This article will be looking at the hadith collections regarding the issue of the flat earth. Most of these narrations are traced back to Muhammad however there are some that go back to early muslims like Ibn Abbas to give an idea on early Muslim opinions regarding the earths shape.

First I will quote the authentic hadith traced back to Muhammad so we know what his beliefs were. Then I shall quote the weak hadiths traced back to Muhammad to further give an idea of the prevailing opinion of the time. Then I will quote other reports that support the flat earth belief.

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The authentic hadith

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This hadith from Sahih-Muslim says the sun has literal setting and rising places:

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Sahih-Muslim 1:297:

It is narrated on the authority of Abu Dharr that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) one day said: Do you know where the sun goes? They replied: Allah and His Apostle know best. He (the Holy Prophet) observed: Verily it (the sun) glides till it reaches its resting place under the Throne. Then it falls prostrate and remains there until it is asked: Rise up and go to the place whence you came, and it goes back and continues emerging out from its rising place and then glides till it reaches its place of rest under the Throne and falls prostrate and remains in that state until it is asked: Rise up and return to the place whence you came, and it returns and emerges out from it rising place and the it glides (in such a normal way) that the people do not discern anything ( unusual in it) till it reaches its resting place under the Throne. Then it would be said to it: Rise up and emerge out from the place of your setting, and it will rise from the place of its setting. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said. Do you know when it would happen? It would happen at the time when faith will not benefit one who has not previously believed or has derived no good from the faith. [1]

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For this hadith I shall quote wikiislam editor “lightyears” outstanding commentary on this hadith:

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“Notice that it says, “from its rising place” (min matli’iha مَطْلِعِهَا ), and “from the place of your setting” (min maghribiki مِنْ مَغْرِبِكِ). The sun is commanded to go somewhere – it cannot be claimed that this is an idiomatic way of commanding the Earth to rotate, nor that the words mean the east and west here (despite mistranslations of similar hadiths), not least because the words al mashriq and al maghrib would have been used for that purpose and without the possessive suffixes. The words used in this hadith must refer to the sun’s rising and setting places – it is pure nonsense to claim otherwise.” [2]

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This one claims the earth has ends:

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Sahih Muslim 41:6904:

Thauban reported that Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said: Allah drew the ends of the world near one another for my sake. And I have seen its eastern and western ends. And the dominion of my Ummah would reach those ends which have been drawn near me and I have been granted the red and the white treasure and I begged my Lord for my Ummah that it should not be destroyed because of famine, nor be dominated by an enemy who is not amongst them to take their lives and destroy them root and branch, and my Lord said: Muhammad, whenever I make a decision, there is none to change it. I grant you for your Ummah that it would not be destroyed by famine and it would not be dominated by an enemy who would not be amongst it and would take their lives and destroy them root and branch even if all the people from the different parts of the world join hands together (for this purpose), but it would be from amongst them, your Ummah, that some people would kill the others or imprison the others. [3]

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The implications of a flat earth are obvious as a round Earth cannot have eastern and western “ends”. Similar language is found in the Bible which talks about “the ends of the earth” in several passages. Fun fact: Answering-christianity used those bible verses to prove that the earth is flat according to Christianity. Knowing that Muhammad said the same thing, do you think they’d agree that the earth is flat according to Islam as well? [4]

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Here is another Hadith which talks about the sun rise (and setting).

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Sahih-Muslim 4:1807:

Ibn ‘Umar reported Allah’s Messenger as saying: Do not intend to observe prayer at the time of the rising of the sun nor at its setting, for it rises between the horns of Satan. [5]

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However, there is a way to reconcile this with a round earth as reddit user Ex-Muslim HOTD explains:

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— As a premise, Satan needs to be on the Earth. You can’t have Satan in the sky, much less in space, otherwise he could be seen with the sun during Islamic prayer times, in conflict with the Hadith



— But just Satan by himself won’t work because of everyone’s different position on the meridian. Satan would need a huge army of horned devils that look like him, positioned in one giant vertical circle across the entire planet



— This army of horned devils would have to travel at 1,000 mph westward, with each devil going slower the closer they are to the Poles—all in perfect sync like a marching band



