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Islamic Views on the Shape of the Earth: Difference between revisions
Islamic Views on the Shape of the Earth (view source)
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=== Qur'an 79:30 === | === Qur'an 79:30 === | ||
Many Islamist apologists attempt to deflect criticism that the Qur'an promotes the mistaken belief of a flat earth by the word dahaha used in Qur'an 79:30, commonly translated as | Many Islamist apologists attempt to deflect criticism that the Qur'an promotes the mistaken belief of a flat earth by the word dahaha used in Qur'an 79:30, commonly translated as ‘He spread it’ or ‘He stretched it’. | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|79|30}}| '''Arabic:''' والارض بعد ذلك دحاها | {{Quote|{{Quran|79|30}}| '''Arabic:''' والارض بعد ذلك دحاها | ||
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====Apologetic Claims==== | ====Apologetic Claims==== | ||
{{quote || Anyway, to answer your question about why did Allah Almighty use the word "dahaha" in Noble Verse 79:30, well it's because the word is the most precise out of all. It describes the roundness and the flatness of the earth at once. <ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20071227021224/http://www.answering-christianity.com/earth_in_islam.htm Answering Christianity on dahaha]</ref>}} | {{quote || Anyway, to answer your question about why did Allah Almighty use the word "dahaha" in Noble Verse 79:30, well it's because the word is the most precise out of all. It describes the roundness and the flatness of the earth at once. <ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20071227021224/http://www.answering-christianity.com/earth_in_islam.htm Answering Christianity on dahaha]</ref>}} | ||
Some will also claim that the root word for dahaha is duhiya which means ostrich egg. | Some will also falsely claim that the root word for dahaha is duhiya which means ostrich egg. | ||
{{quote || 4. Earth is geo-spherical in shape | {{quote || 4. Earth is geo-spherical in shape | ||
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Thus the Qur’an and modern established science are in perfect harmony.<ref>[http://www.islamicvoice.com/February2006/QuestionHour-DrZakirNaik/?PHPSESSID=c30907389ab7486d8886b1a992e9ae1a Q & A - Zakir Naik - dahaha]</ref>}} | Thus the Qur’an and modern established science are in perfect harmony.<ref>[http://www.islamicvoice.com/February2006/QuestionHour-DrZakirNaik/?PHPSESSID=c30907389ab7486d8886b1a992e9ae1a Q & A - Zakir Naik - dahaha]</ref>}} | ||
A further apologetic is to point to a game played by Meccans in their attempt to link dahaha with roundness. | A further apologetic is to point to a game played by Meccans in their attempt to link dahaha with roundness. | ||
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The Arabic words for “flat” or “level” or “straight shaped” are “sawi” and “almustavi”. There is not a single place in Quran where there is any indication of the earth being “flat” or “straight shaped”. The word “faraash” in 2:22, 51:48; the word “wasia” in 4:97, 29:56, 30:10; the word “mahd” in 20:53, 43:10, 78:6; the word “basaat” in 71:19; the word “suttihat” in 88:20; and the word “tahaaha” in 91:6, all may mean, “to spread”, “to expand” or “to extend” with slight differences in their connotations but none signify the earth being straight-shaped or flat.<ref>[http://www.quranicteachings.co.uk/earth-shape.htm QuranTeachings.co.uk - 79:30]</ref>}} | The Arabic words for “flat” or “level” or “straight shaped” are “sawi” and “almustavi”. There is not a single place in Quran where there is any indication of the earth being “flat” or “straight shaped”. The word “faraash” in 2:22, 51:48; the word “wasia” in 4:97, 29:56, 30:10; the word “mahd” in 20:53, 43:10, 78:6; the word “basaat” in 71:19; the word “suttihat” in 88:20; and the word “tahaaha” in 91:6, all may mean, “to spread”, “to expand” or “to extend” with slight differences in their connotations but none signify the earth being straight-shaped or flat.<ref>[http://www.quranicteachings.co.uk/earth-shape.htm QuranTeachings.co.uk - 79:30]</ref>}} | ||
