Does the Koran say that the Earth is flat?

Question

18:86: "Till, when he reached the setting-place of the Sun, he found it going down into a muddy spring…"

this sounds like a flat earth to me.

and there are many similar quotations at:

http://www.godhatesglobes.com/koran.html

so why do i keep getting emails telling me the koran does not contain these verses?

siti: if you wish to deny that this verse is in the koran, please do so.
if you cannot, that also tells us something about you.

CILOVEU: if the koran says things which are untrue until they are correctly interpreted, why bother with the koran at all? it is the interpreters who have the truth.

A2Z: 'this is impossible'? how can it be impossible if the koran say it is true?

NO: this is not zulqarnian speaking, but allah.
i can see that you are no muslim.

Ahmad: "The Qur’anic statement is clearly metaphorical, and this is the way it has been understood by most of the classical and modern commentators of the Qur’an."

medieval arabic maps show a flat earth. they clearly did not see this comment as 'metaphorical'. if you distrust the koran's testimony, why not just say so?

CCN: post your reasoning here. that way we can *all* have a laugh at you.

Answer 1

damn lebanon there are 11 planets? since when? there are hundreds of thouands of planets

and yes it does say flat i even see the arabic translations and all the arabic words denote flat

and outside of pluto there are 3 other planets makin 12 total plus the hundreds that are being discovered every day

Answer 2

This verse you entered tells nothing about Earth! It's saying that he, Zul-qarnain, reached to an ocean.

Look at this phrase: "God of Easts and Wests".
Well, when can we have Easts and Wests (considering the plurals)?
A: When the Earth is round!!


The translations in the link you suggested, are not accurate. We must know Arabic in good way.

For example, (20:55) "He hath spread the Earth as a bed". It's not true.
The truth is: "Didn't He make the Earth a CRADLE for you?!" It means that Earth is where you grow and also it mentions the Earth MOVEMENT.

Answer 3

Yep that is my interpretation of that little line or verse in the Koran the earth is not only flat but the sun does go inside the earth to come out in another spring in the East.

Answer 4

This is methaphor because Dhul Quranan reached the ends of the earth and if you actually took this literally then the sun would set in the earth. Which the above question doesn't say.

[18:86]
Till, when he reached the setting-place of the sun, he found it setting in a muddy spring, and found a people thereabout. We said: O Dhu’l- Qarneyn! Either punish or show them kindness.

is the full verse

http://www.altafsir.com/ViewTranslations.asp?Display=yes&SoraNo=18&Ayah=86&Language=2&TranslationBook=3

Answer 5

The Qur’an mentions the actual shape of the earth in the following verse:

"And we have made the earth egg shaped". The Holy Qur'an, Chapter 79, Verse 30

The Arabic word Dahaha means egg shaped. It also means an expanse. Dahaha is derived from Duhiya which specifically refers to the egg of an ostrich which is geospherical in shape, exactly like the shape of the earth.

Thus the Qur’an and modern established science are in perfect harmony.




"This is something which everyone who goes to the coast can see: it looks as if the sun is setting into the sea but in fact it never leaves its path in which it is fixed."


His traveling and reaching the Place where the Sun sets (the West)

(a way) means, "A route through the land.'' Qatadah said, "It means he followed the routes and landmarks of the earth.''


(Until, when he reached the setting place of the sun,) means, he followed a route until he reached the furthest point that could be reached in the direction of the sun's setting, which is the west of the earth. As for the idea of his reaching the place in the sky where the sun sets, this is something impossible, and the tales told by storytellers that he traveled so far to the west that the sun set behind him are not true at all. Most of these stories come from the myths of the People of the Book and the fabrications and lies of their heretics.


(he found it setting in a spring of Hami'ah) meaning, he saw the sun as if it were setting in the ocean. This is something which everyone who goes to the coast can see: it looks as if the sun is setting into the sea but in fact it never leaves its path in which it is fixed. Hami'ah is, according to one of the two views, derived from the word Hama'ah, which means mud.




Does the Qur'an say that the earth is flat?
Qur’an says that Allah has made the earth for you as a carpet. This gives an indication that the earth is flat. Does this not contradict established modern science?