— But then devils aren’t supposed to be doing this all day. They’ve got stuff to do. Sit on men’s hair buns. Hang out in people’s noses. Prick babies, etc. So there must be many armies of horned devils working different shifts (twice-daily to be consistent with the hadith)



— And this would have to continue day and night, forever and ever [6]

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This hadith indicates that night occurs at the same time for everybody on earth which is of course, only possible on a flat earth:

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Sahih-Muslim 4:1657:

Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger as saying: Allah descends every night to the lowest heaven when one-third of the first part of the night is over and says: I am the Lord; I am the Lord: who is there to supplicate Me so that I answer him? Who is there to beg of Me so that I grant him? Who is there to beg forgiveness from Me so that I forgive him? He continues like this till the day breaks. [7]

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This hadith implies that the seven earths mentioned in Quran 65:12 are layered on top of each other:

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Sahih-Bukhari 2454:

Narrated Salim’s father (i.e. `Abdullah): The Prophet said, “Whoever takes a piece of the land of others unjustly, he will sink down the seven earths on the Day of Resurrection.” [8]

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This next hadith in itself does not mention the flatness of earth. However it sets a very interesting test. This hadith is talking about the cause of the summer and winter seasons:

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Sahih-Bukhari 536:

Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, “In very hot weather delay the Zuhr prayer till it becomes (a bit) cooler because the severity of heat is from the raging of the Hell-fire. The Hell-fire of Hell complained to its Lord saying: O Lord! My parts are eating (destroying) one another. So Allah allowed it to take two breaths, one in the winter and the other in the summer. The breath in the summer is at the time when you feel the severest heat and the breath in the winter is at the time when you feel the severest cold.” [9]

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This is of course wrong. The real reason for the winter and summer is explained here by NASA:

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It is true that Earth’s orbit is not a perfect circle. It is a bit lop-sided. During part of the year, Earth is closer to the sun than at other times. However, in the Northern Hemisphere, we are having winter when Earth is closest to the sun and summer when it is farthest away! Compared with how far away the sun is, this change in Earth’s distance throughout the year does not make much difference to our weather. There is a different reason for Earth’s seasons. Earth’s axis is an imaginary pole going right through the center of Earth from “top” to “bottom.” Earth spins around this pole, making one complete turn each day. That is why we have day and night, and why every part of Earth’s surface gets some of each. Earth has seasons because its axis doesn’t stand up straight. [10]

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However the scientific reason is completely impossible on a flat earth model combined with the geocentric model of the sun having setting and rising places. Needless to say, the idea that Islam describes anything other than a flat earth decreases.

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The Daif narrations

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This hadith says that the sun sets in a spring of Muddy water:

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Musnad Ahmad 21459:

Sufyan Bin-Husayn <– Al-Hakam pbin Utaybah <– Ibrahim bin Yazid Al-Taymi <– Yazid Al-Taymi <– Abu Dharr: Once I was with the Prophet riding a donkey on which there was a saddle or a (piece of) velvet. That was at sunset. He said to me, ‘O Abu Dharr, do you know where this (sun) sets?’ I said, ‘Allah and His Messenger know better.’ He said, ‘It sets in a spring of murky water, (then) it goes and prostrates before its Lord, the Exalted in Might and the Ever-Majestic, under the Throne. And when it is time to go out, Allah allows it to go out and thus it rises. But, when He wants to make it rise where it sets, He locks it up. The sun will then say, “O my Lord, I have a long distance to run.” Allah will say, “Rise where you have set.” That (will take place) when no (disbelieving) soul will get any good by believing then.’ [11]

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However there is a problem with this hadith. This hadith is strikingly similar to the first hadith in this list, also traced back to Abu Dharr. This is because the two hadiths are talking about the same incident. In fact there are 6 hadiths which talk about this incident, with only this one talking about the muddy spring which makes it anomalous and defective.

