Islamic Views on the Shape of the Earth: Difference between revisions

Knowledge of the spherical nature of the Earth existed, at the very least, for nearly a millennium prior to the emergence of [[Islam]] in the 7th century. However, due to the non-uniform distribution of knowledge across the world and the pervasive assumption of a flat-Earth in Islamic scriptures, it is widely held that Muhammad and his companions were almost certainly ignorant of the matter. In the absence of explicit and authentic formulations from [[Muhammad]] and his companions on the topic, however, full confidence is impossible and modern inquirers are left to infer the cosmology of the earliest Muslims on the basis of indirect scriptural allusions. Such allusions are plenty and uniformly point to the assumption of a flat-Earth.  

Militating against these appearances are statements from the works of ibn Taymiyyah and ibn Hazm, who are often cited as evidence<ref>[https://islamqa.info/en/118698 IslamQA.info - 118698: Consensus that the Earth is round]</ref> of an early Islamic consensus on a spherical earth. While the notion of a spherical earth had undoubtedly entered the Islamic milieu in the centuries following [[Muhammad's Death|Muhammad's death]] to a limited extent, claims of anything approaching an early consensus on a spherical earth are unfounded, and attempts to extend this to Muhammad's generation, entirely fanciful.

In one oft-cited work, Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH/1328 CE) cites Abu’l-Husayn Ahmad ibn Ja‘far ibn al Munadi as saying that the scholars from the second level of the companions of Imam Ahmad (d. 241 AH / 855 CE) – i.e. the early Hanbalis – said there was consensus among the scholars that both heaven and Earth are balls, the latter consensus being based on astronomical reasoning. This evidence does not help determine earlier beliefs because from the 8th century CE Muslims had access to Greek and Indian astronomical knowledge (see below), so it is unsurprising that Muslim scholars had this view. The term 'consensus' (ijma) was used in different ways by different scholars, but essentially meant the agreement of Muslim scholars, or ideally, also of the salaf (the first three generations of Muslims)<ref>[http://www.sunnah.org/fiqh/ijma.htm sunnah.org] Questions on Ijma` (concensus), Taqlid (following qualified opinion), and Ikhtilaf Al-Fuqaha' (differences of the jurists) by Shaykh Hisham Muhammad Kabbani</ref>. In this case it is explicitly the scholars.