Is the world spherical or flat? And is this issue one of the matters of creed?
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The questioner : In English
Another questioner : In your opinion, is the world spherical or straight?
The Shaykh : Is this question geographical or religious?
The questioner : In English
Another questioner : Both.
The Shaykh : Spherical.
The questioner : In English
Another questioner : Ibn Baz made a mistake... when he said that it is straight.
The Shaykh : Straight or flat?
The questioner : Flat.
The Shaykh : I wish the mistake had stopped at the geographical issue!
The questioner : In English
The Shaykh : Your companion understood, praise be to Allah. Others did not.
The questioner : In English. Explain it.
Another questioner : Do you want to explain it to him?
The Shaykh : The issue of whether the earth is spherical or flat is not a practical issue, nor is it a creedal issue that a Muslim must know the Shari'ah ruling on. If it were practical, one would worship Allah with it like other acts of worship, or believe it in the depths of his soul and heart if it were a creed, in which case every Muslim would be commanded to believe in it and have faith in it. Rather, it is an issue that may be taken in two ways regarding the interpretation of some verses in the Noble Qur'an. And without a doubt, as is the case with most issues, one of the two views is correct and the other is wrong. And I apologize, for I feel I have prolonged this, especially since the issue is scientific and precise, so I do not know if I have made it clear. What do you think?
The questioner : In English
The Shaykh : In one of the two views, one is correct and the other is wrong.
The questioner : In English
The Shaykh : And on this basis, whoever exercises independent legal reasoning (ijtihad) and is qualified for it, and the first condition for this qualification is knowledge of the Arabic language.
The questioner : In English
The Shaykh : So whether he hits the mark or misses, as he knows, the one who hits the mark gets two rewards, and the one who misses gets one reward.
The questioner : In English
The Shaykh : And these verses that came regarding the earth, whether it is moving and spherical or stationary, there is no definitive text supporting one of the two differing views.
The questioner : In English
The Shaykh : And therefore we said that this is not a creedal issue that requires a unified opinion, as we believe in the creed of the Salaf.
The questioner : In English
The Shaykh : Some verses from the Noble Qur'an related to this topic can be understood to imply the earth's stability and flatness, while others can be understood to imply its movement and rotation. And this is the view that is more probable in our estimation and matches...
Another questioner : In your opinion, is the world spherical or straight?
The Shaykh : Is this question geographical or religious?
The questioner : In English
Another questioner : Both.
The Shaykh : Spherical.
The questioner : In English
Another questioner : Ibn Baz made a mistake... when he said that it is straight.
The Shaykh : Straight or flat?
The questioner : Flat.
The Shaykh : I wish the mistake had stopped at the geographical issue!
The questioner : In English
The Shaykh : Your companion understood, praise be to Allah. Others did not.
The questioner : In English. Explain it.
Another questioner : Do you want to explain it to him?
The Shaykh : The issue of whether the earth is spherical or flat is not a practical issue, nor is it a creedal issue that a Muslim must know the Shari'ah ruling on. If it were practical, one would worship Allah with it like other acts of worship, or believe it in the depths of his soul and heart if it were a creed, in which case every Muslim would be commanded to believe in it and have faith in it. Rather, it is an issue that may be taken in two ways regarding the interpretation of some verses in the Noble Qur'an. And without a doubt, as is the case with most issues, one of the two views is correct and the other is wrong. And I apologize, for I feel I have prolonged this, especially since the issue is scientific and precise, so I do not know if I have made it clear. What do you think?
The questioner : In English
The Shaykh : In one of the two views, one is correct and the other is wrong.
The questioner : In English
The Shaykh : And on this basis, whoever exercises independent legal reasoning (ijtihad) and is qualified for it, and the first condition for this qualification is knowledge of the Arabic language.
The questioner : In English
The Shaykh : So whether he hits the mark or misses, as he knows, the one who hits the mark gets two rewards, and the one who misses gets one reward.
The questioner : In English
The Shaykh : And these verses that came regarding the earth, whether it is moving and spherical or stationary, there is no definitive text supporting one of the two differing views.
The questioner : In English
The Shaykh : And therefore we said that this is not a creedal issue that requires a unified opinion, as we believe in the creed of the Salaf.
The questioner : In English
The Shaykh : Some verses from the Noble Qur'an related to this topic can be understood to imply the earth's stability and flatness, while others can be understood to imply its movement and rotation. And this is the view that is more probable in our estimation and matches...
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.