Knowledge-Updates

Allah is the Best of Planner !!!

2012-01-12T12:04:00.000+07:00

We want what we want, but Allah only brings about that which He wills

One of the former kings of the Children of Isreal had a number of sons. Whenever one of his sons would reach the age of manhood, he would attire himself in coarse clothing, join worshipers who live in mountains, and continue to worship Allah until death overtook him. The king did not prevent his sons from going; he recognized that it was Allah (SWT) who guided them to the truth and that he himself could do nothing to change their hearts.

But the king had a change of mind when, in his old age, he had his last son. Having gathered his ministers and close advisors for a meeting, the king said, "I indeed love this son (more than I do the others), and I feel that death is approaching me. I fear that, if he joins his brothers, those from outside of our family will then try to take over this kingdom. So take him while he is yet small and instill into him a love for this world and its pleasures. Perhaps he will then want to be your king after I die."

The king's advisors immediately came up with a plan and put it into action. They chose a huge chunk of land and enclosed it with a wall; inside, they surrounded the child with all of the luxuries they could gather. He lived within the bounds of the four walls until he became a man. Then one day, he looked around and said, "I deem there to be another world on the other side of this wall. Take me out of here, so that I can increase in knowledge and certainty."

"There is nothing other than what you see," his guardians said to him. He didn't argue; instead, he continued to live there for another year; nonetheless, he spent a lot of his time riding his horse alongside the inner sides of the walls. He then repeated the same request that he made the previous year: "I deem there to be another world on the other side of this wall. Take me out of here, so that I can increase in knowledge and in certainity." His guardians gave him the same reply that they gave the previous year.

But this time, the young man remained adamant and said, "I must leave." His guardians could hold him back no longer, yet they could not simply allow him to leave, and so they took the matter to the king. The king said to them, "Take him out, for we want what we want, but Allah brings about only that which He wills."

They returned to the king's son and opened the gate of his sanctuary for him. For the very first time in his life, he stepped outside and had a look at the world. Yet he was not totally free of constraints, for the king's advisors went where he went and supervised his every move. Though the king's son had become a man, he knew nothing of the world save for the closed and limited life of luxury he led since he was a child. Thus the king's advisors felt it necessary to accompany him and observe his reaction to what he was about to learn from the world; after all, they still nurtured hopes of him becoming their king.

While they were walking, they came across a man who was clearly afflicted with a serious illness. "What is the matter with him?" the young prince asked.

"He is afflicted with a serious sickness," they said.

"Does every person become afflicted with his sickness," asked the naive prince. "Or do only some people become afflicted with it?"

"It afflicts only a group of people, those upon whom Allah decreed for it to befall them," said the king's advisors.

"Oh, so those people know that it is coming and then prepare for it?" asked the prince. "Or is there no prior warning, so that everyone is afraid of being afflicted by it?"

"Actually, everyone is afraid of being afflicted by it," they said.

"Even I, with all of the control I have (as a prince)?"

"Even you," they answered.

"Therefore," said the prince, "This life of yours is tainted and not pure."

They continued to walk until they came across a man who was old, decrepit, and frail. Since he had no control whatsoever of his bodily functions, he drooled inadvertently, so that saliva flowed down onto his chest. Never having seen an old person before, the young prince asked, "What is this?"

"A man who is so advanced in his years that he has become decrepit," they said.

"Does this afflict only some people, or is every person afraid that, if he reaches old age, he will be afflicted with the same frailty that this man is now afflicted with?"

"Actually, everyone is afraid of this eventuality," they answered.

"Therefore, this life of yours is tainted and not pure," said the young prince.

They continued to walk until they passed by a corpse that was being carried by a number of men. "What is this?" asked the prince, to whom the concept of death was completely foreign.

"A man who has died," they answered.

"Ask him to sit up," said the prince.

"He cannot sit."

Then ask him to speak."

"He cannot speak."

"Does this condition afflict only certain people?" the prince asked. "Or is everyone afraid that it will befall them?"

"This is the end of every person, including both those who fear it and those who don't fear it," they said.

"Is this what you were hiding me and protecting me from?" the prince asked.

"No person can flee from this ending, and no person, no matter what the abilities are that he is endowed with, can ward it off."

