Where is the curve ?
Let’s analyse the physical attributes of the surface of the earth and how some words have been used with twisted translation to suffice atheistic cosmology.
1.) And after that He spread the earth. Quran 79:30
Modern Speakers have been obsessed to prove that the Spherical shape of the Earth has been mentioned in the Quran. Yet this is the most absurd claim of the apologists when looking at the classical Interpretation. The Verse in Question & its classical Interpretation is as below:
“Are you a more difficult creation or is the Heaven? That he constructed?. He raised its ceiling and Proportioned it……… And after that he Spread the Earth (Dahaha). He extracted from it its Water & its Pasture. And the Mountains He set Firmly. As Provision for you and your Grazing Livestock”. (An-Nazi’at 79:27–33)
IbnKathir (Rah) Clarifies:…. “He Raised its (Heavens) height, & has perfected it”, meaning, He made it(Heavens) a Lofty structure, Vast in its space, with equal sides, and Adorned with Stars at night and in the darkness”. (End Quote). The Loftiness & Craftiness of Heavens possibly as a Firmament or Dome above us is established once again from this classical Tafsir.
IbnKather further Clarifies:… “’And after that he Spread (Dahaha) the Earth’, He(Allah) explains this statement by the statement that follows it, ‘And brought forth therein its water and its pasture’. It already has been mentioned previously in Surah Ha Mim As Sajdah, that the Earth was created before the heavens were created, but it(earth) was only spread out after the creation of the Heavens. This means that he brought out what was in it with a forceful action. This is the Meaning of what was said by IbnAbbas(R.a) & others, and it was the explanation preferred by IbnJarir.
In Reference to the statement of Allah, ‘And the Mountains, He has firmly Fixed’, meaning, He settled them, made them firm, & established them in their places. And he is the Most wise, the All knowing…..
Allah then says, ‘As Provision & benefit for you & your cattle’. Meaning, He spread out the earth, caused its springs to gush forth, brought forth its hidden benefits, caused its rivers to flow, & caused its Vegetation, trees, & fruits to grow. He also made its mountains firm so that it(The earth) would be calmly settled with its dwellers, & he stabilizes its dwelling places…….”.End Quote (TafsirIbnKathir, Vol 10, Page 349-350)
The Modern speakers Misinterpretation of the word ‘Dahahaa’, to mean Ostrich Egg is too far fetched when compared to the Classical Interpretation, where this word can only be interpreted to mean “To spread out’ or ‘To Flattened’. The modern scientific approach is infact very serious when the intent of Allah(swt) is clearly outlined by classical scholars. End of topic
To experience a visual explanation about the word Dahaha, kindly watch the video below.
2.) He Wraps (Yukawwiru) the Night over the Day & wraps the Day over the night…”. (Quran 39:5)
The Claimed Ijma for the ‘So Called’ Spherical Earth, is based on the above Ayah to the effect that Wrapping the night over day is seen to be consistent with a Spherical object. Though the word ‘Yukawwiru’, can pertain to the act of Wrapping a Turban or a cloth around a spherical object, & it is indeed thus expressed in classical Dictionaries, there are other meanings as well for the word Yukawwiru. The multiple meanings of ‘Yukawwiru’ or its Verbal root ‘Kawwara’ are – Make Round, Clench, Coil, Wind, & To Roll. (As per Cool Jugator Arabic Online Dictionary).
This word ‘Yukawwiru’, can hence be used for both wrapping around a spherical object, as well as wrapping or rolling over a Flat or Convex Surface. This is found from the Arabic Expression:
“كورت عيناي نحوك”
The above Expression means, “I Rolled (Kawwarthu) My Eyes towards you”. The verbal root used here is Kawwara, which is also the same root for the present tense word “Yukawwiru”. And we see this can be used for an expression towards an object (in this case, the Eyes), which is NOT a Spherical object, rather a convex object.
One can hence comfortably Interpret the expression, “He Wraps (Yukawwiru) the night over the Day…”, to also a DOME Shaped Firmament over a Flat Plain, just as in the above Arabic expression of ‘Rolling’, to a Dome like Eyes. The point here is that, both interpretations of Wrapping around a Spherical Object OR a Dome shaped Firmament over a Flat Plane is perfectly Valid. Hence, in order to understand whether if this word(Yukawwiru) even conveys the shape of Earth in any way, the Classical Interpretation will have to be referred, best represented by the Imam IbnKathir(Rah).
