Dought & clear, - (Knowledge ), - Reconciling between the view that the Earth is round and the verse “And Allah has made for you the earth wide spread (an expanse)” [Nooh 71:19]

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Could you please explain these Quranic verse. Actually one Non Muslim asked me to explain these verses.
Quran 71:19 And Allah has made the earth for you as a carpet (spread out).
Quran 78:6 Have We not made the earth as a wide expanse, What does it mean ?
Quran 15:19 And the earth We have spread out (like a carpet); set thereon mountains firm and immovable; and produced therein all kinds of things in due balance.
Does it mean that Earth is flat? Tafsir Jalalayn says that EARTH is flat. But it is against Established Science.
Praise be to Allah
Firstly:
The scholars are unanimously agreed that the earth is round, but to human eyes it appears to be flat, because it is very big and its roundness or curvature cannot be seen at close distances. So the one who stands and looks sees it as flat, but when viewed as a whole, in reality it is round.
Ibn Hazm (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The proofs of the Qur’an and Sunnah indicate that it is round. End quote.
See also the answers to questions no. 201530and 118698
Secondly:
The verse (interpretation of the meaning)“And Allah has made for you the earth wide spread (an expanse)” [Nooh 71:19]indicates that it is spread out and shaped so that people can feel settled in it and be able to live and prosper in it. Ibn Katheer said:
That is, He spread it out, prepared it, made it stable and made it firm by means of the mountains.
Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 8/247
Similarly, the verse (interpretation of the meaning) “Have We not made the earth as a bed” [an-Naba’ 78:6]means that it is spread out and prepared for you and for your benefit, so that you can cultivate it, build dwellings in it and travel through it.
Ibn Katheer said:
That is, it is prepared for people in such a way that they can live in it, and it is firm, stable and steady.
Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 8/307
And the verse (interpretation of the meaning)“And the earth We spread out, and placed therein firm mountains, and caused to grow therein all kinds of things in due proportion” [al-Hijr 15:19]means We spread it out and placed firm mountains therein. This is like the verse in which Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):“And it is He Who spread out the earth, and placed therein firm mountains and rivers” [ar-Ra‘d 13:3].
There is no contradiction between saying that it is round and saying that it was spread out, because in fact in its totality it is round, but to the one who stands on it and looks at it, it appears flat, as it appears to everyone.
Ar-Raazi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
If it is said: Do the words“And the earth We spread out”indicate that it is flat?
We would respond: Yes, because the earth, even though it is round, is an enormous sphere, and each little part of this enormous sphere, when it is looked at, appears to be flat. As that is the case, this will dispel what they mentioned of confusion. The evidence for that is the verse in which Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):“And the mountains as pegs” [an-Naba’ 78:7]. He called themawtaad(pegs) even though these mountains may have large flat surfaces. And the same is true in this case.
End quote fromTafseer ar-Raazi, 19/131
Shaykh ash-Shanqeeti (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
If the scholars of Islam affirm that the earth is round, then what would they say about the verse in which Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Do they not look at the camels, how they are created?
And at the heaven, how it is raised?
And at the mountains, how they are rooted and fixed firm?
And at the earth, how it is spread out?”
[al-Ghaashiyah 88:17-20].
Their response will be the same as their response concerning the verse in which Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):“Until, when he reached the setting place of the sun, he found it setting in a spring of black muddy (or hot) water” [al-Kahf 18:86]– that is, as it appears to be in the eye of the beholder, because the sun sets on one country, but remains up in the sky for another, until it rises from the east on the following morning. So the earth looks flat in every region or part of it, because of its immense size.
This does not contradict its real shape, because we may see a very high mountain, but if we climb it and reach its summit we may find a flat surface there, and find an entire nation living there, and some of the people there may not know anything about the rest of the world, and so on. End quote.
Adwa’ al-Bayaan, 8/428
Shaykh Rafee‘ ad-Deen ibn Waliyullah ad-Dahlawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his bookat-Takmeel:
Some may understand words such as “made the earth as a bed” [an-Naba’ 78:6], “He spread the earth” [an-Naazi‘aat 79:30]and “…how it is spread out…”[al-Ghaashiyah 88: 20]as meaning that it is flat, whereas the scholars affirm that it is round on the basis of sound evidence, so it is thought that there is a conflict. That may be refuted by the fact that the visible part of it (for a person standing on it) appears flat, because the larger a circle is, the more spread out it is, so we may say that it is flat on the basis of that part of it that is visible to us, and it is round in its totality, on the basis of rational thinking.
Quoted from him by Siddeeq Hasan Khan in his tafseer,Fath al-Bayaan, 15/208
And Allah knows best.


