Does the Qur’an Say the Earth Is Flat? | Tafsir Explanation

Assalamu Alaykum

Recently, it has become very common for disbelievers to claim that Allah describes the world as flat in the Quran. They claim the Quran says the world is flat even though it is round. Now, many Islamophobes have found a new topic to spread false information, create fitnah among people, and claim that there are contradictions in the Quran. Today, we will debunk this false statement with facts and understand the true meaning of the verses they are quoting. To understand this topic, we must read the Quran with Tafsir (exegesis) and understand classical interpretations. We must also properly understand Quranic Arabic. We will state the opinions of several scholars regarding these verses so that we can understand the perspective of Islamic scholars who are experts in Arabic grammar and Tafsir, unlike those who are ignorant of these fields.

WHY DO DISBELIEVERS SAY THAT THE EARTH IS FLAT ACCORDING TO THE QURAN?

All this confusion comes from this verse:

وَإِلَى الْأَرْضِ كَيْفَ سُطِحَتْ “And the earth — how it was flattened.” (Surah al-Ghashiyah 88:20)

In the verse quoted above, you can see that the word "sutihat" (flattened) is used. Disbelievers will point to this word and say that since "flat" is in the Quran, the Earth must be flat. However, the way they are translating it is wrong. "Flattened" here means spread out or leveled out. What is being discussed here is that the Earth is leveled, meaning it is suitable for living; it is made level, livable, walkable, and buildable. For travel and agriculture, it is said that the land is suitable. This verse is spoken from a human perspective. For example, if you go and stand in an empty field and look all around you, does the land not look flat to you? Yes, the land looks flat to you. From our human perspective, the land looks flat rather than a round globe shape. No matter how far you walk, the land will continue to look flat to you.

Mufassir al-Qurtubi, who was an Arabic expert, said:

“It was made smooth and stable for walking — not that it is flat in shape.”

الَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمُ الْأَرْضَ فِرَاشًا “Who made the earth for you as a resting place.” (Surah al-Baqarah 2:22)

Now, disbelievers will quote another verse that uses the word "firaash," which means bed, mattress, couch, etc. They will say that a bed, couch, or mattress is flat and not round. You should tell them that in this verse, Allah is talking about comfort, not shape. Allah has made the world a "firaash" (comfort) for us. This does not mean the world is flat; those claims have nothing to do with this verse.

وَهُوَ الَّذِي مَدَّ الْأَرْضَ “He spread out the earth.” (Surah ar-Ra‘d 13:3)

In this verse, the word "Madda" means stretched out or spread out. The answer to this is basically the same. This verse is also talking about the human perspective. Allah is saying that He made the world comfortable for humans.

وَالْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ ذَٰلِكَ دَحَاهَا  “And after that, He spread the earth” (Surah an-Nazi‘at 79:30)

 

Again, here "Dahaha" means flattened, rolled out, leveled, or extended. Allah is talking about the human perspective, suitability, and comfort. Many scholars have also connected the word "Dahaha" to an ostrich-egg shape. While that is a bit debatable, we will learn about that topic in another article.

CLASSICAL MUSLIM SCHOLARS' OPINIONS

Years before modern astronomy, major scholars of Islam stated the following:

Ibn Hazm (d. 456 AH): “The Earth is spherical, as proven by the sun rising at different times.”

Imam Al-Ghazali (d. 505 AH): Accepted the Earth’s roundness in his cosmological writings.

Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH): “The heavens are round, and the Earth is also round by scholarly consensus.”

Al-Biruni (d. 440 AH): Calculated the Earth’s circumference with stunning accuracy.

There was no scholarly consensus that the Earth is flat in Islamic history.

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QURAN ENCOURAGES OBSERVATION, NOT BLIND CLAIMS

Allah says in the Quran: 

“Travel through the land and observe…” (29:20)

Do you not see how day and night occur in the world like a cycle? There is day on one side and night on the other. Consider lunar eclipses with curved shadows, the positions of stars, etc. Islam never contradicts reality.

VERSES WHICH SHOW THAT THE EARTH IS ROUND IN THE QURAN

Surah Az-Zumar 39:5 - Wrapping Night and Day: "He created the heavens and earth in truth. He wraps [yukawwiru] the night around the day and wraps the day around the night..." Interpretation: The Arabic term yukawwiru is used for winding a turban around a head, implying a spherical shape.

Surah An-Naziat 79:30 - Shaping of the Earth: "And after that He spread the earth." Interpretation: The Arabic word used is dahaha, derived from duhiya, which some scholars interpret as meaning it was made into a geospherical or egg-shaped form (specifically an ostrich egg).

Surah Al-Anbiya 21:33 - Celestial Orbits: "And it is He who created the night and the day and the sun and the moon; all [the celestial bodies] swim along, each in its orbit." Interpretation: This implies an orbital motion for celestial bodies, including the Earth, consistent with a spherical, rotating body.

Surah Al-Ma'arij 70:40 - Multiple Easts and Wests: "So I swear by the Lord of the easts and the wests..." Interpretation: The plural usage indicates that as the earth is round, the sun rises and sets at different times for different places, creating multiple points of sunrise and sunset.

CONCLUSION

Nowadays, many unknown people come onto the internet and claim the Earth is flat according to the Quran. These are the people who read the English translation but do not read the context of the verse. The Arabic language can never be fully converted into English. If you want to understand the meaning of Arabic words, it is better to read them in Arabic. If you do not understand a verse, search for it on the internet via Google or YouTube and get information from verified scholars, not from people who do not even know the "Alif" of Arabic. Allah has not said in simple language anywhere in the Quran that the Earth is flat; these people just want to spread an agenda. If it is not possible for you to learn Arabic, then take the opinion of scholars who have expertise in Arabic, rather than coming to your own conclusions.

That is all for today. We will meet with a new topic next. Take care of yourself and your family. May Allah forgive all our sins and accept our supplications. Ameen.

Assalamu Alaykum