The Sky is Round

14-5-2018 | IslamWeb

Question:

ayat (sura qaaf:6)has given birth to controversy.A blogger wrote,no space ship has found sky yet.this indicates that heaven is billions of light years away.none knows the shape of heaven and universe including scientists.if the universe is dome shaped,sky would be dome shaped too.the word 'sama' in that ayat (qaaf:6)means-everything above earth(lisan al-arab),so any hole above earth is a rift and sign of qiyamah(sura mursalat :9) perhaps,china and Russia already have observed a rift. in 2009,people saw mysterious spiral light rotating surrounded by 18 circles (like stationary wave) on sky of Norway. Wikipedia says,"comments pointed out that the Norway spiral was inconsistent with the result of a failed missile lauch." even nasa gave no explanation https://youtu.be/FgWgsstTx-8 but when qiyamah will truly arrive,7 'solid skies 'will break down and fragments of sky will reach earth from' billion of light years distance' through multiple worm hole or such portals because space-time will be severely distorted then.it's my own opinion. Allah knows the best.2nd guy wrote,this ayat(sura qaaf:6) means, sky is like a dome and it's close to earth. anyone can see sky with bare eyes.As,imam tabari wrote in tafsir of sura baqarah (ayat 22) that, ibn masud and ibn abbas (ra.) said that the sky is like a dome.( Are those 'sahih' hadiths?)my question is,who is correct? does this ayat proves that 'sky' or heaven is so 'close' that we could detect any 'rift 'on it with 'bare 'eyes? did imam tabari quoted sahih hadith?similar hadith(6/556) http://islamport.com/d/3/tym/1/40/268.html in fatwa 118698, islamqa quoted, sky is round.(Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa (6/586)but I found,ibn taimiya (rah:) said: The sky on the earth is like a dome, https://tinyurl.com/yar49bec
Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) is His slave and Messenger.

The verse in Surat Qaaf [Quran 50], which is the Saying of Allah (which means): {Have they not looked at the heaven above them - how We structured it and adorned it and [how] it has no rifts?} [Quran 50:6]; the meaning of {it has no rifts} is that it does not have any cracks. This verse neither mentions the closeness of the heaven, its farness, its shape nor its dimension; rather, this verse calls upon people to look at the heaven, which is one of the signs of Allah that indicates His Great Power and Might.

Looking at something does not necessary mean that it is very close; we see the stars and the planets, while they are very far from us, and the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) described the planets to be very far and distant in his saying: "The dwellers of Paradise will look at those in the upper abodes above them just as you see the distant shining planets ..." [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]

The Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) described the planets in the sky as being distant and far.

The Quran did not state that the sky is in the form of a dome, but it is described as a ceiling and a canopy and that it has a structure, which is well-structured and firmly constructed. Allah Says (what means):

• {It is Allah who made for you the earth a place of settlement and the sky a ceiling and formed you and perfected your forms and provided you with good things.} [Quran 40:64]

• {And We made the sky a protected ceiling.} [Quran 21:32]

• {And [by] the roof raised high.} [Quran 52:5]

The roof in the last verse refers to the heaven, because the earth is like the roof for the house.

As for the fact that the sky is circular or like a dome, then this is taken from other pieces of evidence. If the earth is round, as per the agreement of the scholars, and since the heaven surrounds it from every side, without any difference of opinion amongst the scholars, then this would imply that the heaven is also circular.

As far as we know, Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah may Allaah have mercy upon him did not say that the lower heaven is like a dome, which is half of a circle; rather, he rather stated that it is circular, as he said: "Know that the scholars agreed that the Earth is round-shaped. [..] If the first heaven above the earth surrounds it, then the second heaven is also round, and likewise would be the case of all other heavens. [..] The orbits are circular as stated in the Book (Quran), the Sunnah and the consensus of the scholars. The word Falak (orbit) means that it is round. Allah Says (what means): {…but each, in an orbit, is floating.} [Quran 36:40]" [End of quote]

For more benefit, please refer to Fataawa 297961, 87767 and 85339.

Allah knows best.

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