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97-578: In Islamic cosmology , Zurah , also known as Bait al-Makmur ( Arabic : البيت المعمور , romanized :  Al-Baytul Ma'mur ) is a pilgrimage site that was originally built by Adam . It was lifted into the fourth level of Jannah during the time of Noah when the Flood occurred. It was the precursor to the Kaaba . This Islam-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Islamic cosmology Islamic cosmology

194-644: A sahih hadith where Muhammad reassures the mother of a martyr, "O Umm Haarithah, there are gardens in Paradise ... and your son has attained the highest Firdaws ”, indicating a hierarchy of levels, but does not how many there are. On the basis of "several scriptural suggestions", scholars have created "a very detailed structure" of paradise, but there is more than one, and not all of the traditions on location of paradise and hell "are easily pictured or indeed mutually reconcilable". For example, Qu'ran 23:17 states "We created above you seven paths [Ṭarā'iq]" from which

291-467: A "spreading of physical land" varies based on scholars and academics. 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

388-507: A book called al-Zij al-Mumtahan ("The verified tables"), which is widely quoted in later astronomers but itself no longer extant. The Arab astronomer Ibn Haytham (965–1040) "determined that because the Milky Way had no parallax , it was very remote from the earth and did not belong to the atmosphere." The Persian astronomer Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī (973–1048) proposed the Milky Way galaxy to be "a collection of countless fragments of

485-404: A market to receive new clothing to enhance their beauty, they will not suffer bodily ailments or be subject to functions such as sleeping, spitting, or excreting; they will be forever young. As the gates of Jannah are opened for the arrival of the saved into Jannah they will be greeted (Q.39:73) by angels announcing, "Peace be upon you, because ye have endured with patience; how excellent a reward

582-467: 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. One theory of the entire cosmos was articulated by Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (1149–1209). In this conception, the entire cosmos can be divided into five spheres: five are part of

679-412: A system in which no epicycles occur, but eccentric spheres are not excluded by him. I have not heard it from his pupils; and even if it be correct that he discovered such a system, he has not gained much by it, for eccentricity is likewise contrary to the principles laid down by Aristotle.... I have explained to you that these difficulties do not concern the astronomer, for he does not profess to tell us

776-786: A way other than Islam, it will never be accepted from them, and in the Hereafter they will be among the losers." Historically, the Ash'ari school of theology was known for having an optimistic perspective on salvation for Muslims, but a very pessimistic view of those who heard about Muhammad and his character, yet rejected him. The Maturidi school also generally agreed that even sinners among Muslims would eventually enter paradise, but its unclear whether they thought only Muslim would go to Jannah, or if non-Muslims who understood and obeyed "God's universal law" would be saved also. The Muʿtazila school held that free will and individual accountability

873-599: Is accessible vertically through its gates (Qu'ran 7:40), by ladders ( ma'arij ) (Qu'ran 70:3), or sky-ropes ( asbab ). However, only select beings such as angels and prophets can enter. Iblis (Satan) and devils are kept at bay by angels who throw stars at them, whenever they try to climb back to heaven (Q.37:6–10). Notably and contrary to many Christian ideas on heaven , God ( Allah ) does not reside in paradise. A few hadith name four rivers in paradise, or coming from paradise, as: Saihan ( Syr Darya ), Jaihan ( Amu Darya ), Furat ( Euphrates ) and Nil ( Nile ). Salsabil

970-498: Is also referred to as the abode of Adam and Eve before their expulsion. Most Muslims hold that Jannah and Jahannam co-exist with the temporal world, rather than being created after Judgement Day . Humans may not pass the boundaries to the afterlife, but it may interact with the temporal world of humans. According to some Islamic teachings, there are two categories of the people of heaven: those who go directly to it and those who enter it after enduring some torment in hell; Also,

1067-460: Is also true that the sun, moon, and the stars are themselves distinct from each of the spheres that they move in. The basic structure of the Islamic cosmos was one constituted of seven stacked layers of both heaven and earth. Humans live on the uppermost layer of the earth, whereas the bottommost layer is hell and the residence of the devil. The bottommost layer of heaven, directly above the earth,

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1164-460: Is as from the afternoon prayer ( Asr prayer ) to the setting of the sun". Early Muslim Ibn Ishaq estimated the prophet Noah lived 1200 years after Adam was expelled from paradise, the prophet Abraham 2342 years after Adam, Moses 2907 years, Jesus 4832 years and Muhammad 5432 years. With the sole exception of Fakhr al-Din al-Razi in the 13th century, all notable philosophers that commented on astrology criticized it. However, astrology

1261-515: Is called the Kalam cosmological argument for the existence of God. The Ismaili thinker Nasir Khusraw (d. after 1070) believed that the six-day creation period concerned not the creation of the physical cosmos but instead the spiritual one. Each of six days, from the first day of the week (Sunday) until Friday were symbolized by an individual figure, from Adam (Sunday), Noah (Tuesday), Abraham (Wednesday), Moses (Thursday), and Muhammad (who completes

