Does the Koran say that the Earth is flat?
Does the Koran say that the Earth is flat?
Only in the 20th century did humanity manage, as they say, to see with their own eyes that the Earth is round. But the spherical shape of the Earth is also written in the Holy Koran, which was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ more than 1400 years ago.
In 1961, a man first flew into space and circled the globe. This flight proved in actual practice the spherical shape of our planet.
However, there is still a category of people, including amongst Muslims, who deny this fact and claim that the Earth is flat and not spherical. They not only adhere to this opinion, but also write articles on this topic and assert, as has become not unusual on the Internet lately, that the Earth is flat. There would be nothing strange and reprehensible in this - well, let them think so to their health - if they did not attribute this statement to the Holy Koran and the Sunnah of the Messenger of God ﷺ.
This gave rise to opponents of God’s religion to claim that Islam makes anti-scientific statements and denies what cannot be denied.
For many centuries, people assumed that the Earth was flat. And many continued to think so until scientific and technological progress established that our planet is a ball that rotates around its axis at a speed of 1600 kilometers per hour. This is higher than the speed of sound, which is 1200 kilometers per hour.
However, Muslims thought differently even before science proved this fact: they knew that the Earth is spherical, because there is nothing in the Holy Koran that confirms that the Earth is flat.
The commentary of one of the ayah of the Koran says (meaning), “(Will they not reflect) on the Earth, how vast it is spread out.” (Sura Al-Gashiya, ayah 20).
The Almighty spreads out the Earth in front of man and, no matter how much he walks on it, he perceives it as flat and even. And this is only possible if the Earth has a spherical shape.
The scholar al-Alusi said, “This ayah does not contradict the view that the Earth is a ball or spherical in shape.” This ayah tells us that the surface of the Earth is flat and even, therefore suitable for human habitation.
Another ayah says (the meaning of the commentary): “...He covers the day with night and covers the night with day...” (Sura Az-Zumar, ayah 5).
The verb “kawwara” mentioned in this ayah of the Koran means “to round, to give a round, spherical shape.” The Arabs used this verb when talking about wrapping a turban - and the turban is wrapped around the head.
Imam al-Qurtubi in the book “Al-Jamia al-Ahkam il-Quran”, commenting on this ayah, writes: “Abdullah ibn Abbas, explaining this ayah,” said, “What has left the night enters the day, and what has gone out of the day enters into the night.” This is the meaning of the words of the Almighty, “He (Allah ﷻ) brings night into day (lengthening it) and brings day into night (thus lengthening the night)...” (Sura Fatir, ayah 13).
This phenomenon can only occur if the shape of the Earth is spherical. If the Earth were flat, the transition from night today and from day to night would be abrupt.
These and other ayat of the Holy Koran indicate that the Earth has a spherical shape and it is absurd to dispute this fact, given that science also proves the truth of this opinion: so the claim that the Earth is flat is simply stupid.
