Qurʾānic Evidences For the Motion

of the Sun Being Responsible for

the Phenomena of Night and Day

Abu ʿIyaad
Bismillāh wal-Ḥamdulillāh.

Lincoln Barnett (1909-1979CE) wrote in his book: “The Universe and Dr.
Einstein” (with a forward by Einstein himself), “... for we cannot feel our
motion through space; nor has any physical experiment ever proved that the
earth actually is in motion.” Stephen Hawking wrote: “Although it is not
uncommon for people to say that Copernicus proved Ptolemy wrong, that is
not true... one can use either picture as a model of the universe, for our
observations of the heavens can be explained by assuming either the earth
or the sun to be at rest.” 1

INTRODUCTION

A stationary Earth and moving sun was the consensus of the

Muslims and the People of the Book prior to the astrologer-
astronomer Copernicus (d. 1543) and likewise, after him. This
consensus is mentioned by Imām al-Qurṭubī (d. 671H) in his
tafsīr. He () said: “That which the Muslims and the People
of the Book are upon is the statement of the Earth standing still
at rest.”2 Shaykh Ḥamūd al-Tuwayjurī () said: “Allāh the
Exalted textually stated the motion of the sun in numerous

1
Camelot Press, UK, (1949), p. 63.
2
In his explanation of Sūrah ar-Raʿd (13:3).
 QURʾĀNIC EVIDENCES FOR THE MOTION OF THE SUN

places in His Book. He stated that it swims in an orbit. He also

stated that He brings it from the East. He also stated its ‫طلوع‬
[approach (as it appears to rise)], its ‫[ تزاور‬passing by], its ‫دلوك‬
and ‫[ غروب‬setting towards West]. The Exalted said: 'He has
subjected for you the sun and moon in constant motion
(‫)دائبني‬, and subjected for you the night and the day.'
(14:33). And ‫ الدأب‬is constant motion as has been textually
stated by the leading scholars of the [Arabic] language and its
meaning has been affirmed by the people of tafsīr. In these
verses is clear proof that the sun is in motion and orbits the
earth so as to enable the livelihood of people and their
beneficial interests.”3

As for the solar system model, it was reverse engineered after

the astrologer-astronomers placed the sun in the centre as a
means of finding a simpler, more accurate mathematical model
to enable better astrological predictions. The nice story we are
told of the “scientific revolution” is not completely true. There
was a lot more going on at the time in Europe which has been
conveniently washed out of the history and science books.

Astrology was a central part of European culture during the 11th-

16th centuries. However, in the late 15th century, astrology was
scathingly attacked by Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (d.
1494) who described it as “The most infectious of all frauds”.
The “astrologer-astronomers” like Copernicus and Kepler were
motivated to find ways to refine it and defend it from criticism as

3
Dhayl al-Sawāʿiq (1390, p. 66).

abuiyaad.com  2
 QURʾĀNIC EVIDENCES FOR THE MOTION OF THE SUN

a means of justifying and maintaining their astrological beliefs

and practices. They were looking to find an easier, more
accurate way to determine locations of planets for horoscopes,
predictions and solutions to worldy predicaments. The sun was
given the supreme position on account of a number of factors
that were at play which include the influence of Hermeticism, a
system of magic centred around the sun, and serving the needs
of astrology.

Nicholas Campion notes in “History of Western Astrology” that

“the entire milieu in which Copernicus moved was astrological.”
He writes: “The problem, Copernicus claimed, was that
astronomical measurements were inaccurate. His particular
genius was to realise that it was not the measuring tools or
methods which were the problem, but the underlying
mathematical and geometric models. Get the models right, his
logic, ran, and the rest would fall into place: planetary positions
would be accurately measured, rituals would be properly timed,
and the state would prosper. This was exactly what Plato had
said. Copernicus’s astronomy was subservient to astrology and
astrology served political priorities.”4

The Copernican solar system model5 [which is the basis

from which the modern ideas of a non-privileged Earth,

4
A History of Western Astrology Volume II: The Medieval and Modern
Worlds. Continuum (2009). p. 109.
5
When presenting a diagram of the solar system on page 31 of his book,
‘On the Revolutions of Celestial Spheres,’ Nicolaus Copernicus makes a

abuiyaad.com  3
 QURʾĀNIC EVIDENCES FOR THE MOTION OF THE SUN

existence of aliens and space travel emanate] was then

championed and made popular by the Hermetic occultist, solar-
magician, Giordano Bruno (1548-1600). In his 1584 work, On
the Infinite Universe and the Worlds,6 Bruno claimed that space
is infinite, all stars are suns like our own, that these suns are
huge in size but only appear small because they are very
remote and that they also have planets orbiting them with life
just like on Earth.7 Thus, the ideas of the Earth’s rotation and
orbit around the central Sun, multiple suns and their orbiting
worlds having alien life and an infinite space all come from
Hermetic influence and the needs of astrology which was a
central part of European culture between the 11 th and 16th
centuries. The occult ideas spread by Bruno are similar to those
in modern “space exploration” and “origins research”.

