The earth is round in shape

25-5-2004 | IslamWeb

Question:

Is it true that Sheik Bin Baz (may Allah have mercy on him) gave a Fatwa that the earth is flat? Can I have the text of the Fatwa?
Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds.  I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

The people of knowledge among the Muslims agreed a long time ago to the fact that the Earth is round. Shaykhul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah may Allaah have mercy upon him said, “Know that it is agreed that the Earth is round-shaped. The orbits are circular as stated in the Book, the Sunnah (Prophetic tradition) and the consensus of the scholars. The word Falak (orbit) means that it is round.”

Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {… each in an orbit floating.}[Quran, 21:33] The astrologists agreed on this.

Even if there is a theory that suggests that the Earth is flat, it is confirmed today that the Earth is round without doubt. It was confirmed long ago in the Quran that the orbits are round-shaped.

If the scholar Ibn Baaz may Allaah have mercy upon him said what contradicted the above, we do not know of any such Fatwa, but that does not mean that this Fatwa does not exist. However, we say what Imaam Maalik may Allaah have mercy upon him said, “The words of every person could be accepted or rejected, except the words of the infallible Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.”

Finally, we would like to draw the questioner’s attention to the fact that the scholars established a very important principle, which is: it is impossible for a scientific fact to contradict absolute Islamic jurisprudence.

Allaah Knows best.

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