skin is stretched,(1) until no mountains, valleys, trees, or buildings remain upon it. The Lord—Glorious and Exalted—will leave it a level, barren plain in which you will see neither crookedness nor unevenness.

Thus, the words, “When the sky is split open,” refer to the Day of Resurrection, for the sky will be split open only then and is not split open now. Likewise, the words, “When the earth is spread out, casts out all that is within it, and becomes empty,” refer to the Day of Resurrection. At present, therefore, it is not spread out; rather, it is spherical. Indeed, present observable reality establishes with certainty that it is spherical, without doubt.(2) The proof is that if you were to travel in a straight line from here in the Kingdom, heading west, you would eventually arrive from the east, having circled the earth and returned to your point of departure. Conversely, if you travelled eastward, you would return to your starting point from the west. Thus, there is now no doubt that the earth is spherical.

Someone might ask: “If the earth is spherical, as you have said, how do the waters of the seas remain upon it?”

Our answer is that the One who holds the sky back from falling upon the earth except by His permission also holds the seas back from overflowing upon people and drowning them. Allah has power over all things. Some scholars have said that the words, “And when the seas are set aflame,” mean that they are restrained and prevented from overflowing upon people, like something held fast (tied down). In any event, we cannot dispute divine power. We say that the power of Allah—Glorious and Exalted—holds these seas back from overflowing upon the inhabitants of the earth and drowning them, even though the earth is spherical.

Then, after Allah—Glorious and Exalted—had set forth these four signs among His signs—the camels, the sky, the mountains, and the earth—He said to His Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace: