The Roundness of the Heavens
Ibn Taymiyyah explains that some philosophers, jurists and people influenced by astrologers denied that the heavenly spheres are round or thought that this belief contradicts the Sharia.
He replies that they have neither Sharia proof nor rational proof for such a denial, and that nothing is reported from the imams of Islam and the scholars of the Muslims that opposes roundness.
Rather, major imams such as Abu al Husayn ibn al Munadi (d. 336 AH), Abu Muhammad ibn Hazm (d. 456 AH), and Abu al Faraj ibn al Jawzi (d. 597 AH) mentioned the consensus of the Muslims that the heavenly spheres are round.
Whoever disputes after that consensus is opposing what has already been agreed, and his objection has no weight.
Ibn Taymiyyah also describes the created universe: the first heaven surrounds the earth, the second heaven is likewise round, and so on. Above all the spheres is the Kursi, and above the Kursi is the Throne.
The relation of all the spheres to the Kursi is like a metal ring thrown in an open desert, and the relation of the Kursi and what is beneath it to the Throne is the same.
The Throne is above all creation as its roof, and it is domed and has supports, as shown by authentic hadiths about Allah being above His Throne and about Musa عليه السلام holding one of its supports on the Day of Resurrection, and by the hadith that al Firdaws is the highest and middle part of Paradise and that its roof is the Throne of ar Rahman.
Lexical Meanings of Falak
He then supports the consensus by analysing the word (فلك) falak in the Arabic language.
Ibn al Arabi explains that (فلك) falak refers to a round mound of sand surrounded by open space. Al Layth says that falak, as mentioned in hadith, refers to the rotation of the heaven and is a name for circular motion. Astrologers speak of seven circular rings beneath the heaven in which the seven moving stars run.
Al Farra says that falak is like a wave that has been covered over, within which the sun, the moon, and the stars flow. Al Kalbi says that falak is the rounded form of water.
Ibn Taymiyyah also mentions that the Arabs say the breast of a young girl has made falak when it becomes rounded, and that the rounded whorl at the end of the spindle is called (فلكة) falakah. All of these linguistic usages show that falak in Arabic refers, in its core meaning, to something that is round and rotating.
Evidence from the Book and the Sunnah for the Roundness of the Heavenly Spheres
Using this language, Ibn Taymiyyah points to Qur’an verses in which Allah the Exalted says that the sun, the moon, the night, and the day are each “in a (فلك) falak swimming”. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, explains “in a (فلك) falak” as “in a (فلكة) falakah like the (فلكة) falakah of the spindle”, which Ibn Taymiyyah treats as explicit proof that the orbits are round and rotating.
He also mentions the verse, “He wraps the night over the day and He wraps the day over the night”, and explains that (تكوير) takwir means to make something round, just as a turban is wrapped around the head. This indicates that the night and the day are wound around a round body. He further refers to the verse, “You do not see in the creation of ar Rahman any disparity”, and reasons that the heavenly bodies are of one kind, and that only a round shape has no disparity in its sides, unlike triangles, squares, and other shapes that have unequal corners and sides.
From the Sunnah he cites the hadith in which the Prophet ﷺ said, “If you ask Allah for Paradise, then ask Him for al Firdaws, for it is the highest part of Paradise and the middle of Paradise, and its roof is the Throne of ar Rahman.”
The highest part being the middle can only be true in a round structure. He also uses the hadith of the Bedouin who asked for rain, in which the Prophet ﷺ described the Throne as above His heavens “like this” and gestured in the form of a dome. These texts together show that the heavens move in round orbits and that the Throne is above them as a domed roof.
Majmu Al Fatawa
In response to a question about whether heaven and earth are spherical or not, Ibn Taymiyyah answers in Majmu al Fatawa that the heavens are round according to the scholars of the Muslims, and that more than one imam has transmitted the consensus of the Muslims on this. He names Abu al Husayn ibn al Munadi (d. 336 AH), Abu Muhammad ibn Hazm (d. 456 AH), and Abu al Faraj ibn al Jawzi (d. 597 AH). He also says that this has been transmitted with well known chains from the Sahabah and the Tabiin.
