أرض
Arḍ
Topic
The Quran describes the earth as spread out as a resting place for people; classical Muslim scholars knew it to be round.
What it means
The Quran says God “spread out” the earth (dahāhā, 79:30; madda, 13:3), made it a resting place (2:22) and set mountains on it as stabilisers (16:15). It also speaks of the night wrapping or coiling around the day (39:5). These are descriptions as seen from the ground.
Often misunderstood as
That the Quran teaches a flat earth, or that it states the earth is egg-shaped.
What the sources say
The word in 79:30 has been rendered “spread out”, and some translate it “egg-shaped” on the basis of a rarer meaning, which scholars do not generally accept. Medieval Muslim scholars knew the earth was a sphere: al-Biruni and the astronomers under the caliph al-Ma’mun measured its circumference in the ninth century, and Ibn Hazm argued from it. The Quran’s point in the verses is God’s provision.