This website here explains this matter clearly. This hadith also talks about the muddy spring:

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History of Al-Tabari Vol 1 pages 232-237:

Muhammad b. Abi Mansur- Khalaf b. Wasil- Abu Nu’aym- Muqatil b. Hayyan- Ikrimah: One day when Ibn `Abbas was sitting (at home or in the mosque), a man came to him and said: Ibn `Abbas, I heard Ka’b, the Rabbi, tell a marvelous story about the sun and the moon. He continued. Ibn `Abbas who had been reclining sat up and asked what it was. The man said: He suggested that on the Day of Resurrection, the sun and the moon will be brought as if they were two hamstrung oxen, and flung into Hell. `Ikrimah continued. Ibn `Abbas became contorted with anger and exclaimed three times: Ka’b is lying! Ka’b is lying! Ka’b is lying! This is something Jewish he wants to inject into Islam. God is too majestic and noble to mete out punishment where there is obedience to Him. Have you not heard God’s word: “And He subjected to you the sun and the moon, being constant” – referring to their constant obedience. How would He punish two servants that are praised for constant obedience? May God curse that rabbi and his rabbinate! How insolent is he toward God and what a tremendous fabrication has he told about those two servants that are obedient to God! He continued. Then he said several times: We return to God. He took a little piece of wood from the ground and started to hit the ground with it. He did that for some time, then lifting his head he threw away the little piece of wood and said: You want me to tell you what I heard the Messenger of God say about the sun and the moon and the beginning of their creation and how things went with them? We said: We would, indeed, May God show mercy unto you. He said: When the Messenger of God was asked about that, he replied: When God was done with His creation and only Adam remained to be created, He created two suns from the light of His Throne. His foreknowledge told Him that He would leave here one sun, so He created it as (large as) this world is from east to west. His foreknowledge also told Him that He would efface it and change it to a moon; so the moon is smaller in size than the sun. But both are seen as small because of the sun’s altitude and remoteness from the earth. He continued: If God had left the two suns as He created them in the beginning, night would not have been distinguishable from day. A hired man then would not know until when he should labor and when he should receive his wages. A person fasting would not know until when he must fast. A woman would not know how to reckon the period of her impurity. The Muslims would not know the time of the pilgrimage. Debtors would not know when their debts become due. People in general would not know when to work for a livelihood and when to stop for resting their bodies. The Lord was too concerned with His servants and too merciful to them (to do such a thing). He thus sent Gabriel to drag his wing three times over the face of the moon, which at the time was a sun. He effaced its luminosity and left the light in it. This is (meant by) God’s word: “And We have made the night and the day two signs. We have blotted out the sign of the night, and We have made the sign of the day something to see by.” He continued. The blackness you can see as lines on the moon is a trace of the blotting. God then created for the sun a chariot with 360 handholds from the luminosity of the light of the Throne and entrusted 360 of the angels inhabiting the lower heaven with the sun and its chariot, each of them gripping one of those handholds. He entrusted 360 of the angels inhabiting (the lower?) heaven with the moon and its chariot, each of them gripping one of those handholds. Then he said: For the sun and the moon, He created easts and wests (positions to rise and set) on the two sides of the earth and the two rims of heaven, 180 springs in the west of black clay – this is (meant by) God’s word: “He found it setting in a muddy spring,” meaning by “muddy (hami’ah)” black clay – and 180 springs in the east likewise of black clay, bubbling and boiling like a pot when it boiled furiously. He continued. Every day and night, the sun has a new place where it rises and a new place where it sets.The interval between them from beginning to end is longest for the day in summer and shortest in winter. This is (meant by) God’s word: “The Lord of the two easts and the Lord of the two wests,” meaning the last (position) of the sun here and the last there. He omitted the positions in the east and the west (for the rising and setting of the sun) in between them. Then He referred to east and west in the plural, saying; “(By) the Lord of the easts and wests.” He mentioned the number of all those springs (as above). He continued. God created an ocean three farsakhs (18 kilometers) removed from heaven. Waves contained, it stands in the air by the command of God. No drop of it is spilled. All the oceans are motionless, but that ocean flows at the rate of the speed of an arrow. It is set free to move in the air evenly, as if it were a rope stretched out in the area between east and west. The sun, the moon, and the retrograde stars run in its deep swell. This is (meant by) God’s word: “Each swims in a sphere.” “The sphere” is the circulation of the chariot in the deep swell of that ocean. By Him Who holds the soul of Muhammad in His hand! If the sun were to emerge from that ocean, it would burn everything on earth, including even rocks and stones, and if the moon were to emerge from it, it would afflict (by its heat) the inhabitants of the earth to such and extent that they would worship gods other than God. The exception would be those of God’s friends whom He would want to keep free from sin. Ibn `Abbas said that `Ali b. Abi Talib said to the Messenger of God: You are like my father and my mother! You have mentioned the course of the retrograde stars (al-khunnas) by which God swears in the Qur’an, together with the sun and the moon, and the rest. Now, what are al-khunnas? The Prophet replied: `Ali, they are five stars: Jupiter (al-birjis), Saturn (zuhal), Mercury (`utarid), Mars (bahram), and Venus (al-zuhrah). These five stars rise and run like the sun and the moon and race with them together. All the other stars are suspended from heaven as lamps are from mosques, and circulate together with heaven praising and sanctifying God with prayer. The Prophet then said: If you wish to have this made clear, look to the circulation of the sphere alternately here and there. It is the circulation of heaven and the circulation of all the stars together with it except those five. Their circulation today is what you see, and that is their prayer. Their circulation to the Day of Resurrection is as quick as the circulation of a mill because of the dangers and tremors of the Day of resurrection. This is (meant by) God’s word: “On a day when the heaven sways to and fro and the mountains move. Woe on that day unto those who declare false (the Prophet’s divine message).” He continued. When the sun rises, it rises upon its chariot from one of those springs accompanied by 360 angels with outspread wings.They draw it along the sphere, praising and sanctifying God with prayer, according to the extent of the hours of night and the hours of day, be it night or day. When God wishes to test the sun and the moon, showing His servants a sign and thereby asking them to stop disobeying Him and to start to obey, the sun tumbles from the chariot and falls into the deep of that ocean, which is the sphere. When God wants to increase the significance of the sign and frighten His servants severely, all of the sun falls, and nothing of it remains upon the chariot. That is a total eclipse of the sun, when the day darkens and the stars come out. When God wants to make a partial sign, half or a third or two-thirds of it fall into the water, while the rest remains upon the chariot, this being a partial eclipse. It is a misfortune for the sun or for the moon. It frightens His servants and constitutes a request from the Lord (for them to repent). However this may be, the angels entrusted with the chariot of the sun divide into two groups, one that goes to the sun and pulls it toward the chariot, and another that goes to the chariot and pulls it toward the sun, while at the same time they keep it steady in the sphere, praising and sanctifying God with prayer, according to the extent of the hours of day or the hours of night, be it night or day, summer or winter, autumn or spring between summer and winter, lest the length of night and day be increased in any way. God has given them knowledge of that by inspiration and also the power for it. The gradual emergence of the sun or the moon from the deep of that ocean covering them which you observe after an eclipse (is accomplished by) all the angels together who, after having brought out all of it, carry it (back) and put it upon the chariot. They praise God that He gave them the power to do that. They grip the handholds of the chariot and draw it in the sphere, praising and sanctifying God with prayer. Finally, they bring the sun to the west. Having done so; they put it into the spring there, and the sun falls from the horizon of the sphere into the spring. [12]

