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(Have added references for ancient cosmologies having 7 / 9 Earths. And one more geology reference on overlap between layers going against the idea of 7 separate earths.)
(→‎The flat universe: Made changes discussed (and added a relevant dictionary reference) - please let me know if you think there's been an error or something missed :))
 
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===Seven Universes===
===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 it's modern meaning in Arabic).<ref>[https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english-arabic/sky ''Sky.''] Translation English to Arabic. Cambridge dictionary.</ref> 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) 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.  
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> 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) 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.  
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.  
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====The universe as a roof/ceiling/canopy====
====The universe as a roof/ceiling/canopy====
The sky/heavens are also repeatedly called a roof/ceiling/canopy/building/edifice etc. in multiple verses using multiple words, which even being generous as a metaphorical interpretation does not match the description of a complex universe, with the majority in a gaseous state of almost entirely empty space, with structures like stars and planets being extremely sparse throughout the 'void' of space.<ref>''[https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/deep-space/a44050735/the-universe-is-mostly-empty-space/ Most of the Universe Is a Void. Here’s How That Emptiness Will Eventually Gobble Up All of Space.]'' Paul M. Sutter. 2023. Space. Popular Mechanics. A Part of Hearst Digital Media.
The sky/heavens are also repeatedly called a roof/ceiling/canopy/building/edifice etc. in multiple verses using multiple words,<ref>Samk [https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/data/12_s/201_smk.html سمك] - Lane's Lexicon [https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/pdf/Page_1430.pdf pp 1430]
 
Safq [https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/data/12_s/144_sqf.html سقف] - Lane's Lexicon [https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/pdf/Page_1382.pdf pp 1382]
 
Bina [https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/data/02_b/198_bne.html بنى] - Lane's Lexicon [https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/pdf/Page_0261.pdf pp 261]</ref> which even being generous as a metaphorical interpretation does not match the description of a complex universe, with the majority in a gaseous state of almost entirely empty space, with structures like stars and planets being extremely sparse throughout the 'void' of space.<ref>''[https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/deep-space/a44050735/the-universe-is-mostly-empty-space/ Most of the Universe Is a Void. Here’s How That Emptiness Will Eventually Gobble Up All of Space.]'' Paul M. Sutter. 2023. Space. Popular Mechanics. A Part of Hearst Digital Media.


''P.M. Sutter is a science educator and a theoretical cosmologist at the Institute for Advanced Computational Science at Stony Brook University'' </ref>
''P.M. Sutter is a science educator and a theoretical cosmologist at the Institute for Advanced Computational Science at Stony Brook University'' </ref>
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=====A raised universe=====
=====A raised universe=====
Raising the roof/canopy in Q52:5 and Q79:28 (above, and see also Q55:7 below) also makes no sense in the context of our modern understanding of the Universe, where there is no scientific theory that our visible Universe was 'raised'. But does match the idea of the physical sky being broken from Earth and raised.  
Raising the roof/canopy in Q52:5 and Q79:28 (above, and see also Q55:7 below) also makes no sense in the context of our modern understanding of the Universe, where there is no scientific theory that our visible Universe was 'raised'. But does match the idea of the physical sky being broken from Earth and raised.  
{{Quote|{{Quran|55|7}}|He raised the heaven high and set up the balance,}}
{{Quote|{{Quran|55|7}}|He raised the heaven (samā) high and set up the balance,}}


