Shape of Earth

Shape of Earth

"Have you not seen how God merges the night into the day and merges the day into the night?" (Qur’an 31:29; also see 3:27; 22:61; 35:13; 57:6) The key word in 31:29 is “yooliju”. The root of the word “yooliju” is W-L-J. From the same root there is a word, “WOLUJUN”, which means a bend, or a place of bending, of a valley. When you walk on a place of bending of a valley, you see the horizon changing steadily, in front of your eyes. According to 31:29, the night changes into the day steadily as you see horizon changing steadily in front of your eyes, when you walk upon a place of bending of a valley. So, the change of day and night according to 31:29 give the idea of earth being NOT FLAT. "…He coils the night upon the day and He coils the day upon the night…" (Qur’an 39:5) The key word in 39:5 is “yukawwiru”. The primary signification of the root of the word “yukawwiru” is “to wind a thing in a round form”, like e.g. a turban is wound round a head. This verse 39:5, again gives the idea of the earth being roundish and not FLAT. [Transliteration] Waal-arda baAAda thalika dahaha (Qur’an 79:30) The key word in the above verse is “dahaha”. In Arabic, there is a phrase, “iza dahaha” which means “when he throws the stones over the ground to the hole”. The hole is called “Udhiyatun”. “Almadahi” signify round stones according to the size of which a hole is dug in the ground in which the stones are thrown in a game. “Almadahi” also signify a round thing made of lead by the throwing of which persons contend together. So there is a signification of ROUNDNESS in the root of the word “dahaha”. According to some etymologists, the word for the “egg of an ostrich” also has the same root as “dahaha”. They also take from this that the earth is of the shape of the egg of an ostrich. Latest science findings confirm that the earth is not exactly spherical but the earth is an ellipsoid, i.e. flattened by its poles, [just like the shape of an egg of an ostrich]. The Arabic words for “flat” or “level” or “straight shaped” are “sawi” and “almustavi”. There is not a single place in Quran where there is any indication of the earth being “flat” or “straight shaped”. The word “faraash” in 2:22, 51:48; the word “wasia” in 4:97, 29:56, 30:10; the word “mahd” in 20:53, 43:10, 78:6; the word “basaat” in 71:19; the word “suttihat” in 88:20; and the word “tahaaha” in 91:6, all may mean, “to spread”, “to expand” or “to extend” with slight differences in their connotations but none signify the earth being straight-shaped or flat.