Imam IbnKathir (Rah) opines, “(He makes the night to go in the Day & makes the Day to go in the night. 39:5), means, he(Allah) has Subjugated them & he causes them to alternate without Ceasing, each seeking the other rapidly, as He says, “He Brings the night as a cover over the Day, Seeking it rapidly”. (7:54). This is the meaning of that which was narrated from IbnAbbas(Rah), Mujahid, Qatadah, As-Suddi& others”. End Quote (TafsirIbnKathir, Surah Az-Zumar)
One can see that Imam IbnKathir brings out the Interpretation for this Ayah containing the word Yukawwiru more on expressing the Miraculous Ability of Allah(Swt) in the Day-to Day cosmic Events, rather than conveying the Shape of Earth, which is not the Intent of the verse, unlike what the Modern Speaker opine.
Further, the claimed Ijma for this Ayah consisting of the word Yukawwiru, is falsified from the Interpretation of IbnKathir. Since one of the conditions of Ijma, according to the Usooli Principles of Imam Ash-Shafi (Rah), is that Ijma can be held only when they are categorically expressed by all Scholars. He & few Maliki Jurists hence do not consider Tacit OR Silent Ijma as consensus at all.
Imam Ash-Shafi (Rah) reiterates this Principle: “Neither I, nor any of the people of knowledge would say, ‘this is agreed upon’, except on a matter about which you would never find any scholar who would not repeat it to you & relate it from a Predecessor, such as that Dhuhr Prayer being Four Rakahs, Wine being unlawful, & the Like”. (End Quote)… (Ref – Invalidation of Istihsan by Imam Ash Shafi)
Thus from this strict requirement of Ijma, had there been Consensus for the spherical Shape of Earth based on the Word, “Yukawwiru”, Imam IbnKathir should have mentioned the claimed consensus, but we find no reference to the shape of Earth in the Ayah explained, yet again proving the Falsity of Ijma. End of topic.
3.) "Then He shall leave it as a level smooth plain.''. "You will see therein no crookedness nor curve.'' Surah Ta ha Verses 106 -107
Imam Ibnkathir mentions in his tafsir ,
(as a level smooth plain.) This means one expanse spread out. The word Qa` means a piece of land that is level and the word Safsafa is used to place emphasis on this meaning. It has also been said that Safsafa means that which has no vegetation growing in it. The first meaning is preferred, even though the second meaning is also included by necessity. In reference to this, Allah says, (You will see therein no crookedness nor curve. ) meaning, `on that Day you will not see in the earth any valley, hill, or any place, whether low or elevated.' Ibn `Abbas, `Ikrimah, Mujahid, Al-Hasan Al-Basri, Ad-Dahhak, Qatadah and others of the Salaf all said the same.
4.) And We have spread out the earth, how Excellent Spreader (thereof) are We! Quran 51:48
5.) And (remember) the Day We shall cause the mountains to pass away (like clouds of dust), and you will see the earth as a leveled plain, and we shall gather them all together so as to leave not one of them behind. Quran 18:47
6.) Who made the earth for you a carpet And the sky a structure And sent down from the sky water, Then brought forth thereby some fruits as provision for you. So make not equals to God.And you know.Quran (2:22)
Can Ijma of scholars be used to prove the shape of the earth ?
‘Ijma’ or ‘Juristic Consensus’, by its very definition means, “The consensus of Mujtahids(Independent Jurists) from the Ummah of Muhammad(PBUH), after his death, in a determined period UPON A RULE OF ISLAMIC LAW (HUKM SHAR’I”).
(Islamic Jurisprudence, by Imran Ahsan Khan Nyazee, Page 183)
The highlight in this definition is the last part, “……upon a rule of Islamic Rule OR HukmShar’I”. So Ijma can only be on matters pertaining to Fiqh or the 5 obligatory rules of (Wajib, Mandub, Mubah, Makruh& Haram). It cannot be on matters having no Legal Injunctions. Whether the Earth is Flat or Round is not Part of HukmShar’I, & hence there can be no claim of Ijma over it. This is further emphasizes by the below 2 conditions of Ijma, as summarized from the Usooli Principles of classical Scholars.