"(Had I not left to see the world,) I would have died upon a sudden without knowing what was happening to me," said the prince, expressing his hurt at being deceived for such a long time. "Verily, you will have no control over me after this day."

He tried to bolt from their company and run away, but they were too many, and soon they had him surrounded.

"We will not leave until you go to your father," they said. When they met with the king, they recounted to him everything that had happened with the prince.

"Did I not tell you," said the king resignedly, "We want what we want, but Allah brings about only that which He wills. Let him go, for you can no longer hold any sway over him."

Source: Glimpses of the Lives of Righteous People
By Majdi Muhammad Ash-Shahawi
© Maktaba Dar-us-Salam, 2004

The Bus Driver

2012-01-11T13:15:00.000+07:00

One fine day, a bus driver went to the bus station, started his bus, and drove off along the route. No problems for the first few stops – a few people got on, a few got off and things went generally well.

At the next stop, however, a big hulk of a guy got on, six foot eight, built like a wrestler, arms hanging down to the ground. He glared at the driver and said, “Big John doesn’t pay!” and sat down at the back.
Did I mention that the driver was five foot three, thin, and basically meek? Well, he was. Naturally, he didn’t argue with Big John, but he wasn’t happy about it. The next day the same thing happened – Big John got on again, made a show of refusing to pay, and sat down. And the next day, and the next.

This grated on the bus driver, who started losing sleep over the way Big John was taking advantage of him. Finally he could stand it no longer and so he signed up for body building courses, karate, judo, and all that good stuff.

By the end of the summer, he had become quite strong; what’s more, he felt really good about himself.

So on the next Monday, when Big John once again got on the bus and said, “Big John doesn’t pay!” The driver stood up, glared back at the passenger and screamed, “And why not???!!!”

With a surprised look on his face, Big John replied, “ Because Big John has a bus pass.”

MORAL / LESSON:

The moral of this incident/story is quite self evident. However, it is a lesson that many of us seem to overlook and disregard in the many activities and chores of our life.

We learn from this incident that a person should not be hasty in making assumptions and judging a situation or an individual from what seems to be the apparent.

It is essential that a Muslim assumes the best of his fellow being and gives him the benefit of the doubt. If possible, one should allow the fellow being to explain himself as to clear any doubts one may have.

Our Nabi صلى الله عليه و صلم has stated that being hasty is from Shaytaan whilst steady composure is from Allah سبحانه و تعالى.

In the same manner ‘Ulamaa have stated that if there is a single reason for doubt in a matter relating to a person then that doubt should have an effect on the decision that is made.

In conclusion, one should take all factors into consideration and avoid hastiness in judging an individual. Instead, one should try to make the matter clear as to avoid placing false accusations on anyone.

The Salaf And Their Salaah, Part 2

2011-11-30T14:13:00.000+07:00

Ahmad Ibn ‘Atiyyah reported:

“The daily portion of voluntary raka’ah for prayer that Muhammad Ibn Samaa’ah made was two hundred raka’ah.” (1)

‘Ataa reported:

“Murrah used to offer six hundred units of voluntary prayer daily…” (2)

Qays Ibn Rabee’ narrated:

“I saw Yazeed Ibn Zuray’ in a dream and asked him, ‘What has Allaah done with you?‘

He replied, ‘I have been granted entrance into Paradise.‘

I then asked, ‘Why?‘

He answered, ‘By abundantly offering prayer.‘ ” (3)

Muhaarib said:

“We accompanied Qaasim Ibn ‘Abdir Rahmaan and he became superior over us with long silence, generosity and abundant prayer.” (4)

Masrooq narrated:

“There isn’t a time that we wake up or go to sleep and I feel remorse upon anything from the worldly life except for not making more sujood to Allaah.” (5)

‘Ubaydullaah Ibn Sulaymaan Ibn Mu’aawiyah Ash-Shaamee reported:

“Our grandfather wore out two prayer rugs and began on a third, with the place of his knees, face and hands from the abundance of prayer that he offered.” (6)

Footnotes:
(1) As-Siyar, 10/646
(2) As-Siyar, 4/75
(3) As-Siyar, 8/297
(4) As-Samt, p. 618
(5) Ash-Shu’ab, p. 2909
(6) As-Siyar, 9/361

The Salaf And Their Salaah, Part 1

2011-11-30T14:09:00.001+07:00

Muslim Al-Makkee narrated:

“Once I saw Ibn Az-Zubair go into rukoo’ so I read soorah al-Baqarah, Aali Imraan, an-Nisaa’ and al-Maa’idah and he did not raise his head!” (1)

Aboo Qatn narrated:

“I never saw Shu’bah making rukoo’ except that I thought he forgot, nor have I ever seen him sitting between the two prostrations except that I thought he forgot.” (2)

Ibn Wahb narrated:

Once I saw (Sufyaan) Ath-Thawree in the Haram after maghrib prayer offering voluntary prayer. Then he went down into sujood (prostration) and he didn’t raise his head until the adhaan for ‘ishaa was made.” (3)

‘Abdaan narrated:

“Hudbah Ibn Hakeen used to make tasbeeh in rukoo’ and sujood more than thirty times.” (4)

‘Alaa narrated:

“Once I came to the masjid of Waasit and the mu’adhdhin made the adhaan for dhuhr. Afterwards Mansoor Ibn Zaadhaan came and began offering prayer. I saw that he made sujood eleven times before the iqaamah was made for the prayer.” (5)

Some of the students of Abu Ash-Shaykh reported that they never entered upon Abu Ash-Shaykh except that he was offering prayer.” (6)

Footnotes:

(1) Az-Zuhd of Aboo Daawood, p. 348

(2) As-Siyaar, 7/207

(3) As-Siyaar, 7/296

(4) As-Siyaar,11/99

(5) Hilyah, 3/58

(6) As-Siyar, 16/278

Fatwa on Facebook

2011-11-29T22:31:00.000+07:00

Firstly

The website Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg, a student at Harvard University in America, at the beginning of 2004 CE. Use of the website was initially limited to students of the University, then the network expanded to include other universities in Boston, and eventually to include the entire world at the end of 2006 CE.

The aim behind the founding of this site was to enable people to get to know one another and build social relationships. This site is regarded as the most important virtual community on the Internet. The number of users runs to tens of millions and is constantly increasing. It is widely accepted in the Arab and Muslim world and is available in more than forty languages; the people in charge of the site are planning to add further languages.

========================================================================================================

Secondly

The world of Facebook is a world in which one may communicate in writing or verbally (chat), in which there are both major sins and benefits for people, but this site is distinct from others in many ways, including the following:

1. Availability of detailed personal information about users, which has already resulted in negative consequences such as:

a) It has led to reviving old relationships between lovers which led to a resumption of those (illicit) relationships, leading to betrayal and divorce.

A team from the National Centre for Social and Criminal Research in Egypt prepared a study on Facebook which took several weeks, from which it noted serious consequences (of using this site). Among other things it noted:

“many visitors to the website succeeded in finding their first love and former relationships, and rebuilt destructive relationships outside the family, which is threatening marriages and Muslim family life.”

b) Some foreign spy services have recruited some Facebook members by looking at their details, their economic situation and standard of living, and they have exploited that to recruit them to spy for them.

A foreign newspaper discovered a Jewish spy network that was working to recruit Arab and Muslim youth to spy for them.

On the Muheet website – dated 25 Jumaada al-Oola 1431 AH – they quoted from a French newspaper the story of Jewish exploitation of Facebook to recruit agents:

Gerald Nero, a professor in the college of psychology in the French University of Provence and the author of the book Dangers of the Internet, says:

“This network was discovered in May 2001 CE; it was a group of networks run by Israeli specialists in psychology who were recruited to work on youth in the Third World, especially those living in Arab states that are hostile towards Israel, as well as South America.”

In fact, this recruitment began before the founding of the Facebook site, which offered more opportunities for this network – and others like it – to find youth who were suitable for recruitment by looking at their details and by chatting with them.

c) Hacking into bank accounts and stealing the identity of a Facebook member by looking at his personal information.

2. The spread of this website has made it a global chat site which brings together people from all parts of the world:

They made matters worse by giving the users of their site a program that makes it easy for these conversations to take place without entering the site, such as that which was produced by Hotmail and Messenger. Chatting results in negative consequences that are known to everyone who has any experience of that on the Internet, especially if the program takes it possible for people to see one another as well as writing.

Among the negative consequences of chat and sinful relationships are the following:

a) Wasting valuable time in trivial talk and getting to know people.