1358-478: Is described as a huge esplanade of musk". As "the veil of light before the Throne lifts, God appears with the radiance of the full moon, and His voice can be heard saying, 'Peace be upon you.'" Hadith include stories of the saved being served an enormous feast where "God Himself is present to offer to His faithful ones delicacies kneaded into a kind of pancake". In another series of narratives, God personally invites

1455-484: Is described with physical pleasures such as gardens, beautiful houris , wine that has no aftereffects, and "divine pleasure". Their reward of pleasure will vary according to the righteousness of the person. The characteristics of Jannah often have direct parallels with those of Jahannam . The pleasure and delights of Jannah described in the Qu'ran, are matched by the excruciating pain and horror of Jahannam . Jannah

1552-608: Is directly under the Throne and the place from which the four rivers of Paradise flow. Others say the uppermost portion is either the Garden of Eden or 'Iliyi and that is the second level from the top. Another possibility is that there are four separate realms of the blessed, of which either Firdaws or Eden is the uppermost. This is based on Surah 55, which talks about two Gardens: ("As for him who fears standing before his Lord there are two Gardens [Jannatan]") [S 55:46). All descriptions following this verse are of things in pairs, (i.e. in

1649-464: Is drawn a heaven of seven tiers (which is also "a structure familiar to Middle Eastern cosmogony since the early Babylonian days"). Another school of thought insists Jannah actually has "eight layers or realms" as the Quran gives "eight different names ... for the abode of the blessed". Some descriptions of Jannah/the Garden indicate that the most spacious and highest part of the Garden, Firdaws, which

1746-473: Is established as well by evidence that God Most High has power over all contingent beings ( al-mumkinat ). Therefore He the Most High has the power ( qadir ) to create a thousand thousand worlds ( alfa alfi 'awalim ) beyond this world such that each one of those worlds be bigger and more massive than this world as well as having the like of what this world has of the throne ( al-arsh ), the chair ( al-kursiyy ),

1843-809: Is paradise!" ( Q13:24 ). Inside there will be neither too much heat nor bitter cold; there will be fountains ( Q.88:10 ), abundant shade from spreading tree branches green with foliage (Q.53:14–16, also Q.36:56–57 ). They will be passed a cup ( Q.88:10–16 ) full of wine "wherefrom they will get [no] aching of the head” (hangovers) [Q.56:19], and "which leads to no idle talk or sinfulness" ( Q.52:23 ), and every meat ( Q.52:22 ) and trees from which an unceasing supply of fruits grow ( Q.36:56–57 ), "that looks similar ˹but tastes different˺"; ( Q.2:25 ) adornment with golden and pearl bracelets ( Q.35:33 ) and green garments of fine silk and brocade ( Q.18:31 ); attended upon by [ghulman] ( Q.52:24 ), servant-boys (eternal youths (56:17, 76:19)) like spotless pearls ( Q.52:24 ). While

1940-470: Is the cosmology of Islamic societies . Islamic cosmology is not a single unitary system, but is inclusive of a number of cosmological systems, including Quranic cosmology, the cosmology of the Hadith collections, as well as those of Islamic astronomy and astrology . Broadly, cosmological conceptions themselves can be divided into thought concerning the physical structure of the cosmos ( cosmography ) and

2037-614: 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 [thumma stawā 'ilā l-samā'i], while it was (still) smoke [wa-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 [qaḍā-hunna sabʿa samāwātin fī yawmayni], and inspired each heaven (with) its affair. This passage contains

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2134-429: Is the name of a spring that is the source of the rivers of Rahma (mercy) and Al-Kawthar (abundance). Sidrat al-Muntaha is a Lote tree that marks the end of the seventh heaven , the boundary where no angel or human can pass. Muhammad is supposed to have taken a pomegranate from jannah, and shared it with Ali , as recorded by Nasir al-Din al-Tusi . However, some scholars, like Ghazali , reject that Muhammad took

2231-432: Is the sky, whereas the uppermost one is Paradise . The physical distance between any two of these layers is equivalent to the distance that could be traversed with 500 years of travel. Other traditions describes the seven heavens as each having a notable prophet in residence that Muhammad visits during Miʿrāj : Moses ( Musa ) on the sixth heaven, Abraham ( Ibrahim ) on the seventh heaven, etc. Some scholars, among them

2328-411: Is where the messengers, prophets , Imams , and martyrs ( shahids ) dwell. Al-Suyuti and Kitāb aḥwāl al-qiyāma each gives names to the levels that do not always coincide (see table to right). Two verses of the Quran (Qu'ran 7:40, 39:73) mention "gates" or "doors" (using the plural form) as the entrance of paradise, but say nothing about their number, names or any other characteristics. As in

2425-702: The Aristotelian view of motion in the universe being only circular or linear was not true, as the Tusi-couple showed that linear motion could also be produced by applying circular motions only. Other achievements of the Maragha school include the observational evidences for the Earth's rotation on its axis by al-Tusi and Qushji (though this was rejected by their colleagues), the separation of natural philosophy from astronomy by Ibn al-Shatir and Qushji,

2522-530: The Indian planetary theories of Aryabhata , Brahmagupta and Varahamihira in his Ta'rikh al-Hind (Latinized as Indica ). Al-Biruni agreed with the Earth's rotation about its own axis, and while he was initially neutral regarding the heliocentric and geocentric models , he eventually came to reject heliocentrism towards the end of his life. He remarked that if the Earth rotates on its axis and moves around

2619-525: The Milky Way galaxy to be a myriad of individual stars among the fixed stars and therefore that the situation was too complex to infer the influences of such stars. Much of 9th century astronomy in the Islamic world revolved around the dissemination of the astronomical work of Ptolemy , primarily through his Almagest . Translations of it were produced, and summaries and commentaries of it were also written. In 850, al-Farghani wrote his own summary of

2716-682: The Ptolemaic model . They were more successful than their Andalusian predecessors in producing non-Ptolemaic configurations which eliminated the equant and eccentrics. The most important of the Maragha astronomers included Mo'ayyeduddin Urdi (d. 1266), Nasīr al-Dīn al-Tūsī (1201–1274), Najm al-Dīn al-Qazwīnī al-Kātibī (d. 1277), Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi (1236–1311), Sadr al-Sharia al-Bukhari (c. 1347), Ibn al-Shatir (1304–1375), Ali Qushji (c. 1474), al-Birjandi (d. 1525) and Shams al-Din al-Khafri (d. 1550). Some have described their achievements in

2813-428: The afterlife more detail on articles of faith: the belief in the oneness of God ( tawḥīd ), angels , revealed books , messengers , as well as repentance to God, and doing good deeds ( amal salih ). All these qualities are qualified by the doctrine that ultimately salvation can only be attained through God's judgment. The idea that jinn as well as humans could find salvation was widely accepted, based on

2910-589: The hay'a tradition. In his Epitome of Astronomy , he insisted that the heavenly bodies "were accountable to the laws of physics ." In 1038, Ibn al-Haytham described the first non-Ptolemaic configuration in The Model of the Motions . His reform was not concerned with cosmology , as he developed a systematic study of celestial kinematics that was completely geometric . This in turn led to innovative developments in infinitesimal geometry . His reformed model

3007-431: The universe had an infinite past with no beginning, medieval philosophers and theologians developed the concept of the universe having a finite past with a beginning. The Christian philosopher John Philoponus , presented the first such argument against the ancient Greek notion of an infinite past. His views were adopted and elaborated in many forms by medieval Jewish and Islamic thinkers, including Saadia Gaon among

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3104-470: The "blessed" (humans and jinn) guiding them, officiating marriages, conveying messages, praising them, etc. The devils cannot return to paradise, because Islamic scripture states that their father, the fallen angel Iblis, was banished, but never suggests that he or his offspring were forgiven or promised to return. The eschatological destiny of these creatures is summarized in the prophetic tradition: "One kind of beings will dwell in Paradise, and they are

3201-495: The 13th and 14th centuries as a "Maragha Revolution", "Maragha School Revolution", or " Scientific Revolution before the Renaissance ". An important aspect of this revolution included the realization that astronomy should aim to describe the behavior of physical bodies in mathematical language, and should not remain a mathematical hypothesis , which would only save the phenomena . The Maragha astronomers also realized that

3298-541: The Arabic dual form) – two fountains flowing, fruit of every kind in pairs, beside these two other gardens with two springs (Q.55:62,66). Still others have proposed that the seven levels suggested by the Qur'an are the seven heavens, above which is the Garden or final abode of felicity, while many see paradise as only one entity with many names. (According to one source – a member of the fatwa team at Islamweb.net – only God knows

3395-489: The Clear Quran) Smith and Haddad summarize some of the Quranic pleasures: Choirs of angels will sing in Arabic (the only language used in paradise), the streets will be as familiar as those of the dwellers' own countries, inhabitants will eat and drink 100 times more than earthly bodies could hold and will enjoy it 100 times more, their rooms will have thick carpets and brocade sofas, on Fridays they will go to

3492-666: The Milky Way galaxy to be "a myriad of tiny stars packed together in the sphere of the fixed stars". In the 10th century, the Persian astronomer Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi (known in the West as Azophi ) made the earliest recorded observation of the Andromeda Galaxy , describing it as a "small cloud". Al-Sufi also identified the Large Magellanic Cloud , which is visible from Yemen , though not from Isfahan ; it

