Not only does the Quran claim in several places that the earth is flat,
And the earth We have stretched it out, SPREAD IT FLAT,
and cast therein firm mountains, lest it should sway beneath its inhabitants,
and caused to grow therein every kind of balanced thing, [every kind of thing]
known and determined. (Tafsir
al-Jalalayn, Q. 15:19: http://altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=74&tSoraNo=15&tAyahNo=19&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2;
bold, capital and underline emphasis ours)
And the earth, We spread it out: We made it level:
what excellent Spreaders then!, We are. (Tafsir
al-Jalalayn, Q. 51:48: http://altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=74&tSoraNo=51&tAyahNo=48&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2;
bold and underline emphasis ours)
And God has made the earth a FLAT [open] expanse for you, (Tafsir al-Jalalayn, Q.
71:19: http://altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=74&tSoraNo=71&tAyahNo=19&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2;
bold, capital and underline emphasis ours)
Not spherical as astronomers assert,
And the earth, how
it was laid out FLAT?, and thus infer from this the power of
God, exalted be He, and His Oneness? The commencing with the [mention of]
camels is because they are closer in contact with it [the earth] than any other
[animal]. As
for His words sutihat, ‘LAID OUT FLAT’, this on a literal reading suggests THAT
THE EARTH IS FLAT, which is the opinion of MOST OF THE SCHOLARS THE [revealed]
LAW, AND NOT A SPHERE as astronomers (ahl al-hay’a) have it,
even if this [latter] does not contradict any of the pillars of the Law. (Tafsir al-Jalalayn, Q.
88:20: http://altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=74&tSoraNo=88&tAyahNo=20&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2;
bold, capital and underline emphasis ours)
And that it was created even before the seven heavens were made
and fashioned,
and after that He spread out the earth: He made it FLAT, for it had been
created BEFORE THE HEAVEN, but without having been spread out;
(Tafsir al-Jalalayn,
Q. 79:30: http://altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=74&tSoraNo=79&tAyahNo=30&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2;
bold, capital and underline emphasis ours)
It also makes the erroneous assertion that mountains are
actually pegs or stakes, which Allah cast down from heaven above for the
purpose of insuring that the flat earth remains stable!
And he hath thrown upon the earth [mountains] firmly rooted,
lest it should move with you, and [also] rivers, and
paths, that ye might be directed: S. 16:15 Sale
He hath created the heavens without visible pillars [to sustain
them], and hath
thrown on the earth [mountains] firmly rooted, lest it should move with you;
and he hath replenished the same with all kinds of beasts: And we send down
rain from heaven, and cause every kind of noble [vegetable] to spring forth
therein. S. 31:10 Sale – cf. Q. 50:7
Have we not made the earth for a bed, and the mountains for stakes [to
fix the same]? S. 78:6-7 Sale
Here is how some of Islam’s greatest expositors interpreted Q.
16:15,
… Then Allah mentions the earth and how He placed in it
mountains standing firm, which
make it stable and keep it from shaking in such a manner that the creatures
dwelling on it would not be able to live. Hence Allah says…
(And the mountains He has fixed firmly.) (79:
32). (Tafsir Ibn Kathir: http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2987&Itemid=71;
bold and underline emphasis ours)
And Q. 78:7:
and the mountains pegs?, with which the earth is tied down like tents are tied down with pegs (the
interrogative is meant as an affirmative). (Tafsir
al-Jalalayn: http://altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=74&tSoraNo=78&tAyahNo=7&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2;
bold and underline emphasis ours)
(And the mountains as pegs) meaning, He made them as pegs for
the earth to
hold it in place, make it stable and firm. This is so that it
may be suitable for dwelling and
not quake with those who are in it… (Tafsir Ibn Kathir: http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1406&Itemid=134;
bold and underline emphasis ours)
The Quran further states that hail actually comes from the
mountains, which are in heaven!
‘hast thou not seen how God drives the clouds, then composes
them, then converts them into a mass, then thou seest the rain issuing out of
the midst of them? And
He sends down out of heaven mountains, wherein is hail, so that
He smites whom He will with it, and turns it aside from whom He will; wellnigh
the gleam of His lightning snatches away the sight. S. 24:43 Arberry
Compare this verse with the following version:
Hast thou not seen how Allah wafteth the clouds, then gathereth
them, then maketh them layers, and thou seest the rain come forth from between
them; He
sendeth down from the heaven mountains wherein is hail, and
smiteth therewith whom He will, and averteth it from whom He will. The flashing
of His lightning all but snatcheth away the sight. Pickthall
And here’s how a commentary attributed to Ibn Abbas interprets
this text:
(Hast thou not seen) have you not been informed, O Muhammad, in
the Qur’an about (how Allah wafteth) drives about (the clouds, then gatherth
them) then brings the clouds together, (then maketh them layers, and thou seest
the rain come forth from between them) from between the clouds; (He sendeth down from the heaven
mountains wherein is hail) He says: He sends down hail from mountains in heaven,
(and smiteth therewith) and with hail He punishes (whom He will, and averteth
it) and averts its punishment (from whom He will. The flashing of His
lightning) the light emanating from lightning in the clouds (all but snatcheth
away the sight) from the intensity of its light. (Tanwîr al-Miqbâs min Tafsîr Ibn ‘Abbâs https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=73&tSoraNo=24&tAyahNo=43&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2;
bold and underline emphasis ours)
Even though the translation makes it seem as if these mountains
from which hail comes are those that are still in heaven, which is not what the
verse says, nevertheless, the translator could not deny that the ayah clearly
speaks of literal mountains originating from heaven itself.
