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Islamic Views on the Shape of the Earth: Difference between revisions
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Islamic Views on the Shape of the Earth (view source)
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Knowledge of the spherical shape of the Earth prominently entered the Islamic milieu in the 9th century CE when many Greek texts were being translated into Arabic for the first time under the sponsorship of the of Abbasid [[Khilafah (Caliphate)|caliphate]]. While there may have been earlier exposure to these ideas among Muslims, the later idea that Islamic scriptures themselves indicated a spherical Earth was a creative act of reinterpretation. Clear descriptions and assumptions made in the [[Qur'an]], [[hadith]], [[Tafsir|tafsirs]], and writings of early Islamic scholars demonstrate that Muhammad and his companions did not know the Earth was spherical and in fact held it to be flat and disk like. | Knowledge of the spherical shape of the Earth prominently entered the Islamic milieu in the 9th century CE when many Greek texts were being translated into Arabic for the first time under the sponsorship of the of Abbasid [[Khilafah (Caliphate)|caliphate]]. While there may have been earlier exposure to these ideas among Muslims, the later idea that Islamic scriptures themselves indicated a spherical Earth was a creative act of reinterpretation. Clear descriptions and assumptions made in the [[Qur'an]], [[hadith]], [[Tafsir|tafsirs]], and writings of early Islamic scholars demonstrate that Muhammad and his companions did not know the Earth was spherical and in fact held it to be flat and disk like. | ||
Today, some Islamic scholars still argue that Islamic scriptures and their first audiences were fully aware of the spherical shape of the Earth. However, other, often more senior scholars and the majority of educated Muslims today understand scriptures from a historical standpoint | Today, some Islamic scholars still argue that Islamic scriptures and their first audiences were fully aware of the spherical shape of the Earth. However, other, often more senior scholars and the majority of educated Muslims today understand scriptures from a historical standpoint: Muhammad and his companions did not know the Earth was spherical, and so Islamic scriptures do not say as much. Rather, the Qur'an speaks from the perspective of its 7th-century contemporaries - to the unaided eye, the Earth is indeed flat, and this is the framework within which the Qur'an operates. | ||
==Greek and Indian astronomical knowledge== | ==Greek and Indian astronomical knowledge== | ||