and influence, confused the issues by also debating mathematics with them. Speaking merely of what was possible, they said that the heavens might be square, hexagonal, or some other shape. They did not deny that they were spherical, but allowed the contrary as a possibility. I know of no one who categorically asserted that they are not spherical except ignorant people whose views carry no weight.

Among the proofs of this are the words of the Most High:

“It is He who created the night and the day, the sun and the moon, each floating in an orbit.”

The Most High also says:

“It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor does the night outstrip the day; each floats in an orbit.”

Ibn ‘Abbās and others among the early generations said:

“In a circle, like the whorl of a spindle.”

This explicitly indicates roundness and rotation. Its linguistic basis is that falak means something round. One says, tafallaka thadyu al-jāriyah, meaning that a girl’s breast has become rounded. The round whorl of a spindle is likewise called a falkah because of its roundness. Thus, scholars of Quranic exegesis and Arabic language agree that falak denotes something round. Knowledge of the meanings of Allah’s Book is derived through these two avenues: trustworthy authorities on Quranic exegesis among the early generations, and the language in which the Quran was revealed—Arabic.

The Most High says:

“He wraps the night over the day and wraps the day over the night.”

They said that takwīr means winding something round. One says, kawwartu al-‘imāmah (“I wound the turban”) and kawwartuhā (“I wound it”), meaning that one wound it round. A round object is called a kārah, a form derived by changing its original wāw into an alif, since the wāw carried a vowel and was preceded by a fathah (a short a).