In the quran Mohd talks thus ""...And a route he followed, until when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it to set in a miry fount; and hard by he found a people...Then followed he a route until when he reached the rising of the sun he found it to rise on a people to whom we had given no shelter from it." (Sura 18:83-89). but is this not similar to Iliad, Book 7, 421-423; Iliad, Book 8, 484-486 and Iliad, Book 18, 239-242?
Sura 18:85-86 "One (such) way he [Zul-qarnain] followed, until, when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it set in a spring of murky water: near it he found a people: We [Allah] said: %u2018O Zul-qarnain! (Thou hast authority,) either to punish them, or to treat them with kindness." "Murky" has also been translated as "muddy" and "black". "spring of %u2026 water" has also been translated as "spring". M.H. Skahir translates this as "black sea".
Conclusion: The Qur%u2019an teaches the following:
The earth is flat, spread out like a carpet and pegged flat by mountains
The sun has a defined path through the day, then sets in a muddy/murky spring and goes to Allah%u2019s throne.
The sun then rises at a specific spot
Except for five "retrograde stars" (planets), the stars are hung like lamps.
Mohammed taught early Muslims this as a literal truth, not just a metaphor or simile.
