Some disbelievers claim they have a hundred reasons for not believing in the Qur’an, based on its translations. One of these reasons is that “the Qur’an says the earth is flat”. Let us first of all ask if there is such a statement in the Qur’an. If so, how do we explain it?
The fact is that if the Qur’an is read like a geography, biology, astronomy, or history book, asking such questions becomes possible. However, the Qur’an is a guide a guide to honest living and a guide to the truth.
Could you explain it a bit more?
People are in a race in this life whether they are believers or not. This race is about either reaching something or running away from something in order to get away. In other words, it is about seeking what is right and avoiding what is wrong. Eventually, people reach something but what they reach sometimes leads to disappointment. Sometimes the thing they avoid causes regret. It appears that it is very difficult to determine what is right and beneficial in this world. It is almost impossible to do alone, so people need external support. This support is essential until they reach a certain age. However, people need this support as adults as well. Knowing this, Allah the Almighty sent a prophet among them to offer support, along with a book to guide humanity.
Unfortunately, many people misunderstand this purpose, attempting to turn the divine book into material for subjects like biology or geography.
As for the earth being flat?
The origin of this question is a misunderstanding of the Qur’an, isn’t it? The Qur’an provides some examples to help people find the truth and righteousness. One of these examples is the physical structure and function of the world. However, when the Qur’an addresses the physical aspects of the world, it does not do so from the perspective of an astronomer or a geography expert. It begins with what the physical structure means to an ordinary person and how it is perceived. The Qur’an encourages people to focus on how to understand and evaluate the world in their life journey. If the concept of the world’s roundness is constantly on a person’s mind, it can detract from their quality of life. Think about it: if we were constantly aware that we are in the ‘upper’ part of the world when we see the sun and the ‘lower’ part at night, our perception of life would become disorienting. It would turn everything upside down. However, we perceive ourselves as being at the top of the world, both day and night. Although the earth is round, we do not have the perception that we are standing ‘up’ or ‘down’, ‘straight’ or ‘upside down’. This is because Allah the Almighty has created us in such a way that we can see and perceive the world as flat. Yet in reality, the earth is round like an orange. The fact is that there is always a difference between perception and reality. A thoughtful person sees these differences between perception and reality, and can easily recognize them as blessings or signs of the existence of Allah. Yet people who lack a reflective understanding and in-depth thinking may try to read the Qur’an like an astronomy book. Especially if they are prejudiced, they may perceive misleading mistakes and fall into denial.
So, why was the flat earth idea so influential for a while?
People did not have enough opportunities for scientific observation back then. They would base their thoughts on perception, not on facts. From where they were standing, they saw the world as flat and assumed it was flat. The expression “And it is He who spread the earth.” in the third verse of Surah al-Ra’d in the Qur’an is meant to align with human perception. It uses language that is accessible and understandable from a human perspective, reflecting how the earth appears to us. It does not specifically address whether the earth is flat or round. If this was the case, none of the Islamic scholars would have stated that the world is round.
This means that the claim made about the Qur’an is a baseless ascription due to ignorance. Well, weren’t there other people in different nations claiming that the Earth was flat?
Of course, there were. There were those who claimed that the earth was flat and the sky was round, while others believed the sky was like a glass ceiling, with the moon and sun hanging there. This was based on what they observed with their eyes, as it appeared that way to them. There were even those who thought that the sun rises from 365 different places throughout the year. There are even philosophers who claimed that the world was flat. However, after a certain century, the majority began to say that it was spherical. Until relatively recently, the claim that the earth was the center of the universe and that the sun revolved around the earth was widely accepted. This was known as the Ptolemaic theory. With Copernicus (d. 1543), this theory changed and the heliocentric theory was accepted. However, in Europe, Galileo (d. 1642) faced opposition for advocating the heliocentric theory. He was tried by the church during the Inquisition for advocating the heliocentric theory and found guilty of heresy for promoting ideas that contradicted the Church’s teachings.
Why are Muslims the target of these accusations?
There are mainly two reasons for this: First, Muslims did not have a strong understanding of their own history, which led to a loss of self-confidence. Second, those opposed to Islam conducted perception campaigns based on this psychology. In this case, we have a duty: to learn about and recognize our own historical background without blaming anyone. Then, we must create a new thought grounded in balanced self-confidence. However, if we turn this into a dry eulogy of history, we might fall into another trap. The key is to establish a new future based on the lessons we have learned from historical experiences.
