Earth is spherical and in motion according to the classical understanding of the Qur’an.
The Qur’an’s language reflects human perceptual viewpoint, not an astronomy textbook. Science and Islamic interpretation need not contradict when properly understood.
Many scholars interpret Qur’anic references to night and day in ways compatible with Earth’s rotations and that it is spherical. Allah says:
يُكَوِّرُ اللَّيْلَ عَلَى النَّهَارِ وَيُكَوِّرُ النَّهَارَ عَلَى اللَّيْلِ
“He wraps the night over the day and wraps the day over the night,”
Surah al-Zumar (5)
𝟏. 𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐦 𝐈𝐛𝐧 𝐇𝐚𝐳𝐦 (𝟑𝟖𝟒 𝐀𝐇 – 𝟒𝟓𝟔 𝐀𝐇) 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝:
مطلب بَيَان كروية الأَرْض
قَالَ أَبُو مُحَمَّد وَهَذَا حِين نَأْخُذ إِن شَاءَ الله تَعَالَى فِي ذكر بعض مَا اعْترضُوا بِهِ وَذَلِكَ أَنهم قَالُوا إِن الْبَرَاهِين قد صحت بِأَن الأَرْض كروية والعامة تَقول غير ذَلِك وجوابنا وَبِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى التَّوْفِيق إِن أحد من أَئِمَّة الْمُسلمين الْمُسْتَحقّين لاسم الْإِمَامَة بِالْعلمِ رَضِي الله عَنْهُم لم ينكروا تكوير الأَرْض وَلَا يحفظ لأحد مِنْهُم فِي دَفعه كلمة بل الْبَرَاهِين من الْقُرْآن وَالسّنة قد جَاءَت بتكويرها قَالَ الله عز وَجل {يكور اللَّيْل على النَّهَار ويكور النَّهَار على اللَّيْل} وَهَذَا أوضح بَيَان فِي تكوير بَعْضهَا على بعض مَأْخُوذ من كور الْعِمَامَة وَهُوَ إدارتها وَهَذَا نَص على تكوير الأَرْض ودوران الشَّمْس كَذَلِك وَهِي الَّتِي مِنْهَا يكون ضوء النَّهَار بإشراقها وظلمة اللَّيْل بمغيبها وَهِي آيَة النَّهَار بِنَصّ الْقُرْآن قَالَ تَعَالَى {وَجَعَلنَا آيَة النَّهَار مبصرة} فَيُقَال لمن أنكر مَا جهل من ذَلِك من الْعَامَّة
Section: Explaining the Sphericity of the Earth
Abū Muḥammad (Ibn Hazam ) said:
At this point, God willing, we shall address some of the objections they have raised. They claim that proofs have been established that the Earth is spherical, while the common people say otherwise.
Our response by Allah, from whom success comes is that 𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐦𝐬 of the Muslims who truly deserve the title of Imamate by virtue of their knowledge, may Allah be pleased with them, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡. Nor is there preserved from any of them a single statement rejecting it. 𝐎𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲, 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐟𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐐𝐮𝐫’𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐚𝐡 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞.
Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, says:
“He wraps the night over the day and wraps the day over the night.”
This is the clearest possible statement regarding the wrapping of one over the other, 𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐧 (kawr al-‘imāmah), 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡’𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐧. From it comes the light of day through its rising, and the darkness of night through its setting. It is the sign of daytime according to the explicit text of the Qur’an, as Allah the Exalted says:
“And We made the sign of the day illuminating.”