Condition 1:
“The Agreement must be upon a rule of Law, the HukmShar’I: An Agreement upon the rules of Grammar in Arabic WOULD NOT BE IJMA, nor an agreement upon OTHER RATIONAL PROPOSITIONS, LIKE THE CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE. Thus, the rule must state that a certain thing is prohibited, permitted, valid or void. ALL NON LEGAL MATTERS ARE EXCLUDED FROM THE DOMAIN OF IJMA”. (Islamic Jurisprudence, by Imran Ahsan Khan Nyazee, Page 185)
Condition 2:
“That the Mujtahids should have relied upon a Sanad(A textual Evidence from Quran/Sunnah) for deriving their opinion: ……………….It can be said that the function of Ijma is to make Definitive an evidence (Text) that is probable & subject to Interpretation. It should be noted that the strength of Ijma lies in the agreement itself. Another reason for insisting on the Sanad could be that those who stipulate this condition want to ensure that the Jurist has undertaken proper Ijtihad to arrive at his opinion”. (Islamic Jurisprudence, by Imran Ahsan Khan Nyazee, Page 185)
The 2nd condition above states that Ijma can mainly be on restricting the meaning of an Ayah or Hadith, which is subject to multiple Interpretation, & choose a single interpretation. In this case, the claim that Ijma exist for Spherical shape of Earth needs an Ayah or Hadith which talks about the sphere of earth, & secondly, the interpretation of such an Ayah or Hadith towards a spherical Earth should be unanimously accepted by all Jurists &Mufassireen. We firstly do not find any such text calling out attention to the ball earth, nor can be find unanimity of such a single Interpretation for any such possible Ayah. The few Ayahs with words like “Dahaha”, or “Yukawwiru”, carry no remote tafsirs from classical scholars that it ever means a Ball earth. With these arguments, the claim of Ijma to establish ball earth cannot be considered Sound. End of quote
The Origin of Globe Earth among the Muslims
The Claim of Ijma among Muslims that the Earth & Heavens are spherical is yet again refuted by the claim that such a consensus, if really existed should have been voiced by the Muslim scholars of the Salaf period. But on the contrary, we do not find such indications in Important woks of the early Generation like Imam Ash Sahfi’sAr-Risala. Additionally, The Globe Earth obsession among Muslims is only among the Philosophers after their study of Greek Philosophy during the Abbasid Caliphate of Al Ma’mun. This is reflected in the below Historical excerpt.
“It was during MamoonRasheed’s regime that a famous scholar Muhammad Ibn Musa Khwarzami wrote a book on Algebra in a competition sponsored by Mamoon in which he formulated the Principles of Algebra & till this age those principles were not broken not amended. When the Study of Greek Books revealed to him that the Earth was ROUND, he called the scholars of Geography & Astronomy & ordered them to Measure the Circumference of the Earth by selecting a Vast & level field & Measuring one Degree of it.” (History of Islam, by SaifurRahmanMubarakpuri, Vol2, Page, 433)
The above quote is evidence that the spherical shape of earth was propagated only during the time of Greeks, among the Muslim Philosophers. So it is even possible that few scholars who opined the spherical Earth theory, may have done them with the Influence of philosophers, who occupied Important positions during the Abbasid time. Existence of Ijma before this period is questionable based on this Fact….. End of quote
Did Imam Shafi mention about Globe Earth in his Ar-Risala, if it was Ijma?
Another Interesting Observation is that Imam Ash-Shafi(Rah), in his famous Ar-Risala, which is a Jurisprudential text, discussed the concept of Identifying the Qibla based on Human reason. And he identifies various Cosmological Phenomenon in searching the Qibla. Interesting enough, the concept of Shape of Earth, let alone its Spherical shape, is NOT discussed when many other Cosmological Traditional Phenomenon are reviewed. Below is the Excerpt from Ar-Risala :
“Thus (Allah), Glorified be his Praise, guided (Men) should they be at a Distance from the Sacred Mosque- by using the reasoning powers which he has Implanted in Men & which discriminate between things & their opposites & the Landmarks which (Allah) set up for them when the Sacred Mosque, towards which he commanded them to turn their faces, is out of sight. For Allah(swt) said,
“For it is He who has made for you the stars, that you might be guided by them in the darkness of Land & sea”. (Quran 6:97)
And He (Swt) said, “And by Landmarks & by the stars they are guided”. (Quran 16:16).
Imam Ash Shafi(Rah) said, “Such Landmarks may be the mountains, the nights & the days, which have winds of known names though they blow from different directions, & the Sun & the Moon & the Stars whose rising & settings & whose places in the Sky are known”. End Quote (Ar – Risala, Page 69-70)
One can clearly find that Imam Ash Shafi is calling out all the Traditional Methods of identifying the Qibla, & even recalls the observation of Sun, Moon & other Cosmic Objects being placed in the Sky, which is a Belief contrary to the Helio Centric-Spherical Earth system. Had there been Ijma for Spherical Earth, it would be inconceivable for Imam Ash-Shafi to have not mentioned that critical point here, when all other Cosmological objects are mentioned.End of Quote
Food for thought in videos and pictures about where is the curve?