3589-510: The Philosophers , defends the Ash'ari doctrine of a created universe that is temporally finite , against the Aristotelian doctrine of an eternal universe. In doing so, he proposed the modal theory of possible worlds , arguing that their actual world is the best of all possible worlds from among all the alternate timelines and world histories that God could have possibly created. Al-Razi in his Matalib al-'Aliya explores

3686-583: The Ptolemaic system by developing the Tusi-couple as an alternative to the physically problematic equant introduced by Ptolemy for every planet except Mercury. Ibn al-Shatir was able to extend this result to Mercury as well. Ibn al-Shatir (1304–1375) of Damascus , in A Final Inquiry Concerning the Rectification of Planetary Theory , based on a number of issues he recognized in Ptolemy's model of

3783-457: The Quran (Q.55:74) where the saved are promised maidens "untouched before by either men or jinn" – suggesting to classical scholars al-Suyūṭī and al-Majlisī that jinn also are provided their own kind of houri maidens in paradise. Like humans, their destiny in the hereafter depends on whether they accept God's guidance. Angels, on the other hand, because they are not subject to desire and so are not subject to temptation, work in paradise serving

3880-551: The Quran never mentions God being in the Garden, the faithful are promised the opportunity to gaze upon His face, something the inhabitants of the Fire will be deprived of. Inhabitants will rejoice in the company of any parents, spouses, and children who were admitted to paradise ( Q52:21 ) —conversing and recalling the past. One day in paradise is considered equal to a thousand years on earth. Palaces are made from bricks of gold, silver, pearls, among other things. Traditions also note

3977-528: 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 , where two opposites or contrasting terms are used to refer to

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4074-625: The Sun and the Moon, and the circumference of the Earth. The books were widely circulated through the Muslim world, and even translated into Latin . Under the caliph Al-Ma'mun , an astronomical program was instituted in Baghdad and Damascus with the stated intention  of verifying Ptolemy's observations by comparing the predictions made from his models with new observations. The findings were compiled into

4171-462: The Sun, it would remain consistent with his astronomical parameters: "Rotation of the earth would in no way invalidate astronomical calculations, for all the astronomical data are as explicable in terms of the one theory as of the other. The problem is thus difficult of solution." In 1984, Abdelhamid Sabra coined the term "Andalusian Revolt" to describe an event beginning among twelfth century astronomers in al-Andalus where mounting discomfort over

4268-583: The angels; one kind will dwell in Hell, and they are the demons; and another kind will dwell some in Paradise and some in Hell, and those are the jinn and the humans." Muslim scholars disagree about exact criteria for salvation of Muslim and non-Muslim. Although most agree that Muslims will be finally saved – shahids (martyrs) who die in battle, are expected to enter paradise immediately after death – non-Muslims are another matter. Muslim scholars arguing in favor of non-Muslims' being able to enter paradise cite

4365-407: The astronomers, Ibn al-Zarqālluh , Jābir b. al-Aflaḥ , and al-Biṭrūjī , and among the philosophers, Ibn Bājja (Avempace) , Ibn Ṭufayl (the teacher of al-Biṭrūjī), Averroes , and Maimonides . In the 12th century, Averroes rejected the eccentric deferents introduced by Ptolemy . He rejected the Ptolemaic model and instead argued for a strictly concentric model of the universe. He wrote

4462-467: The believing women of this world or a separate creation, with the majority opting for the latter. The Qur'an describes paradise as a "great kingdom" (Q.76:20) stretching out over and above the entire world, and "lofty" (Q.69:22). Paradise is "as vast as the heavens and the earth" (Q.3:133). There are four rivers: one each of water, milk, honey, and wine ( 47:15 ). (They were later identified as Kawthar , Kafur , Tasnim , and Salsabil .) Despite

4559-503: The case of the levels of Jannah, later sources elaborate, giving names and functions but don't agree on all details (see table to right). In traditions, each level of the eight principal gates of Paradise is described as generally being divided into a hundred degrees guarded by angels (in some traditions Ridwan ). The highest level is known as firdaws (sometimes called Eden) or Illiyin . Entrants will be greeted by angels with salutations of peace or As-Salamu Alaykum . Jannah

4656-399: The celestial sphere of the sun (Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the fixed stars, and the "Great Sphere" ( al-falak al-aʿẓam )), five within the sphere of the sun (Venus, Mercury, the moon, the "sublime sphere" ( al-kurrat al-laṭīfah ) of fire and earth, and the "gross sphere" ( al-kurrat al-kathīfah ) of water and earth), and finally the sun itself, which is also the center of the cosmos. For al-Razi, it

4753-672: The concept of hell . There are many Arabic words for both Heaven and Hell that also appear in the Qu'ran and in the Hadith . Most of them have become part of Islamic beliefs. Jannah is also used as the name of the Garden of Eden in which Adam and Hawa ( Eve ) dwelt. Scholars do not all agree on who will end up in Jannah, and the criteria for whether or not they will. Issues include whether all Muslims, even those who've committed major sins, will end up in Jannah; whether any non-Muslims will go there or all go to Jahannam. The Quran specifies