Nicholas Campion wrote: “The story of Tycho, Kepler and

Galileo, the trio of astronomical geniuses and astrological
reformers, runs to the heart of the mythology of Western
Science. The mythic version, which remains central to the
history of science, holds that science emerged as a reaction to
superstition, that the darknesses of medieval ignorance was

reference to Hermes Trismegistus (an occultist from ancient Egypt said to

be the author of the Hermetica), citing him as saying the Sun is the “visible
god” of the universe.
6
A translation of this book was published by Dorothea Waley Singer within
her work titled Giordano Bruno, His Life and Thought (Schuman, 1950).
Another translation by Scott Gosnell was published more recently in 2014.
7
Refer to the excellent work by Frances Yates titled, “On Giordano Bruno
and the Hermetic Tradition” (Chicago University Press, 1964).

abuiyaad.com  4
 QURʾĀNIC EVIDENCES FOR THE MOTION OF THE SUN

vanquished by the brilliance of the Enlightenment... the

alternative, and increasingly accepted view, is that science
emerged seamlessly out of magic as the latter’s attempts at
problem-solving eventually proved inadequate... the radical
conclusion, which few have dared to propose is that modern
science is similar, at least in some respects to modern magic.”8

Between the 16th and 19th centuries, the Copernican model

was developed and revised over and over until sizes, distances
and speeds were worked out that appeared to make the model
coherent. In the 19th century there was such progress in the
discoveries related to light, electricity, waves, magnetism,
coupled with industrial and technological progress that allowed
the motion of the earth to be empirically tested and quantified.
However, quite shockingly, all of these experiments between
1810 and 1887 consistently failed to detect and quantify the
motion claimed in the model. This led to a crisis in the world of
physics and astronomy because it invalidated the Copernican
universe, which—having demoted the earth from a central,
preferred location—suited materialists, naturalists and atheists.

Philosopher of Science Hans Reichenback (1891-1953)

writes about the failure to detect Earth’s motion with respect to
the ether, “This unexpected result kept the scientific world in
perplexity... This result, announced in 1887, dumbfounded
scientists.”9

8
Ibid. p. 149.
9
From Copernicus to Einstein (Dove Publications, 1980), p. 55.

abuiyaad.com  5
 QURʾĀNIC EVIDENCES FOR THE MOTION OF THE SUN

Hendrik Lorentz (1853-1928) said, “Briefly, everything occurs

as if the Earth were at rest...”10

Albert Einstein (1879-1955) himself referred in 1905 to

“unsuccessful attempts to discover any motion of the earth
relative to the light medium.”11 Confirming this, the famous
physicist Wolfgang Ernst Pauli (1900-1958) wrote in
reference to these experiments, “The failure of many attempts
to measure terrestrially any effects of the earth’s motion...” 12
and two pages earlier, “...as well as to interpret the other
experiments which had not succeeded in showing the influence
of the earth’s motion on the phenomena in question.”

Arthur Eddington (1882-1944), the English astronomer and

physicist, when discussing these same experiments and
proposing possible explanations, wrote, “There was just one
alternative; the earth’s true velocity through space might
happen to have been nil.”13

10
From Lorentz’s 1886 paper, “On the Influence of the Earth’s Motion of
Luminiferous Phenomena,” as cited in Arthur Miller’s Albert Einstein’s
Special Theory of Relativity, Addison Wesley Publishers (1981) p. 21.
11
Refer to Stachel, J., Einstein and Michelson - the Context of Discovery
and the Context of Justification. Astronomische Nachrichten, Vol.303, Issue
1, p. 48.
12
In his 1921 book Theory of Relativity (Dover Publications, 2003), p. 4
13
The Nature of the Physical World, (1929), pp. 11. Eddington makes this
admission about the interpretation of the Michelson-Morley experiments. He
goes on to state that when the experiment was repeated six months later,
the same nil result was found.

abuiyaad.com  6
 QURʾĀNIC EVIDENCES FOR THE MOTION OF THE SUN

Albert Einstein was brought on the scene and—using the ideas

of others, who had tried to solve the problem before him—
formulated his special theory of relativity as a means of
explaining away the stationary earth. This he achieved with the
special theory of relativity in which the speed of light is a
constant even if a light source transmitting the light is itself
traveling at the speed of light. The underlying scam behind it is
that it relies upon the assertion that 1 + 1 = 1, because that is
fundamentally what the theory asserts in relation to the speed
of light, but without any empirical evidence. This theory was
refuted and invalidated and Einstein later came up with the
general theory of relativity in which he contradicted his prior
claim of the constancy of the speed of light.