=====The solid universe=====
=====The solid universe=====
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Which is why the debates around the sky(s) among classical mufassirūn have centred around whether the 'firmament' is flat or domed,<ref>E.g. see: [https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Kathir/13.2 ''Tafsir Ibn Kathir on Verse 13:2''] and [https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Kathir/36.37 ''verse 36:37-40'']. Ibn Kathir d. 1373</ref> not solid or gas. And none have come up with a picture of the universe like we now know based off their studying of the Qur'an.  
Which is why the debates around the sky(s) among classical mufassirūn have centred around whether the 'firmament' is flat or domed,<ref>E.g. see: [https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Kathir/13.2 ''Tafsir Ibn Kathir on Verse 13:2''] and [https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Kathir/36.37 ''verse 36:37-40'']. Ibn Kathir d. 1373</ref> not solid or gas. And none have come up with a picture of the universe like we now know based off their studying of the Qur'an.  
=====The flat universe=====
As mentioned above the skies will be ''folded up'' like writing scrolls:
{{Quote|{{Quran|21|104}}|<b>(The) Day We will fold the heaven like (the) folding (of) a scroll for records.</b> As We began (the) first creation We will repeat it, a promise upon Us. Indeed, We - We are (the) Doers.}}{{Quote|{{Quran|39|67}}|They do not regard Allah with the regard due to Him, yet the entire earth will be in His fist <b>on the Day of Resurrection, and the heavens, scrolled, in His right hand.</b> Immaculate is He and exalted above [having] any partners that they ascribe [to Him].}}
Both of these verses confirm not only the solidness and corporeality of the the sky/heavens, but also their 'flatness/planeness', with no hint of the majority gaseous state with occasional solids for e.g. planets and stars sparsely scattered that our universe exists in.
The Quran could simply have said the sky/heavens would be 'destroyed' or 'disappear' on judgement day to avoid this issue, rather than using words that imply and only really make sense with a flat and solid sky (''and one separate to the space in-between the heaven and the Earth as explored in sections [[Science and the Seven Earths#The Universe as a separate entity to Earth]] and [[Science and the Seven Earths#Between the Universe and the Earth]]''). These verses were taken literally by classical exegetes.<ref>For example:
''Tafsir Ibn Kathir on Verse [https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Kathir/21.104 21:104]'' and [https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Kathir/39.67 ''39:67'']. Ibn Kathir d. 1373.
''Tafsir Al-Jalalayn Verse [https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Jalal/39.67 39:67].'' Jalal al-Din al-Mahalli (d. 864 ah / 1459 ce) and his pupil Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (d. 911 ah / 1505 ce).
''Tanwîr al-Miqbâs min Tafsîr Ibn ‘Abbâs Verse [https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Abbas/21.104 21:104] and [https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Abbas/39.67 39:67]''. A popular medieval commentary ascribed to Ibn Abbas. Unknown date.
</ref>
With the way our spherical Earth is floating in tiny section of space it it hard to imagine a scenario in which 'rolling up' the much larger universe (approximately 1.9 X 10^22 times larger than Earth)<ref>''[https://futurism.com/earth-compared-to-the-universe Earth Compared to the Universe.]'' Futurism. Joshua Filmer. 2015.</ref> would not destroy Earth in the process, but it follows the ancient view of a flat earth with a firmament that is the literal sky being pulled away above us by God at the end of the world, for dramatic effect to frighten unbelievers on judgement day. 
Also, the sky 'universe' will be ''split open'' (on judgement day) so angels can ascend to Earth (from an extremely far distance of >46 billion light years away),<ref>''[https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2020/01/21/how-far-is-it-to-the-edge-of-the-universe/ How Far Is It To The Edge Of The Universe?]'' Ethan Siegel. 2020. Forbes.</ref> furthering the flat solid image, as our current universe being mostly empty space<ref>''[https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/deep-space/a44050735/the-universe-is-mostly-empty-space/ Most of the Universe Is a Void. Here’s How That Emptiness Will Eventually Gobble Up All of Space.]'' Paul M. Sutter. 2023. Space. Popular Mechanics. A Part of Hearst Digital Media. ''P.M. Sutter is a science educator and a theoretical cosmologist at the Institute for Advanced Computational Science at Stony Brook University''</ref> would not need this to travel through.
{{Quote|{{Quran|25|22-26}}|<b>The day they will see the angels, there will be no good news for the guilty on that day, and they will say, ‘Keep off [from paradise]!’</b>
Then We shall attend to the works they have done and then turn them into scattered dust.
On that day the inhabitants of paradise will be in the best abode and an excellent resting place.
<b>The day when the sky with its clouds will be split open, and the angels will be sent down [in a majestic] descent,</b>
on that day true sovereignty will belong to the All-beneficent, and it will be a hard day for the faithless.}}Similarly we see:
{{Quote|{{Quran|42|5}}|<b>The heavens are about to be rent apart from above them,</b> while the angels celebrate the praise of their Lord and plead for forgiveness for those [faithful] who are on the earth. Indeed, Allah is the All-forgiving, the All-merciful!}}