4850-515: The conflicts between theory and observation resulted in astronomers transitioning away from the unquestioned authority of Ptolemy to rejecting his theory in favor of radically different solutions. Nur ad-Din al-Bitruji (d. 1204) rejected the existence of eccentrics and epicycles. Instead, the motions of the planets would be explained by concentric spheres, as explained in his (only extant) work al-Murtaʿish fī ʾl-hayʾa ("The Revolutionary Book on Astronomy"). The major figures of this "revolt" were, among

4947-496: The critiques produced by Ibn al-Haytham and the new research programme he introduced. The "Maragha school" was an astronomical tradition beginning in the Maragheh observatory and continuing with astronomers from Damascus and Samarkand , with the most significance influence by Ibn al-Shatir . Like their Andalusian predecessors, the Maragha astronomers attempted to solve the equant problem and produce alternative configurations to

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5044-1146: The delights of paradise: 'And whoever is in awe of standing before their Lord will have two Gardens ... ˹Both will be˺ with lush branches. ... In each ˹Garden˺ will be two flowing springs. ... In each will be two types of every fruit. ... Those ˹believers˺ will recline on furnishings lined with rich brocade. And the fruit of both Gardens will hang within reach. ... In both ˹Gardens˺ will be maidens of modest gaze, who no human or jinn has ever touched before. ... Those ˹maidens˺ will be ˹as elegant˺ as rubies and coral. ... Is there any reward for goodness except goodness? ... And below these two ˹Gardens˺ will be two others. ... Both will be dark green. ... In each will be two gushing springs. ... In them are fruits, palm trees, and pomegranates. ... In all Gardens will be noble, pleasant mates ...˹They will be˺ maidens [houris] with gorgeous eyes, reserved in pavilions. .... No human or jinn has ever touched these ˹maidens˺ before. ... All ˹believers˺ will be reclining on green cushions and splendid carpets. Then which of your Lord's favours will you both deny? (Q.55:46–76, Mustafa Khattab,

5141-487: The descriptions of Paradise literal, later Sufi traditions usually stressed out the allegorical meaning. While some Quranic verses suggest hellfire is eternal and some that its punishment will not necessarily be forever for Muslims who committed grave sins, verses on Jannah are less ambiguous. Eternality assured in verses about paradise such as Qu'ran 3:198, 4:57, and 57:12, which say that the righteous will be khālidūn fīhā (eternally in it), and Qu'ran 35:35, which describes

5238-449: The details given in the Quran about Jannah/Garden, "nowhere" is there found "an ordered picture of the structure" of the abode. "For the most part Islamic theology has not concerned itself with questions about the location and structure of the Garden and the Fire on the understanding that only God knows these particulars." Many sources agree that paradise has "various degrees and levels". One conservative Salafi source, quotes as evidence

5335-509: The effect that the motion we see is due to the Earth's movement and not to that of the sky. By my life, it is a problem difficult of solution and refutation. [...] For it is the same whether you take it that the Earth is in motion or the sky. For, in both cases, it does not affect the Astronomical Science. It is just for the physicist to see if it is possible to refute it." In his Indica , al-Biruni briefly refers to his work on

5432-456: The eschatological material enormously particularly in areas on where "the Quran is relatively silent" about the nature of Jannah. Some of the more popular Sunni manuals of eschatology are Kitāb al-rūḥ of Ibn Qayyim al-Jawzīya and al-Durra al-fākhira ft kashf 'ulūm al-ākhira of Abǖ Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī. Inside Jannah, the Quran says the saved "will have whatever they wish for, forever"; (Q.25:16). Other verses give more specific descriptions of

5529-405: The exact number of the levels of Paradise, but reliable hadith say the number of levels of Jannah may be the same as the number of verses in the Quran, i.e. over 6000 verses.) One version of the layered Garden conceptualization describes the highest level of heaven ( al-firdaws ) as being said to be so close that its inhabitants could hear the sound of God's throne above. This exclusive location

5626-547: The existing properties of the spheres, but to suggest, whether correctly or not, a theory in which the motion of the stars and planets is uniform and circular, and in agreement with observation." Ibn Bajjah also proposed the Milky Way galaxy to be made up of many stars but that it appears to be a continuous image due to the effect of refraction in the Earth's atmosphere . Later in the 12th century, his successors Ibn Tufail and Nur Ed-Din Al Betrugi (Alpetragius) were

5723-423: The first movement from east to west to the Earth and a second movement from west to east to the fixed stars. Al-Biruni also wrote that al-Sijzi also believed the Earth was moving and invented an astrolabe called the "Zuraqi" based on this idea: "I have seen the astrolabe called Zuraqi invented by Abu Sa'id Sijzi. I liked it very much and praised him a great deal, as it is based on the idea entertained by some to