Thus it is said to those among the common people who deny what they are ignorant of in this matter:
(See al-Fasl fi al-Milal wa al-Ahwa wa al-Nihal, 2/78)
𝟐. 𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐦 𝐚𝐥-𝐑𝐚𝐠𝐡𝐢𝐛 𝐚𝐥-𝐀𝐬𝐟𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐢 (𝐝 𝟓𝟎𝟐 𝐀𝐇) 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝:
كَوْرُ الشيءِ: إدارته وضمّ بعضه إلى بعض، كَكَوْرِ العمامةِ، وقوله تعالى: يُكَوِّرُ اللَّيْلَ عَلَى النَّهارِ وَيُكَوِّرُ النَّهارَ عَلَى اللَّيْلِ
[الزمر/ ٥] فإشارة إلى جريان الشمس في مطالعها وانتقاص الليل والنهار وازديادهما. وطعنه فَكَوَّرَهُ: إذا ألقاه مجتمعا «٣» ،
“The word كَوْرُ الشيءِmeans to turn or fold something, joining its parts together, like the wrapping of a turban. Allah SWT says: “He wraps the night over the day and wraps the day over the night” (Surah Az-Zumar 39:5). This refers to the apparent motion of the sun in its course and the alternation of night and day. (i.e. illustrating the movement of the Sun as a result of the Earth’s rotation on its axis.”) (See al-Mufradat fi Gharib al-Quran, pg. 729)
𝟑. 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐲𝐤𝐡 𝐚𝐥-𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐡𝐢 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝:
ألا ترى إلى الأرض وقد دارت حول نفسها وهى مكورة فأخذ النهار الحادث من مقابلتها للشمس يسير من الشرق إلى الغرب ويلف حولها طاويا الليل، والليل من الجهة الأخرى يلتف حولها طاويا النهار، فالأرض كالرأس والظلام والضياء يتتابعان تتابع أكوار العمامة، ويلتفان متتابعين حولها.
وفي هذا إيماء إلى كروية الأرض أولا، وإلى دورانها حول نفسها ثانيا، فتكوير الأرض ظاهر الآية، ودورانها أتى تابعا بالزمر والإشارة.
“It is known that the earth rotates on its axis in its orbit. The rotation of the earth on its axis results in the changing of night and day, when a part of the earth faces the sun it will experience day and when it rotates away from the sun it experiences night. Thus, night and day completes each other alternately. The above verse contains guidance as to the circular shape of the earth that rotates on its axis.” (See Tafsir al-Maraghi, 23/145)
𝟒. 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐤𝐡 𝐔𝐛𝐚𝐲𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐡 𝐌𝐮𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐤𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐢 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝:
“The claim of science that the earth is Mutaharik is not against Islamic law, this musallamah decision of science is not against any verse or Hadith, rather some verses of the Quran have an isharah and proof of it…”
Shaikh Ubaydullah Mubarakpuri in his Fatawa v 5 p 196-197.
𝟓 . 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐤𝐡 𝐌𝐮𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐝 𝐌𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢 𝐚𝐥-𝐒𝐡𝐚‘𝐫𝐚̄𝐰𝐢̄:
قد علم الرسول صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم َ أن عطاءات القرآن لا تتناهى، لذلك لم يفسّره. بل أوضح بما تطيقه العقول المعاصرة حتى لا ينصرفوا عنه. ولو كان القرآن قال: إن الأرض كرة وتدور حول الشمس، أكان يصدقه أحد؟ إن هناك حتى الآن من ينكر ذلك. ونجد القرآن يشير ويلمح إليها إلماحا خفيفاً إلى أن تتسع العقول لها. فيقول الحق: {يُكَوِّرُ الليل عَلَى النهار وَيُكَوِّرُ النهار عَلَى الليل} [الزمر: ٥] .
وما دام الليل يأتي وراء النهار، والنهار يأتي وراء الليل في شبه كرة؛ فالذي يأتي عليه الليل والنهار شكل الكرة. فكأن كلاً من الليل والنهار دائر وراء الآخر حول كرة، إذن فالحق يعطي اللمحة بميزان حتى تتسع العقول للفهم.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ knew that the gifts and meanings of the Qur’an are limitless; therefore, he did not explain it exhaustively. Rather, he clarified it according to what contemporary minds could bear, so that people would not turn away from it. If the Qur’an had explicitly stated that the Earth is spherical and rotates around the Sun, would anyone have believed it? Even today, there are people who deny this fact.