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However this narration is weak. Tabari himself said it was weak as well as Shaykh Barzanji in Sahih and Daif Tarikh Al-Tabari which grades the hadiths from Al-Tabari.

This next hadith also describes the sun setting into hellfire and that it is because of Allah that the sun doesn’t burn everybody on earth. It was deemed Daif by Ibn Kathir [13]:

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From Tafsir Tabari 18:86:

Narrated Ibn Masud: the Messenger of Allah saw the sun while setting, he said: “Into Allah’s blazing hellfire. If not for its fear of Allah it would have burnt all that is on earth”. [14]

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This next one comes from Ibn Ishaq. It describes the story of Dhul Qarnayn and the context of the revelation of chapter 18. According to the report, Muhammad’s enemies challenged him to tell them about “the mighty traveler who reached the easts of the Earth and the wests of it. When mentioning Dhul Qarnayn it says:

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Abu ‘ubain <– abu Al-Abass Abu Muhammad bin Ya’qub <– Ahmed bin abdul jabar <– Yunis bin Bukair <– Ibn Ishaq <– some man from the people of Makkah <– Syed bin Jubayr <– Ibn Abbas: […] Roads were stretched out before him until he traversed the whole earth, east and west. He was given power over every land he trod on until he reached the end of the east and the west, to the farthest confines of creation. [15]

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It says that there was nothing from creation behind these places, so it must mean the edges of a flat Earth, and the setting-place would be at the western edge and the rising place at the eastern edge. The hadith is daif. Abdul Jabar is weak in hadith, and the chain contains an unknown narrator.