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For children, - Doubting God and Words of God, Religious Stories for Kids, Religious Stories for Children

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This is a fictional story, only for the purpose of explanation and easy understanding.
The night fell heavy in the heights of the mountains and the man could not see anything. All was black. Zero visibility, and the moon and the stars were covered by the clouds. As he was climbing only a few feet away from the top of the mountain, he slipped and fell in to the air, falling at great speed. He could only see black spots as he went down, and the terrible sensation of being sucked by gravity.
He kept falling and in the moments of great fear, it came to his mind all the good and bad episodes of his life. He was thinking now about how close death was getting, when all of a sudden he felt the rope tied to his waist pull him very hard. His body was hanging in the air.
Only the rope was holding him and in that moment of stillness he had no other choice other to scream: "Help me God".
All of a sudden a deep voice coming from the sky answered, "What do you want me to do?"
"Save me God".
"Do you really think I can save you?"
"Of course I believe You can."
"Then cut the rope tied to your waist."
There was a moment of silence and the man decided to hold on to the rope with all his strength. The rescue team tells that the next day a climber was found dead and frozen. His body hanging from a rope. His hands holding tight to it. Only one foot away from the ground.
Conclusion: And We? How attached we are to our rope will we let go? Don't ever doubt about the God and words of God. We should never say that He has forgotten us or abandoned us.



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Quran Related, - Democracy Will Come about When People Are Living by the Moral Values Commanded by Allah