Thus, the Qur’an indicates and alludes to such realities subtly, allowing human intellects to gradually expand toward understanding them. Allah, the Exalted, says:
“He wraps the night over the day and wraps the day over the night”
(Surah az-Zumar 39:5)
Since the night comes after the day, and the day comes after the night, in a manner resembling a sphere, that upon which night and day alternate must itself be spherical. It is as if both night and day revolve one after the other around a sphere. Thus, the Qur’an offers a measured hint, enabling minds to broaden toward comprehension.
(Tafsir al-Sha‘rāwī – 6/3785)
𝟔. 𝐅𝐚𝐤𝐡𝐫 𝐚𝐥-𝐃𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐥-𝐑𝐚𝐳𝐢 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲.
He said:
قلنا : تلك البخارات إنما احتقنت في داخل قطعة صغيرة من الأرض ، فلما حصلت الحركة في تلك القطعة الصغيرة ظهرت تلك الحركة . قال القائلون بهذا القول : إن ظهور الحركة في تلك القطعة المعينة من الأرض يجري مجرى اختلاج يحصل في عضو معين من بدن الإنسان ، أما لو حركت كلية الأرض لم تظهر تلك الحركة ، ألا ترى أن الساكن في السفينة لا يحس بحركة كلية السفينة وإن كانت واقعة على أسرع الوجوه [ ص: 9 ] وأقواها فكذا ههنا ، فهذا ما في هذا الموضع من المباحث الدقيقة العميقة ، والذي عندي في هذا الموضع المشكل أن يقال : ثبت بالدلائل اليقينية أن الأرض كرة ، وثبت أن هذه الجبال على سطح هذه الكرة جارية مجرى خشونات تحصل على وجه هذه الكرة .
We say: Those vapors (steams/gases) were confined inside a small piece of the Earth, and when motion occurred in that small piece, that motion appeared. Those who hold this view say: the appearance of motion in that specific piece of the Earth occurs in the same way that convulsions occur in a particular organ of the human body. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫 just as a person who is sitting in a ship does not feel the overall motion of the ship even if it is moving at its fastest and strongest.
This is what is found here in these deep and subtle discussions.
What, for me, is difficult about this point is to say: 𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞.
Tafsir al-Kabir, Volume 10, Page 9
𝟕. 𝐅𝐚𝐤𝐡𝐫 𝐮𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐥 𝐑𝐚𝐳𝐢 𝐨𝐧 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞.
He said:
وذلك لأنه ثبت بالدليل أنه حصل خارج العالم خلاء لا نهاية له، وثبت بالدليل أنه تعالى قادر على جميع الممكنات، فهو تعالى قادر على أن يخلق ألف ألف عالم خارج العالم، بحيث يكون كل واحد من تلك العوالم أعظم وأجسم من هذا العالم.
And that is because it is proven by evidence that there is endless (created) void outside the world, and it is proven by evidence that Allah The Almighty is capable of all possibilities, for He, the Almighty, is able to create thousands and thousands of worlds outside this world, such that each one of those worlds is greater and more massive than this universe.
Tafsir al Razi under Surah al Fatiha, verse 1 under the tafsir of Al Alameen.
