Question: According to Islamic beliefs, how old is the Earth?
This frequently-asked question appeared in the Islam Forum: How old is the Earth? Do we accept the old Jewish writings on the subject?
Answer: Islam does not have a set position on the actual age of the Earth, leaving such knowledge to God alone. The Qur'an does describe the creation of the universe in "six days," but then in other passages indicates that a "day" to us is different than a "day" in God's reckoning of time. (How is a "day" counted anyway, before the sun and earth even existed as they do now?) Basically there is a description of different "phases" that creation went through. Nobody knows the precise period of time and I personally don't find anything wrong with scientific theories about it.
