THE SUN ALSO MOVES ALONG

38- And the Sun moves on to its destination. That is the ordinance of the Mighty, the Knower.

36-Ya-Seen, 38

For a long time in the past men thought that the earth was stationary and that the sun
revolved around the earth. Later Copernicus, Kepler and Galileo postulated the theory that
the sun was stationary and that the earth revolved about the sun. It was even later, thanks
to sophisticated telescopes and the accumulation of cosmological data, that it was concluded
that the sun was moving as well and the earth revolved about the sun in motion. Despite the
fact that it took science this long, this motion of the sun had already been told 1400 years
ago in the Quran. Contrary to the assertion that the sun traced a vicious circle about the
earth or that it was stationary, the 38th verse of the sura Ya-Seen stated correctly that it
moved on to its destination. As in other subjects, in this one also the Quran is the source
that gave a correct account of the sun’s motion.

THE METHOD OF THE QURAN AND THE METHOD OF SCIENCE

A book of science purports to demonstrate the theses it advances and the points of
reference. The Quran is the message from the Creator of the Universe and describes the
Universe in the word of its Creator, in a style different from that of a book on science. The
fact that basic statements about the universe in the Quran were destined to come to light
after the lapse of more than a millennium, that none of its statements referring to various
scientific issues contained errors, shows that the Quran is the book of the Creator of the
Universe. Unlike a scientific treatise that tries to find answers to such inquiries into the whys,
wherefores and hows and seeks corroborative proofs to theories advanced, the Quran makes
final statements. The scientific method has to follow a well-known path before it formulates
the postulates toward which the Quran draws a beeline.

We see that the methodological ways of science differ from the direct communications of the
Quran. Regardless of statements made, science must follow its own path consisting of
stages. This is a consequence of the structure of scientific knowledge. As a matter of fact,
the Quran promotes scientific research both upon the earth and in space. On the other hand,
I am not trying to create a contest between science and the Quran by juxtaposing the
Quranic statements and the secular scientific conclusions. What I have been trying to do is to
draw attention to the fact that the straightforward statements made in the Quran tally with
the conclusions of science arrived at by following predetermined stages of research, thus
proving the realization of what has been predicted in the Quran. The Quran’s origin is the
Creator, who is the Knower of Everything. The information directly communicated by the
Quran was inaccessible through scientific methods which would have recourse to the
accumulation of data, formulas, observations and technical findings. The Creator of both the
universe and the rules governing it had already communicated the findings of science in the
Quran.

THE SPEED OF THE SUN

The sun moves at a speed of 700,000 km/h in the direction of the star Vega, following its
orbital path referred to as the Solar Apex. The Earth rotates around its own axis while
revolving about the sun, moving along with the Solar System.
The sun rises every morning and sets every night. However, the points where it rises and
sets are never the same. The earth travels around the sun, which moves in the universe
without ever passing through the same point. To imagine that in the course of time elapsed
from the time at which we started reading our book until now that we are reading this very
page, the sun, along with our world, have traveled a few million kilometers, and that we
have not been adversely affected by this motion in any way whatsoever, may give use a clue
of God’s system.

RISING POINTS OF THE SUN

5- The Lord of the heavens, and the earth, and all that lies between them, and the Lord of
the easts (places where the sun rise).
37-Who Stand in Row, 5

Because the earth has a spherical shape, the sun that rises somewhere sets simultaneously
somewhere else. Night and day chase each other. Therefore we cannot speak of a given point
from which the sun rises, but rather of different points. The hour of dawn is different at every
single point of our sphere. Every spot on the earth expects the rise of the sun while it is
“rising” at different spots in space. The sun we behold every morning is a giant nuclear
reactor. This reactor, generated by the conversion of hydrogen atoms into helium, performs
its task marvelously. We continue our journey in space unaware of the immense speed of our
source of life toward our predestined point. God’s omnipotence and the Quran’s miracles will
unfold to those who take heed, who have an inquiring mind and are truthful in their approach
to the Quranic verses.

43- And such are the parables we set forth for the people, but only those understand them
who have knowledge.
29-The Spider, 43 80