====The universe as day and night ====
====The universe as day and night ====
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{{Quote|{{Quran|79|27-29}}|Is your creation more prodigious or that of the heaven He has built? He raised its vault and fashioned it, and <b>darkened its night</b>, and <b>brought forth its forenoon</b>.}}
{{Quote|{{Quran|79|27-29}}|Is your creation more prodigious or that of the heaven He has built? He raised its vault and fashioned it, and <b>darkened its night</b>, and <b>brought forth its forenoon</b>.}}


====The Universe, Universes and Earth's width compared====
We are told that jannah/paradise/'the garden' is as wide as the heaven and earth. The words ʿarḍuhā kaʿarḍi ("its width is like the width") refer to the breadth, width, or side of something.<ref>[https://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume5/00000291.pdf ''See: عَرْضٌ 'ard''] - Lane's Lexicon page 2006</ref>{{Quote|{{Quran|57|21}}|Be ye foremost (in seeking) Forgiveness from your Lord, <b>and a Garden (of Bliss), the width whereof is as the width of heaven and earth,</b> prepared for those who believe in Allah and His messengers: that is the Grace of Allah, which He bestows on whom he pleases: and Allah is the Lord of Grace abounding}}
Given the huge difference in the size of the rest of our visible universe compared to the earth (as mentioned it is approximately 1.9 X 10^22 times larger than Earth),<ref>''[https://futurism.com/earth-compared-to-the-universe Earth Compared to the Universe.]'' Futurism. Joshua Filmer. 2015.</ref> this comparison makes little sense. However if one believed the heaven/sky was a firmament above Earth (whether it be a flat disk or a dome as debated in Islamic tradition), this fits far better.
This idea is reinforced in the following verse, where similarly now paradise is as wide as seven heavens and the Earth, which the space of the six other universes (as would be needed by the apologists interpretation of samā as universe), would contradict the width given in verse 57:12. This would not contradict, however, if the skies/heavens were their historical definition of simply firmaments, one above the other, over the flat earth (and no further in the limited cosmos). {{Quote|{{Quran|3|133}}|And vie with one another, hastening to forgiveness from your Lord, and to <b>a garden whose breadth is as the heavens and earth,</b> prepared for the godfearing}}
====The universe split from the Earth====
====The universe split from the Earth====
The ancient concept of the sky splitting from the Earth can be traced back to Mesopotamian<ref>''[https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/epic/hd_epic.htm Mesopotamian Creation Myths.]'' Ira Spar. 2009. Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. The Met Musuem. </ref> and Egyptian<ref>''[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338646511_Skyscapes_Landscapes_and_the_drama_of_Proto-Indo-European_myth Skyscapes, Landscapes, and the drama of Proto-Indo-European myth.]'' John Grigsby PhD Synthesis. 2020.  
The ancient concept of the sky splitting from the Earth can be traced back to Mesopotamian<ref>''[https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/epic/hd_epic.htm Mesopotamian Creation Myths.]'' Ira Spar. 2009. Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. The Met Musuem. </ref> and Egyptian<ref>''[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338646511_Skyscapes_Landscapes_and_the_drama_of_Proto-Indo-European_myth Skyscapes, Landscapes, and the drama of Proto-Indo-European myth.]'' John Grigsby PhD Synthesis. 2020.  


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