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-{{QualityScore|Lead=3|Structure=3|Content=3|Language=2|References=3}}
+{{QualityScore|Lead=3|Structure=3|Content=3|Language=3|References=3}}
 [[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; ancient Mesopotamian Cosmology similarly saw seven earths and seven heavens.<ref>''[https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Mesopotamian_Cosmic_Geography/P8fl8BXpR0MC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=inauthor:%22Wayne+Horowitz%22&printsec=frontcover Mesopotamian Cosmic Geography.]'' Wayne Horowitz. Eisenbrauns. 1998. ISBN [[Special:BookSources/9780931464997|<bdi>9780931464997</bdi>]]. ''Chapter "Seven Heavens and Seven Earths". pp. 208-222.''
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 {{Quote|{{Bukhari|||3196|darussalam}}|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."}}{{Quote|{{Bukhari|||3195|darussalam}}|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 ‏
+The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Any person who takes a piece of land unjustly will sink down the seven earths on the Day of Resurrection."}}
+In the next hadith, طوّقه means put on a neck-ring<ref>طوق tawwaqa [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume5/00000179.pdf Lane's Lexicon] p. 1894</ref> and hence these are flat, not spherical layers.
+{{Quote|{{Bukhari|||3195|darussalam}}|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 ‏"
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 ==Apologetic Claims==
-{{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)"
+{{Quote|https://archive.ph/97uDr#selection-472.8-489.70|"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. <BR>. . .<BR>
@@ Line 102: / Line 105: @@
 . crust<BR>2. lithosphere<BR>3. upper mantle<BR>4. astenoshpere ("sic")<BR>5. lower mantle<BR>6. outer core<BR>7. inner core}}
-Note the same dishonest approach taken to assign seven layers of the atmosphere - i.e. the ''double counting of layers''.
+Note the same inconsistent approach taken to assign seven layers of the atmosphere - i.e. the ''double counting of layers''.
 There is also no linguistical evidence or historical examples for 'al-ard meaning or being used for layer(s) of the planet.
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-From the evidence above, one can see apologetic sleight of hand, because they double-count the lithosphere/asthenosphere while they also counting the crust and upper mantle. This is not consistent since these are alternative classifications.<ref>''[https://www.snexplores.org/article/explainer-earth-layer-layer#:~:text=Starting%20at%20the%20center%2C%20Earth,12%20kilometers%20(7.6%20miles). Explainer: Earth — layer by layer.]'' Earth. Science News Explores. Beth Geiger. 2019.</ref> One cannot count all lithosphere, asthenosphere, crust, and upper mantle together as one would be recounting the same rocks.
+From the evidence above, one can see apologetic inconsistency, because the apologists double-count the lithosphere/asthenosphere while also counting the crust and upper mantle. This is not consistent since these are alternative classifications.<ref>''[https://www.snexplores.org/article/explainer-earth-layer-layer#:~:text=Starting%20at%20the%20center%2C%20Earth,12%20kilometers%20(7.6%20miles). Explainer: Earth — layer by layer.]'' Earth. Science News Explores. Beth Geiger. 2019.</ref> One cannot count all lithosphere, asthenosphere, crust, and upper mantle together as one would be recounting the same rocks.
 A relatively 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.
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 ===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>
+There are some Muslims 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 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|||2454|darussalam}}|Narrated Salim's father (i.e. `Abdullah):
-The Prophet said, "Whoever takes a piece of the land of others unjustly, he will sink down the seven earths on the Day of Resurrection."}}
-{{Quote|{{Bukhari|||2452|darussalam}}|Narrated Sa`id bin Zaid:
-Allah's Messenger said, "Whoever usurps the land of somebody unjustly, '''his neck will be encircled with it''' down the seven earths (on the Day of Resurrection). "
-}}
-{{Quote|{{Muslim||1610d|reference}}|Sa'id b. Zaid reported:
-I heard Allah's Apostle say: He who took a span of earth wrongly '''would be made to wear around his neck''' seven earths on the Day of Resurrection.}}
+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:
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 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.}}With many classical commentators identifying the word 'sijjinn' in verses {{Quran|83|7-8}} with the lowest Earth (or just below it in hell), or as a place where the book of bad deeds of humans is kept and devils live.<ref>[https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Abbas/83.9 ''Verse 83.9.''] Tafsir Ibn Abbas - Tanwîr al-Miqbâs min Tafsîr Ibn ‘Abbâs. (Unknown date)</ref><ref>''[https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Jalal/83.7 Tafsir Al-Jalalayn on verse 87:3.]'' Al-Jalalayn / Al-Mahalli and as-Suyuti. Published 1505.</ref><ref>''[https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Kathir/83.7 Tafsir Ibn Kathir on verse 83.7.]'' Ibn Kathir. d. 1373.</ref>
+{{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.}}Many classical commentators identify the word 'sijjinn' in verses {{Quran|83|7-8}} with the lowest Earth (or just below it in hell), or as a place where the book of bad deeds of humans is kept and devils live.<ref>[https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Abbas/83.9 ''Verse 83.9.''] Tafsir Ibn Abbas - Tanwîr al-Miqbâs min Tafsîr Ibn ‘Abbâs. (Unknown date)</ref><ref>''[https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Jalal/83.7 Tafsir Al-Jalalayn on verse 87:3.]'' Al-Jalalayn / Al-Mahalli and as-Suyuti. Published 1505.</ref><ref>''[https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Kathir/83.7 Tafsir Ibn Kathir on verse 83.7.]'' Ibn Kathir. d. 1373.</ref>
 ===Seven Universes===
 The word that in English is translated for heaven(s) in these verses is samā'/سَماء, which can also be translated as sky (which is essentially its modern meaning in Arabic),<ref>[https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english-arabic/sky ''Sky.''] Translation English to Arabic. Cambridge dictionary.</ref> or skies samāwāt/ سماوات (plural). This is separate to 'jannah/جَنَّة', which refers to the paradise supposedly in the afterlife for righteous Muslims - which readers may mistake as being the same given the double meaning (of heaven) in English. However, unlike paradise ''(jannah)'', the heaven(s)/skies ''(samā'/samāwāt)'' are part of the cosmos, with the moon being described as in them ({{Quran|71|15-16}}), clouds ({{Quran|2|164}}), along with the stars ({{Quran|41|12}}) etc.
