Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. According to radiometric dating and other sources of evidence, Earth formed over 4.5 billion years ago.

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Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 1 year ago

According to many narrations explaining these Quranic verses, the earth was created before the skies , then the skies, then earth was spread.

'Wassalam.

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Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answered 1 year ago

I guess you are asking whether the Qur'an says this.

Breaking it down:

* Muslims tend to read the Qur'an as supporting the existence of outer space
* The Qur'an does not specify whether the earth is static or not (changing or unchanging). 
* The Qur'an does not specify that the earth is flat. See: https://www.al-islam.org/ask/does-the-quran-say-anything-to-suggest-that...
* I don't think that the mechanism of the production of light of the sun is clearly mentioned in the Qur'an. Some take the subtle phrasing of an ayah to refer to the reflection of sunlight from the moon, but this could be open to interpretation. 
* The Qur'an does not specifically say that the ocean is impenetrable.
* From an earthbound perspective, the sun and moon appear the same in size; however, even back in ancient Greece, it was understood that the sun is physically larger than the moon, so it isn't just a new idea that one is bigger than the other. In any case, the Qur'an does not directly mention the relative sizes of the sun and the moon.

To read more on scientific worldviews in the Qur'an, I'd suggest reading an in-depth tafsir of associated ayat. For instance, Tafsir al-Mizan is a good choice since the author had an interest in traditional astronomy. Also, The Study Qur'an contains a variety of views on ayat related to natural phenomena, as well as an essay on scientific tafsir of the Qur'an. 

If you have any specific questions about specific ayat, feel free to ask!

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Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answer updated 1 year ago

The Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) never placed his forehead in Sajda but on clay or a material from the clay. He said: ( Earth is a place of my prostration and source of purification جُعِلَت لي الأرضُ مسجدا وطَهورا . This Hadeeth is narrated in Sunni books including Saheeh Al-Bukhari.

Placing palms, knees and feet must be on Taahir (pure) item but not necessarily on clay. This is according to authentic Hadeeths from the Prophet (SAWA). Details of these Hadeeths are mentioned in our jurisprudence books like Jawahir  Al-Kalaam and our Hadeeth books like Wasaa'il Al-Shia by Al-Hurr Al-Aamily.

'Wassalam.

Wassalam.

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Rebecca Masterton, Dr Rebecca Masterton graduated with a BA in Japanese Language and Literature; an MA in Comparative East Asian and African Literature and a PhD in Islamic literature of West Africa. She has been... Answered 2 years ago

In both Hebrew and Arabic, the word 'yawm' means 'a period of time', not only 'a day' consisting of twenty-four hours.

In Semitic languages, numbers are also symbolic. E.g. 'Seventy' means 'many'.

'Six days' therefore really means 'a number of periods of time', or 'a number of stages'.

There is also a verse in the Qur'an that says that 'one day for your Lord is as 1000 years in the time that you count.' (22:47)

https://www.islamweb.net/en/article/134278/relativity-in-the-quran

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Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 2 years ago

Prophet Easa (As) will come back to the earth from the sky after the reappearance of Imam Al-Mahdi (AS) and will one his followers. Imam Al-Mahdi (AS) will establish on the earth the government of peace justice and peace which will stay as long as the governments of injustice stayed.

'Wassalam.

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Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 2 years ago

No, as far as I know because we have never seen any authentic evidence in Quran suggesting that the earth is flat. On the contrary, many Quranic verses are been understood by our leading scholars that the whole earth is not flat at all.

Wassalam.

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Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 2 years ago

The direction of Ka’ba for those who are on the opposite side of the earth is towards the nearest side to the Ka’ba from your place.

Wassalam.

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Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 2 years ago

The earth is part of the universe.

Wassalam.

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Zaid Alsalami, Shaykh Dr Zaid Alsalami is an Iraqi born scholar, raised in Australia. He obtained a BA from Al-Mustafa University, Qom, and an MA from the Islamic College in London. He also obtained a PhD from... Answer updated 3 years ago

Bismihi ta'ala

Prior to anything, we must first establish whether the narration is authentic, as far as the text and the chain as well. 

If we were to assume it's all good as far as its issuance from a Ma'sum (a.s.), then we most certainly cannot take it in its literal meaning, and it must be interpreted in such a way that would make sense. Whale could refer to the orbit, maybe because the whale's back is not flat, and for the earth, it has "the equatorial bulge", the water could refer o space, rock could refer to planets, and so on.