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This hadith also implies the seven earths are layered on top of each other:

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Jami al-Tirmhidi 3298:

…then he said: ‘Do you know what is under you?’ They said: ‘Allah and His Messenger know better.’ He said: ‘Indeed it is the earth.’ Then he said: ‘Do you know what is under that?’ They said: ‘Allah and His Messenger know better.’ He said: ‘Verily, below it is another earth, between the two of which is a distance of five-hundred years.’ Until he enumerated seven earths: ‘Between every two earths is a distance of five-hundred years.’… [16]

Hadith Grade:

(Daif) According to Darusallam

(Gharib) According to Tirmhidi

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This daif [17] hadith from Tabaris history says the 7 earths are flat:

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History of Al-Tabari 1/207-208:

Muhammad b. Sahl b. ‘Askar <— Ismail b. ‘Abd al-Karim <— -‘Abd al-Samad <— Wahb, mentioning some of His majesty (as being describable as follows): The heavens and the earth and the oceans are in the haykal, and the haykal is in the Footstool. God’s feet are upon the Footstool. He carries the Footstool. It became like a sandal on His feet. When Wahb was asked: What is the haykal? he replied: Something on the heavens’ extremities that surrounds the earth and the oceans like the ropes that are used to fasten a tent. And when Wahb was asked how the earths are (constituted), he replied: They are seven earths that are flat and islands. Between each two earths, there is an ocean. All that is surrounded by the (surrounding) ocean, and the haykal is behind the ocean. [18]

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Ibn Abbas and the flat earth

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This next section will be analysing the narrations of Sahabah Abdullah Ibn Abbas where he says that the earth is spread out on the back of a whale as well as other statements alluding to a flat earth. The narrations regarding the whale are numerous, so for brevity I shall quote 3 of them.

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Al-Mustadrak 3840:

Narrated Ibn Abbas: The first thing that Allah created was the Pen. He said to it, “Write.” It said, “What shall I write?” He said, “The divine decree.” And it wrote all that shall be from that day until the onset of the Hour. And his throne was upon the water. The water vapor rose and the heavens split off from it. He then created the whale (Nun) and spread the earth over it. The earth is on the back of a whale and when the whale stirred, the earth shook. It was steadied by mountains, for indeed, they prevail over the earth. [19]

Hadith Grade:

(Sahih) according to al-Hakim

(Sahih) according to Al-Dhahabi

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History of Al-Tabari 1/219:

According to Ibn Humayd – Jarir (b. ‘Abd al-Hamid) – ‘Ata’ b. al-Sa’ib – Abu al-Duha Muslim b. Subayh – Ibn ‘Abbas: The first thing created by God is the Pen. God said to it: Write!, and it wrote whatever is going to be until the Coming of the Hour. Then God created the fish. Then he heaped up the earth upon it. [20]

Hadith Grade:

(Sahih) According to Al-Tabari

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Multiple hadiths even incorporate chapter 68 verse 1 of the Quran into them:

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Tafsir Al-Razzaq 3271:

Narrated Ibn Abbas: The first thing that Allah created was the Pen. He said, “Write.” It said, “O Lord, what shall I write?” He said, “Write the divine decree.” And it wrote all that shall be from that day until the onset of the Hour. Then the Book was folded up and the Pen lifted. The water vapor rose and the heavens split off from it. He then created the whale (Nun), then the earth was spread over it. When the whale stirred, the earth shook. He created the mountains to secure it, for indeed, they prevail over the earth. Then Ibn Abbas recited the verse, “Nun. by the Pen and what they write,” (Al-Qalam 68:1) through the saying of the Exalted, “You are not, by the favor of your Lord, a madman.” (Al-Qalam 68:2) [21]