-Modern astronomy and technology has allowed us to see, understand, map and even explore the wider Universe, but never found these 7 skies, nor 7 Earths, which as far as we can tell are listed only as 7 was a superstitious number in antiquity.<ref>''[https://www.britannica.com/topic/number-symbolism/7 7. Number Symbolism.]'' Britannica Entry. </ref> Another common apologetic claim is that these seven skies/heavens are actually seven universes which we are yet to discover, and that we know only our one universe so far, often referred to as the lowest/closest heaven ''(al-samā’a l-dunyā)''.
+Modern astronomy and technology has allowed us to see, understand, map and even explore the wider Universe, but never found these 7 skies, nor 7 Earths, which as far as we can tell are listed only as 7 was a pre-scientific number of earths and heavens in antique cosmologies.<ref>''[https://www.britannica.com/topic/number-symbolism/7 7. Number Symbolism.]'' Britannica Entry. </ref> Another common apologetic claim is that these seven skies/heavens are actually seven universes which we are yet to discover, and that we know only our one universe so far, often referred to as the lowest/closest heaven ''(al-samā’a l-dunyā)''.
 This is due to the Quran stating the nearest/lowest heaven is adorned with stars which cover the known visible universe (such as {{Quran|41|12}}), rather than any philological analysis and ignoring all historical context of the word, which has always meant a 'firmament', or solid layer in the sky to Islamic scholars.<ref>[https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Kathir/13.2 ''Tafsir on Verse 13:2.''] Ibn Kathir. d. 1373. </ref> Using the term 'heavens/skies' was common to refer to this in pre-Islamic Christian literature too.<ref>''[https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110794083/html?lang=en 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)''. Decharneux, Julien. 2023. (pp. 255 - 257). De Gruyter. </ref>
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 ====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 ''samā''', the same as that for the seven heavens.
+The following verse contradicts the 7 universes 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 ''samā''', the same as that for the seven heavens.
 {{Quote|{{Quran|54|11}}|So We opened the gates of heaven, with water pouring forth. }}The gates of the heavens are mentioned elsewhere such as below, saying even if God opened a gate so the disbelievers could climb up it, they would still not believe.
@@ Line 262: / Line 251: @@
 Verses in the Quran always describe the heaven and the Earth as separate entities, such as the above verse (Q21:30) describing them as split, with the verse stating that "We clove them" (dual pronoun 'huma'), not "We clove it", thereby indicating that the Earth and skies are distinct after the cloving. Along with things like the moon being described as in them ({{Quran|71|15-16}}), the clouds ''between'' the skies and the Earth ({{Quran|2|164}}), along with the stars being in the nearest sky ({{Quran|41|12}}) etc.
-The Quran never indicates that the Earth itself is simply within this lowest/nearest heaven along with the other planets, stars and heavenly objects. When in reality Earth is the 3rd planet in our Inner Solar System, of the Orion Arm of the Milky Way Galaxy, which is part of the Virgo Supercluster within the wider Laniakea Supercluster, itself one of many,<ref>[https://aaa.org/2022/08/01/our-cosmic-address-where-is-earth-situated-in-the-univers ''Our Cosmic Address: Where is Earth Situated in the Universe?''] - Simone Lilavois - Amateur Astronomers Association, 1 August 2022</ref> making the description odd in light off modern science, but again matching the 'firmament torn from the Earth' view of antiquity.
+The Quran never indicates that the Earth itself is simply within this lowest/nearest heaven along with the other planets, stars and heavenly objects. In reality Earth is the 3rd planet in our Inner Solar System, of the Orion Arm of the Milky Way Galaxy, which is part of the Virgo Supercluster within the wider Laniakea Supercluster, itself one of many,<ref>[https://aaa.org/2022/08/01/our-cosmic-address-where-is-earth-situated-in-the-univers ''Our Cosmic Address: Where is Earth Situated in the Universe?''] - Simone Lilavois - Amateur Astronomers Association, 1 August 2022</ref> making the description odd in light off modern science, but again matching the 'firmament torn from the Earth' view of antiquity.
 ====Between the Universe and the Earth====