Geocentrism and the Quran: Difference between revisions

It seems the author of the Qur'an thought that the sun (and the moon and the five known planets) followed a curved (rounded) course (a Falak). According to the Qur'an this falak starts in the east (where the sun goes up), goes high above the earth and ends after sunset with the Sun resting at night at a hidden place. All this took place around an earth that was spread out and had a firmament built on invisible pillars above it. This was a common belief at the time and can be found with the Babylonians, ancient Hebrews, the Assyrians and other cultures in the region. In that regard it may be interesting to note that the Tawaf (the circling of the Ka'aba) mimics these seven orbits.

The evidence for the Qur'an’s geocentricity will be dealt with in several paragraphs, supported by evidence from the Qur'an, Muslim daily practice, Muslim scientists and the [[Hadith]].  

The sun and moon running their courses are signs (ayaat) to mankind and thus they must be visible (or known) to a 7^th century Arab audience. The Qur'an also promises to explain these signs in detail. And with good reason because they are proofs for the people so they can be certain that someday they will meet Allah.

The movement of the sun (as well as the course of the moon) is visible according the author of the Qur'an.

However, according to a better English translation of the Qur'an, the sun's influence over the shadow is only part of the hypothetical situation in which Allah makes the shadow constant. In such a case, indeed, the earth's influence over the shadow's length becomes naught (since it only arises if the earth stops moving), and the sun's influence becomes singular.

The courses of the sun and the moon are also a pair of sorts, according to the Qur'an:

Notice how frequently the sun and the moon are mentioned together as a pair. Its clearly implied that the sun and the moon are a pair of sorts, just like (according to the Qur'an) the heavens and the earth or the night and the day. In Qur'an 36:36 and 35:11-35:13 this belief is expressly stated. The sun and the moon (along with their courses) are mentioned amongst a range of other things that are created in pairs.

According to the Qur'an, the sun's cycle is repeated on a regular basis (exactly computed even) just like that of the Moon and night and day.  

The Qur'an clearly tells us that the sun follows a daily cycle, which ends every night when the sun goes to its resting place. (ِمُسْتَقَرٍّ) Waalshshamsu (and the sun) tajree (runs) limustaqarrin (a resting point) laha (of it).

In the days of Muhammad it was common practice to use the sun for timekeeping, so there's little wonder that the Qur'an tells us the supposed course of the Sun is a sign from Allah to keep track of the time of day (and likewise the course of the moon is a monthly calendar)

The Qur'an is clear; the apparent course of the sun is to be used for timekeeping ('reckoning') and the only examples of the sun being used for timekeeping in the Qur'an employs the sun's daily movement along the sky.

Take a look at these verses which explain to us the shape of the sun's course.  Apparently the sun goes up from east, travels high and eventually goes down to the west.

{{Quote|{{cite quran|75|8|end=9|style=ref}}|And the moon darkens And the sun and the moon are joined,}}

Muslims living in Muhammad’s day unequivocally accepted the Qur'an's geocentric cosmology. References in the Hadith of any of the ansari or others in Muhammad's environment arguing about this point with their prophet or amongst themselves are unknown. Famous Muslim astronomers (people who certainly read, and knew the Qur'an) like the Arab astronomer ''Ibn al-Shatir'' and the Persian ''Nasir al-Din al-Tusi'' used Greek (geocentric) astronomy to create complex models of our ‘universe’ (basically only our solar system, which they believed constituted the entire universe) that were geocentric just like the Qur'an.  

According to Fadhel Al-Sa'd, the moon's diameter is 1,200,000 km, while that of the sun is only 2,400,000 km.

In the Hadiths we read Muhammad's own words, and they clearly paint the same picture: the sun moves around the earth and goes to a resting place at night.

{{Quote|{{Bukhari|9|93|520}}|Narrated Abu Dharr: I entered the mosque while Allah's Apostle was sitting there. When the sun had set, the Prophet said, "O Abu Dharr! Do you know where this (sun) goes?" I said, "Allah and His Apostle know best." He said, "It goes and asks permission to prostrate, and it is allowed, and (one day) it, as if being ordered to return whence it came, then it will rise from the west." Then the Prophet recited, "That: ‘And the sun runs on its fixed course (for a term decreed),"}}

==Conclusion==