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In fact, this hadith goes through many different chains to Ibn Abbas. Here are the ones that can be found in Tabari’s history and Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Arabic version). Note: I am not authenticating these chains, just saying how widespread this hadith is:

Ibn Bashar <– Yahya <– Sufyan Al-Thuri <– Sulayman Al-Amash <– Abu Thubian <– Ibn Abbas

Ibn Jarir <– Ibn Hamid <– Ata’a <– Abu Al-Dahee <– Ibn Abbas

Wasil b. ‘Abd al-A‘la al-Asadi <– Muhammad b. Fudayl <– al-A‘mash <– Abu Zabyan <– Ibn ‘Abbas

Wasil <- Waki’ <- al-A‘mash <- Abu Zabyan <- Ibn ‘Abbas.

Ibn al-Muthanna <- Ibn Abi ‘Adi <- Shu‘bah <- Sulayman (al-A‘mash?) <- Abu Zabyan <- Ibn ‘Abbas

Tamim b. al-Muntasir <- Ishaq (b. Yusuf) <- Sharik (b. ‘Abdallah al-Nakha‘i) <- al-A‘mash <- Abu Zabyan or Mujahid <– Ibn Abbas

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Muslims sometimes argue that these traditions are of Jewish origins. Whilst that is a possibility, keep in mind that this is an authentic narration traced to Ibn Abbas, so essentially they are saying that Ibn Abbas was a fraud who copied from the Jews. This gets more problematic in light of these traditions:

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Sunan Ibn Majah 166:

It was narrated that Ibn ‘Abbas said: The Messenger of Allah embraced me and said: ‘O Allah, teach him wisdom and the (correct) interpretation of the Book.’ [22]

Hadith Grade:

(Sahih) According to Darusallam

(Sahih) According to Al-Albani

(Sahih) According to Shuayb Arnaut

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Sahih-Bukhari 75:

Narrated Ibn `Abbas: Once the Prophet embraced me and said, “O Allah! Bestow on him the knowledge of the Book (Qur’an). [23]

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You may be wondering why I am referencing these prayers of Muhammad. The reason is that because of these prayers there are, ultimately, two possibilities for what happened, both of which discredit Muhammad:

1. Muhammad told Ibn Abbas the earth sits on the back of a whale

2. Ibn Abbas retold Jewish apocrypha as Islamic truth, demonstrating that Allah didn’t answer Muhammad’s prayer.

So is Ibn Abbas correct and the earth was flattened on a whale, or did Allah not answer Muhammad’s prayer?

For further reading I recommend “The virtue and knowledge of Abdullah Ibn Abbas”.

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Furthermore there are two hadith on this whale subject attributed to Muhammad himself.

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Al-Tabarani 12227:

Al Tabarani <– Abu Habib Zaid Al-Mahdi Al Marouzi <– Sa’id Ibn Yaqub Al-Talqani <– Mu’amal Ibn Ismail <– Hamad Ibn Zaid <– Ata’a Ibn Al Sa’ib <– Abu Al Dahee Muslim Ibn Subaih <– Ibn Abbas who stated that the prophet – may peace and blessing be upon him and his family – said, “The first things Allah created were the pen and the whale and He said to the pen ‘Write.’ The pen asked, ‘What shall I write?’ Allah replied, ‘Everything that shall be until judgment day.’ Then He said ‘Nun. By the Pen and by what they write.’ So Nun is the whale and al-Qalam is the pen” [24]

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Tarikh Askbir 56/207-208:

Al-Walid Ibn Muslim <– Malik Ibn Ans <– Sumay son of Abu Bakir <– Abu Salih Al-Samaan <– Abu Hurayrah who related that he heard the prophet – peace be upon him – say, “The first thing Allah created was the pen, then He created the ‘Nun’ which is an inkwell. This is what Allah stated (in sura 68:1) ‘Nun and the Pen.’ And He said to it, ‘Write’. So the pen wrote all that will be until judgment day. Then Allah created the Nun (the whale) above the waters and he pressed the earth into its back. He (Allah) then said to the pen ‘Write.’ The pen asked ‘What shall I write?’ Allah replied, ‘Write what was and what will be until judgment day; whether deed, reward, consequence and punishment- until judgment day.’ Thus the pen wrote what shall be until judgment day. Allah then placed a seal over the pen and it will not talk until judgment day. Then Allah created the mind and said, ‘By my Glory, I will establish you in those whom you love and I will take you away from those whom you despise.’” [25]

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The first hadith was declared as Munkar by Al-Albani in Al-Sisilah Al-Daifah 6309. The problem stems from Mu’amal bin Isma’il, despite him being declared thiqat by Ibn Hibban. Al-Haythami says that while he is thiqat, he makes many mistakes and that Bukhari declared him Daif.

