Quran says the Earth is flat

[pocaracas]

This is how they read that thing:



See how the wrapper is spread out over the candy? A bit wrinkled and all... sort of like mountains...

I would never say the wrapper was spread out over the candy like a carpet, I would say it's wrapped around the candy, like a candy wrapper.

Imagine a really large candy...hmmmm the earth is made of candy... Why has no religion ever thought of that?

[Darkstar]

Imagine a really large candy...hmmmm the earth is made of candy... Why has no religion ever thought of that?

The ruse would be quickly discovered.

Three seconds later: "EWWWW!!! I want my tithe back!"

[viocjit]

Please when you critic the Quran (I like that like you).

Why don't you share the ayah in Arabic more a translation by three translators minimum.

Example :
I will use Five translations to explain how we can critic the Koran. The first ayah in the first surah named الفاتحة or in English "The opening" , "Prologue" etc...

1.Arabic Version : بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Translations of this Ayah :

1.Translation by Maulana Muhammad Ali : In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

2.Translation by progressive muslims organization : In the name of God, the Almighty, the Merciful.

3.Translation by Abdullah Yusuf Ali : In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

4.Translation by Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute : In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful:

5.Translation by Marmaduke Pickthall : In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

I think that this is more clear if we do like that.

[Ucaslog1]

Please when you critic the Quran (I like that like you).

Why don't you share the ayah in Arabic more a translation by three translators minimum.

Example :
I will use Five translations to explain how we can critic the Koran. The first ayah in the first surah named الفاتحة or in English "The opening" , "Prologue" etc...

1.Arabic Version : بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Translations of this Ayah :

1.Translation by Maulana Muhammad Ali : In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

2.Translation by progressive muslims organization : In the name of God, the Almighty, the Merciful.

3.Translation by Abdullah Yusuf Ali : In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

4.Translation by Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute : In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful:

5.Translation by Marmaduke Pickthall : In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

I think that this is more clear if we do like that.

Yes, thank you for the suggestion, it provides a more fair critique.

[viocjit]

@homocidlefreak Don't mention it.

[Simsim]

Qur'an does not say that the Earth is flat, but it provides a primitive vision of the Universe, like saying that stars are made to protect Heavens from demons.

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Maybe god sees the universe as flat. Like a different perspective on things. God sees the world like I see simcity for example.

One day I was saying something like that. The problem is that the perspective of God just corresponds to the perspective of the primitive knowledge of the ancients. This leads to that the perspective of God is no more than the perspective of the ancients who saw the universe through a very limited knowledge.
Most visions about the Universe which are stated in holy books were already common and popular in the societies in which the holy books appeared. So it is not a divine perspective .... It is a primitive human perspectives and imaginations.

[Praetorian]

It would certainly be strange for them to think that the world or the universe is a sphere when it's supposed to be sitting on the horn of a cow.

[exmuslim]

Qur'an 71:19
والله جعل لكم الارض بساطا
WaAllahu jaAAala lakumu al-ardabisatan
And Allah has made the earth for you as a carpet (spread out),
Qur'an 71:19
بِسَاطًا = bisaatan = drugget , carpet , rug from the verb بسط = outspread , flatten , flat , even , ram , grade , level off , outstretch , pave , level , smoothen , roll , cement

Source: http://wikiislam.net/wiki/Flat_Earth_and_the_Qur%27an

You know it doesn't really matter actually if Quran thinks the earth was flat or not, because it was well known at the time that the earth was indeed anything but flat. It is said that the first person was Pythagoras mainly because in his theories he held that all celestial bodies are spherical. But the first who provided observational evidence for the spherical Earth was Aristotle. He wrote that travelers going south see southern constellations rise higher above the horizon. This is only possible if their horizon is at an angle to northerners' horizon. Thus Earth's surface cannot be flat. The Earth's circumference was measured around 240 BC by Eratosthenes the most important Greek astronomer.



@Gearbrake hmm... that's an interesting point, but is there any way you can look at a Basket ball from any perspective & tell that its flat?

@Praetorian "Earth sitting on the horn of a cow" is a very idiotic claim and Muslim's will reject that as its not from a source they trust, I think it was from Tabari (Muhammad ibn Jarir Al-Tabari) and his books / commentary are considered weak because it contradicts with most of the others & the Quran itself. Was he saying the truth or not, I guess we can never find that out.

[Minimalist]

, I think it was from Tabari (Muhammad ibn Jarir Al-Tabari) and his books / commentary are considered weak because it contradicts with most of the others & the Quran itself.

That sort of disagreement should be worth a car bomb or two on the streets of Baghdad.

[smax]

Galileo Galilei tried to convince god that the Earth was round, and in motion, during the 17th century, but god wasn't having it. Eventually, however, god finally came around on the subject.

God must have been really hammered when he created the universe because he's been having to learn all about it ever since.