And the earth, how it was laid out flat

← والى الارض كيف سطحت ! أليست الأرض كروية؟

[88:20] And the earth, how it was laid out flat?

The Overwhelming

In Arabic, the noun sat’h سطح means rooftop! while the books of tafseer refer to it as a mountain; only if it has a flat top! I have to admit that this verse and other similar ones have challenged me for sometime as they seem, to the casual reader, to contradict scientific facts, other verses refer to the Al Mighty as he spread the land, laid down the land, expanded the land, made the land a cradle and made the land a mattress [bed] as listed below:

[2:22] [He] who made for you the earth a bed [spread out] and the sky a ceiling and sent down from the sky, rain and brought forth thereby fruits as provision for you. So do not attribute to Allah equals while you know [that there is nothing similar to Him].

[78:6] Have We not made the earth a [cradle] resting place?

[79:30] And after that He spread the earth

[13:3] And it is He who spread the earth and placed therein firmly set mountains and rivers; and from all of the fruits He made therein two mates; He causes the night to cover the day. Indeed in that are signs for a people who give thought. [13:4] And within the land are neighboring plots

[15:19] And the earth – We have spread it and cast therein firmly set mountains and caused to grow therein [something] of every well-balanced thing.

[50:7] And the earth – We spread it out and cast therein firmly set mountains and made grow therein [something] of every beautiful kind,

[71:19] And Allah has made for you the earth an expanse

[91:6] And [by] the earth and He who spread it

The reference to such event in multiple locations in the holly Quran tells us that this was no ordinary event, while doubters and atheist on the other hand use such verses to claim that the Quran contradicts science by claiming that the earth is flat! And this is what prompted me to write this article.

The books of tafseer insist on the explanation: “A mountain; only if it has a flat top”! for both words (سطح = sath = roof) and (بساط = bisat = rolled out), while the tafseer of spread the earth in the books of tafseer: “expanded the land … and it was mentioned that it was from the mother of all villages (Mecca) that the land was expanded”, and this is what we will explain … right now!

Solar systems in the making as photographed by the Hubble space telescope in the Orion Nebula, Fussilat, Miracles of Allah

The prevailing theory for planet formation is that planets were formed as a result of a supernova explosion, during which, parts of the subsequent nebula (smoke cloud) collapsed into a thin disk of gas and dust where a protostar formed at the core, surrounded by rotating protoplanetary disks that continued to accumulate material into the newly formed planets as we described in our article “No I swear by the slinkers, runners and sinkers“. The accumulation of material meant that kinetic energy (motion) was transformed into potential energy (heat), thus perfectly rounded molten planets were born; such as earth.

The first landmass to rise above the water surface was were Kaaba is, a white butter-like material just above water surface and Allah expanded the land from underneath

Science has two theories on how water existed on earth, the first states that the water was in a gaseous state and when atmosphere cooled, it came down as rain, while the second theory states that planet earth was bombarded by comets rich in water as we described in our untranslated article “how Allah brought down waterكيف انزل الله الماء“. This is supported by several sayings by Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) that indicate that the early earth was totally submerged by water and then a landmass rose just above the water surface, the tip of which was neither rock nor mud but in between, from which, Allah expanded the land mass. Another reference by Ibn Omar states that Kaaba was the first landmass to surface above the water, it was white butter-like from which the land was expanded from underneath. Other prophet sayings even specify the time between the appearance of land and the beginning of the expansion at 2000 years.

The breakup of Pangaea into today’s continents – Fussilat

Thus, Kaaba was the location were the landmass expanded above the water surface, and was later split into “neighboring plots” that drifted and collided with each other causing the creation of firmly-set mountain chains at the sides of the plots, then again they drifted apart and at subsequent stages became Pangaea(Mother continent) that was again split into the continents that we now know. The Almighty described the event in Surat Abasa [80:25] How We poured down water in torrents, [80:26] Then We broke open the earth, splitting [it with sprouts] [80:27] And caused to grow within it grain [80:28] And grapes and herbage [80:29] And olive and palm trees [80:30] And gardens of dense shrubbery [80:31] And fruit and grass.

As such, the words “spread”, “laid down”, “expanded”, “cradle” and “mattress” do not refer to the shape of the earth, but rather to the way the landmass rose above the water surface as Allah, the Al Mighty, made it a cradle for land life including us humans. Currently, landmass covers only 29% of the earth’s surface while the rest is water.

In geology, there are three types of mountains: folded mountains, volcanic mountains and fault-block mountains, however, none has a flat top! On the other hand, seamounts or under-water mountains can have a flat top if the mountain (Guyot) reaches the water surface as waves keep eroding new eruptions on the surface. Yes, a mountain ; only if it has a flat top! this is what the books of tafseer referred to [13:3] And it is He who spread the earth and placed therein firmly set mountains and rivers; and from all of the fruits He made therein two mates; He causes the night to cover the day. Indeed in that are signs for a people who give thought. [13:4] And within the land are neighboring plots.

Seamounts are formed as a result of underwater lava eruptions that accumulate material in layers creating an underwater mountain, if the mountain reaches the water surface (Guyot), the tip becomes flat as a result of erosion by waves.

As the first landmass surfaced, angels roamed around it in circles to glorify the Creator, and this what we do during Hajj and Omra, we perform “tawaf”. [3:96] Indeed, the first House [of worship] established for mankind was that at Makkah – blessed and a guidance for the worlds. [3:97] In it are clear signs [such as] the standing place of Abraham. And whoever enters it shall be safe. And [due] to Allah from the people is a pilgrimage to the House – for whoever is able to find thereto a way. But whoever disbelieves – then indeed, Allah is free from need of the worlds. And also [22:26] And [mention, O Muhammad], when We designated for Abraham the site of the House, [saying], “Do not associate anything with Me and purify My House for those who perform Tawaf and those who stand [in prayer] and those who bow and prostrate.