5820-473: The first to propose planetary models without any equant , epicycles or eccentrics . Their configurations, however, were not accepted due to the numerical predictions of the planetary positions in their models being less accurate than that of the Ptolemaic model, mainly because they followed Aristotle 's notion of perfectly uniform circular motion . The "Maragha Revolution" refers to the Maragheh school's revolution against Ptolemaic astronomy in response to

5917-451: The following criticism on the Ptolemaic model of planetary motion: "To assert the existence of an eccentric sphere or an epicyclic sphere is contrary to nature. [...] The astronomy of our time offers no truth, but only agrees with the calculations and not with what exists." Averroes' contemporary, Maimonides , wrote the following on the planetary model proposed by Ibn Bajjah (Avempace): "I have heard that Abu Bakr [Ibn Bajja] discovered

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6014-440: The former and figures like Al-Kindi and Al-Ghazali among the latter. The two arguments used against an actual infinite past include arguments against the possible existence of an actual infinite and arguments against the possibility of arriving to an infinite sum by successive addition. The second argument was especially popularized in the work of Immanuel Kant . Today, these lines of reasoning form an important component of what

6111-439: The fruit, argued he had only a vision instead. According to scholars Jane I. Smith, Yvonne Y. Haddad, while there are Muslims of a "philosophical or mystical" bent who interpret descriptions of heaven and hell "metaphorically", "the vast majority of believers", understand verses of the Quran on Jannah (and hellfire) "to be real and specific, anticipating them" with joy or terror, although this view "has generally not insisted that

6208-507: The hadith traditionalists, advocated the notion of a flat Earth and rejected notions of a round Earth once they had been introduced by the discovery of Hellenistic astronomy , especially the astronomical paradigm developed by Ptolemy and elaborated most extensively in his Almagest . Debate over the shape of the earth raged on in the medieval Islamic world, including among Kalam theologians. Al-Ghazali , in The Incoherence of

6305-409: The heavens ( al-samawat ) and the Earth ( al-ard ), and the Sun ( al-shams ) and the Moon ( al-qamar ). The arguments of the philosophers ( dala'il al-falasifah ) for establishing that the world is one are weak, flimsy arguments founded upon feeble premises. Al-Razi therefore rejected the Aristotelian and Avicennian notions of the impossibility of multiple universes and he spent a few pages rebutting

6402-472: The inhabitants "is greater" than the pleasure of the Gardens (Q.9:72), the true beauty of paradise, the greatest of all rewards, surpassing all other joys. On the day on which God brings the elect near to his throne ( ‘arsh ), "some faces shall be shining in contemplating their Lord". The visit is described as Muhammad leading the men and Fatimah leading the women to approach the Throne , "which

6499-523: The inhabitants of Jannah "to visit with Him every Friday". "Perhaps no aspect of Islamic eschatology has so captured the imagination" of both "Muslims and non-Muslims" as houri ( ḥūr ). Men will get untouched Houri in paradise ( Q55:56 ), virgin companions of equal age ( 56:35–38 ) and have large, beautiful eyes ( 37:48 ). Houri have occasioned "spectacular elaborations" by later Islamic eschatological writers, but also "some derision by insensitive Western observers and critics of Islam". The Quran also states

6596-527: The known world, and that God has the power to fill the vacuum with an infinite number of universes. ʿAjā'ib al-makhlūqāt wa gharā'ib al-mawjūdāt ( Arabic : عجائب المخلوقات و غرائب الموجودات , meaning Marvels of creatures and Strange things existing ) is an important work of cosmography by Zakariya ibn Muhammad ibn Mahmud Abu Yahya al-Qazwini who was born in Qazwin year 600 ( AH (1203 AD). In contrast to ancient Greek philosophers who believed that

6693-466: The latter is disputed. 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 [bi-lladhī khalaqa l-'arḍa fī yawmayni], and do you set up rivals to Him? That

6790-520: The literal term meaning paradise , which was borrowed from the Persian word Pardis ( Persian : پردیس ), which is also the source of the English word "paradise". Firdaus is used in Qu'ran 18:107 and 23:11 and also designates the highest level of heaven. In contrast to Jannah , the words Jahannam , an-Nār , jaheem , saqar , and other terms are used to refer to

6887-621: The main Aristotelian arguments in this respect. This followed from his affirmation of atomism , as advocated by the Ash'ari school of Islamic theology , which entails the existence of vacant space in which the atoms move, combine and separate. He discussed in greater detail the void , the empty space between stars and constellations in the Universe , in volume 5 of the Matalib . He argued that there exists an infinite outer space beyond

6984-530: The matter." Ibn al-Haytham ( Latinized as Alhazen) wrote a work in the hay'a tradition of Islamic astronomy known as Al-Shukūk ‛alà Baṭlamiyūs ( Doubts on Ptolemy ). He criticized Ptolemy 's astronomical system on theoretical grounds but also sought reconciliation with it. Ibn al-Haytham developed a physical structure of the Ptolemaic system in his Treatise on the configuration of the World , or Maqâlah fî hay'at al-‛âlam , which became an influential work in