𝟖. 𝐀𝐛𝐮 𝐇𝐚𝐲𝐲𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐥-𝐀𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝:
قَالَ أَبُو عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الدَّارَانِيُّ:
ثَبَتَ بِالدَّلِيلِ أَنَّ الْأَرْضَ كُرَةٌ، وَلَا يُنَافِي ذَلِكَ قَوْلَهُ: مَدَّ الْأَرْضَ، وَذَلِكَ أَنَّ الْأَرْضَ جِسْمٌ عَظِيمٌ. وَالْكُرَةُ إِذَا كَانَتْ فِي غَايَةِ الكبر كان كل قِطْعَةٌ مِنْهَا تُشَاهَدُ كَالسَّطْحِ، وَالتَّفَاوُتُ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ السَّطْحِ لَا يَحْصُلُ إِلَّا فِي عِلْمِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى. أَلَا تَرَى أَنَّهُ قَالَ: وَالْجِبالَ أَوْتاداً «١» مَعَ أَنَّ الْعَالَمَ وَالنَّاسَ يَسِيرُونَ عَلَيْهَا فَكَذَلِكَ هُنَا
Abu Abdullah al‑Darani said:
It has been established with clear evidence that the Earth is a sphere, and this does not contradict His statement “He spread out the earth” because the Earth is a vast body. When a sphere is extremely large, any small part of it appears like a flat surface, and the difference between it and a flat surface is known only by Allah’s knowledge.
Do you not see that Allah says “and the mountains as pegs”, even though the world and people walk upon them? Likewise in this case.
(See al-Bahr al-Muhit, 6/346)
9. 𝐈𝐛𝐧 ‘𝐀𝐬𝐡𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 (يُكَوِّرُ) 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐡 𝐚𝐥‑𝐙𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐫, 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝟓, 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠:
“Al‑takwīr means folding or rolling up. As for kawwara al‑ʿimāmah, it refers to the folding or rolling of a turban. In the verse, takwīr is used as a comparison for the alternation of night and day on one side of the earth, with each succeeding the other. This analogy is unique and fitting because the changing of night and day is compared to the folding of a turban on a circular head. This is one of the Qur’an’s scientific indications, for the word takwīr used here relates to kurrah, which means spherical. Hence, the earth is spherical. This fact was unknown to the Arabs and to humankind until the Qur’an explained the pair of phenomena of darkness changing to light, or night and day.” (See al‑Tahrīr wa‑al‑Tanwīr, 23/238)
10. 𝐈𝐛𝐧 𝐓𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐢𝐲𝐲𝐚𝐡 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐣𝐦𝐮’𝐮𝐥 (𝟐𝟓/𝟏𝟗𝟓):
وكذلك أجمعوا على أن الأرض بجميع حركاتها من البر والبحر مثل الكرة ….ويدل عليه أن الشمس والقمر والكواكب لا يوجد طلوعها وغروبها على جميع من في نواحي الأرض في وقت واحد ، بل على المشرق قبل المغرب ” انتهى من “مجموع الفتاوى”
“They(Muslim scholars) also agreed that the earth with all its movement from land to sea is like a ball. The evidence here is that the rising and setting of the moon and planets can’t be seen at once in every place on earth, rather, it will be seen in the east before the west”
𝟏11. 𝐈𝐛𝐧 𝐓𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐢𝐲𝐲𝐚𝐡 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐣𝐦𝐮’𝐮𝐥 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐰𝐚 (𝟔/𝟓𝟖𝟔):
السموات مستديرة عند علماء المسلمين ، وقد حكى إجماع المسلمين على ذلك غير واحد من العلماء أئمة الإسلام
“The heavens are round in shape according to Muslim scholars, many Scholars of Islam have unanimously agreed on this.”
𝟏2. 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐈𝐭𝐬 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞
𝐀𝐛𝐮 𝐁𝐚𝐤𝐫 𝐛𝐢𝐧 𝐘𝐚𝐡𝐲𝐚 𝐚𝐥-𝐒𝐮𝐥𝐢 (𝟐𝟔𝟕 𝐀𝐇-𝟑𝟑𝟔 𝐚𝐡).
