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The context is about the sacred direction of Muslims or the qibla by David A. King:

Frequently over the years other folk have introduced the factor that the Earth is not a sphere into the qibla discussion, which is not helpful.

The Cambridge dictionary defines the meanings of the term 'sphere' as:

1- an object shaped like a round ball.

and

a subject or area of knowledge, work, etc.

So the problem I have is that I can't quite figure out the exact meaning of the term based on the sentence. Does it mean that earth is not considered as a sphere-like shape in the qibla discussion, or, the earth is not considered as one of the subjects included in the qibla discussion? Or maybe even something else?

I know that my question might have a simple answer, but I'm really stuck on this and as a translator (English to another language) I have to know the exact meaning, so I would really appreciate your help.

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  • Can you give a link to the full source of the David King text. Interpretation needs a lot more context. But since it says 'the Earth is not a sphere' it is very unlikely that it is the metaphorical 2nd Cambridge definition. It's more likely intended something like 'the Earth is not a perfect sphere' (it bulges a little and this might effect true directions towards Mecca). But without context it is very hard to judge.
    – Mitch
    Commented Aug 8, 2019 at 14:23
  • I would say that as a general rule, "sphere" would refer to shape when it is used to refer to an object (in this case, the Earth itself).
    – John Go-Soco
    Commented Aug 8, 2019 at 15:07
  • Sources here and here suggest that the reference is to geometry and the direction of Mecca (or other places).
    – Weather Vane
    Commented Aug 8, 2019 at 15:10
  • 4
    I learned as a child that the Earth is an "oblate spheroid".
    – Michael Harvey
    Commented Aug 8, 2019 at 15:32
  • 2
    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it is about the meaning of the original Arabic, rather than the English, word or expression.
    – David
    Commented Aug 8, 2019 at 15:59

2 Answers 2

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Dictionaries give meanings in lists of usage and current popularity. The use in describing the earth is that of a sphere or ball as an object not a subject area.

The other meaning is distinct that of a subject area and can be described with any number of words such as region, area, domain etc. These describe areas or volumes such as contained by a sphere or hollow ball. It is used to theoretically encompass or contain or hold all the many far flung ideas and details that could be part of any given subject.

Of the non-sphericity of the earth I believe such statements are more bragging and a credit to the ability to precisely measure the slight variation of the earth's surface. You should have more inaccuracy due to your compass readings than the variance of the earth's roundness. Spherical trig is always a tough subject.

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He is talking about the shape. The use pertaining to an area of knowledge is slightly metaphorical and usually it's made obvious if the speaker is using it to mean that, e.g. he would have said "...the Earth is outside the sphere of the qibla discussion" or something.

Another example, "field" is also sometimes used to mean an area of knowledge but if a farmer said "The cows are in my field.", it'd be fairly obvious he's talking about a grassy area of land rather than his expertise in cattle...

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