_in_Early_Kal%C4%81m_2022_ Against Ptolemy? Cosmography in Early Kalām (2022)].'' Omar Anchassi. ''Journal of the American Oriental Society'', ''142''(4), 851–881</ref> | |||
==See Also== | ==See Also== | ||
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* [[Scientific Errors in the Quran]] | * [[Scientific Errors in the Quran]] | ||
* [[Geocentrism and the Quran]] | * [[Geocentrism and the Quran]] | ||
* [[The Islamic Whale]] | |||
{{Translation-links-english|[[Le Coran et la Terre plate|French]], [[Placatá Země a Korán|Czech]]}} | {{Translation-links-english|[[Le Coran et la Terre plate|French]], [[Placatá Země a Korán|Czech]]}} | ||
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==External Links== | ==External Links== | ||
*[ | * [https://www.answering-islam.org/Quran/Science/seven_earths.html Qur'an & Science Problem: The Seven Earths - Their Existence and their Location - answering-Islam.org] | ||
* [https://theislamissue.wordpress.com/2019/03/22/scholarly-consensus-of-a-round-earth/ Scholarly consensus of a round earth? - The Islam Issue] | |||
*[https:// | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||