Qur’an says that Allah has made the earth for you as a carpet. This gives an indication that the earth is flat. Does this not contradict established modern science?

Question
Qur’an says that Allah has made the earth for you as a carpet. This gives an indication that the earth is flat. Does this not contradict established modern science?

Answer
The question refers to a verse from the Qur’an in Surah Nuh:
“And Allah has made the earth for you as a carpet (spread out).” [Nooh 71:19]
But the sentence in the above verse is not complete. It continues in the next verse, explaining the previous verse. It says: “That ye may go about therein, in spacious roads.” [Nooh 71:20]

A similar message is repeated in Surah TaHa:
“He Who has made for you the earth like a carpet spread out; has enabled you to go about therein by roads (and channels)….” [At-Taha 20:53]

The surface of the earth i.e. earth’s crust is less than 30 miles in thickness and is very thin as compared to the radius of the earth which is about 3750 miles. The deeper layers of the earth are very hot, fluid and hostile to any form of life. The earth’s crust is a solidified shell on which we can live. The Qur’an rightly refers to it like a carpet spread out, so that we can travel along its roads and paths.