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Author: Dr Sayyed Imran Husnain The Sun and the Moon According to the Qur’an
Preamble
Dear reader, salaam alaikum. This is the first piece I have written for the Ali Walay website. This is my small contribution to the community, and I hope that through this effort you will have a clear understanding of Islam in the light of modern scientific discoveries and theories. I hope that you find it both informative and thought-provoking. I have tried to communicate each idea in a simple way, so that all Brothers and Sisters can benefit. I have provided references where I have cited original sources. I have also included a reading list at the end of this article, for those of you who wish to study the topic further. I would appreciate any comments, and you can provide these by filling in the Feedback Form. I would especially welcome suggestions for improving future articles. I will be making use of hyperlinks in this article. My Background I have been interested in Science for a number of years. This is reflected in my education. I chose to do Physics, Chemistry and Biology A levels. I then went on to complete a BSc in Biochemistry and also a PhD in Genetics. Over a period of time, I have become aware of the verses of Qur’an and the teachings of Ahlul Bayt dealing with aspects of Science. I would like to share some of these with you. Islamic Viewpoint Regarding Science Today, logic and reasoning is the basis of all scientific theories and discoveries. This requires evidence in the form of experimental results or observations. Mathematics is also used to develop new theories, because it is based on logic. In Qur’an, Allah subhanahu watala states: “And He has made subservient for you the night and the day and the sun and the moon, and the stars are made subservient by His commandment; most surely there are signs in this for a people who ponder.” [Qur’an, Surah Nahl (16), verse 12]. This verse is talking about the cycles of the sun and the moon, which follow the command of God for the benefit of mankind. It says that there are signs in this for people who ‘ponder’, which means those who think and try to understand. There are a number of such verses in the Qur’an, where the people who use their minds to think and understand are mentioned. Clearly, the Qur’an gives importance to thinking in this way. The Qur’an also uses rational arguments as proofs for certain points. For example: “Certainly they disbelieve who say: Allah is the Messiah, son of Mary. Say: Who then could control anything as against Allah when He wished to destroy the Messiah son of Mary and his mother and all those on the earth? And Allah's is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth and what is between them; He creates what He pleases; and Allah has power over all things.” [Qur’an, Surah Maida (5), verse 17]. This verse uses reasoning and logic to support the point that Hazrat Isa (as) was not God. Also note the following verse, which uses a logical argument as proof of a point: “Do they not consider the Qur’an? Had it been from any other than God, they would surely have found therein much discrepancy (meaning many mistakes).” [Qur’an Surah Nisa (4), verse 82]. The famous scientist, Jabir bin Hayyan, was a student of Imam Jaffer as Sadique alayhis salam. Like many Muslim scientists, he was inspired by the teachings of Islam in this area. He shaped the science of Chemistry. The many Muslim scientists, philosophers, mathematicians and physicians always used reasoning and logic in their work. This came to them naturally, as it was a part of their beliefs. Early and Modern Ideas about the Sun and the Moon The sun has been thought of as a God by a number of civilisations. These include the ancient Egyptians, Japanese, Persian and African peoples [Read more]. The Qur’an mentions that Bilqis, the queen of Sheba, used to worship the sun. In the verse below, Prophet Suleiman (as) is being told of the queen by one of his servants (the hoopoe). “I found her and her people adoring the sun instead of Allah, and the Shaitan has made their deeds fair-seeming to them and thus turned them from the way, so they do not go aright.” [Qur’an Surah Naml (27), verse 24]. In times gone by, people believed that the earth is the centre of the universe, and that the sun and moon move around the earth. This is called the geocentric model. In ancient Greece, people such as Aristotle and Ptolemy believed that the sun, moon and stars orbit the earth. In 1543, a European astronomer called Copernicus put forward the heliocentric model, which says that the planets in the solar system move around the sun. This was a long time after the Qur’an was revealed. Also, Copernicus learned much from knowledge passed down from Muslim astronomers. It influenced his thinking in astronomy. In 1609, Galileo made the first telescope and proved that the heliocentric model was correct. Now we know that the Earth moves round the sun, and that the moon moves round the earth. Also, the sun spins round at a fixed position like a spinning wheel, and the moon and earth also do this. The spinning of the earth causes ‘sunrise’ and ‘sunset’, since each country moves towards the sun in the day, and away from the sun at night. When a country faces the sun, it is daytime. When it faces away, it is night time. Movement of the moon around the earth leads to the different phases of the moon. Two phases which are well known in Islam are the crescent and new moon. We also know that light is produced by the sun. The moon reflects this light to the earth, so it glows in the night time. The moon does not make its own light. Movement of Earth, Sun and Moon.