They inferred it from the Book of Allah, the Sunnah of His Messenger ﷺ and mathematical proofs. The shaykh says he does not know any well known Muslim scholar who denied roundness, and that those who merely allowed the possibility of other shapes did so as a debating tactic against astrologers while invalidating their false beliefs. Anyone who claims with certainty that the heavens are not round is, in his words, insignificant and ignorant.
The scholars have agreed that the earth is spherical in shape and that it lies within the surrounding water for the most part, since dry land is about one sixth and a little more.
Water is also domed over the earth from every side, and the water above any region of the earth is at the same distance from the heaven as the water above any other region.
Beneath the surface of the earth there is nothing except its centre, which is the furthest point below, the place where heavy things settle. As a result there is no clear direction for people except above and below, and the other directions differ according to where a person is located. Movement from the surface of the earth and water towards the centre is descending, and from the centre towards the surface is ascending.
Ibn Taymiyyah links these descriptions with observation and reason. He notes that whoever reflects on the rotation of the stars near the pole, which move in small circles, and compares that with the stars in the middle of the sky, which move in wider circles, and then looks at their positions at the beginning and end of the night, will see the pattern of round motion.
Likewise, whoever observes the position of the sun at its rising, at its highest point and at its setting, seeing that it keeps the same apparent distance and form relative to someone on the earth’s surface, will understand that it is moving in a round orbit. If that orbit were square, the sun at its highest point would necessarily be closer to the observer than at sunrise and sunset.
The Roundness of the Heavenly Spheres
Some people, from among the philosophers, have disputed with him regarding this and have denied that the heavenly spheres are round, just as some of those who refuted them in the book ad Daqaiq and others also did.
Likewise some who ascribe themselves to knowledge may reject this, and perhaps this came about from the sayings of the astrologers which go against the Sharia. In the same way the philosopher may dispute about this using purely dialectical methods, and likewise the jurist may dispute about this, claiming that it is contrary to the Sharia. Yet neither of them has any Sharia proof nor any rational proof that contradicts this or prevents the heavenly spheres from being round.
Nothing has been reported from any of the imams of Islam and its scholars that they disputed about this. Rather, more than one of the scholars of the Muslims has mentioned the consensus of the Muslims that the spheres are round, such as the shaykh Abu al Husayn ibn al Munadi, one of the famous scholars who authored many works, from the second generation of the companions of Imam Ahmad. (Abu al Husayn Ahmad ibn Jafar ibn Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn Yazid al Munadi was a trustworthy, reliable reciter, from the second generation of the companions of Ahmad. He had many writings and he authored in the sciences of the Quran more than four hundred and forty books, yet the people only ever heard the first of his compositions. He died in the year 336 AH. See Tarikh Baghdad 4/69, Tabaqat al Hanabilah 3/2, al Minhaj al Ahmad 2/45, Tadhkirat al Huffaz 3/849)
(Imam Ahmad is Abu Abd Allah Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal ash Shaybani, the imam of Ahl as Sunnah, one of the four imams of the recognised madhahib. He had many writings, among them al Musnad, al Masail and al Ashribah and other works. He died, may Allah have mercy on him, in the year 241 AH. Tabaqat al Hanabilah 3/1, Tadhkirat al Huffadh 2/331)
And such as Abu Muhammad ibn Hazm (Dhaahiri).