7081-430: The nature of nebulous stars." The Andalusian astronomer Ibn Bajjah ("Avempace", d. 1138) proposed that the Milky Way was made up of many stars which almost touched one another and appeared to be a continuous image due to the effect of refraction from sublunary material, citing his observation of the conjunction of Jupiter and Mars on 500 AH (1106/1107 AD) as evidence. Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya (1292–1350) proposed

7178-558: The only known planetary theory in which this occurs is in the heliocentric theory. His work on planetary theory has not survived, but his astronomical data was later recorded by al-Hashimi , Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī and al-Sijzi . In the early eleventh century, al-Biruni had met several Indian scholars who believed in a rotating Earth. In his Indica , he discusses the theories on the Earth's rotation supported by Brahmagupta and other Indian astronomers , while in his Canon Masudicus , al-Biruni writes that Aryabhata 's followers assigned

7275-459: The origins of the cosmos ( cosmogony ). In Islamic cosmology, the fundamental duality is between Creator ( God ) and creation. In Quranic cosmography, the cosmos is primarily constituted of seven heavens and earth. Above them is the Throne of God , a solid structure. The Quran indicates a round Earth and says the physical land on the ground has been spread. The definition and understanding of such

7372-450: The people of hell are of two categories: those who stay there temporarily and those who stay there forever. Jannah is found frequently in the Qur'an (2:30, 78:12) and often translated as "Heaven" in the sense of an abode in which believers are rewarded in afterlife. Another word, سماء samāʾ (usually pl. samāwāt ) is also found frequently in the Quran and translated as " heaven " but in

7469-487: The possibility that a multiverse exists in his interpretation of the Qur'anic verse "All praise belongs to God, Lord of the Worlds." Al-Razi decides that God is capable of creating as many universes as he wishes, and that prior arguments for assuming the existence of a single universe are weak: It is established by evidence that there exists beyond the world a void without a terminal limit ( khala' la nihayata laha ), and it

7566-549: The practices of divination , especially in the form of astrology and alchemy. He recognized that the stars are much larger than the planets , and thus argued: "And if you astrologers answer that it is precisely because of this distance and smallness that their influences are negligible, then why is it that you claim a great influence for the smallest heavenly body, Mercury? Why is it that you have given an influence to al-Ra's and al-Dhanab, which are two imaginary points [ascending and descending nodes]?" Al-Jawziyya also recognized

7663-404: The presence of horses and camels of "dazzling whiteness", along with other creatures. Large trees whose shades are ever deepening, mountains made of musk , between which rivers flow in valleys of pearl and ruby . While the Quran is full of "graphic" descriptions of the "physical pleasures" for the inhabitants of the Garden, it also states that the "acceptance [ riḍwān ] from God" felt by

7760-469: The qualities for those allowed to inhabit Jannah (according to Smith and Haddad) as: "those who refrain from doing evil, keep their duty, have faith in God's revelations, do good works, are truthful, penitent, heedful, and contrite of heart, those who feed the needy and orphans and who are prisoners for God's sake." Another source ( Sebastian Günther and Todd Lawson) gives as the basic criterion for salvation in

7857-400: The realities of the next world will be identical with those of this world". Besides the material notion of the paradise, descriptions of it are also interpreted as allegories , whose meaning is the state of joy believers will experience in the afterlife. For some theologians, seeing God is not a question of sight, but of awareness of God's presence. Although early Sufis, such as Hallaj , took

7954-453: The refutation of heliocentrism, the Key of Astronomy , which is now lost: "The most prominent of both modern and ancient astronomers have deeply studied the question of the moving earth, and tried to refute it. We, too, have composed a book on the subject called Miftah 'ilm al-hai'ah ( Key of Astronomy ), in which we think we have surpassed our predecessors, if not in the words, at all events in

8051-518: The rejection of the Ptolemaic model on empirical rather than philosophical grounds by Ibn al-Shatir, and the development of mathematically identical models to the heliocentric Copernical model (though they remained geocentric). Mo'ayyeduddin Urdi (d. 1266) was the first of the Maragheh astronomers to develop a non-Ptolemaic model, and he proposed a new theorem, the "Urdi lemma". Nasīr al-Dīn al-Tūsī (1201–1274) resolved significant problems in

8148-437: The saved "will have pure spouses," (without indicating gender) ( Q2:25 , Q4:57 ), accompanied by any children that did not go to Jahannam ( Q52:21 ), and attended to by servant-boys with the spotless appearance similar to a protected pearls ( Q52:24 ). Despite the Quranic description above, Houris have been described as women who will accompany faithful Muslims in Paradise. Muslim scholars differ as to whether they refer to