The contention that almadahi and udhiyatun conveys the concept of roundness which they link to the root of dahaha is false for the reason that the 'roundness' of the almadahi and udhiyatun is only in two dimensions. The almadahi is round like a piece of Arab bread (i.e. shaped like a disc) and the udhiyatun is also round in two dimensions. Nevertheless, one of the meanings of dahaha is to 'throw' and that is the derivation of the words 'almadahi and udhiyatun'. | The contention that almadahi and udhiyatun conveys the concept of roundness which they link to the root of dahaha is false for the reason that the 'roundness' of the almadahi and udhiyatun is only in two dimensions. The almadahi is round like a piece of Arab bread (i.e. shaped like a disc) and the udhiyatun is also round in two dimensions. Nevertheless, one of the meanings of dahaha is to 'throw' and that is the derivation of the words 'almadahi and udhiyatun'. | ||
====Oblate and prolate spheroids==== | |||
There are two problems with the egg-shaped Earth claim. One is that their statements about the words daha and duhiya are false, as proven further below. But even if they were right about that, it would prove the Qur'an to be incorrect because while the Earth and an ostrich egg are both [[w:spheroid|spheroids]], they are of fundamentally different types of spheroid. | |||
[[File:Oblate-Prolate-egg.jpg|left|465|An oblate spheroid (top left), a prolate spheroid (bottom left), and an ostrich egg, which is a prolate spheroid however you hold it]] | |||
The Earth is very nearly, but not absolutely a perfect sphere. It is in fact an oblate spheroid, which means that the radius from its centre to either of its two poles is shorter than the radius to the equator. In other words, there is a very slight bulge around the equator. The radius from the centre of the Earth to the north or south poles is 6,357km, and the radius from the centre to the equator is 6,378km, a difference of less than 1 percent. This is caused by the rotation of the Earth around its polar axis, which produces a centripetal force that is greatest at the equator. | |||
An ostrich egg, much like all eggs, can be described as a prolate spheroid. This is because its radius from its centre to either of its two poles is longer than the radius to the equator, as though it were a sphere that had been pulled from two ends. It certainly is not an oblate spheroid. You can see in the image an oblate spheroid (top left), and a prolate spheroid (bottom left). Even holding an egg on its side (top), you cannot make it look like an oblate spheroid in 3D. They are fundamentally different shapes. The shape of the ostrich egg is in fact like a prolate spheroid (bottom). No matter how you hold the egg, it is a prolate spheroid and not an oblate spheroid. | |||
Oblate and prolate spheroids are fundamentally different shapes. In a flat 2d image without texture or shading they might look the same, but in three dimensions you cannot make one look like the other no matter how you turn it. | |||
==== Daha and Duhiya ==== | ==== Daha and Duhiya ==== | ||
In Arabic, each word must be derived from its root. The root usually consists of three letters that can be manipulated, by adding vowels, prefixes and suffixes in order to produce different words with different meanings. For example, "ka-ta-ba" (to write) is the root for many words such as kitab (book), maktaba (library), katib (author), maktoob (written), kitabat (writings) et cetera. | In Arabic, each word must be derived from its root. The root usually consists of three letters that can be manipulated, by adding vowels, prefixes and suffixes in order to produce different words with different meanings. For example, "ka-ta-ba" (to write) is the root for many words such as kitab (book), maktaba (library), katib (author), maktoob (written), kitabat (writings) et cetera. | ||
Let's now take the word | Let's now take the word claimed to mean egg of an ostrich, "Duhiya". This word is ''not'' a root. It is a noun and is derived from "da-ha-wa", the same root that the verb "dahaha" in 79:30 comes from (the 'ha' at the end there is just a pronoun suffix meaning 'it'). Furthermore, Duhiya does not even mean the egg of an ostrich. This is what the most respected dictionaries have to say on this subject: | ||
===== Lisan Al Arab ===== | ===== Lisan Al Arab ===== | ||