In Ibn Khallikan’s book, he states the opinion of Abu Bakr bin Yahya al-Suli:
فإن دور كرة الأرض معلوم بطريق الهندسة، وهو ثمانية آلاف فرسخ، بحيث لو وضعنا طرف حبل على أي موضع كان من الأرض وأدرنا الحبل على كرة الأرض حتى انتهينا بالطرف الآخر إلى ذلك الموضع من الأرض والتقى الطرفان فإذا مسحنا ذلك الحبل كان طوله أربعة وعشرين ألف ميل، وهي ثمانية آلاف فرسخ، وهو قطعي لاشك فيه
The circumference of the Earth is known by geometric methods, and it is eight thousand farsakhs. So, if we were to place one end of a rope on any point on the Earth and wrap the rope around the Earth until it reaches the other end back at the same point, and then straighten the rope,𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬, which is eight thousand farsakhs. This is a definite fact, without doubt. (Wafayat al-A’yan, 4/359)
The geometric claim about Earth’s circumference mentioned in the passage aligns with scientific evidence. in fact, it reflects historical scientific understanding about Earth’s shape and size that is well supported by data.
𝟏3. 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐬.
Al-Qurtubi said in his Tafseer
. واختلف فيهنّ على قولين: أحدهما ـ وهو قول الجمهور ـ أنها سبع أرضين طباقاً بعضها فوق بعض، بين كل أرض وأرض مسافة كما بين السماء والسماء، وفي كل أرض سكان من خلق الله
‘The view of the majority of scholars is that it refers to seven Earth one above the other, and the distance between one Earth to the other is like the distance between the sky and the Earth. And there are creatures of Allah on each Earth’. [end quote]
𝟏4. 𝐌𝐮𝐟𝐭𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐰𝐞𝐛 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝:
The seven Earths are planets like planet Earth, one above the other.
Creatures live on each one of these Earths, but nobody knows the reality of these creatures except Allah. [Islamweb]
𝟏5. 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐪𝐮𝐨𝐭𝐞
Allah says:
Or ˹ask them,˺ “Who made the earth a place of settlement, caused rivers to flow through it, placed firm mountains upon it, and set a barrier between ˹fresh and salt˺ bodies of water?1 Was it another god besides Allah?” Absolutely not! But most of them do not know. [27:61]
It is not a scientific description asserting that the Earth has no motion in space; rather, it emphasizes stability and suitability for life. So, Ahmad Raza Khan Brailwi, Dawat e Islami and some Salafi scholars are wrong in their interpretation.
16. Conclusion
The Qur’an uses figurative and perceptual language to describe natural phenomena, including night and day, in a way that people can understand. It is not intended to be a scientific textbook, but its descriptions do not contradict established scientific facts when interpreted responsibly.
A number of classical and later Muslim scholars have interpreted Qur’anic references to the alternation of night and day in ways that are compatible with the Earth being spherical and in motion:
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The Arabic verb يُكَوِّرُ (yukawwir) in Surah al‑Zumar (39:5) describes the “wrapping” of night over day and day over night in a continuous way. Some commentators see this as consistent with a spherical Earth whose rotation causes the cycle of night and day.
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Classical tafsirs note that the Qur’an reflects observable phenomena e.g., night coming after day and day after night without requiring literal astronomical mechanics that would only later be developed by science.
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While the Qur’an itself seldom details how these natural cycles occur, it also does not deny what science has established: that the Earth is a sphere and rotates on its axis and that such motion explains the alternation of night and day.
Modern science shows that:
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The Earth is approximately spherical.
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It rotates on its axis, producing the regular cycle of day and night.
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It orbits the Sun, which in turn is in motion within the galaxy.
These scientific facts are not contradicted by the Qur’anic language; rather, the Qur’an’s choice of metaphor such as “wrapping night over day” can be understood as compatible with what is scientifically observed.
In summary:
The Qur’an does not explicitly describe celestial mechanics in scientific detail, but its descriptions do not conflict with science. When verses are interpreted in light of both classical linguistic meanings and current knowledge of nature, there is no contradiction between the Qur’anic language about night and day and the scientific understanding that the Earth is spherical and in motion.