And such as Abu al Faraj ibn al Jawzi, who mentioned the consensus of the Muslims that the heavenly spheres are round. Abu al Husayn is among those with the widest knowledge, and likewise these two. (He is Abd ar Rahman ibn Ali ibn Muhammad al Qurashi, whose lineage goes back to Abu Bakr as Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, al Baghdadi al Hanbali. He excelled in a variety of sciences and had many writings, among them Zad al Masir fi Ilm at Tafsir, al Muntazam in history, al Illal, al Mawduat in hadith, and other works. He was an eloquent preacher and a jurist. He was born in the year 510 AH and died in the year 597 AH. See Siyar Alam an Nubala 21/365–384, Tadhkirat al Huffaz 4/1342, Wafayat al Ayan 3/140, al Bidayah wa an Nihayah 13/28)
When he or others mention the consensus of the scholars of the Muslims that the heavenly spheres are round, then whoever disputes after this consensus, whether a philosopher, a jurist, or someone else, his disagreement is preceded by the consensus. I do not know of anyone who has disputed about this except that he has transmitted the consensus which Abu al Husayn ibn al Munadi mentioned. (See the words of Ibn al Munadi in Majmu al Fatawa 25/195–196, and the words of Ibn al Jawzi about the roundness of the heavenly spheres in his tafsir Zad al Masir fi Ilm at Tafsir 5/349, Surat al Anbiya verse 33)
Even though it has been related from some of the Salaf that there was disagreement concerning the motion of the heavenly spheres, I do not know of any disagreement from them regarding their being round. (Ibn Taymiyyah mentioned the agreement that the earth is spherical in shape and that the heavenly spheres are round, by the indication of the Book and the Sunnah. See Majmu al Fatawa 5/150, and Dar at Taarrud 7/403)
Lexical Meanings of “Falak”
Al aflak is the plural of falak. Ibn al Arabi said: It is the mound of sand around which there is open space.
Al Layth said: Falak, which has come in the hadith, is the rotation of the heaven, and it is a name for rotation specifically.
As for the astrologers, they say: There are seven rings beneath the heaven in which the seven stars have been set, in each ring a star, and some of them are higher than others, and they revolve in them by the permission of Allah.
Al Farra said: It is said that falak is a wave which has been covered over, in which the sun, the moon and the stars flow. Al Kalbi said: Falak is the rounded form of water. (See Tahdhib al Lugha by al Azhari 10/254)
Evidence from the Book and the Sunnah for the Roundness of the Heavenly Spheres
The scholars have mentioned that the Book and the Sunnah indicate that the heavenly spheres are round from many ways. This is not the place to discuss them in full, and we have written what was made easy regarding that in another place. (See ar Risalah al Arshiyyah, Majmu al Fatawa 5/150, 6/586, Sharh Hadith an Nuzul p 333)
Among these proofs is His saying in two places in His Book:
وَهُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ وَالشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ كُلٌّ فِي فَلَكٍ يَسْبَحُونَ
He is the One who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon; each one is floating in an orbit. (al Anbiya 21–33)
And His saying in Surat Ya Sin:
لَا الشَّمْسُ يَنبَغِي لَهَا أَنْ تُدْرِكَ الْقَمَرَ وَلَا اللَّيْلُ سَابِقُ النَّهَارِ وَكُلٌّ فِي فَلَكٍ يَسْبَحُونَ
It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor does the night outstrip the day; and each one is floating in an orbit. (Ya Sin 36–40)
Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said regarding “in a falak”: In a falakah like the falakah of a spindle.
Falak in the language is the rounded thing. From that they say: The breast of the young girl has made falak when it becomes rounded. From this also comes the term falakah of the spindle. (Falakah of the spindle was named so because of its roundness, and falakah is a piece of land or sand that becomes round and rises above what is around it. See Tahdhib al Lugha 10/254, and as Sahah 4/1604 under the root falak. This was said by the imam of the Arabic language al Layth ibn al Muzaffar. See Tahdhib al Lugha 10/255)
The Prophet ﷺ said in the sound hadith:
“If you ask Allah for Paradise, then ask Him for al Firdaws, for it is the highest part of Paradise and the middle of Paradise, and its roof is the Throne of ar Rahman.”
