Quranic cosmology is how the

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

views the

nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...

of the

cosmos The cosmos (, ; ) is an alternative name for the universe or its nature or order. Usage of the word ''cosmos'' implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity. The cosmos is studied in cosmologya broad discipline covering ...

, especially its origins, development, and structure. In the Quran, the cosmos originates in an act of creation by

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

of the heavens and the

earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

over the course of six days, with the earth being created first, and the heavens second. The

layout In general terms, a layout is a structured arrangement of items within certain limits, or a plan for such arrangement. Specifically, layout may refer to: * Page layout, the arrangement of visual elements on a page ** Comprehensive layout (comp), ...

of the cosmos includes a solid

firmament In ancient near eastern cosmology, the firmament means a celestial barrier that separates the heavenly waters above from the Earth below. In biblical cosmology, the firmament ( ''rāqīaʿ'') is the vast solid dome created by God during the G ...

(called the heaven), below it being a

flat earth Flat Earth is an archaic and scientifically disproven conception of the Figure of the Earth, Earth's shape as a Plane (geometry), plane or Disk (mathematics), disk. Many ancient cultures, notably in the cosmology in the ancient Near East, anci ...

compared to a spread-out bed. A cosmic ocean is found both above the heaven and below the earth. The number of heavens is seven, with possibly seven earths as well, arranged like a stack of plates. Above the highest heaven is the

Throne of God The throne of God is the reigning centre of God in the Abrahamic religions: primarily Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The throne is said by various holy books to reside beyond the Seventh Heaven which is called ''Araboth'' ( ''‘ărāḇōṯ ...

. In the Quran, cosmology is related to themes of purpose, divine will, and an emphasis on the ordering of the world to allow

human beings Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are great apes characterized by their hairlessness, bipedalism, and high intellige ...

to live on it.

Cosmography

Heaven and earth

The most important and frequently referred to constitutive features of the Quranic cosmos are the heavens and the earth:

The most substantial elements of the qurʾānic universe/cosmos are the (seven) heavens and the earth. The juxtaposition of the heavens (''al-samāʾ''; pl. ''al-samāwāt'') and the earth (''al-arḍ''; not in the plural form in the Qurʾān) is seen in 222 qurʾānic verses. The heavens and the earth are the most vital elements on the scene—in terms of occurrence and emphasis—compared to which all other elements lose importance, and around which all others revolve. The same motif is used in the Bible as well.

References to heavens and earth constitute a literary device known as a

merism Merism (, ) is a rhetorical device (or figure of speech) in which a combination of two ''contrasting parts'' of the whole refer to the whole. For example, in order to say that someone "searched everywhere", one could use the merism "searched hig ...

, where two opposites or contrasting terms are used to refer to the totality of something. In Arabic texts generally and in the Quran, the merism of "the heavens and the earth" is used to refer to the totality of creation. A similar merism in the Quran to describe the entire terrestrial space is "the dry land and the sea," ''al-barr wa-l-baḥr'' ( Q 6:59, 63, 97; 10:22; 17:70; 27:63; 29:65; 30:41; 31:31–32). Contemporary and traditional interpretations have generally held in line with general biblical cosmology, with a flat Earth with skies stacked on top of each other, with some believing them to be domes and others flat circles.

Seven heavens

In eight different verses, the Quran exclaims that there are seven heavens ( Q 2:29, 17:44, 23:86, 41:12, 65:12, 67:3, 71:15, 78:12). These heavens as arranged ''ṭibāqan'' (Q 67:3, 71:15), or "superimposed" over each other, apparently in a flat way, with one heaven layered above another. The Quran closely shares in its use of imagery, motif, and personification, in describing the heavens, as is particularly found in the

Book of Psalms The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of ...

and the

Book of Isaiah The Book of Isaiah ( ) is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible and the first of the Major Prophets in the Christian Old Testament. It is identified by a superscription as the words of the 8th-century BC prophet Isaiah ben Amo ...

