In the Qurʾān the earth is said to be stretched out like a carpet or bed ([Sūrah ii. 20]; [xiii. 3]; [lxxviii. 6]), which expression the ancient commentators understood to imply that the earth was a vast plane, but circular; and ([Sūrah xxxix. 67]) to be but a handful in the sight of God, which in the last day shall be changed into another earth ([Sūrah xiv. 49]).
The earth is believed by Muḥammadan writers to be surrounded by a great sea called al-Baḥru ʾl-Muḥīt̤, or the circumambient ocean, which is bounded by the mountains of Qāf. The extent of the earth is said to be equal to a journey of five hundred years; two hundred years’ journey being allotted to the sea, two hundred to the uninhabited desert, eighty to the country of Gog and Magog (Yājūj wa Mājūj) and the rest to the civilised world. Certain terræ incognitæ in the midst of the mountains of Qāf are said to be inhabited by the jinn, or genii. According to some, Makkah (or Jerusalem according to others) is situated in the centre of the earth. On the Muḥīt̤ is the ʿArshu ʾl-Iblīs, or “Throne of Satan.” The western portion of the Muḥīt̤ is often called the Baḥru ʾz̤-Z̤ulmāt, or “Sea of Darkness,” and in the south-west corner of the earth is the Fountain of Life of which al-K͟hiẓr drank, and in virtue of which he still lives, and will live till the Day of Judgment. The mountains of Qāf which bound the great sea Muḥīt̤, form a circular barrier round the whole earth, and are said to be of green chrysolite, the colour of which the Prophet said imparts a greenish tint to the sky. The general opinion is that the mountains of Qāf bound our earth, but some say there are countries beyond, each country being a thousand years’ journey.
The seven earths, which are five hundred years’ journey from each other, are situated one beneath the other, and each of these seven regions has its special occupants. The occupants of the first are men, genii, and animals; the second is occupied by the suffocating wind which destroyed the infidel tribe of ʿĀd ([Sūrah lxix. 6]); the third is filled with the stones of hell, mentioned in the Qurʾān ([Sūrah ii. 22]; [lxvi. 6]) as “the fuel of which is men and stones”; the fourth by the sulphur of hell; the fifth by the serpents of hell; the sixth by the scorpions of hell, which are in size and colour like black mules, and have tails like spears; and the seventh by the devil and his angels. Our earth is said to be supported on the shoulders of an angel, who stands upon a rock of ruby, which rock is supported on a huge bull with four thousand eyes, and the same number of ears, noses, mouths, tongues, and feet; between every one of each is a distance of five hundred years’ journey. The name of this bull is Kujūta, who is supported by an enormous fish, the name of which is Bahamūt.
The above is but a brief outline of the Muḥammadan belief as regards the earth’s formation; but the statements of Muḥammadan commentators are so wild on the subject, that it seems quite useless to quote them as authorities, for they contradict each other in endless variety.
EARTHQUAKE, The. Arabic az-Zalzalah (الزلزلة). The title of the XCIXth Sūrah of the Qurʾān, in which it is stated that an earthquake will take place at the commencement of the signs of the last day:—
“When the Earth with her quaking shall quake
“And the Earth shall cast forth her burdens,
“And man shall say, What aileth her?
“On that day shall she tell out her tidings,
“Because thy Lord shall have inspired her.