Daytime and Night Time
The Sun and the Moon in the Qur’an (a) General observations The sun and the moon are mentioned a number of times in the Qur’an. Some of these Qur’anic verses have been listed below. “Then when he saw the sun rising, he said: Is this my Lord? Is this the greatest? So when it set, he said: O my people! surely I am clear of what you set up (with Allah).” [Qur’an Surah An’am (6), verse 78]. “He causes the dawn to break; and He has made the night for rest, and the sun and the moon for reckoning; this is an arrangement of the Mighty, the Knowing.” [Qur’an Surah An’am (6), verse 96]. The first verse mentions that the Sun cannot be God, since it appears and then disappears. This is a clear and logical argument. The second verse clarifies that the Sun has been made by God for a purpose. “Allah is He Who raised the heavens without any pillars that you see, and He is firm in power and He made the sun and the moon subservient (to you); each one pursues its course to an appointed time; He regulates the affair, making clear the signs that you may be certain of meeting your Lord.” [Qur’an Surah Rad (13), verse 2] “And the sun runs on to a term appointed for it; that is the ordinance of the Mighty, the Knowing.” [Qur’an Surah Yasin (36), verse 38]. This verse mentions that the sun and the moon have a regular movement that occurs according to fixed times. Although all the above verses do not go against modern scientific knowledge, it could be said that these points can be made by anyone just by what they see. For example, people have known that the sun runs according to a fixed plan for a long time, and this is why the sundial (an instrument that measures time by using the shadow seen in sunlight) was made. (b) Special verses The sun and moon - motion “Neither is it allowable to the sun that it should overtake the moon, nor can the night outstrip the day; and all float on in a sphere with their own motion.” [Qur’an Surah Yasin (36), verse 40] This verse makes it clear that the sun and the moon do not go away from their set motions. In particular, it mentions that both the sun and the moon ‘float’ in a sphere. The word for sphere in Arabic is falak. The originial meaning of this word is something spherical. That is, both the sun and the moon move in a circular motion. This means that they both have an orbit. Also, the word yasbahun is applied to any movement which is propelled by the object. So, this word can be used for any such movement, like a person who is walking or running. The moon and the sun both spin like a spinning wheel, as well as moving in an orbit, and the spinning is propelled by them which allows them to move in an orbit. So, the above verse is in good agreement with scientific facts. We know from what I have mentioned before, that the moon moves around the earth, so it ‘floats’ in a sphere. But, the sun is fixed, and doesn’t move around any of the planets. So what does the above verse mean? Does it go against what is happening to the sun in reality? In the late 20th century, scientists discovered that the sun moves around a central point in our galaxy (the Milky Way). This movement takes roughly 220 million years for the sun to make one full circlar orbit [read more]. The earth and other planets are fixed around the sun, so they move together with the sun. Verse 40 of Surah Yasin is in agreement with this. “I swear by the sun and its brilliance, And the moon when it follows the sun, And the day when it shows it, And the night when it draws a veil over it.” [Qur’an Surah Shams (91), verses 1-4]. The important points to mention about the above verses from Surah Shams is that the moon ‘follows the sun’. But we know that the moon orbits the earth and the sun does not. Also, the moon takes a month to move around the earth, and sometimes it can be seen both in the daytime and the night time. So the moon can’t follow the sun it its appearance in the sky. I mentioned earlier, that the sun moves around our galaxy. Because all the planets and moons near the sun move with it, it makes sense to say that the moon follows the sun. I believe that this is the correct explanation of this verse. The second important point is that the sun does not disappear (or sink) as it seems to do when we see a sunset, but it is ‘covered up’ by the earth when it rotates us away from the