The second hadith was declared batil (false) by Al-Albani in Al-Sisilah Al-Daifah 1253 and Munkar in Al-Sisilah Al-Daifah 6309.

Some however might argue against the Ibn Abbas Nun whale explanation of 68:1 by quoting another narration attributed to Ibn Abbas which says:

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Ibn Jarir Al-Tabari <– ibn hamid <–ya’qub <– ‘isaa ibn abudllah <– thabit al-thamani <– Ibn Abbas: “God has created the Nun, and it’s the Inkwell”. [26]

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The problem in this chain is Thabit. He is a Daif (weak) narrator and was classed as such by Ibn Hajar [27]. Darqutni also called him Daif and Matruk (abandoned). This makes the Ibn Abbas Nun whale explanation the only authentic narration of Inn Abbas regarding Quran 68:1.

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This hadith found in Tabaris history also mentions the Nun whale. It was classed as Daif by Shaykh Barzanji in his book titled Sahih and Daif Tarikh Al-Tabari. He also states that Tabari classed it as Daif and Ibn Kathir as Israelite: [28]

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History of Al-Tabari 1/219-220:

Musa b. Harun al-Hamdani and others <— Amr b. Hammad <— Asbat b. Nasr <– al-Suddi <— Abu Malik and Abu Salih <— Ibn ‘Abbas. Also (al-Suddi) <— Murrah al-Hamdani <– Abdallah b. Masud and some (other) companions of the Messenger of God (commenting on): “He is the One Who created for you all that is on earth. Then He stretched out straight toward the heaven and fashioned it into seven heavens.”God’s Throne was upon the water. He had not created anything except what He created before the water. When He wanted to create the creation, He brought forth smoke from the water. The smoke rose above the water and hovered loftily over it. He therefore called it “heaven”. Then He dried out the water, and thus made it one earth. He split it and made it into seven earths on Sunday and Monday. He created the earth upon a (big) fish (hut), that being the fish ( nun) mentioned by God in the Qur’an: “Nun. By the Pen.” The fish was in the water. The water was upon the back of a (small) rock. The rock was upon the back of an angel. The angel was upon a (big) rock. The (big) rock – the one mentioned by Lugman – was in the wind, neither in heaven nor on earth. The fish moved and became agitated . As a result, the earth quaked, whereupon He firmly, anchored the mountains on it, and it was stable. The mountains proudly (tower) over the earth. This is stated in God’s word that he made for the earth “firmly anchored (mountains), lest it shake you up.” [29]

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Another narration attributed to Ibn Abbas states that the sun sets in the west, travels under the earth and rises in the east. An obvious endorsement of the idea that the Sun sets in a muddy spring as per Quran 18:86-18:90:

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Ibn abi Hatim recorded that Ibn Abbas said: “The sun is like flowing water, running in its course in the sky during the day. When it sets it runs during the night in its course beneath the earth until it rises from its rising place.” He said “the same is true of the moon.”

Hadith Grade:

(Sahih) According to Ibn Kathir

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From all these reports we can gather that while Muhammad never explicitly states that the earth is flat, It is highly likely that he supported that myth. Setting and rising places, ends of earth, night occuring for everyone at the same time and his belief about seasons are all indications of this.

Furthermore the weak reports as well, in my view, as well as the reports from Ibn abbas paint a picture of an arab community which believed in the flat earth model.

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Source dump:

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[1] https://sunnah.com/muslim/1/306

[2] https://wikiislam.net/wiki/Did_Muhammad_and_the_early_Muslims_know_that_the_Earth_is_round Hadith collection section, Muslim 1:297.