The non-motion of the earth is the reason why the relativity

theories were invented and manufactured (and not
“discovered”). The false, imaginary, fairy-tale view of the
universe of Einstein was propagandised for to hide and replace
the empirically tested and useful view of the universe of Nikola
Tesla whose discoveries and research are the foundation of the
modern technological world.

The discussion of this huge problem was rephrased from “the

motion or non-motion of the earth” to “the existence or non-
existence of the ether”—the “ether” being a universal medium
within which light, electricity, magnetism, waves and so on take
on the form that they do. This coded way of referring to the
problem allowed the real issue at stake to be kept obscured

abuiyaad.com  7
 QURʾĀNIC EVIDENCES FOR THE MOTION OF THE SUN

and is why little is known about this great crisis at the end of the
19th century. This explains why a person can go through the
entire life-cycle of education, including postgraduate studies,
and never know anything about it at all.

Figure: An article from “The Sphere” Newspaper, 11th June 1921, covering
the purpose of the Michelson-Morley experiment and its failure to detect the
earth’s alleged motion.

Through his theories, Einstein paved the way for the “Big Bang”
idea, and then the rest of 20th century cosmology tooks its
course, pushing other models of the universe to the side. This is
a subject area in itself and is tackled separately and in more
detail in our work, “The Qurʾān and the Conjectures of the
Astronomers”. However, in truth, the relativity theories could not
satisfactorily explain away the stationary earth and the best
compromise with those failed 19th century experiments was to
simply say that all motion is relative and any celestial body can

abuiyaad.com  8
 QURʾĀNIC EVIDENCES FOR THE MOTION OF THE SUN

be taken as stationary, thereby indirectly validating both

heliocentric and geocentric models. As such, the currently
accepted and established theories in science allow us to
propose any model. There is no right or wrong. It is simply a
matter of preference as to what body you want to treat as
stationary and it cannot be disproved by any observation.
Despite this, the heliocentric, solar system model is taught at
all levels of education as if it is factual and true to reality and
brainwashed atheists speak and act as if the scientific method
has proven their imaginary Copernican model, when it actually
falsified it in the 19th century. Here are some statements in
relation to what has preceded:

Albert Einstein acknowledged this himself, when he wrote:

“The struggle, so violent in the early days of science, between
the views of Ptolemy14 and Copernicus would then be quite
meaningless. Either coordinate system could be used with
equal justification. The two sentences, ‘the sun is at rest and
the earth moves,’ or ‘the sun moves and the earth is at rest,’
would simply mean two different conventions concerning two
different coordinate systems.”15

14
Claudius Ptolemy (d. 170AD) was a Greco-Roman astronomer whose
geocentric model of the universe was widely accepted.
15
In his book, The Evolution of Physics (Simon and Schuster, 1988), p. 212.
This is why it is impossible to reject a geocentric universe, concepts
accepted in modern science do not allow dismissal of geocentrism.

abuiyaad.com  9
 QURʾĀNIC EVIDENCES FOR THE MOTION OF THE SUN

George Ellis is a famous astronomer who authored books with

Stephen Hawking. In a profile in Scientific American W.W.
Gibbs quotes Ellis: “People need to be aware that there is a
range of models that could explain the observations... For
instance, I can construct you a spherically symmetrical universe
with Earth at its center, and you cannot disprove it based on
observations... You can only exclude it on philosophical
grounds... What I want to bring into the open is the fact that we
are using philosophical criteria in choosing our models. A lot of
cosmology tries to hide that.”16

Martin Gardner (1914-2010), mathematician and popular

science writer stated in his book on Einstein’s relativity, “The
ancient argument over whether the Earth rotates or the
heavens revolve around it (as Aristotle taught) is seen to be no
more than an argument over the simplest choice of a frame of
reference. Obviously, the most convenient choice is the
universe… Nothing except inconvenience prevents us from
choosing the Earth as a fixed frame of reference… If we choose
to make the Earth our fixed frame of reference, we do not even
do violence to everyday speech. We say that the sun rises in
the morning, sets in the evening; the Big Dipper revolves
around the North Star. Which point of view is ‘correct’? Do the
heavens revolve or does the Earth rotate. The question is
meaningless.”17