sun. Since the light cannot move through the earth, it doesn’t reach us. Verses 3 and 4 of Surah Shams are in agreement with this. In fact, the Qur’an never mentions that the sun moves around the earth at all, but that it is covered up by something else. The sun and moon giving light “and has set up within them the moon as a light [reflected] and set up the sun as a [radiant] lamp?” [Qur’an Surah Nuh (71), verse 16]. “HALLOWED is He who has set up in the skies great constellations, and has placed among them a [radiant] lamp and a light-giving moon.” [Qur’an Surah Furqan (25), verse 61]. In verse 61 of Furqan and verse 16 of Surah Nuh, it mentions that God has placed a radiant lamp (i.e., the sun), and a light giving moon in the skies. The Qur’an makes a distinction between the light of the sun (siraj) and the light of the moon (noor). The sun is ‘radiant’, which means that it gives out light. The moon also has a light (noor – the definition of noor is light which shows itself and makes other things visible). The light from the moon shows us the moon, and allows us to see in this light. These verses do not go against the scientific fact that the moon reflects the sun’s light but doesn’t produce light. In fact, the verses confirm these facts. “God is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The parable of His light is, as it were, that of a niche containing a lamp; the lamp is in glass, the glass like a radiant star: [a lamp] lit from a blessed tree - an olive-tree that is neither of the east nor of the west the oil whereof [is so bright that it] would well-nigh give light [of itself] even though fire had not touched it: light upon light! God guides unto His light him that wills [to be guided]; and [to this end] God propounds parables unto men, since God [alone] has full knowledge of all things. [Qur’an Surah Noor (24), verse 35]. The verse from Surah Noor compares the light (noor) of God to the light from a lamp. The lamp is enclosed in a glass, which is like a radiant star. It is worth noting here that if we consider that the lamp is like the sun (this is clear from other verses of the Qur’an mentioned earlier), and that the moon is like a glass, then this verse would make sense. The lamp is in glass and this looks like a star. This is because the sun is the lamp, and the ‘lamp in the glass’ is a reflection of light by the moon which shows up the moon in the sky. The moon looks like a star, but it is not a star at all. Remember that noor is a light in which other things become clear and can be seen. Note that the above verse refers to the light of the Ahlul Bayt as a reflection of the light of God [read more- scroll down to ‘light of the prophet’ article]. A Trap Some of the verses in Qur’an are not translated accurately. Sometimes, these translations are the opinion of the translator, and this is based on his own interpretation of Qur’an. Sometimes, the translation is unclear, but people who want to say something against the Qur’an will interpret it in the way they want. An example of a translation that is unclear is given below: “Until, when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it set in a spring of murky water: Near it he found a People: We said: "O Zul-qarnain! (thou hast authority,) either to punish them, or to treat them with kindness." [Qur’an, Surah Kahf (18), verse 86]. The verse in Arabic reads: Hatta itha balagha maghriba ashamsi wajadahaa taghrubu fi ainin hama-athin wa wajada indaha qowma. Qulnaa yada alqurnaini imaa an tu’aziba wa imaa an tattakhiza feehim husna. The above translation is one possible translation of the verse. It seems to say that the sun went into a spring of water. The word wajada mentioned here means found, although some translators of Qur’an have taken it to mean ‘it appeared to be’ setting in the water. However, sunrise and sunset in the Qur’an is taken as a marker of time for ‘reckoning’, as mentioned earlier for Surah Anam verse 96, and Surah Rad verse 2. If we consider this, the words ‘he found it set in a spring of murky water’ would mean that the sun set when Zul-qarnain reached the spring. Also, as I mentioned earlier, since in Surah Shams it is stated that the night covers up the day, this would make the idea that the sun sinks into water silly. Recommended reading
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