The wise Muslim should realize that his lifespan is limited and that he will not live on earth for ever; he is going to meet his Lord, may He be exalted, Who will ask him about his youth and how he spent it, and about his life and what he did. So let the wise one look at the early generations of this ummah and its scholars, and think about how they thought about time and their lifespan.

Ibn ‘Aqeel al-Hanbali (may Allah have mercy on him) said of himself:

It is not permissible for me to waste an hour of my life. When I stop discussing issues of knowledge and debating them (with others) and when I stop reading in a book, I would start pondering and thinking when I am resting and lying down, and before I get up, I will have already an idea that I should write down and I am very keen to increase my knowledge now I am in my eighties and more keen than when I was twenty years old.

(Quoted from him by Ibn al-Jawzi | al-Muntazam | 9 | 214)

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

A man’s time is in fact his life, and his eternal life, whether it is eternal bliss or eternal suffering, is based on how he spent it. Time is passing quickly; whatever time he spends for the sake of Allah and by the help of Allah, this is his true life; any other time is not counted as part of his life, even if he spends it doing what animals do. So if he spends his time in heedlessness, idle entertainment and false wishes, and the best of what he spends his time in is sleep and idleness, then his death is better than his life.

(Al-Jawaab al-Kaafi | 109)

b) Establishing sinful relationships between men and women, which may cause the destruction of a stable family. In a study by the National Center – mentioned above – it says:

One in every five cases of divorce came about when one partner discovered that the other was having a relationship through the Internet, and through Facebook.

========================================================================================================

Thirdly

It cannot be denied that there are a number of benefits in this site, which are attained by wise people who are keen to guide people to goodness. These people have done well by using modern means of communication – such as the Internet, mobile phones and satellite channels; they have entered the world of those people to serve their religion and call people to their Lord, especially activities that are done collectively, because that makes it less likely that the one who does this type of work collectively will fall into the temptations of that world.

Among the benefits of that website are the following:

1. Personal pages for some shaykhs and daa‘iyahs, in which they offer advice to the people and answer their questions, especially those who have groups. The leader or founder of the group benefits when a number of people who are part of that group get together and send out messages to the group, open up topics for discussion, and post a large number of high-quality video clips.

2. Global campaigns to alert users of that site to global Islamic events that are suppressed and ignored by the kaafir media, or to support oppressed peoples, or to close a website or personal page.

3. Spreading useful and beneficial books, articles and websites among visitors to that site.

4. Communication between friends and relatives, especially those who live far apart from one another. Communication has a good impact in maintaining bonds and encouraging one another to remain steadfast in Islam.

========================================================================================================

Fourthly

With regard to the shar‘ia ruling on signing up for Facebook, it depends on the intention of the one who wants to sign up. If he is a man of knowledge or a seeker thereof or a member of a da‘wah group, then it is permissible and good, because of the benefits they have to offer to the people.

But for the one who joins it for evil purposes or for whom there is no guarantee that he will be safe from temptation and may easily slip, especially young men and women, it is not permissible for them to sign up for it.

The one who knows the reality of our times and the temptation and turmoil that is knocking at the door of all of our houses will not object to any faqeeh or mufti who disallows anything in which there is harm, whether it is totally or mostly harmful.

The fact that there is some small benefit does not encourage one to say that it is permissible because there is still fear for the one who embarks upon it. If what is good and beneficial is great and the evil and harm is small or non-existent, then we may with a clear conscience say that it is permissible. Hence some of our scholars were very strict about satellite channels at first, because of the pure harm and evil in them; but when there started to be some great good in them and completely Islamic channels were founded, and receivers that only accepted those channels became available, the view that they are permissible became valid; indeed we see that many scholars have contributed to these channels and have useful programs on them.

The one who cannot control himself on Facebook and similar sites should refrain from joining them. Joining them is permissible for the one who acts in accordance with the shar‘i guidelines by controlling himself and not following his whims and desires, and who joins them so that he can benefit himself and others others.

========================================================================================================

May Allah keep us safe from temptations both visible and invisible, for He is the Guide to the straight path.

THE EXISTENCE OF SUBATOMIC PARTICLES

2011-11-24T05:06:00.001+07:00

In ancient times a well-known theory by the name of ‘Theory of Atomism’ was widely accepted. This theory was originally proposed by the Greeks, in particular by a man called Democritus, who lived about 23 centuries ago.

