THE SHAPE OF THE EARTH
Have they not seen how we come to the land
diminishing it in its extremities? God
judges; none repels His judgment; He is swift
at the reckoning. [36]
God also says:
سورة النازعات آية 30
"And the earth-after that He spread it out"
But here is a more accurate translation:
"And the earth moreover has He made almost spherical." [37]
The word "dahaha" in the second verse means in Arabic: shaped like an egg, which is the true shape of the earth.
These verses state that the earth was gradually diminished along its axes, a highly scientific fact which scientific researches have proved it to be true; we notice that The Holy Qur'an has stated this fact in a simple and a straightforward way; while scientists have acquired this knowledge through strenuous efforts, and the most complicated theories of mathematics, physics and astronomy.
and thou shalt see the mountains, that thou supposed fixed,
passing by like clouds- God's handiwork, who has created
everything very well. He is aware of the things you do. [38]
This verse states clearly that the earth is almost round and rotates around its axis. We can see the movement of the clouds, but we cannot see the movement of the mountains. Strangely enough, God compares what appeals to the senses to what is hidden from our limited senses.
But, with the progress of science which God has advocated all through The Holy Qur’an, and which God has subjected to serve His great Book and which help in explaining the cosmic verses in it we come to know that both move in the same way. That is to say, the mountains as part of the earth move with it, and the clouds move around the earth simply because they are surrounded, as the earth is, with the atmospheric cover that surrounds the earth. This atmospheric cover, God's great gift to the earth, hinders the clouds, by God's mercy, from fleeing into the outer space and dissolving in this limitless space.
The following verses are evidence that the earth is round and revolves around its axis. They show that there is always a day and a night prevailing over the earth at the same time, which implies this scientific fact concerning the movement and the shape of the earth:
Our command comes upon it
wrapping the day about the night [40]
Thou makes the night enter into the day
and thou makes the day to enter into the night, [41]
It behoves not the sun to overtake the moon, neither
does the night outstrip the day?
each swimming in a sky [42]
He created the heavens and the earth in truth,
wrapping the night about the day, and
wrapping the day about the night:
and He has subjected the sun and the moon,
each of them running
to a stated term
is not He the All mighty, the All-forgiving? [43]
The word "wrap" or "surround", dose not give the true meaning in Arabic, which is "يكور " for it is a derivative of the word "كره " which means "ball". The word "ball" implies that the world is round, or the day and night would not have wrapped about each other. This image indicates that when the night prevails over one half of the earth, the day prevails over the other half. A fact, which was only discovered after the discovery of America; and after the progress of science and Man's ascension to outer space where he could see the earth half illuminated with daytime and the second half is dark, exactly as God has informed us more than 1400 years ago.
سورة الحجر آية 19
And the Earth- We stretched it forth, and cast
on it firm mountains,
and We caused to grow therein of every thing
justly weighed [44]
Sheikh Shaarawy, in his book "The Materialistic Proofs of God", explains this verse in a very witty way. He says that God does not denote a particular land, but land in general. This means that wherever you go, any place in the world, you find the earth stretched out, and this could not have happened if the earth was not really round. If the earth were rectangular or of any other geometrical shape you would have reached its edge; while the round shape is the only shape which has no edge, therefore whenever you go you find it stretched. This is the miraculous nature of the Holy Qur’an, it gives you an expression in one word suits the appearance of things and at the same time, it indicates a scientific fact.
سورة الغاشية الآيات 17-20
What, do they not consider how the camel was created,
how heaven was lifted up,
how the mountains were hoisted
how the earth was outstretched? [45]
God the Almighty, in this verse, and others, attracts our attention to the different signs of His power in His creation. God, in this verse, tells us is it not amazing that the earth is outstretched! We could not fully understand what is amazing about this fact and the implication of it until the age of science, when we came to know that the earth was round. Is it not amazing to find that this rounded earth is outstretched for our benefit! That is to say, what we have taken for granted is but one of His great signs.
[36] Chapter 13 verse 41
[37] chapter 79 verse 30
[38] chapter 27 verse 88
[39] chapter 10 verse 24
[40] chapter 39 verse 5
[41] chapter 3 verse 27
[42] chapter 36 verse 40
[43] chapter 29 verse 5
[44] chapter 15 verse 19
[45] chapter 88 verse 17-20
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