: God orders the heavens to assemble and they assent (Q 41:11/Ps 50:1–6/Is 48:13–14), the heavens are a witness to the glory of God (Q 17:44/Ps 148), and the injunction to cast one's sight upon the heavens as a testimony of God's creation (Q 67:3–4/Is 40:25–26). Multi-layered heavens had been in vogue in Middle Eastern cosmologies since the 3rd millennium BC. Absent from the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Jewish cosmology Jewish cosmology refers to a cluster of cosmological views held in Jewish systems of thought and theology in premodern times. This includes literature from the period of Second Temple Judaism (516 BCE – 70 CE), rabbinic literature, para-rabbinic ...

in the 3rd century BC and Christian cosmology in a later period. Rabbinic authors most commonly asserted the existence of seven (as opposed to a different number of) heavens, whereas East Syrian Christian authors rejected this figure.

Seven earths

One passage in the Quran has produced some controversy as to whether, mirroring the heavens, there are also seven earths: "It (is) God who created seven heavens, and of the earth a similar (number) to them" llāhu lladhī khalaqa sabʿa samāwātin wa-mina l-’arḍi mithla-hunna(Q 65:12). The competing interpretations are either that God created seven earths to counterbalance the number (seven) of heavens, or, that God's creation of the earth was performed to counterbalance the creation of the heavens (irrespective of their number). The expression of seven earths is much less common than that of seven heavens in the ancient world, with only seemingly implicit references to it in much earlier Sumerian texts. However, the

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

describes a presence of seven underworlds (to mirror the seven heavens), and other texts either describe multiple names for earth (without implying multiple earths) or that

Gehenna Gehenna ( ; ) or Gehinnom ( or ) is a Biblical toponym that has acquired various theological connotations, including as a place of divine punishment, in Jewish eschatology. The place is first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as part of the border ...

is compartmentalized into seven areas. Towards the end of

late antiquity Late antiquity marks the period that comes after the end of classical antiquity and stretches into the onset of the Early Middle Ages. Late antiquity as a period was popularized by Peter Brown (historian), Peter Brown in 1971, and this periodiza ...

, rabbinic (but not other) texts begin to outwardly describe there being seven earths, including

Pesikta de-Rav Kahana Pesikta de-Rav Kahana () is a collection of aggadic midrash which exists in two editions, those of Salomon Buber (Lyck, 1868) and Bernard Mandelbaum (1962). It is cited by Nathan ben Jehiel and Rashi. The name The Jewish Babylonian Aramaic t ...

Leviticus Rabbah Leviticus Rabbah, Vayikrah Rabbah, or Wayiqra Rabbah is a homiletic midrash to the Biblical book of Leviticus (''Vayikrah'' in Hebrew). It is referred to by Nathan ben Jehiel (c. 1035–1106) in his ''Arukh'' as well as by Rashi (1040–110 ...

29:11, Sefer Rabbah di-Bereshit, and others.

Shape of the earth

According to some interpretations, The Quran assumes a

Flat earth Flat Earth is an archaic and scientifically disproven conception of the Figure of the Earth, Earth's shape as a Plane (geometry), plane or Disk (mathematics), disk. Many ancient cultures, notably in the cosmology in the ancient Near East, anci ...

as the Quran commonly emphasizes the extensiveness or flatness of the earth and how it has been spread out. The earth is also frequently compared, as a site for human flourishing, to comfortable pieces of flat furniture such as a carpet, bed, or couch. Some scholars claim this is in reference to physical land.

Firmament

The Quranic heaven(s), reflecting their near eastern and biblical cosmological contexts, are firmaments, referring to a solid structure (or barrier) in the sky whose function it is to separate the earth from the heavenly ocean above (visible as the blue sky), and more broadly, given its expanse, to separate the upper from the lower waters (which may correspond to the two sweet and salty seas, the ''baḥrān'', referred to throughout the Quran like in Q 25:53, 27:61, 35:12, 55:19). There is some controversy over the shape of the Quranic firmament, namely, whether it is domed or flat, although most have understood the firmaments to be flat. The heavens are analogized to a roof, structure, and edifice without crack or fissure. It is extremely broad and stretched, but it is also constantly broadening. Mohammad Ali Tabatabaʾi and Saida Mirsadri have summarized the Quranic discussion of the firmament as follows:

As for the nature of the heaven/sky in the Qurʾān, it is a concrete object (Kor 79, 27; 91, 5) built by God (Kor 50, 6) by hands (= power?) (Kor 51, 47) and it is lifted up (Kor 88, 18). So it is not surprising to expect its fall, or at least the fall of some of its fragments (Kor 34, 9; 17, 92), upon the earth; yet, God himself holds the firmament lest it may fall upon the earth (Kor 22, 65). In some other verses they are assumed to be held up by invisible pillars (Kor 13, 2; 31, 10). The Qurʾān describes the heavens as a protected/preserved and uplifted roof (''saqfan maḥfūẓan'': Kor 21, 32; ''al-saqf al-marfūʿ'': Kor 52, 5) and a structure/edifice (''bināʾ'': Kor 2, 22; 40, 64), in which there is no fissures (Kor 50, 6; 67, 3). As for the measure of the firmament, it seems that it (alongside with the earth) is the most extended thing which the Qurʾān knows of. So massive, seems to the Qurʾān, the scale of the sky, that describing the grandeur of paradise, it likens it, in its broadness, to the sky (Kor 3, 133; 57, 21). As large as it already is, its width is still constantly broadening (Kor 51, 47).

Pillars upholding the firmament

Another controversy has concerned the Quranic view on the relationship between the firmament and the pillars holding it up. A few notable passages (e.g. 31:10) have been interpreted as either stating that the firmament is held up by invisible pillars, or that the firmament is not held up by visible pillars at all, meaning, it is unsupported by any physical artifice (and is instead held up by God's power). Decharneux has recently argued that the latter interpretation is correct, and has related it to a similar cluster of ideas in the homilies of

Jacob of Serugh Jacob of Serugh (, ; ; 452–521), also called Jacob of Sarug or Mar Jacob (), was one of the foremost poets and theologians of the Syriac Christian tradition, second only to Ephrem the Syrian and equal to Narsai. He lived most of his life as ...

, a Syriac poet of the 6th century, particularly in his

Hexaemeron The term Hexaemeron (Greek: Ἡ Ἑξαήμερος Δημιουργία ''Hē Hexaēmeros Dēmiourgia''), literally "six days," is used in one of two senses. In one sense, it refers to the Genesis creation narrative spanning Genesis 1:1–2:3: ...

. Another commonality between the two in their respective discussions of the firmament is in describing it as being decorated by stars. Likewise, a commonality shared between the Quran and the

of the fourth-century bishop

Basil of Caesarea Basil of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great (330 – 1 or 2 January 379) was an early Roman Christian prelate who served as Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia from 370 until his death in 379. He was an influential theologian who suppor ...

is in describing the firmament as having been created out of

smoke Smoke is an aerosol (a suspension of airborne particulates and gases) emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwante ...

in the creation week.

Demons and shooting stars

Several passages in the Quran describe demons or

jinn Jinn or djinn (), alternatively genies, are supernatural beings in pre-Islamic Arabian religion and Islam. Their existence is generally defined as parallel to humans, as they have free will, are accountable for their deeds, and can be either ...

as ascending to the firmament, nearing the well-protected and fortified heavens, in order to eavesdrop and listen in on heavenly secrets. Upon getting near, however, they are cast away by shooting stars launched at them as projectiles.

Indeed we have made in the heavens constellations/towers; and we adorned them for the watchers. And we protected them from every accursed demon, except those who eavesdrop after whom follows a strong fame. (Q 15:16–18, cf. Q 37:6–10; 55:33; 67:5; 72:1–9)

Patricia Crone Patricia Crone (28 March 1945 – 11 July 2015) was a Danish historian specialising in early Islamic history. Crone was a member of the revisionist school of Islamic studies and questioned the historicity of the Islamic traditions about the be ...

notes that, like jinn, the demons of the

Testament of Solomon The Testament of Solomon is a pseudepigraphical composite text ascribed to King Solomon but not regarded as canonical scripture by Jews or Christian groups. It was written in the Greek language, based on precedents dating back to the early 1st mi ...

ascend to the

and eavesdrop on heavenly secrets; as did demons of Zoroastrian cosmology, who in addition encounter a heavenly defense systems (as did Islamic jinn). Similar statements are also found in the

( Berakhot 18b) and the 8th-century ''Scolion'' of Theodore bar Konai.