Some of these explanations have been given in commentaries on al-Kafi

The Imam (a.s.) is duty-bound to say things that are not above or beyond people's comprehension at that time. There could be words omitted for brevity, like how the Quran addresses people and certain things. 

The following is a good detailed answer (in Arabic) from the holy Shrine of Imam Husain (a.s.):

https://alrasd.net/arabic/islamicheritagee/3590

And Allah ta'ala knows best

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Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answered 3 years ago

Good question - here is a previous response to it:

https://www.al-islam.org/ask/does-the-quran-say-anything-to-suggest-that...

If you have any further enquiries, feel free to ask!

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Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answer updated 3 years ago

Short answer:

The things that are created in these two ayat are different. 41:10-11 refer to the creation of the earth (ard) and the things upon it, which is done in 4 days, whereas 41:12 refers to the creation of the seven heavens (samawat), which is done in 2 days. So altogether they add up to 6 days.

There are also other ways these ayat are understood, beyond a literal interpretation of "days".

Long answer:

"Day" is usually taken to refer to a time period in general, rather than a "day" in the sense of one rotation of the earth since our measurements of time rest on the physical world, and there was no such thing as an earth-day before the creation of the earth and sun. That said, a narration ascribed to Imam al-Baqir (A), in response to an enquiry about how a "day" could be meaningful before creation, says that time is also measured in an area of existence near Allah, and therefore is not only reliant on the physical world.

Some people maintain that the expression "two days" (or "two periods") refers to spiritual and physical aspects of creation, or that "days" refers to distinctly different stages of creation, rather than timespans.

Some people also understand "four days" with respect to the earth to refer to the four seasons, insofar as they are equal in length and relate to sustenance.

For instance, in Tafsir al-Qummi, "two days" is explained as "the beginning of Creation and its end", and "four days" is explained as "the four times when Allah brings out the world's means of sustenance... spring, summer, autumn, and winter."

If one is taking a numerical approach to "days", however, Qur'an 41:10-41:12 outline the creation of our world as follows:

41:10 - the earth (ard) in 2 days
41:11 - mountains, sustenance, and blessing in 4 days
41:12 - the heavens (samawat) in 2 days

Elsewhere, the Qur'an mentions that the world was created in 6 days.

From this, it can be understood that the 4 days in 41:11 include the 2 days mentioned in 41:10. That is, the earth and its features were, altogether, created in 4 days. Then, the heavens were created in 2 days. Altogether, these sum up as 6 days - or, rather, spans of time.

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Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answer updated 3 years ago

"The sun runs to a resting place/stopping point/stopping time (mustaqirr) of its own. That is the decree of the Mighty, the Knowing." (36:38)

Clasically, the sun's "resting place" has been taken to mean: (a) the sun disappearing after sunset (just as a human being goes to their dwelling place at night before rising in the morning), (b) the final destiny of the sun on the Day of Judgment, or (c) the solstice, in a reference to the sun following its winter and summer orbits until the solstice.

Today, some Muslims interpret it as referring to (d) the astronomical end of the sun/the solar system.

Personally, I tend to see this as a poetic or celebratory expression of the natural world, than a statement intended to inform people of a scientific fact (even if the Qur'an is consistent with facts of reality).

In any case, options (a), (c), and (d) match scientific understanding (obviously, from the perspective of earth, the sun rises and sets).

Option (b) is outside the domain of science since it pertains to the end times and hereafter which no longer operate according to the natural laws presently.

(Some people seem to be of the view that it is unscientific to say that, from the perspective of an earth observer, the sun rises and sets. Perhaps people do not go out and watch sunrises as often as they used to; however, I would challenge them to explain why it is unscientific to discuss sunrise and sunset, when this has such a gigantic impact on things such as the weather and ecology, not to mention basics such as timekeeping. So it is scientifically fine to discuss the sun from the perspective of an earth observer, or from the perspective of right outside the solar system, or from an intergalactic perspective; they are all just viewpoints.)

As for "running", this matches the idea that the sun has a motion in the galaxy/universe and is not fixed in one spot, although it also matches the idea that the sun moves along the sky from the perspective of an earth-based observer. So either perspective is correct with respect to reality.

So the verse is open to several interpretations but they do not conflict with what is known about how the universe and natural world works. Probably the main point is to inspire reflection on the natural order.