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As we have seen, in the essence of Islam, there is intellectual freedom, freedom of faith and expression. Some people assume that democracy entered the history of humanity with the ancient Greeks. However, it is Allah Who teaches democracy to people. From the time of the Prophet Adam (pbuh), all prophets have been the genuine representatives of intellectual freedom and respect to views. The essence of all the primary concepts – freedom of justice, not putting any pressure upon anyone, treating everyone as a first class citizens, respecting and trusting people, not judging anyone due to his views- which are associated with democracy are present in the morality of religion. Throughout history, people have learned these concepts from the righteous religions revealed by Allah and witnessed its most beautiful examples during the times when people lived by the righteous religions.
When we look at the times when people were oppressed due to their opinions and their different ideologies, members of various religions were humiliated, while the arts, science and architecture died out; times when people lost their joy in living and almost turned into robots, or when book burnings, murders, massacres, genocides became widespread, we see the influence of irreligious, atheist ideologies or those who misinterpreted religious morality with a radical mindset by distancing it from its essence.
Once Allah’s righteous religion is lived in the form it is commanded by Allah, the true justice, democracy, respect and love, that people have been longing for, can be experienced. Very soon, democracy, brotherhood, love, friendship and peace will, by Allah’s leave, dominate the world and people will experience the joy, bliss and abundance of faith as much as they can. As one can clearly see from the signs of the verses, hadiths of our Prophet (saas) and words of great Islamic scholars, the time in which we live is the End Times. The difficult and troublesome days of the End Times will, in this century, come to end with the Prophet Jesus’ (pbuh) and Hazrat Mahdi’s (pbuh) being instrumental, and the world will enter a brand new, bright era. Communicating the Oneness and Unity of Allah in the most beautiful and wise manner, and introducing people to Islam as described in the Qur’an and lived in Age of Felicity lays a very important foundation for the bright days that we will attain in the near future. Our wish is that Allah will also render this article instrumental in attaining the beauties in question. We sincerely hope that the days when we see “people entering Allah’s religion in droves” come at once. Allah reveals these glad tidings as follows in the Qur’an:
When Allah’s help and victory have arrived and you have seen people entering Allah’s religion in droves, then glorify your Lord’s praise and ask His forgiveness. He is the Ever-Returning. (Surat an-Nasr, 1-3)
Freedom Is Important in Islam, and Compulsion and Pressure Are Prohibited
Every Muslim, as a requisite of the morality of the Qur’an, is responsible for showing people the true path, enjoining the good and forbidding that which is evil. But this never means to oblige others to think, live, act and dress like oneself. A Muslim shows the truth and leaves the choice to the person himself. This is the commandment Allah informs us in the Qur’an in the verse, “There is no compulsion in the religion...” (Surat al-Baqara: 256).
In line with Almighty Allah’s commandment, our Prophet (saas) made a contract with the Christians of Najran, who lived in the south of Arabia. This makes it clear that Islam is the true source of freedom of thought and belief in democracies. The contract included the following article:
“The lives of the people of Najran and its surrounding area, their religion, their land, property, cattle and those of them who are present or absent, their messengers and their places of worship are under the protection of Allah and guardianship of His Prophet.” (The Pact of Najran, Article 6, http://www.islamicreso urces.com /Pact_of_Najran.htm.)
The Compact of Medina, signed by the Muslim immigrants from Mecca, the indigenous Muslims of Medina, the Christians and the Jews of Medina is one of the finest examples of the conception of democracy in Islam. As a result of this constitution, which established justice between communities with differing beliefs and ensured the protection of their various interests, long years of enmity were brought to an end. One of the most outstanding features of the treaty is the freedom of belief it established. The relevant article reads:
“The Jews of Banu 'Awf are one nation with the Muslims; the Jews have their religion and the Muslims have theirs…” (The Constitution of Madina, http://www.islamic- study.org/jews-prophet- p.-2.htm)
Article 16 of the treaty reads: "The Jew who follows us is surely entitled to our support and the same equal rights as any one of us. He shall not be wronged nor his enemy be assisted.” (The Constitution of Madina, http://www.islamic- study.org/jews-prophet- p.-2.htm)
The Prophet’s (saas) companions remained true to that article in the treaty, even after his death, and even practiced it with regard to Berbers, Buddhists, Brahmans and people of other beliefs.
Like all the other prophets, many events took place during the course of Rasulullah’s (saas) prophethood that manifested his conception of democracy. Peoples of various races, religions, languages and tribes lived together in the lands in which our Prophet (saas) lived. It was not easy for these communities to live together in peace and harmony and for those who wished to create strife to be neutralized. One group could be angered and attack another as the result of the slightest word or action. But our Prophet’s (saas) conception of justice, his just rule, represented a source of peace and security for these communities as much as for Muslims. During the Age of Felicity, everyone on the Arabian Peninsula, Christians, Jews, pagans and everyone, without distinction, was treated justly. In line with Almighty Allah’s commandment, “there is no compulsion in the religion...” our Prophet (saas) told everyone of true religious moral values but left the final decision up to them.



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Quran Related, - The Prophets, Messengers sent by Allah, are the true source of democracy

