Geocentrism and the Quran: Difference between revisions

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# The courses taken by both the sun and moon are visible to the people addressed in the Qur'an.

# The Qur'an says that the moon follows the sun. The floating/swimming (the verb جري) of the sun is always mentioned with that of the moon, and in these verses they are nearly always mentioned in the context of night and day.<Ref>21:33, 39:40, 31:29, 35:13, and 39:5; the exception being 13:2. See also 14:33, though note that the word translated "constant in their courses" is daibayni, which is simply a verb meaning to strive, toil, labour, hold on or continue. Ref: dal-alif-ba [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume3/00000005.pdf Lane's Lexicon Volume 1 page 106]</ref>

# <p>Qur'an 36:37-40 is a passage about night and day.<ref>"''And a Sign for them is the Night: We withdraw therefrom the Day, and behold they are plunged in darkness; And the sun runs his course for a period determined for him: that is the decree of (Him), the Exalted in Might, the All-Knowing. And the Moon,- We have measured for her mansions (to traverse) till she returns like the old (and withered) lower part of a date-stalk. 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).''" - {{cite Quran|36|37|end=40|style=ref}}</ref> Right after describing the change from day to night it says that the sun runs on to a resting place for it (see footnotes regarding the Arabic word here, which differs from similar verses<ref>A few translations use instead, "appointed term", though in nearly all other verses where we find  mustaqarrin (qaf-ra-ra قرر [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume7/00000029.pdf Lane's Lexicon Volume 1 page 2501]) as a participle they translate it as a place of settlement or an abode or resting place. There are other verses (35:13, 31:29, 39:5, 13:2) that mention the sun and moon floating/swimming (with the same verb as is translated "run" in 36:38) for a term appointed, but these use the words لِأَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى which do indeed mean a term appointed, but note that mustaqarrin مُسْتَقَرٍّ in 36:38 is a different word.</ref>). There are also sahih hadith that use the same Arabic word as in verse 36:38 to mean a resting place as part of the sun's daily cycle.<ref>{{Muslim|1|297}}. For the Arabic of this hadith, see [http://sunnah.com/muslim/1/306 here]</ref>. </p><p>The alternative view was that it refers to the sun's final resting on the last day. Another similar sahih hadith probably supports this view.<ref>With a different ending indicating that the مُسْتَقَرٍّ (resting place) in 36:38 refers to the end of the world when the sun is asked to rise from its setting place (مِنْ مَغْرِبِهَا). Ref: {{Bukhari|9|93|520}}. For the Arabic see [http://sunnah.com/bukhari/97/52 here]</ref> Whichever interpretation was intended, the sun's movement is nevertheless mentioned right after describing day and night, just as the next verse mentions the different mansions appointed for the moon each night. The whole passage is about day and night and the sun and moon's movement in that context.</p>

# The sun and moon each float in an orbit (verses 21:33 and 36:40), or more precisely, each in a "falak", a word with various meanings related to rounded or circular, and also hemisphere shaped things, as described in Lane's lexicon of classical arabic<ref name=LanesLexiconFalak></ref>. His main definition is the place of the revolving of the stars, the celestial sphere, generally imagined to be a hemisphere by the Arabs, or the pole of the heavens. The more common English translations, 'orbit', or 'rounded course', seem to be based on the meanings related to roundness or circling (around a hill) and on comments by ibn 'Abbas recorded in the tafasir (commentaries) of al-Tabari and of ibn Kathir, where he explains the sun and moon swimming in a falak to mean 'in a whirl (whorl), like the whirl of a spindle'<ref>The Arabic reads:فِي فَلْكَة كَفَلْكَةِ الْمِغْزَل fee falka, ka-falkati almighzal - at-Tabari and ibn Kathir on 36:40 [http://quran.al-islam.com/Loader.aspx?pageid=215 quran.al-islam.com] (select the tafsir, surah and ayah). Similarly for 21:33 in ibn Kathir, "Ibn Abbas said, 'Spinning like as spins the spindle in a whirl'". Lane translates the exact same words attributed to ibn 'Abbas as "the whirl of a spindle...thus called because of its roundness...it is a piece of wood, generally of hemispherical form, or nearly so, through the middle of which the upper part of the spindle-pin is inserted" (see link to his lexicon page 2444 in an earlier footnote for falak above).</ref>. It may also be based on another ibn 'Abbas comment, as noted by ibn Kathir, that the sun runs in its falak in the sky / heaven during the day, and when it sets, it runs at night in its falak underneath the Earth until it rises in the east.<ref>{{Quote|1=[http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1784 Tafsir ibn Kathir for Qur'an 31:29]|2=Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Ibn `Abbas said, "The sun is like flowing water, running in its course [falakha] in the sky [alssama] during the day. When it sets, it travels [at night - bi al-layli (omitted in the translation)] in its course [falakha] beneath the earth until it rises in the east.'' He said, "The same is true in the case of the moon.'' Its chain of narration is Sahih.}}<BR>For the Arabic, see [http://quran.al-islam.com/Page.aspx?pageid=221&BookID=11&Page=1 quran.al-islam.com]</ref>Al-Tabari further mentions other opinions, such as that it means the pole of the heavens, and similarly, the shape of an iron [axis of a?] millstone.  

# The stars have settings (mawaqi) <ref>{{cite quran|56|75}}</ref>, but only the day, night, the sun and moon are mentioned as all floating in an orbit (falak), while there is no indication of the Earth's own orbit.

# Abraham is approvingly quoted as saying that Allah brings the sun from the east in one verse, and setting and rising places of the sun are reached and described in the Dhu'l Qarnayn story.

The Qur'an is quite clear about the course of the sun. It does not even describe a complete orbit, but merely a rounded course, probably in a hemisphere (falak<ref name=LanesLexiconFalak></ref>) that has a beginning, an end, and a highest point.

#Salat Al Zuhr – right after the Sun’s zenith, but before the shadow of the Sun becomes twice its length from midday. (Mentioned in {{Quran|20|130}})  

#Salat Al Asr- between zenith and sunset, when the length of a shadow of a stick is either once or twice its length. (Mentioned in {{Quran|20|130}}))  

But as with 7:54 mentioned above and the verses where the day and night (as well as the sun and moon) have a falak<ref name=LanesLexiconFalak></ref>, it actually indicates that the night and day are active entities rather than any sign that the Earth revolves. You could reasonably describe the Earth as passing through night and day. Perhaps, at a stretch, you could even say that night and day wrap around the earth as you could spin an item in order to wrap it with something. But it would be utter nonsense to describe what really happens by saying that the the day or night wrap each other, for they are always on the sunward and opposite sides of the Earth.