16
Scientific American 273(4):55, October 1995.
17
The Relativity Explosion, (1976), pp. 86-87.

abuiyaad.com  10
 QURʾĀNIC EVIDENCES FOR THE MOTION OF THE SUN

Dutch physicist, astronomer and mathematician, William de

Sitter (1872-1934), stated: “The difference between the system
of Ptolemy and that of Copernicus is a purely formal one, a
difference of interpretation only.”18

The Austrian physicist Ernst Mach (1838-1916) stated: “...the

motions of the universe are the same whether we adopt the
Ptolemaic or the Copernican mode of view. Both views are,
indeed, equally correct.”19

Stephen Hawking wrote: “So which is real, the Ptolemaic or

the Copernican system? Although it is not uncommon for
people to say that Copernicus proved Ptolemy wrong, that is
not true. As in the case of our normal view versus that of the
goldfish, one can use either picture as a model of the universe,
for our observations of the heavens can be explained by
assuming either the earth or the sun to be at rest.” 20

As such, models are driven by philosophy and not empirically

verified factual realities. Upon this, the heliocentric model is not
an empirically tested and verified model of reality, but simply
one way of representing what is observed. As for the maths,
then it can be developed for any model to make it appear
consistent, coherent and workable. However, if the model does

18
Kosmos. Harvad University Press (1932), p. 17.
19
The Science of Mechanics. Translated by T. J. McCormack. Chicago:
Open Court Publishing. (1919). 4th edition, p. 232.
20
Stephen Hawking. The Grand Design, Bantam (2011) pages 41-42.

abuiyaad.com  11
 QURʾĀNIC EVIDENCES FOR THE MOTION OF THE SUN

not accord with reality, then the mathematics will break down in
places—being irreconcilable with reality—and this is what is
found with solar eclipses, which cannot work in the helioentric
model and actually invalidate it. As a result, great cunning and
deception is used to make it appear otherwise.21

21
Refer to The Qur’ān, Sunnah and Modern Astronomy for more details on
this matter, available at http://aboutatheism.net/?atidxsu.

abuiyaad.com  12
 QURʾĀNIC EVIDENCES FOR THE MOTION OF THE SUN

QURʾĀNIC EVIDENCES FOR THE SUN’S MOTION

Here are the numerous evidences extracted by Shaykh Ḥamūd

al-Tuwayjurī from the Qurʾān22 on the basis of which Muslims
held consensus that the sun is in motion. Whoever denies the
motion of the sun which is related to the phenomena of night
and day and claims, as do the astrologer-astronomers, that the
sun is stationary [relative to the earth] has fallen into major kufr
because it is clear takdhīb of Allāh—which is accusing Allāh of
lying and speaking untruth.

1. The statement of Allāh the Exalted: ( َ‫وَٱلشَّمْسُ تَجْرِى ِلُِسْتَقَرٍّ لَّهَا ذََٰلِك‬
ِ‫)تَقْدِيرُ ٱلْعَزِيزِ ٱلْعَلِيم‬, “And the sun runs on its fixed course for a
term (appointed). That is the Decree of the All-Mighty, the
All-Knowing.” (36:38). And Ibn Masʿūd read the verse ( َّ‫َلَ ُُسْتَقَر‬
‫)لَّهَا‬, and al-Baghawī said, in explanation of this statement:
‘There is no settlement or stopping, it runs continuously.” Al-
Qurṭubī said: “It runs throug the night and day, it does not pause
or settle.” This verse establishes (‫ )جريان‬for the sun, which is
swift motion.

2. The statement of Allāh the Exalted: ( ‫وَسَخَّرَ ٱلشَّمْسَ وَٱلْقَمَرَ كُلٌّ يَجْرِى‬
‫)ِلَِجَلٍ ُُّسَمًّى‬, “He has subjected the sun and the moon (to
continue going round), each running (its course) for a
term appointed.” (13:2).