[3] https://quranx.com/Hadith/Muslim/USC-MSA/Book-41/Hadith-6904/. Similar hadith from Ibn Majah records Muhammad saying the “farthest” ends of the earth. https://quranx.com/Hadith/IbnMajah/DarusSalam/Volume-4/Book-25/Hadith-2921/

[4] http://www.answering-christianity.com/earth_flat.htm. See it’s commentary on Daniel 4:11, Jeremiah 16:19, Job 38:13, Job 37:3 and Job 28:24

[5] https://archive.org/stream/SahihMuslim-Arabic-english7Vol.Set/SahihMuslimVol.2-ahadith1161-2262#page/n347/mode/1up

[6] https://www.reddit.com/r/exmuslim/comments/7ujqxc/hotd_334_muhammad_says_sun_rises_and_sets_over/dtkrrmb?utm_source=reddit-android

[7] https://quranx.com/Hadith/Muslim/USC-MSA/Book-4/Hadith-1657/

[8] https://quranx.com/Hadith/Bukhari/USC-MSA/Volume-3/Book-43/Hadith-634/

[9] https://sunnah.com/bukhari/9/14

[10] https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/seasons/en/

[11] Quoted here: https://www.letmeturnthetables.com/2012/09/weak-hadith-sun-spring-warm-water.html?m=1

[12] https://archive.org/details/TabariEnglish/page/n254

[13] http://hdith.com/?s=+فِـي+نارِ+اللَّهِ+الـحامِيَةِ،+فِـي+نارِ+اللَّهِ+الـحامِيَةِ،+لَوْلا+ما+يَزَعُها+مِنْ+أمْرِ+اللَّهِ+لأَحْرَقَتْ+ما+عَلـى+الأرْض

[14] https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=1&tTafsirNo=1&tSoraNo=18&tAyahNo=86&tDisplay=yes&Page=2&Size=1&LanguageId=1

[15] Guillaume op. cit. p.139. For the Arabic, see s307: http://sirah.al-islam.com/Page.aspx?pageid=204&TOCID=242&BookID=160&PID=337. Quoted by Martin Taverville here: https://quranspotlight.wordpress.com/articles/dhul-qarnayn-sunset-sunrise/

[16] https://quranx.com/Hadith/Tirmidhi/DarusSalam/Volume-6/Book-44/Hadith-3298/

[17] http://shamela.ws/browse.php/book-145435/page-1883

[18] https://archive.org/details/TabariEnglish/page/n229

[19] https://archive.org/stream/waq66017/02_66018#page/n539/mode/1up

[20] https://archive.org/details/TabariEnglish/page/n241

[21] https://archive.org/stream/FP76576/03_76578#page/n328/mode/1up

[22] https://archive.org/stream/SunanIbnMajahVol.11802EnglishArabic#page/n184/mode/1up

[23] https://archive.org/stream/SahihAlBukhariVol.317732737EnglishArabic/Sahih%20al-Bukhari%20Vol.%201%20-%201-875%20English%20Arabic#page/n100/mode/1up

[24] Quoted here: https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=1&tTafsirNo=7&tSoraNo=68&tAyahNo=1&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1 translated here: https://www.answering-islam.org/Shamoun/whale_nun.htm

[25] Quoted here: https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=1&tTafsirNo=5&tSoraNo=68&tAyahNo=1&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1 English translation here: https://www.answering-islam.org/Shamoun/whale_nun.htm

[26] Quoted here: https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=1&tTafsirNo=7&tSoraNo=68&tAyahNo=1&tDisplay=yes&Page=3&Size=1&LanguageId=1

[27] http://shamela.ws/browse.php/book-8609/page-58

[28] http://shamela.ws/browse.php/book-145435/page-1890

[29] https://archive.org/details/TabariEnglish/page/n241

[30] Quoted here: https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=7&tSoraNo=31&tAyahNo=29&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1 Note: the English translation of Ibn Kathirs Tafsir mistranslated the hadith. Saying: “Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Ibn `Abbas said, “The sun is like flowing water, running in its course in the sky during the day. When it sets, it travels in its course beneath the earth until it rises in the east.” He said, “The same is true in the case of the moon.”” http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1784