According to Muhammad and the Quran, the following beliefs were held:

1. There exists an ocean of sweet water above the seven heavens.
2. Rainwater falls directly from this sweet water ocean onto the Earth.
3. This same ocean is the one upon which the Throne of Allah rests.
4. There are mountains of snow in the heavens from which Allah sends down hail.

This description perfectly fits a Flat Earth model, where the seven heavens are imagined as layered canopies above a flat disk of Earth. This model was not original to Muhammad; it was heavily influenced by the Bible, which itself drew from earlier Sumerian, Akkadian, and other ancient Near Eastern cosmologies.

Table of Contents

1. Sweet Rainwater Comes Directly from the Sweet Water Ocean in the Heavens
2. The Barrier Between the Salty Ocean of Earth and the Sweet Ocean of the Heavens
3. The Cloud Model in Muhammad’s Mind
4. The Concept of Thunder and Lightning in Muhammad’s Mind
5. The Model of Hail in Muhammad’s Mind
6. The Source of the Sweet Water of the Nile and Euphrates in Muhammad’s Mind
7. The Extremely Hot Western and Eastern Ends of the Flat Earth in Muhammad’s Mind
8. The Implication
9. Response to Common Apologist Excuses
10. The Verdict for the Reader

Sweet Rainwater Comes Directly from the Sweet Water Ocean in the Heavens

The Quran and Hadith clearly describe rainwater originating from a sweet water ocean located above the seven heavens. Muhammad claimed that there are two oceans — one salty and one sweet — that do not mix.

Quran 25:53: “And it is He who has released the two seas, one sweet and fresh and one salty and bitter, and He placed between them a barrier and prohibiting partition.”

But there is no sweet water ocean on Earth. The only way this verse makes sense is within the ancient cosmological model of a sweet water ocean above the heavens.

This model is further confirmed when we look at where Allah’s Throne is placed.

Quran 11:7: “And He it is Who created the heavens and the earth in six Days — and His Throne was upon the water.”

This is almost identical to the Biblical description in Genesis 1, where God’s Spirit moves upon the face of the waters and a firmament separates the waters above from the waters below.

Muhammad also stated that rain comes directly from this heavenly ocean.

Quran 23:18: “And We send down from the sky water in measured amount, and We settle it in the earth. And indeed, We are Able to take it away.”

Classical scholars like Suddi, Qatadah, and Ka’b al-Ahbar explicitly stated that rainwater descends from the seventh heaven, where Allah’s Throne is located.

Sahih Muslim 898: The Prophet (ﷺ) said about rainwater: “It has just come from the Exalted Lord.”

The Barrier Between the Salty Ocean of Earth and the Sweet Ocean of the Heavens

Quran 25:53 again makes sense only if there is a literal sweet water ocean above the heavens. Ibn Abbas and other companions understood it this way.

Ibn Kathir and others recorded traditions stating that the “Behr al-Masjoor” (the ocean under the Throne) is the source of rainwater.

The Cloud Model in Muhammad’s Mind

Muhammad did not describe the modern water cycle. According to him:

• Rain originates from the sweet water ocean in the seventh heaven.
• Winds carry clouds from where the edges of the seven heavens meet.
• Clouds absorb water in the lowest heaven.
• Allah then breaks the clouds into pieces and sends rain wherever He wills.

Quran 30:48: “Allah is the One Who sends the winds, so they raise clouds, then He spreads them in the sky as He wills, and He makes them fragments so you see the rain coming forth from their midst.”

Classical commentators like Suddi and Qatadah explained that clouds are first gathered at the meeting point of the heavens and then scattered after absorbing water from the lowest sky.

This model is scientifically incorrect. Clouds begin as tiny fragments and merge into larger formations, not the other way around.

The Concept of Thunder and Lightning in Muhammad’s Mind

Muhammad taught that thunder is the voice of an angel named Ra’d who drives the clouds with an iron whip, producing lightning.

Quran 13:13: “And the thunder declares His glory with His praise, and the angels too for awe of Him; and He sends the thunderbolts and smites with them whom He wills…”

This is similar to Biblical descriptions where God uses thunder and lightning as weapons.

The Model of Hail in Muhammad’s Mind

Muhammad believed there were mountains of snow in the heavens from which hail falls.

Quran 24:43: “And He sends down from the sky, from mountains within it, hail…”

Ibn Kathir and Qurtubi explained this as literal mountains of hail existing in the sky.

The Source of the Sweet Water of the Nile and Euphrates in Muhammad’s Mind

Sahih Bukhari 3207: The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “… four rivers originated at its root (of Sidratul Muntaha in the seventh heaven), two of them were apparent and two were hidden. … the apparent ones are the Nile and the Euphrates.”

Sahih Muslim 2839: “Sayhan, Jaihan, Euphrates and Nile are all among the rivers of Paradise.”

This belief is scientifically false and creates serious problems for any spherical Earth model.

The Concept of the Western and Eastern Ends of the Flat Earth Being Extremely Hot

Quran 18:86 (Dhul-Qarnayn reaches the setting place of the sun): “He found it setting in a spring of hot water (or muddy spring).”

Ibn Kathir explains the water is hot because it is near the place where the sun sets on the flat Earth.

Quran 18:90 (reaches the rising place of the sun): “He found it rising on a people for whom We had provided no shelter against it.”

Classical commentators explain that people at the eastern edge lived in tunnels because the sun rises too close and scorches them.

This only makes sense on a flat Earth where the sun moves close to the edges.

The Implication

These are not minor metaphors. They are detailed, physical descriptions of a Flat Earth cosmology with a solid sky holding back a celestial ocean, angels controlling weather, and rivers flowing from paradise in the seventh heaven.

Response to Common Apologist Excuses

• “It’s metaphorical” → Classical scholars never interpreted it this way until modern science disproved the literal meaning.
• “The Quran is not a science book” → Then why does it repeatedly make specific, falsifiable scientific claims that match 7th-century Arabian cosmology and contradict modern science?

The Verdict for the Reader

The Quran and Hadith present a consistent ancient Near Eastern Flat Earth cosmology. This is exactly what we would expect from a 7th-century Arab man, not from the Creator of the universe who designed the water cycle, lightning, and a spherical Earth.

The evidence is overwhelming. The question is not whether Muhammad believed these things — the texts prove he did. The question is whether these errors are compatible with the claim that the Quran is perfect divine revelation from an All-Knowing God.