The Sun
The Sun
In addition to the subject of bees, the Quran also discusses
the sun and the manner in which it travels through space.
Again, a person can guess on that subject. When the sun
moves through space, there are two options: it can travel just as a stone would travel if one threw it, or it can move of its own accord. The Quran states the latter - that it
moves as a result of its own motion (Surah al-Anbiya 21:33). To do such, the Quran uses a form of the word
sabaha to describe the sun's movement through space. In
order to properly provide the reader with a
comprehensive understanding of the implications of this
Arabic verb, the following example is given.
If a man is in water and the verb sabaha is applied in
reference to his movement, it can be understood that he is swimming, moving of his own accord and not as a result
of a direct force applied to him. Thus when this verb is used in reference to the sun's movement through space, it in no way implies that the sun is flying uncontrollably through space as a result of being hurled or the like. It simply means that the sun is turning and rotating as it travels. Now, this is what the Quran affirms, but was it an
easy thing to discover? Can any common man tell that the
sun is turning? Only in modern times was the equipment
made available to project the image of the sun onto a
tabletop so that one could look at it without being blinded.
And through this process it was discovered that not only
are there spots on the sun but that these spots move once
every 25days. This movement is referred to as the rotation
of the sun around its axis and conclusively proves that, as
the Quran stated 1400years ago, the sun does, indeed,
turn as it travels through space.
And returning once again to the subject of good guesses,
the odds of guessing correctly about both subjects - the sex
of bees and the movement of the sun - are one in four!