1. Earth made as a carpet

The question refers to a verse from the Qur’an in Surah Nuh:
"And Allah has made the earth for you as a carpet (spread out)." The Holy Qur'an, Chapter 71, Verse 19




But the sentence in the above verse is not complete. It continues in the next verse, explaining the previous verse. It says: "That ye may go about therein, in spacious roads." The Holy Qur'an, Chapter 71, Verse 20

A similar message is repeated in Surah TaHa:

"He Who has made for you the earth like a carpet spread out; has enabled you to go about therein by roads (and channels)...." The Holy Qur'an, Chapter 20, Verse 53

The surface of the earth i.e. earth’s crust is less than 30 miles in thickness and is very thin as compared to the radius of the earth which is about 3750 miles. The deeper layers of the earth are very hot, fluid and hostile to any form of life. The earth’s crust is a solidified shell on which we can live. The Qur’an rightly refers to it like a carpet spread out, so that we can travel along its roads and paths.

2. Carpet can also be spread on other than an absolute flat surface

Not a single verse of the Qur’an says that the earth is flat. The Qur’an only compares the earth’s crust with a carpet. Some people seem to think that carpet can only be put on an absolute flat surface. It is possible to spread a carpet on a large sphere such as the earth. It can easily be demonstrated by taking a huge model of the earth’s globe covering it with a carpet.

Carpet is generally put on a surface, which is not very comfortable to walk on. The Qur’an describes the earth crust as a carpet, without which human beings would not be able to survive because of the hot, fluid and hostile environment beneath it. The Qur’an is thus not only logical, it is mentioning a scientific fact that was discovered by geologists centuries later.

3. Earth has been spread out

Similarly, the Qur’an says in several verses that the earth has been spread out.
"And We have spread out the (spacious) earth: how excellently We do spread out!" The Holy Qur'an, Chapter 51, Verse 48
Similarly the Qur’an also mentions in several other verses that the earth is an expanse:
"Have We not made the earth as a wide expanse. And the mountains as pegs?" The Holy Qur'an, Chapter 78, Verse 6-7

None of these verses of the Qur’an contain even the slightest implication that the earth is flat. It only indicates that the earth is spacious and the reason for this spaciousness of the earth is mentioned. The Glorious Qur’an says:
"O My servants who believe! truly. spacious is My Earth: therefore serve ye Me –(And Me alone)!" The Holy Qur'an, Chapter 29, Verse 56
Therefore none can give the excuse, that he could not do good and was forced to do evil because of the surroundings and circumstances.

4. Earth is geospherical in shape

The Qur’an mentions the actual shape of the earth in the following verse: "And we have made the earth egg shaped". The Holy Qur'an, Chapter 79, Verse 30
The Arabic word Dahaha means egg shaped. It also means an expanse. Dahaha is derived from Duhiya which specifically refers to the egg of an ostrich which is geospherical in shape, exactly like the shape of the earth.

Thus the Qur’an and modern established science are in perfect harmony.
http://islam.thetruecall.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=206

Answer 6

Well firstly Arabic is a language with alot of meanings. one word can have 4 meanings to it. sometimes these translations online are not even appropriate. i can find 4 difference meanings of the same verse for you. A good translated Quran is which is translated from Egypt. So please don't confuse your self by believing any translation you find online. Alot of websites on the internet are not even appropriate especially the .com sites you really should not trust.


the intrepreters just translates the Quran, as the Quran is not written as astory but as a poem. The Whole Quran is not easy for just anyone to understand firstly majority muslims cannot speak arabic so thats why we want people who can understand arabic and translate it for us. translating the Quran is not everyones job you need to be qualified to do that and these people are trained to translate the Quran. Thats why there are so many Translations made by diffeent poeple and most of them are all wrong.

I don't understand why are you argueing on a statement which is purely wrong. Its just a bad translation.

Answer 7

That is hilarious . . .

Some people here are saying that the Qur'an never 'states' that the Earth is flat. That's true.

But it's pretty obvious that the quotation is 'telling us' that the Earth is flat.

How else can you interpret it?

:)

Answer 8

That verse is your proof???
That is an account of what Zulquarnian saw...not a muddy spring but the black sea.
Have you ever seen the sun setting in in the horizon over the ocean???
How does that mean the earth is flat?

Answer 9

We'll compromise,and pretend the Earth turns,flat and then, round both! What?...What's wrong with that?

Answer 10

The earth isn't flat, its round.
Which Quran are you reading from? You can go to an Islamic bookstore and get a translate Quran that is accurate.