Democritus and the people that came after him, assumed that the smallest unit of matter was the atom. The Arabs used to believe the same.

The Arabic word dharrah most commonly meant an atom. In recent times modern science has discovered that it is possible to split even an atom.

That the atom can be split further is a development of the 20th century.

Fourteen centuries ago this concept would have appeared unusual even to an Arab.

For him the dharrah was the limit beyond which one could not go.

The following Qur’aanic verse however, refuses to acknowledge this limit:

“The Unbelievers say, ‘Never to us will come The Hour’: say, ‘Nay! But most surely, By my Lord, it will come Upon you – by Him Who knows the unseen – From Whom is not hidden The least little atom In the Heavens or on earth: Nor is there anything less Than that, or greater, but Is in the Record Perspicuous.’”
[Al-Qur’aan 34:3]

This verse refers to the Omniscience of God, His knowledge of all things, hidden or apparent. It then goes further and says that God is aware of everything, including what is smaller or bigger than the atom.

Thus the verse clearly shows that it is possible for something smaller than the atom to exist, a fact discovered only recently by modern science.

MOUNTAINS ARE LIKE PEGS (STAKES)

2011-11-22T19:00:00.001+07:00

In Geology, the phenomenon of ‘folding’ is a recently discovered fact. Folding is responsible for the formation of mountain ranges.

The earth’s crust, on which we live, is like a solid shell, while the deeper layers are hot and fluid, and thus inhospitable to any form of life. It is also known that the stability of the mountains is linked to the phenomenon of folding, for it was the folds that were to provide foundations for the reliefs that constitute the mountains.

Geologists tell us that the radius of the Earth is about 3,750 miles and the crust on which we live is very thin, ranging between 1 to 30 miles. Since the crust is thin, it has a high possibility of shaking. Mountains act like stakes or tent pegs that hold the earth’s crust and give it stability.

The Qur’aan contains exactly such a description in the following verse: “Have We not made The earth as a wide Expanse, And the mountains as pegs?” [Al-Qur’aan 78:6-7]

The word awtad means stakes or pegs (like those used to anchor a tent); they are the deep foundations of geological folds. A book named ‘Earth’ is considered as a basic reference textbook on geology in many universities around the world.

One of the authors of this book is Frank Press, who was the President of the Academy of Sciences in the USA for 12 years and was the Science Advisor to former US President Jimmy Carter. In this book he illustrates the mountain in a wedge-shape and the mountain itself as a small part of the whole, whose root is deeply entrenched in the ground. According to Dr. Press, the mountains play an important role in stabilizing the crust of the earth.

The Qur’aan clearly mentions the function of the mountains in preventing the earth from shaking: “And We have set on the earth Mountains standing firm, Lest it should shake with them.” [Al-Qur’aan 21:31]

The Qur’aanic descriptions are in perfect agreement with modern geological data.

THE EXPANDING UNIVERSE

2011-11-22T18:50:00.001+07:00

In 1925, an American astronomer by the name of Edwin Hubble, provided observational evidence that all galaxies are receding from one another, which implies that the universe is expanding. The expansion of the universe is now an established scientific fact. This is what Al-Qur’aan says regarding the nature of the universe: “With the power and skill Did We construct The Firmament: For it is We Who create The vastness of Space.” [Al-Qur’aan 51:47]

The Arabic word mûsi‘ûn is correctly translated as ‘expanding it’, and it refers to the creation of the expanding vastness of the universe. Stephen Hawking, in his book, ‘A Brief History of Time’, says, “The discovery that the universe is expanding was one of the great intellectual revolutions of the 20th century.”

The Qur’aan mentioned the expansion of the universe, before man even learnt to build a telescope! Some may say that the presence of astronomical facts in the Qur’aan is not surprising since the Arabs were advanced in the field of astronomy. They are correct in acknowledging the advancement of the Arabs in the field of astronomy. However they fail to realize that the Qur’aan was revealed centuries before the Arabs excelled in astronomy.

Moreover many of the scientific facts mentioned above regarding astronomy, such as the origin of the universe with a Big Bang, were not known to the Arabs even at the peak of their scientific advancement. The scientific facts mentioned in the Qur’aan are therefore not due to the Arabs’ advancement in astronomy. Indeed, the reverse is true. The Arabs advanced in astronomy, because astronomy occupies a place in the Qur’aan.

