Originally Posted by
ihsan
There is no reason to get upset Brother. The issues you have raised are actually features of Quranic imagery. What you have come across on the internet are people claiming these verses as scientific descriptions, when in fact, they are not. It is a vast ignorance of the Quranic Arabic that amkes people assert such things. What these verse constitute are examples of Arabic literary technique. The Quran is employing a metaphor, not a technical description in these verses. The metaphors may be common to other verses, or unique.
In verses similar to the following:
As Neal Robinson points out, When the Quran refers to the heavens as a canopy, the Quran is comparing the sky one sees above to the hospitable environment that an Arab would enjoy after a long journey in the burning hot sun, when he takes rest under the canopy of a tent. The sun is likened to the brilliant lamp that hangs from the center of the roof of a tent providing the Arab with soothing light. The earth, in these specific verses, is compared to a carpet that a host would spread out for the guest to sit on. The verses are usually translated, and more accurately, as the earth being 'spread out'. The word 'carpet' is suppressed, which is a common feature of the pre-islamic Arabic. The Quran is pointing out that Allah is like the generous host that provides a desert traveller with shelter through his tent as well as comfort and food in this world, during a long journey. One must remember that to the Arabs, honoring a guest is the highest honor and further, to appreciate acts of this kind were the ultimate sign of nobility. How ungrateful it is for man to act ungrateful and reject these favors of the host?
Further, the imagery conveys another reality. Tents are folded up by beduoin dwellers as they move on to their next life. Like a tent, the earth and heavens too will be folded up to usher in a new existence. There is nothing that depicts temporality better than the tent-life of a beduoin. Further, the Quran says that the canopy that we see as strong will be ripped apart like a tent in the midst of strong winds.
This is a depiction of how hell will be raging on the Day of Judgement. Molten brass is fiery red and orange, and the Quran is stating that the hell will be raging, such that the sky will reflect the fiery nature of hell. It will be colored an extreme red, so imagine the very state of Hell itself. In other verses, the Quran likens the sky to being stripped, like the skin of a camel, revealing the very red nature of the meat that has been exposed.
The sky falling refers to calamites that may strike from abaove, such as meteor showers and various other calamities that originate from the skies. The imagery is that of a building collapsing piece by piece upon the inhabitants.
The metaphors employed are suited to the context. Take surah Mulk for example. This surah itself revolves around the theme of people who reject Allah, and who are operating under the delusion that the fight they are waging against the Messenger, which is essentially a fight against the Great King, will be won by them. Allah states that seven heavens were created, one upon the other, demonstrating the vast enormity of the kingdom of the Mighty. It then goes on to tell man to look and see if one can find any cracks or fissures. The imagery being painted is that of an army trying to look at a way to attack the kingdom of the most Glorious King, but they are useless in finding a way, because the kingdom itself is from the Hands of the Creator of the heavens and earth itself. There are two elements being depicted, and that is the vastness of the kingdom of the heavens, as well as the fortified nature of all the heavens. The lowest heaven is lit by stars, which are depicted like citadels. The Quran doesn't even draw attention to the efforts of man to scale the kingdom, it goes right to the djins, who are pelted with flames from angels, like the flames tossed from catapults. The idea is that let alone the human beings not even finding a hole in the kingdom to begin an assault, even the djinns, who are strong and mighty and can fly are useless in penetrating the kingdom of God.
The Quran then draws a picture of the army defeated, being cast into the prison of hell, which roars like a lion in a cage ready to feed on it's victims. The angels, who are the armies of God and the loyal servants are then seen tossing the defeated victims into the heel that is like a lion, ready to pounce on them. Throughout that whole surah, there is imagery of armies and battles and the springs that men need to keep the army from thrist.
The shape of the earth has no relevance to the Arab, and further, what would that do for an Arab in generating gratitude. If the imagery is that of a generous host, spreading a carpet out for you to sit on, as well as provide you shelter with a canopy, known as the sky, then this is way more effective at generating gratitude and higher ideas, does it not? The earth being a ball is rather quite drab, don't you think, as far as it concerns an emotional and even intellectual appeal.
It isn't a science book, so then what is the issue. Just don;t listen to the erronsous interpretations and try and appreciate the Quran more from a literary perspective. To do that, I suggest you try and read translations of pre-Islamic poems, where the use of imagery was heavy for Arabs. Eyes are compared to ostrich eggs, skin is described like milk. The pre-islamic Arabic language was heavy in the usage of imagery. You can further read articles by Mustanir Mir, or the tafseer by Amin AHsan Islahi, and works by Neal Robinson in his Discovering the Quran for such wealth of information.
what are the heavens
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