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Liberty, an important component of human life and one that greatly enhances its quality, is only possible when the idea of democracy prevails. Because democracy is a form of government under which everyone enjoys social justice, equality, rights and freedoms, it is a blessing that Almighty Allah has revealed to His servants in the Divine Books by way of the prophets. A climate of liberty, love, compassion and justice, in which everyone can live freely and speak their own minds and live together in peace, is commanded in all the Divine Books. That is why ancient Greece, regarded as the birthplace of democracy, or Europe, regarded as the center of democracy today, learned about it from the true faiths. However, the most highly developed form of democracy will come with the global dominion of Islamic moral values.
Some people who are unacquainted with Islamic moral values, or have only just begun learning about it, may harbor false opinions and prejudices about it because they have turned to incorrect sources of information. These people fall prey to an error of thinking, despite the fact that it is completelyuntrue, that Islam will restrict their living space, obstruct their freedoms, control their thoughts and put limitations on art and science. The truth is that Islam is a faith that provides for freedom of worship and expression, places rights of all kinds under protection and offers people true liberty. In the Qur’an, verse 41 of Surah Yunus, “If they deny you, say, ‘ I have my actions and you have your actions. You are not responsible for what I do and I am not responsible for what you do’ ,” is one of those verses in which Almighty Allah enjoins democracy for His servants. In this verse Allah clearly reveals the importance of everyone enjoying freedom of ideas and belief, free of any pressure or compulsion.
All the Conditions of Democracy Can Only Be Met When People Live by Islamic Moral Values
1-SOCIAL JUSTICE: Almighty Allah Commands Social Justice and Sharing
Social justice is one of the basic principles of democracy in true democracies. People learned social justice from the Prophet Noah (pbuh) and the Prophet Abraham (pbuh). According to religious sources, when the Ark came to dry land after the flood, the Prophet Noah (pbuh) boiled together the small quantities of remaining chickpeas, lentils, raisins, figs, wheat and the like to make a kind of sweet broth. Everyone on the Ark then ate it together. That is social justice, because by this example Prophet Noah (pbuh) teaches everyone equality, solidarity and generosity and the importance of distributing food to all:
As revealed in verse 69 of Surah Hud, “Our messengers brought the good news to Abraham. They said, ‘Peace!’ and he too said, ‘Peace!’ and brought in a roasted calf without delay” the Prophet Abraham (pbuh) immediately killed a calf when guests arrived and had it prepared for them to eat. Almighty Allah notes that by offering food to people whom he had never met, the Prophet Abraham (pbuh) was behaving in the best way, and wisely stresses the importance of feeding the poor and of social justice.
2-EQUALITY: Almighty Allah Reveals in the Qur’an That No Race Is Superior to Any Other
As Almighty Allah reveals in one verse of the Qur’an, superiority lies in piety alone. In this verse Allah tells us:
Mankind! We created you from a male and female, and made you into peoples and tribes so that you might come to know each other. The noblest among you in Allah’s Sight is the one with the most piety. Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware. (Surat al-Hujurat, 13)
Our Prophet (saas) expresses this truth commanded by Allah as follows in the hadiths:
"You are sons of Adam, and Adam came from dust. Let the people cease to boast about their ancestors." (Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 41, Number 5097)
"These genealogies of yours are not a reason to revile anyone. You are all children of Adam. No one has any superiority over another except in religion and taqwa (godliness)." (Ahmad, 158/4)
During his final sermon, the Prophet (saas) called on Muslims in these terms:
"There is no superiority for an Arab over a non-Arab and for a non-Arab over an Arab; nor for white over the black nor for the black over the white except in piety. Verily the noblest among you is he who is the most pious." (The Prophet Muhammad's Last Sermon; http://www.stanford.ed u/~jamila/Sermon.html)
3-JUSTICE: Almighty Allah Commands Justice
Allah issues this commandment to believers in the Qur’an: “... You who have faith! Be upholders of justice, bearing witness for Allah alone, even against yourselves or your parents and relatives. Whether they are rich or poor, Allah is well able to look after them. Do not follow your own desires and deviate from the truth. If you twist or turn away, Allah is aware of what you do.” (Surat al-Nisa’, 135)
The commands that our Prophet (saas) issued among Muslims and his just and affectionate attitude toward people of different religions, languages, races and tribes, as well as the way he treated everyone equally, making no distinction between rich and poor as Allah revealed in the Qur’an, represents an excellent example of the conception of democracy.
In one verse, Allah tells our Prophet (saas):
They are people who listen to lies and consume ill-gotten gains. If they come to you, you can either judge between them or turn away from them. If you turn away from them, they cannot harm you in any way. But if you do judge, judge between them justly. Allah loves the just. (Surat al-Ma’ida, 42)
Our Prophet (saas) adhered to Allah’s commandment, even among difficult people, and never made any concessions on justice. As revealed, he always said, “My Lord has commanded justice...” (Surat al-A’raf, 29), thus serving as a role model for all times.



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