THE SUN WILL EXTINGUISH AFTER A CERTAIN PERIOD

2011-11-21T20:21:00.001+07:00

The light of the sun is due to a chemical process on its surface that has been taking place continuously for the past five billion years. It will come to an end at some point of time in the future when the sun will be totally extinguished leading to extinction of all life on earth. Regarding the impermanence of the sun’s existence the Qur’aan says:
“And the Sun Runs its course For a period determined For it; that is The decree of (Him) The exalted in Might, The All-Knowing.” [Al-Qur’aan 36:38] A similar message is conveyed in the Qur’an in 13:2, 35:13, 39:5 and 39:21.

The Arabic word used here is mustaqarr, which means a place or time that is determined. Thus the Qur’aan says that the sun runs towards a determined place, and will do so only up to a pre-determined period of time – meaning that it will end or extinguish.

THE SPHERICAL SHAPE OF THE EARTH

2011-11-18T13:29:00.001+07:00

In early times, people believed that the earth is flat. For centuries, men were afraid to venture out too far, lest they should fall off the edge. Sir Francis Drake was the first person who proved that the earth is spherical when he sailed around it in 1597. Consider the following Qur’aanic verse regarding the alternation of day and night: “Seest thou not that Allah merges Night into Day And He merges Day into Night?” [Al-Qur’aan 31:29]

Merging here means that the night slowly and gradually changes to day and vice versa. This phenomenon can only take place if the earth is spherical. If the earth was flat, there would have been a sudden change from night to day and from day to night.

The following verse also alludes to the spherical shape of the earth: “He created the heavens And the earth In true (proportions): He makes the Night Overlap the Day, and the Day Overlap the Night.” [Al-Qur’aan
39:5]

The Arabic word used here is Kawwara meaning ‘to overlap’ or ‘to coil’– the way a turban is wound around the head. The overlapping or coiling of the day and night can only take place if the earth is spherical.
The earth is not exactly round like a ball, but geo-spherical i.e. it is flattened at the poles. The following verse contains a description of the earth’s shape:

“And the earth, moreover, Hath He made egg shaped.” [Al-Qur’aan79:30]

The Arabic word for egg here is dahaha, which means an ostrich-egg. The shape of an ostrich-egg resembles the geo-spherical shape of the earth. Thus the Qur’aan correctly describes the shape of the earth, though the prevalent notion when the Qur’aan was revealed was that the earth is flat.

Sin That Lead To Jannah

2011-11-17T19:37:00.001+07:00

Ibn al-Qayyim said:

Sin may be more beneficial for a person, if it leads him to repent, than doing a lot of acts of worship. This is what is meant by the words of one of the salaf: A person may commit a sin & enter Paradise because of it, or he may do an act of worship & enter Hell because of it.

They said: How is that?
He said: He may commit a sin & continues to think about it, & when he stands or sits or walks he remembers his sin, so he feels ashamed & repents & seeks forgiveness & regrets it, so that will be the means of his salvation.

And he may do a good deed & continue to think about it, & when he stands or sits or walks he remembers it & it fills him with self-admiration & pride, so it is the cause of his doom.

So the sin may be the factor that leads him to do acts of worship & good deeds & to change his attitude so that he fears Allah & feels shy before Him & feels humiliated before Him, hanging his head in shame & weeping with regret, seeking forgiveness of his Lord.

Each of these effects is better for a person than an act of worship that makes him feel proud & show off & look down on people.

Undoubtedly this sin is better before Allah & is more likely to bring salvation than one who admires himself & looks down on others, & who thinks that he is doing Allah a favour.

Even if he says words that indicate something other than that, Allah is the Witness over what is in his heart. Such a person may feel hatred towards people if they do not hold him in high esteem & humiliate themselves before him. If he were to examine himself honestly, he would see that clearly.

(Ref: Madarij as-Salikeen)

THE SUN ROTATES

2011-11-17T13:17:00.001+07:00

For a long time European philosophers and scientists believed that the earth stood still in the centre of the universe and every other body including the sun moved around it. In the West, this geocentric concept ...of the universe was prevalent right from the time of Ptolemy in the second century B.C. In 1512, Nicholas Copernicus put forward his Heliocentric Theory of Planetary Motion, which asserted that the sun is motionless at the centre of the solar system with the planets revolving around it.

