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ASTRONOMY -LIGHT AND MOVEMENT
The Qur'an distinguishes Sun and Moon by the use of different epithets: light (nur) for the moon, torch (siraj) for the Sun. The first is an inert body which reflects light, the second a celestial formation in a state of permanent combustion, and a source of light and heat.
The word `star' (najm) is accompanied by another qualifying word which indicates that it burns and consumes itself as it pierces through the shadows of the night: it is the word thakib.
In the Qur'an, the kawkab definitely seems to mean the planets which are celestial formations that reflect and do not produce light like the Sun.
Today it is known how the celestial organisation is balanced by the position of stars in a defined orbit and the interplay of gravitational forces related to their mass and speed of movement, each with its own motion. But isn't this what the Qur'an describes, in terms which it mentions the foundation of this balance in the sura Al-Anbiya in Qur'an : "God is the One Who created the night, the day, the Sun and the Moon. Each one is travelling in an orbit with its own motion."Science only proved this fact afterwards.B'coz Kesthesith...when Qur'an came on earth...nobody used to study science at that time.
The Arabic word which expresses this movement is a verb sabaha (yasbahun in the text); it carries with it the idea of motion which comes from any moving body, be it the movement of one's legs as one runs of the ground, or the action of swimming in water. In the case of a celestial body, one is forced to translate it in the original sense, that is, `to travel with one's own motion'.
The description of the sequence of day and night would, in itself, be rather commonplace were it not for the fact that, in the Qur'an, it is expressed in terms that today are highly significant. This is because it uses the verb kawwara in the sura Al Zumar (39:5) to describe the way the night `winds' or `coils' itself about the day and the day about the night, just as, in the original meaning of the verb, a turban is wound around the head. This is a totally valid comparison; yet at the same time the Qur'an was revealed, the astronomical data necessary to draw it were unknown.
The evolution of the Heavens and the notion of a settled place for the Sun are also described. They are in agreement with highly detailed modern ideas. The Qur'an also seems to have alluded to the expansion of the Universe.
There is also the conquest of space. This has been under-taken thanks to remarkable technological progress and has resulted in man's journey to the Moon. But this surely springs to mind when we read in Qur'an : "O assembly of jinns and men, if you can penetrate regions of the Heavens and the Earth, then penetrate them! You will not penetrate them save with (Our) Power."
Anyone here noe if this is really true?? |