8245-440: The sense of the sky above or the celestial sphere . (It is often used in the phrase as-samawat wal-ard ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ "the heavens and the earth", an example being Qu'ran 38:10.) The Qu'ran describes both samāʾ and jannah as being above this world. Jannah is also frequently translated as "paradise", but another term with a more direct connection to that term is also found, Firdaus (Arabic: فردوس ),

8342-410: The six days on Friday). The seventh and final day was for the allocation of rewards and retribution. Early Muslim scholars believed that the world was six to seven thousand years old, and that only a few hundred years were remaining until the end/apocalypse. One tradition attributes to Muhammad a statement directed to his companions : "Your appointed time compared with that of those who were before you

8439-508: The sun on the basis of observations (including his own), devised a new solar model. An area of active discussion in the Maragheh school, and later the Samarkand and Istanbul observatories, was the possibility of the Earth's rotation . Supporters of this theory included Nasīr al-Dīn al-Tūsī , Nizam al-Din al-Nisaburi (c. 1311), al-Sayyid al-Sharif al-Jurjani (1339–1413), Ali Qushji (d. 1474), and Abd al-Ali al-Birjandi (d. 1525). Al-Tusi

8536-457: The totality of something. In Arabic texts, the merism of "the heavens and the earth" is used to refer to the totality of creation. 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. The Quranic cosmos also includes seven heavens and potentially seven earths as well, although

8633-513: The truth of Islam but "truthful to their own religion", will not. Modernist scholars Muhammad Abduh and Rashid Rida rejected the notion that the People of the Book are excluded from Jannah, referring to another verse. Sources on Jannah include the Quran, Islamic traditions, creeds, Quranic commentaries ( tafsir ) and "other theological writing". "Third Islamic century traditionalists amplified

8730-520: The verse: "Indeed, the believers, Jews, Christians, and Sabians—whoever ˹truly˺ believes in Allah and the Last Day and does good will have their reward with their Lord. And there will be no fear for them, nor will they grieve." Those arguing against non-Muslim salvation regard this verse to have applied only until the arrival of Muhammad , after which it was abrogated by another verse: "Whoever seeks

8827-401: The work, titled Kitab fi Jawani Ilm al-Nujum (" A compendium of the science of stars "), a summary of Ptolemic cosmography . The primary purpose of the work was to help explicate Ptolemy's, but it also included some corrections based on the findings of earlier Arab astronomers. Al-Farghani gave revised values for the obliquity of the ecliptic , the precessional movement of the apogees of

8924-400: Was later referred to by the Persian philosopher Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi (865–925). In the late ninth century, Ja'far ibn Muhammad Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi (Albumasar) developed a planetary model which some have interpreted as a heliocentric model . This is due to his orbital revolutions of the planets being given as heliocentric revolutions rather than geocentric revolutions, and

9021-418: Was necessary for Divine justice, thus rejecting the idea of intercession ( Shafa'a ) by Muhammad on behalf of sinners. Unlike other schools it believed Jannah and Jahannam would be created only after Judgement Day. Like most Sunni, Shia Islam hold that all Muslims will eventually go to Jannah, and like the Ash'ari school, believe heedless and stubborn unbelievers will go to hell, while those ignorant of

9118-469: Was not seen by Europeans until Magellan 's voyage in the 16th century. These were the first galaxies other than the Milky Way to be observed from Earth. Al-Sufi published his findings in his Book of Fixed Stars in 964. The Hellenistic Greek astronomer Seleucus of Seleucia , who advocated a heliocentric model in the 2nd century BC, wrote a work that was later translated into Arabic. A fragment of his work has survived only in Arabic translation, which

9215-681: Was often confused and/or conflated with astronomy (and mathematics). For this reason, and to evade the criticisms being made of astrologers, the astronomers themselves (including al-Farabi , Ibn al-Haytham , Avicenna , Biruni and Averroes ) would try to carve out a separate identity from them by joining the fray in the attacks against astrology. Their reasons for refuting astrology were often due to both scientific (the methods used by astrologers being conjectural rather than empirical ) and religious (conflicts with orthodox Islamic scholars ) reasons. Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya (1292–1350) spent over two hundred pages of his Miftah Dar al-SaCadah refuting

9312-492: Was the first to present empirical observational evidence of the Earth's rotation, using the location of comets relevant to the Earth as evidence, which Qushji elaborated on with further empirical observations while rejecting Aristotelian natural philosophy altogether. Both of their arguments were similar to the arguments later used by Nicolaus Copernicus in 1543 to explain the Earth's rotation (see Astronomical physics and Earth's motion section below). Jannah Jannah

9409-445: Was the first to reject the equant and eccentrics , separate natural philosophy from astronomy, free celestial kinematics from cosmology, and reduce physical entities to geometrical entities. The model also propounded the Earth's rotation about its axis, and the centres of motion were geometrical points without any physical significance, like Johannes Kepler 's model centuries later. In 1030, Abū al-Rayhān al-Bīrūnī discussed

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