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Early Islamic Cosmology: Difference between revisions
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'''Narrations of the companions''' | '''Narrations of the companions''' | ||
Ibn Taymiyyah | The solitary piece of evidence that Ibn Taymiyyah can bring from the companions about round heavens is that ibn 'Abbas and others said regarding {{Quran|36|40}} and the heavenly bodies swimming in a falak (rounded course): | ||
{{Quote|1=al-Tabari and ibn Kathir Tafsirs for 36:40|2=فِي فَلْكَة كَفَلْكَةِ الْمِغْزَل | |||
fee falka, ka-falkati almighzal | |||
in a whirl (whorl), like the whirl of a spindle}} | |||
See the comments and footnotes about falak in the article [http://wikiislam.net/wiki/Geocentrism_and_the_Quran Geocentrism and the Quran]. Now given that the sun and moon appear both to arc across the sky, even to those who imagined the Earth was flat and the heavens a dome (or a sphere), such people would also imagine some path for them continuing beneath the Earth after they have set so they can return whence they came (as also in the hadith from Abu Dharr discussed later in this article). Indeed, this is what we read from ibn 'Abbas as noted by ibn Kathir regarding {{Quran|31|29}}: | |||
{{Quote|1=[http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1784 Tafsir ibn Kathir for 31:29]|2=Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Ibn ’Abbas said, “The sun is like flowing water, running in its course in the sky during the day. When it sets, it travels in its course beneath the earth until it rises in the east.” He said, “The same is true in the case of the moon.” Its chain of narration is Sahih.}} | |||
So the evidence from the companions presented by ibn Taymiyyah is not exactly much to go on regarding the shape of the heavens, and says nothing about the shape of the Earth. | |||
'''Hadiths''' | '''Hadiths''' | ||
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Ibn Taymiyyah then says that a middle only exists in a round thing. How any of this helps demonstrate that the heavens are spherical is a mystery. | Ibn Taymiyyah then says that a middle only exists in a round thing. How any of this helps demonstrate that the heavens are spherical is a mystery. | ||
The Islamic fatwah website then quotes one of the three that ibn Taymiyyah cited, ibn Hazm, who said that there is sound evidence that the Earth is round, but the common people thought otherwise, though none of the leading Muslim scholars denied that the Earth is round. | The Islamic fatwah website then quotes one of the three that ibn Taymiyyah cited, ibn Hazm, who said that there is sound evidence that the Earth is round, but the common people thought otherwise, though none of the leading Muslim scholars denied that the Earth is round. So firstly, uneducated people (as were Muhammad and the sahabah) thought the Earth to be flat even in ibn Hazm's day. Secondly, his statement provides no evidence that the earliest scholars actually said the Earth is round (just that any leading scholars didn't say it was flat). | ||
They go on to quote from a 20th century book of fatwas, which claims that the Earth is egg shaped and also uses verse 39:5, both of which arguments are debunked in the article [https://wikiislam.net/wiki/Flat_Earth_and_the_Quran Flat Earth and the Quran] | They go on to quote from a 20th century book of fatwas, which claims that the Earth is egg shaped and also uses verse 39:5, both of which arguments are debunked in the article [https://wikiislam.net/wiki/Flat_Earth_and_the_Quran Flat Earth and the Quran]. | ||
Instead, there is plenty of evidence that they thought the Earth to be flat, as explained below. | So to summarise, there seems to be no evidence available to suggest that the earliest Muslims believed the Earth was round. Instead, there is plenty of evidence that they thought the Earth to be flat, as explained below. | ||
==Acquisition of Greek and Indian astronomical knowledge== | ==Acquisition of Greek and Indian astronomical knowledge== | ||