Hell

The

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the landforms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...

of hell has been summarized by Walid Saleh:

Hell in the Qur’an is ..a topography that has trees (Q. 56:51–56 and Q. 17:60),108 and levels (Q. 4:145); it also has long chains (Q. 69:32 describes a seventy cubits length chain), and those who dwell within it have food and water (Q. 88:5–7 and Q. 69:36). It also has seven gates (Q. 15:44, Q. 16:29, Q. 39:72, and Q. 40:76), and hot springs (Q. 88:5), and the food is a horrible plant that even camels refuse to eat (Q. 85:6). Finally, it has pillars extended (Q. 104:9), a detail that implies spaciousness. Hell in the Qur’an was also made of layers that encompass levels of severity of torment, as Q. 4:145 makes clear. In Hell, the damned seem to be able to see and hear the glorious lives of those who dwell Paradise, and they are able to talk to each other (Q. 7:50).

Cosmogony

Creation in six days

The Quran states that the universe was created in six days using a consistent, quasi-creedal formula (Q 7:54, 10:3, 11:7, 25:59, 32:4, 50:38, 57:4). Quran 41:9–12 represents one of the most developed creation accounts in the Quran:

Say: "Do you indeed disbelieve in the One who created the earth in two days i-lladhī khalaqa l-'arḍa fī yawmayni and do you set up rivals to Him? That is the Lord of the worlds. He placed on it firm mountains (towering) above it, and blessed it, and decreed for it its (various) foods in four days, equal to the ones who ask. Then, He mounted (upward) to the sky humma stawā 'ilā l-samā'i while it was (still) smoke a-hiya dukhānun and said to it and to the earth, 'Come, both of you, willingly or unwillingly!' They both said, 'We come willingly'." He finished them (as) seven heavens in two days aḍā-hunna sabʿa samāwātin fī yawmayni and inspired each heaven (with) its affair.

This passage contains a number of peculiarities compared with the Genesis creation account, including the formation of the earth before heaven and the idea that heaven existed in a formless state of smoke before being formed by God into its current form.

Order of creation events

The sequence of creation events is laid out in Q 41:9–12. This passage allocates two days for the creation of the earth, four days for the event in which the "Lord placed the mountains above it he earth and "decreed for it its foods", and then another two days for the creation of the heavens. Literally, this passage suggests an eight day creation, in tension with both biblical models of creation and the six-day formula that appears in other places in the Quran. Furthermore, the earth is created before the heavens are (unlike in the

Genesis creation narrative The Genesis creation narrative is the creation myth of both Judaism and Christianity, told in the book of Genesis chapters 1 and 2. While the Jewish and Christian tradition is that the account is one comprehensive story, modern scholars of ...

), potentially recalling the debate within Christianity and Judaism about if earth was created first, heaven was created first, or the two were formed simultaneously. The exact Quranic sequence of creation, however, is not known to occur in another text.

Separation of heaven and earth

The separation of heaven and earth is described in the Surah 21, verse 30:

Do those who disbelieve not see that the heavens and the earth were (once) a solid mass 'ratq'' and We split the two of them apart 'fa-fataqnā-humā'' and We made every living thing from water?

In the Quran, ''ratq'' is a ''hapax legomenon'', a word that only appears one time. In Arabic dictionaries, it means something that is patched up or sewn together, meaning that heaven and earth were once connected to one another. The separation is described using the verb ''fataqa'', meaning "splitting, cleaving, unstitching, unsewing".

References

Citations

Sources

* * * * * * * * * *