The highest cannot be the middle except if the shape is round, unlike the square, the triangle and similar shapes, for their upper part is not their middle. (This is part of a long hadith which was brought by al Bukhari in his Sahih 3/202 in the Book of Jihad, chapter The Degrees of the One who Strives, and 8/176 in the Book of Tawhid with similar wording. See Fath al Bari 6/11, 13/404. Ahmad brought it in his Musnad 2/335, 2/339, 5/240–241, 2/316, 2/321. At Tirmidhi narrated it with another wording: “Al Firdaws is the highest part of Paradise and its middle, and above it is the Throne of ar Rahman, and from it the rivers of Paradise spring forth, so when you ask Allah then ask Him for al Firdaws” 4/675, book 39, chapter 4, number 2530.
Ibn Majah narrated it in his Sunan 2/1448 in the Book of Zuhd, chapter 39. Al Hakim narrated it in al Mustadrak 1/80. Ibn Khuzaymah narrated it in Kitab at Tawhid 1/247. Al Bayhaqi narrated it in al Asma wa s Sifat p 504, and al Baghawi in as Sunnah 10/346. Al Albani gathered its routes and mentioned those who brought it in his Silsilat al Ahadith as Sahihah 2/626, numbers 921 and 922. He said: I did not find, in what I came across, the wording “and its roof”, rather what has come is the wording “and above it”, and in some narrations wording close to this. The author has also mentioned it with this wording in Majmu al Fatawa 25/194)
Bayan Talbis Al Jahmiyyah (4/5-9)
Know that they have agreed that the earth is spherical in shape, and that it lies within the surrounding water for the most part, since dry land is one sixth and slightly more, and the water too is domed over the earth from every side.
The water above it has the same distance between it and the heaven as the distance between us and the heaven above our heads. Beneath the surface of the earth there is nothing except its centre, which is the furthest point below, the centre itself. So there is no clear direction for us except two directions, above and below, and directions only differ according to the person.
The above of the earth is its surface from every side, and its below is what lies beneath its surface. The end of the centre is what is called the place where weights settle.
From the surface of the earth and the water, movement towards the centre from every direction is descending, and from the centre towards the surface is ascending. If the heaven of this world is above the earth and surrounds it, then the second heaven is spherical as well, and likewise the rest.
The Kursi is above all the celestial spheres, and the Throne is above the Kursi. The proportion of the celestial spheres and what is in them in relation to the Kursi is like a ring thrown in an open desert, and the whole of that in relation to the Throne is like a ring in an open desert.
The celestial spheres are round by the Book, the Sunnah, and consensus. The word falak itself indicates roundness. From this is His saying:
وَكُلٌّ فِي فَلَكٍ يَسْبَحُونَ
And each one is swimming in an orbit.
(Yasin 40)
Ibn ʿAbbas said, in a falakah like the whorl of a spindle. From it is their saying, tafallaka the breast of a young woman, meaning it became round. The people of astronomy and calculation are agreed upon this.
As for the Throne, it is domed. This is based on what is narrated in the Sunan of Abu Dawud from Jubayr ibn Mutʿim, who said, a Bedouin came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said, O Messenger of Allah, lives have become strained and families have gone hungry, and he mentioned the narration until the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, Allah is above His Throne, and His Throne is above His heavens and His earth like this, and he gestured with his finger in the shape of a dome.
It has not been established that it is an absolute round sphere. Rather, it has been established that it is above the celestial spheres and that it has supports, as is narrated in the two Sahih collections from Abu Saʿid, who said, a man from the Jews came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ after having been slapped on the face, and he said, O Muhammad, one of your companions slapped my face.
These hadiths make clear that it is the highest of creation and its roof, that it is domed, and that it has supports. In every case it is above, whether it surrounds the celestial spheres or otherwise. It must therefore be known that the upper and lower universe, in relation to the Creator, exalted is He, is extremely small, as He said:
وَمَا قَدَرُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ قَدْرِهِ
They did not give Allah His true measure.
(al Anʿam 91)
Majmu Al Fatawa (5/150-152)
The Question
Two men disputed about the nature of the heaven and the earth: are they two spherical bodies or not? One of them said that they are spherical, while the other rejected this statement and said: “This has no basis,” and he refuted it. What is correct in this?
