He says at the beginning of these questions: How do we answer the one who asked us about the roundness of the earth from the perspective of religion?
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The questioner : He says at the beginning of these questions: How do we answer the one who asked us about the roundness of the earth from the perspective of religion?
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. We answer the one who asked us about the roundness of the earth from the perspective of religion by saying that the earth is round, based on the evidence of the Qur'an, reality, and the words of the scholars.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : As for the evidence of the Qur'an, Allah the Exalted says:[Az-Zumar 39:5] And *takwir* means making something like a roll, such as the roll of a turban. It is known that night and day succeed one another on the earth, and this necessitates that the earth be round.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Because if you roll something over something else, and the earth is that over which this matter is rolled, then it follows that the earth over which this thing is rolled must be round.
As for the evidence of reality, this has been established. If a man flies from Jeddah, for example, heading west, he exits Jeddah from the eastern side if he is on a straight line.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : This is something on which no two people differ. As for the words of the scholars, they mentioned that if a man dies in the East at sunset and another dies in the West at sunset, and there is a distance between them, then the one who died in the West at sunset inherits from the one who died in the East at sunset, if he is among his heirs.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : This indicates that the earth is round, because if the earth were flat, it would follow that the sun sets from it in all directions at one time. And once this is established, no one can deny it. There is no contradiction in this with the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Ghashiyah 88:17-20] because the earth is large in size, and its roundness does not appear in short distances. So, according to observation, it is a flat surface on which you do not find anything that causes anxiety about resting upon it, and this does not contradict that it is round.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Because its body is very large. However, with this, they mentioned that it is not a sphere with equal ends, but rather it is bulging toward the north and the south. So they say it is oval, meaning in the shape of an egg in its bulging north and south.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. We answer the one who asked us about the roundness of the earth from the perspective of religion by saying that the earth is round, based on the evidence of the Qur'an, reality, and the words of the scholars.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : As for the evidence of the Qur'an, Allah the Exalted says:
He wraps the night over the day and wraps the day over the night
يُكَوِّرُ اللَّيْلَ عَلَى النَّهَارِ وَيُكَوِّرُ النَّهَارَ عَلَى اللَّيْلِThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Because if you roll something over something else, and the earth is that over which this matter is rolled, then it follows that the earth over which this thing is rolled must be round.
As for the evidence of reality, this has been established. If a man flies from Jeddah, for example, heading west, he exits Jeddah from the eastern side if he is on a straight line.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : This is something on which no two people differ. As for the words of the scholars, they mentioned that if a man dies in the East at sunset and another dies in the West at sunset, and there is a distance between them, then the one who died in the West at sunset inherits from the one who died in the East at sunset, if he is among his heirs.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : This indicates that the earth is round, because if the earth were flat, it would follow that the sun sets from it in all directions at one time. And once this is established, no one can deny it. There is no contradiction in this with the saying of Allah the Exalted:
(17) Then do they not look at the camels - how they are created? (18) And at the sky - how it is raised? (19) And at the mountains - how they are erected? (20) And at the earth - how it is spread out?
أَفَلا يَنْظُرُونَ إِلَى الإِبِلِ كَيْفَ خُلِقَتْ * وَإِلَى السَّمَاءِ كَيْفَ رُفِعَتْ * وَإِلَى الْجِبَالِ كَيْفَ نُصِبَتْ * وَإِلَى الأَرْضِ كَيْفَ سُطِحَتْThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Because its body is very large. However, with this, they mentioned that it is not a sphere with equal ends, but rather it is bulging toward the north and the south. So they say it is oval, meaning in the shape of an egg in its bulging north and south.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.