In 1609, the German scientist Yohannus Keppler published the ‘Astronomia Nova’. In this he concluded that not only do the planets move in elliptical orbits around the sun, they also rotate upon their axes at irregular speeds.

With this knowledge it became possible for European scientists to explain correctly many of the mechanisms of the solar system including the sequence of night and day.

After these discoveries, it was thought that the Sun was stationary and did not rotate about its axis like the Earth. I remember having studied this fallacy from Geography books during my school days. Consider the following Qur’aanic verse: “It is He Who created The Night and the Day, And the sun and the moon: All (the celestial bodies) Swim along, each in its Rounded course.” [Al-Qur’aan 21:33]

The Arabic word used in the above verse is yasbahûn . The word yasbahûn is derived from the word sabaha. It carries with it the idea of motion that comesfrom any moving body. If you use the word for a man on the ground, it would not mean that he is rolling but would mean he is walking or running. If you use the word for a man in water it would not mean that he is floating but would mean that he is swimming.

Similarly, if you use the word yasbah for a celestial body such as the sun it would not mean that it is only flying through space but would mean that it is also rotating as it goes through space. Most of the school textbooks have incorporated the fact that the sun rotates about its axis. The rotation of the sun about its own axis can be proved with the help of an equipment that projects the image of the sun on the table top so that one can examine the image of the sun without being blinded. It is noticed that the sun has spots which complete a circular motion once every 25 days i.e. the sun takes approximately 25 days
to rotate around its axis.

In fact, the sun travels through space at roughly 150 miles per second, and takes about 200 million years to complete one revolution around the center of our Milky Way Galaxy.

“It is not permitted To the Sun to catch up The Moon, nor can The Night
outstrip the Day: Each (just) swims along In (its own) orbit (According to
Law).” [Al-Qur’aan 36:40]

This verse mentions an essential fact discovered by modern astronomy, i.e. the existence of the individual orbits of the Sun and the Moon, and their journey through space with their own motion. The ‘fixed place’ towards, which the sun travels, carrying with it the solar system, has been located exactly by modern astronomy. It has been given a name, the Solar Apex. The solar system is indeed moving in space towards a point situated in the constellation of Hercules (alpha Layer) whose exact location is firmly established.

The moon rotates around its axis in the same duration that it takes to revolve around the earth. It takes approximately 29½ days to complete one rotation.

One cannot help but be amazed at the scientific accuracy of the Qur’aanic verses. Should we not ponder over the question: “What was the source of knowledge contained in the Qur’aan?

THE LIGHT OF THE MOON IS REFLECTED LIGHT

2011-11-17T12:34:00.001+07:00

It was believed by earlier civilizations that the moon emanates its own light. Science now tells us that the light of the moon is reflected light.

However this fact was mentioned in the ...Qur’aan 1,400 years ago in the following verse:“Blessed is He Who made Constellations in the skies, And placed therein a Lamp And a Moon giving light.” [Al-Qur’aan 25:61]

The Arabic word for the sun in the Qur’aan, is shams. It is referred to as
siraaj, which means a ‘torch’ or as wahhaaj which means ‘a blazing lamp’ or as diya which means ‘shining glory’. All three descriptions are appropriate to the sun, since it generates intense heat and light by its internal combustion.

The Arabic word for the moon is qamar and it is described in the Qur’aan asmuneer, which is a body that gives nur i.e. light. Again, the Qur’aanic
description matches perfectly with the true nature of the moon, which does not give off light itself and is an inert body that reflects the light of the sun. Not once in the Qur’aan, is the moon mentioned as siraaj, wahhaaj or diya or the sun as nur or muneer. This implies that the Qur’aan recognizes the difference between the nature of sunlight and moonlight.

Consider the following verses related to the nature of light from the sun and the moon: “It is He who made the sun To be a shining glory And the
moon to be a light (Of beauty).” [Al-Qur’aan 10:5]
“See ye not How Allah has created The seven heavens One above
another, “And made the moon A light in their midst, and made the sun
As a (Glorious) Lamp?” [Al-Qur’aan 71:15-16]