Sinner said:
The Quran also suggest a flat earth -
Ta-ha, Sura 20:53, "He Who has, made for you the earth like a carpet spread out; has enabled you to go about therein by roads (and channels); and has sent down water from the sky. With it have We produced diverse pairs of plants each separate from the others."
Noah, Sura 71:19, "'And Allah has made the earth for you as a carpet (spread out)."
Al-hijr, Stoneland, Rock City, Sura 15:19, "And the earth We have spread out (like a carpet); set thereon mountains firm and immovable; and produced therein all kinds of things in due balance."
Where is the word flat in the ayats (verses)?
What does spread mean?
The word spread means (accordin' to the American Heritage Dictionary)
VERB: Inflected forms: spread, spread·ing, spreads
TRANSITIVE VERB: 1.
To open to a fuller extent or width; stretch: spread out the tablecloth; a bird spreading its wings. 2. To make wider the gap between; move farther apart: spread her fingers. 3a. To distribute over a surface in a layer: spread varnish on the steps. b. To cover with a layer: spread a cracker with butter. 4a. To distribute widely: The tornado spread destruction. b.
To make a wide or extensive arrangement of: We spread the bicycle parts out on the floor. c. To exhibit or display the full extent of: the scene that was spread before us. 5. To cause to become widely seen or known; scatter or disseminate: spread the news; spread the beam of the flashlight. 6a. To prepare (a table) for eating; set. b. To arrange (food or a meal) on a table. 7. To flatten (a rivet end, for example) by pounding.
INTRANSITIVE VERB: 1. To be extended or enlarged. 2. To become distributed or widely dispersed. 3. To increase in range of occurrence; become known or prevalent over a wide area: The word spread fast. 4. To be exhibited, displayed, or visible in broad or full extent: the vista spread seemingly to infinity. 5. To become or admit of being distributed in a layer. 6. To become separated; be forced farther apart.
NOUN: 1a. The act of spreading. b. Dissemination, as of news; diffusion. 2a. An open area of land; an expanse. b. A ranch, a farm, or an estate. 3. The extent or limit to which something is or can be spread; range. 4. A cloth covering for a bed, table, or other piece of furniture. 5. Informal An abundant meal laid out on a table. 6. A food to be spread on bread or crackers. 7a. Two facing pages of a magazine or newspaper, often with related matter extending across the fold. b. A story or advertisement running across two or more columns of a magazine or newspaper. 8. A difference, as between two figures or totals. 9a. A position taken in two or more options or futures contracts in order to profit from a change in their relative prices. b. The difference between the price asked and bid for a particular security. 10. A number of points offered to equalize the chances of winning in a wager on a competition, usually between sports teams. Also called point spread. 11. Wingspread.
IDIOM: spread (oneself) thin To work on too many projects: overextend oneself.
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English spreden, from Old English -sprdan (as in tsprdan, to spread out). See sper- in Appendix I.
OTHER FORMS: spreada·bili·ty —NOUN
spreada·ble —ADJECTIVE
spreada·bly —ADVERB
http://www.bartleby.com/61/93/S0669300.html
Spreading out doesn't connote to a "flat surface" but it reflects the vastness of the object (in this case, the earth) and not the flatness.
Let's put this in a logical perspective, the verses that the Almighty reveleaved states that He spread the surface like a carpet in order to protect his Servants. The earth beneath our feet (30 miles) is fiery and hot and without the "carpet surface", we wouldn't survive. Ergo why the verse:
And the earth We spread out, and placed therein firm mountains, and caused to grow therein all kinds of things in due proportion, is explained by the next verse:
And We have provided therein means of living, for you and for those whom you provide not (moving (living) creatures, cattle, beasts, and other animals) (15:20)
Peace
, Peace!