The Answer from Shaykh Al Islam Ibn Taymiyyah
The heavens are round according to the scholars of the Muslims. More than one of the scholars, from the imams of Islam, have transmitted the consensus of the Muslims on this. Among them is Abu al Husayn Ahmad ibn Jafar ibn al Munadi, one of the great notable figures from the second generation of the companions of Imam Ahmad, who authored about four hundred works. Also among them is Imam Abu Muhammad ibn Hazm and Abu al Faraj ibn al Jawzi.
The scholars have transmitted this with the well known chains from the Companions and the Tabiin, and they have mentioned it from the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger, and they have expanded upon it using textual evidences. Mathematical proofs have also been established for this.
I do not know of any of the well known Muslim scholars who denied this, except for a small group from the people of disputation, when they argued with the astrologers. They invalidated the corrupt part of the astrologers belief about conditions and influences, but they mixed their discussion with them with arguments about calculation.
So they said, by way of mere allowance, that it is possible that the heavens could be square, or hexagonal, or something else. They did not deny that they might be round, but they allowed the contrary as a possibility.
I do not know of anyone who has said that the heavens are not round and asserted that with certainty, except someone insignificant from among the ignorant.
Among the evidences for this is the saying of the Exalted:
وَهُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ وَالشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ كُلٌّ فِي فَلَكٍ يَسْبَحُونَ
“He is the One who created the night and the day and the sun and the moon; each one is floating in an orbit.”
And His saying, the Exalted:
لَا الشَّمْسُ يَنبَغِي لَهَا أَنْ تُدْرِكَ الْقَمَرَ وَلَا اللَّيْلُ سَابِقُ النَّهَارِ وَكُلٌّ فِي فَلَكٍ يَسْبَحُونَ
“It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor does the night outstrip the day, and each one is floating in an orbit.”
Ibn Abbas and others from the Salaf said: “In a falakah like the falakah of the spindle.” This is an explicit proof for roundness and rotation.
The basis of this is that the word “falak” in the language means a rounded thing. It is said “tafalakkathadi al jariyah” when the breast of a young girl becomes rounded. The rounded piece at the end of the spindle is also called “falakah” because of its roundness.
Thus the people of tafsir and the scholars of the language have agreed that “falak” is something round.
The knowledge of the meanings of the Book of Allah is taken from these two paths: from the people of tafsir who are trustworthy from the Salaf, and from the language in which the Quran was sent down, which is the Arabic language.
He the Exalted said:
يُكَوِّرُ اللَّيْلَ عَلَى النَّهَارِ وَيُكَوِّرُ النَّهَارَ عَلَى اللَّيْلِ
“He wraps the night over the day and He wraps the day over the night.”
They said: “At takwir” means making something round. It is said “kawwartu al imamah” and “kawwartha” when you make the turban round.
A round thing is called “karrah”, and its origin is “kawrah”. The waw moved and what came before it was opened, so it was changed into an alif. It is also said “kurrah”, and its origin is “kawrah”, but the middle letter of the word was removed, just as it is said “thubbah” and “qullah”.
The night and the day and all the states of time follow movement, for time is the measure of movement, and movement exists in the moving body.
If the time which follows the movement that follows the body is described as being round, then the body is more deserving of being round.
He the Exalted said:
مَا تَرَى فِي خَلْقِ الرَّحْمَنِ مِن تَفَاوُتٍ
“You do not see in the creation of the Most Merciful any inconsistency.”
In the heaven there are only bodies that are similar. As for the triangle, the square, the five sided, the six sided and other shapes, they contain disparity and difference in their corners and sides, and this is not disputed. As for the round form, there is no disparity in it, since roundness means that its sides are equal.
We seek intercession with Allah through you, and we seek intercession with you before Allah.”
The Prophet ﷺ informed that the Throne is above the heavens like a dome, and this points to height and to roundness.
