Is it permissible to understand the verse: "Have We not made the earth a receptacle?" as meaning rapid flight, especially since this meaning aligns with recently discovered scientific facts, or is confining it to the meaning of containment and gathering the correct interpretation?
The word "al-Kifāt" in the Arabic language refers to gathering and joining, as mentioned in the prophetic hadiths. In Surat al-Mursalāt, "Kifātā" was interpreted to mean that the earth gathers the living upon its surface and the dead within its interior. This meaning aligns with the context and structure of the verse, as the meaning of speed is not consistent with both the living and the dead. Scholars of exegesis and linguistics have unanimously agreed upon this meaning because the root of "al-Kaft" is gathering, and because the Qur'anic context indicates the blessing of concealment and the earth's preparation for life and death.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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