BİRİNCİ FEN · ÜÇÜNCÜ BÂB · ALTINCI FASIL · Birinci Madde
First Article
It describes the nature, benefits, and properties of the element of earth, its qualities and conditions, its valleys and mountains, its stability in place and its ability to draw in its parts.
Know, O esteemed one, that philosophers and astronomers unanimously state: The fourth element, and the very essence within all elements, is the element of earth, which is a simple and dense substance. Its essential characteristic is being cold and dry, thus opposite to the other elements. It is densely concentrated absolutely, and its natural place (hayyiz-i tabi‘ī) is beneath the other elements. Because it draws in and preserves its own parts (from among the other three elements), it settles and remains firm in its place.
The element of earth is a spherical body enclosed by a single surface; the center of that sphere is also the center of the universe, upon which the feet of humans and all other living beings are laid. The surface of the earth’s sphere is uneven with mountains and valleys, and it touches the lower surfaces of the spheres of water and air above it.
All other celestial bodies and elements move around the earth's sphere at the speed of the first sphere, compressing it from every direction and keeping it in place. Just as a stone placed inside a bottle rotates with the bottle swiftly and forcefully, remaining stationary in the center of the bottle, so too does the earth remain stationary in the midst of the spheres, always abiding in stability. Although some (the new astronomers) have said that this earth revolves around the sun, both on its own axis (hareket-i vaz’iye) and around the sun (hareket-i eyniyye), and that the other celestial bodies and stars remain fixed in their places eternally, only appearing to move due to the earth's rotation. Just as a person aboard a ship sees the coastline appear to move away from its place (at first glance), this matter will be explained in detail in the ninth section, under the title of New Astronomy. However, this weak opinion is contrary to the consensus view. For our purpose in explaining the conditions of the universe in this book is to know the Creator of the universe, and not to present a description of the universe itself. Therefore, whatever the condition or movement of the universe may be, all such conditions and movements are indications of the limitless power and majesty of “He who created the heavens and the earth as a creation apart” (Bakara, 2/117). What is required of us is to look at events with insight and attain perfection.
This element of earth, like its elemental brethren, is capable of entering various formations and undergoing transformations into different shapes. Indeed, even when it exists alone, it transforms into other elements; it undergoes metamorphosis. The reason coldness and dryness are together in the element of earth is due to its solidity and stickiness. This is why its exterior is a refuge and dwelling place for living beings, while its interior is a source of formation for minerals and plants.
It has been proven with various evidence that the world is spherical. It is known with certainty that there is no mountain on all the surface of the earth higher than two and a half farsakhs [And the height of mountains in relation to the circumference of the earth is not extraordinary]. For the height of the largest mountains, compared to the diameter of the earth’s surface, would be like comparing the width of a grain of barley to the length of a zira‘. In this case, the unevenness of the mountains does not prevent the earth's surface from being spherical. Just as rice grains are placed on the surface of a round apple [with half of them remaining outside the shell], these do not change the roundness of the apple, nor do the mountains that make the surface of the earth uneven affect its roundness. However, the earth is exceedingly large in relation to an apple or any other object, so it appears as a straight line (as far as the eye can see). It is for this reason that the mind of someone lacking a share in the science of wisdom cannot grasp what the eye sees and assumes that everywhere is like that. But such a statement is not true.
There exists within the earth’s sphere, at its center, an imaginary point which is the center of the universe and its ultimate depth. All heavy bodies tend towards it, rising as obstacles are overcome to reach it. Although the height from the earth to the sky is equal in all directions, the element of earth remains amidst the other elements due to the mutual attraction of the heavy bodies or because of the center’s own pull. Wherever a person stands on the surface of the earth, his head is always towards the sky and his feet are directed toward the center, and he sees half of the sky. For the center of his horizon lies beneath his feet. In this way, wherever he travels on the earth's surface, he always sees half of the sky. The other half is hidden from him in the direction he does not face. Therefore, a distance of twenty-two farsakhs—approximately one degree of the earth—corresponds to the appearance and disappearance of one degree of the sky to that person.
Because the degree of the earth is equal to one out of three hundred sixty parts of the circumference of the earth’s belt, so too are the degrees of the sky. This is why the degree of the earth is equal and commensurate with the degree of the sky opposite it.
You are requesting a translation of a classical Islamic/Sufi text, and specifically asking for faithfulness and preservation of meaning, with only the English translation returned. Here's that translation:
"It has been measured from the arc of the earthly sphere to the arc of the celestial sphere as long."
(And yet this is considered a measure, and through this method of comparison, the degrees of all regions have been determined; the belts of the heavens and the distances and proximities of the stars to the earth have been known.)