Iyās ibn Muʿāwiyah al Muzanī (d. 122 AH) said: “The heaven is above the earth like a dome.” The reports on this are too many to be contained in a fatwa; I have only written this in haste.
Both sense and reason together show this. Whoever reflects on the rotation of the stars that are near the pole, in a small orbit around the northern pole, and then reflects on the rotation of the middle stars in the sky, in a wide orbit, and considers how they are at the beginning of the night and at its end, will know this.
Likewise, whoever looks at the condition of the sun at the time of its rising, its highest point and its setting, in these three times, at one and the same distance and in one and the same apparent form, from the point of view of someone on the surface of the earth, will know that it moves in a round orbit. If that orbit were square, then at the time of its highest point it would be closer to whoever is directly beneath it than it is at the time of rising and setting. The evidences for this are many.
As for whoever claims something that contradicts the Book and the Sunnah, then he is false in this claim, even if he alleges that he has a mathematical proof. This is very common among those who study astronomy and its phenomena.
For example, some ignorant people claim that at the time of the rising of the new crescent they are able to determine the time it will be seen after its disappearance, by knowing its distance from the sun after their separation at the time of sunset, and by their calculation of the “arc of visibility”, which is the line stretched out as a segment of a circle at the time of sighting.
This is a false claim. The great scholars of the Sharia are in agreement that it is incorrect to act upon this in the matter of the new crescent. Intelligent mathematicians are also agreed that the appearance of the new crescent cannot be determined by calculation in a complete way at all.
For this reason the expert mathematicians have not spoken about this; rather they have rejected it. Only some later ones among them have spoken about it approximately, and this is a deficiency in the religion of Allah and a change in it, similar to the way the Jews and Christians deviated from what they had been commanded regarding the new moons, and shifted to relying on the position of the sun and the moment when the two discs meet, which is the conjunction. That is not what is meant by the lunar months and the like.
As for an nasi which was practised among the Arabs, which is an increase in disbelief by which those who disbelieve are led astray, they make it lawful one year and unlawful another year, this has been mentioned by the scholars of hadith, seerah, tafsir and others.
It has been established in the two Sahihs from Umar, from the Prophet ﷺ, that he said: “We are an unlettered nation; we neither write nor calculate. Fast when you see it and break your fast when you see it.”
Whoever takes the knowledge of the new crescent, which Allah has made as appointed times for people and for the pilgrimage, from the Book and from calculation, then his intellect and his religion are both corrupt.
Even when calculation is correct, the utmost it can do is to determine the distance between the sun and the moon at, for example, the time of sunset. This is what is called the distance of the moon from the sun. But whether it will necessarily be seen or not seen at all cannot be known by this.
This is because sighting differs according to the height of the land and its low level, and according to the clarity of the air and its turbidity, and likewise according to the eyesight, its strength and its weakness, the length of time one keeps looking and its shortness, the correctness or error in the direction of looking, the number of those looking and their fewness, and the thickness of the crescent.
At times the crescent is not seen at the time of sunset. After that its distance from the sun increases, so its light increases and it becomes free from the glare that prevented it from being seen, and then it is seen.
They have also not agreed on a single arc for its sighting; rather they have disagreed greatly about it, and it has no basis. Its return is only to habit, and habit has no fixed rule of calculation. Some of them reduce it to less than ten degrees, and some of them increase it.
Regarding increase and decrease they have opposing opinions, like the opinions of those who attempt to set a fixed number for the repeated reports that produce knowledge about the one reported about. There is no fixed numerical limit for that, since knowledge has causes beyond mere number, just as sighting does.
All of this is when the new crescent is defined as what has risen in the sky and the time of complete cloud cover is regarded as a time of doubt. As for when the new crescent is defined as that which people have actually sought to see and perceived, which has become clear to them and they have raised their voices about it, then this objection falls away in every case.
The difference of opinion about this is well known among the scholars, in the madhhab of Imam Ahmad and others. The second view, that of ash Shafii and others, is also known. And Allah knows best.
Majmu Al Fatawa (6/586-591)