To top it off, certain narratives claim that the (seven) earths
are placed on the back of a whale while in the water, that has a bull beneath
it!
And from his narration on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas that he
said regarding the interpretation of Allah’s saying (Nun): ‘(Nun) He says:
Allah swears by the Nun, which
is the whale that carries the earths on its back while in Water, and beneath
which is the Bull and under the Bull is the Rock and under the Rock is the Dust
and none knows what is under the Dust save Allah. The name of
the whale is Liwash, and it is said its name is Lutiaya’; the name of the bull
is Bahamut, and some say its name is Talhut or Liyona. The whale is in a sea
called ‘Adwad, and it is like a small bull in a huge sea. The sea is in a
hollowed rock whereby there is 4,000 cracks, and from each crack water springs
out to the earth. It is also said that Nun is one of the names of the Lord; it
stands for the letter Nun in Allah’s name al-Rahman (the Beneficent); and it is
also said that a Nun is an inkwell. (By the pen) Allah swore by the pen. This
pen is made of light and its height is equal to the distance between Heaven and
earth. It is with this pen that the Wise Remembrance, i.e. the Guarded Tablet,
was written. It is also said that the pen is one of the angels by whom Allah
has sworn, (and that which they write (therewith)) and Allah also swore by what
the angels write down of the works of the children of Adam, (Tanwîr al-Miqbâs min Tafsîr Ibn
‘Abbâs, Q. 68:1: http://altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=73&tSoraNo=68&tAyahNo=1&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2;
bold and underline emphasis ours)
As if it couldn’t get any more baffling, the following ahadith
claim that there is a sea above the seventh heaven, and that there are eight
mountain goats that carry Allah’s throne:
Book of Model Behavior of the Prophet (Kitab Al-Sunnah)
(1695) Chapter: The Jahmiyyah
Narrated Al-Abbas ibn AbdulMuttalib:
I was sitting in al-Batha with a company among whom the
Messenger of Allah was sitting, when a cloud passed above them.
The Messenger of Allah looked at it and said: What do you call
this? They said: Sahab.
He said: And muzn? They said: And muzn. He said: And anan? They
said: And anan. AbuDawud said: I am not quite confident about the word anan. He
asked: Do you know the distance between Heaven and Earth? They replied: We do
not know. He then said: The distance between them is seventy-one, seventy-two,
or seventy-three years. The heaven which is above it is at a similar distance
(going on till he counted seven heavens). Above the seventh heaven there is a
sea, the distance between whose surface and bottom is like that between one
heaven and the next. Above
that there are eight mountain goats the distance between whose hoofs and
haunches is like the distance between one heaven and the next.
Then Allah, the Blessed and the Exalted, is above that.
Grade: Da’if (Al-Albani)
Reference: Sunan Abi Dawud 4723
In-book reference: Book 42, Hadith 128
English translation: Book 41, Hadith 4705 (Sunnah.com: http://sunnah.com/abudawud/42/128;
italic and underline emphasis ours)
And:
Sunan Ibn Majah
The Book of the Sunnah
It was narrated that ‘Abbas bin ‘Abdul-Mutallib said:
“I was in Batha with a group of people, among them whom was the
Messenger of Allah. A cloud passed over him, and he looked at it and said:
‘What do you call this?’ They said: ‘Sahab (a cloud).’ He said: ‘And Muzn (rain
cloud).’ They said: ‘And Muzn.’ He said: ‘And ‘Anan (clouds).’ Abu Bakr said:
“They said: ‘And ‘Anan.'” He said: ‘How much (distance) do you think there is
between you and the heavens?’ They said: ‘We do not know.’ He said: ‘Between
you and it is seventy-one, or seventy-two, or seventy-three years, and there is
a similar distance between it and the heaven above it (and so on)’ until he
counted seven heavens. ‘Then above the seventh heaven there is a sea, between
whose top and bottom is a distance like that between one heaven and
another. Then
above that there are eight (angels in the form of) mountain goats. The distance
between their hooves and their knees is like the distance between one heaven
and the next. Then on their backs is the Throne, and the distance between the
top and the bottom of the Throne is like the distance between one heaven and
another. Then Allah is above that, the Blessed and Exalted.”
Grade: Da’if (Darussalam)
English reference: Vol. 1, Book 1, Hadith 193
Arabic reference: Book 1, Hadith 198 (Sunnah.com: http://sunnah.com/urn/1251920;
italic and underline emphasis ours)
In light of the foregoing, it shouldn’t surprise us that people
that would actually believe in and publish such fairy tales and nonsense as
facts, would also believe that Muhammad was a true prophet and that the Quran
is a revelation from the true God.
Related Articles
The Quran and the Shape of the Earth http://www.answering-islam.org/Shamoun/whale_nun.htm
Source: https://answeringislamblog.wordpress.com/2019/01/07/revisiting-allahs-cosmology/
IHS
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