22
Refer to Al-Sawāʿiq al-Shadīdah found in his Majmūʿ Muʾallafāt wal-Rasāʾil
(3/255-276).

abuiyaad.com  13
 QURʾĀNIC EVIDENCES FOR THE MOTION OF THE SUN

3, 4, 5. The above statement is repeated in (31:29), (35:13),

(39:5) and in those verses the merging of the night into day and
vice versa (ِِ‫ )يُولِجُ ٱلَّيْلَ ِفِ ٱلنَّهَارِ وَيُولِجُ ٱلنَّهَارَ ِفِ ٱلَّيْل‬and the wrapping of the
night around the day and vice versa ( َ‫يُكَوِّرُ ٱلَّيْلَ عََلَ ٱلنَّهَارِ وَيُكَوِّرُ ٱلنَّهَارَ عََل‬
ِ‫ )ٱلَّيْ ِل‬are also mentioned. Al-Rāghib al-Aṣfahānī said: “His saying
‘wrapping the night’ is an indication of the motion of the sun
across its rising points23, and the increase and decrease in the
[lengths] of the night and day.”24

6, 7. The statement of Allāh the Exalted: ( َ‫وَهُوَ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ ٱلَّيْلَ وَٱلنَّهَار‬
َ‫)وَٱلشَّمْسَ وَٱلْقَمَرَ كُلٌّ ِفِ فَلَكٍ يَسْبَحُون‬, “And it is He who created the
night and the day and the sun and the moon; all are in an
orbit, swimming.” (21:33) and the same again, (َ‫)كُلٌّ ِفِ فَلَكٍ يَسْبَحُون‬
in (36:40) in relation to the rotation of the night, day, sun and
moon. Ibn ʿAbbās, ʿIkrimah, al-Ḍaḥḥāk, al-Ḥasan, al-Qatādah,
and ʿAṭāʾ all say that they all swim, meaning in a circular orbit, in
the sky. Ibn ʿAbbās and others said: “Like the spinning wheel
used for yarn.” And Mujāhid said: “The orbit is like the grinding
mill, or the spinning wheel. The wheel does not spin without [the
spindle] and it without the wheel.” He also said: “The sun, moon
and stars are in an orbit, like the spinning wheel.” He also said:
“The spindle does not revolve except with the wheel and the
wheel does not revolve except with the spindle and the handle
of the grinding mill does not revolve except with it and it does
not revolve except with the handle.”

23
Throughout the year, the point on the horizon from which the sun rises
changes.
24
Mufradāt Gharīb al-Qurʾān (p. 443).

abuiyaad.com  14
 QURʾĀNIC EVIDENCES FOR THE MOTION OF THE SUN

Mujāhid said: “Thus are the stars, sun and moon, they are in a
circular orbit and they do not revolve except with it and nor
does it revolve except with them.” He then stuck his finger in the
ground and then turned his hand around to indicate the circular
orbit [around a centre point, the finger] and said “they revolve
like this”.25

And Ibn Taymiyyah explained that a

duwwāmah, which a child plays with, is
an item (made out of wood or other
material) around which a string is
wrapped and it is pulled quickly, a
modern day example would be a
spinning gyro like the one pictured,
which is spun by the hand using the spindle. And al-Ḥasan al-
Baṣrī said regarding (َ‫)كُلٌّ ِفِ فَلَ ٍك يَسْبَحُون‬, “Meaning, their circular
orbits.” This means that the sun, moon and stars have circular
orbits around and over the earth.

Al-Aẓmah of Abū al-Shaykh al-Aṣfahānī (4/1211).

25

abuiyaad.com  15
 QURʾĀNIC EVIDENCES FOR THE MOTION OF THE SUN

8. The statement of Allāh the Exalted: (ِِْ‫)وَسَخَّرَ لَكُمُ ٱلشَّمْسَ وَٱلْقَمَرَ دَآئِبَي‬,
“And He has made the sun and the moon, both constantly
pursuing their courses, to be of service to you.” (14:33). Al-
Rāghib al-Aṣfahānī said: “Continuous motion.”26 And Ibn
Manẓūr said in al-Lisān: “Duʾūb is exaggeration in motion”. And
Ibn Kathīr said: “They wil not lag, nor stop until the Day of
Judgement.” Al-Qurṭubī said: “Duʾūb is when something
persists upon its activity, making it a continuous habit.” Shaykh
Ḥamūd said: “In His saying, the Exalted, (ُ‫)وَسَخَّرَ لَكُم‬, ‘He
subjected for you’, is evidence that the sun and moon are in
motion and orbit the earth to enable the livelihood and
beneficial interests of the servants to be established. For that
reason, Allāh stated this as His favour upon them in this verse
and others whose mention is to follow.”27

9. The statement of Allāh the Exalted: ( ‫يُغِْشِ ٱلَّيْلَ ٱلنَّهَارَ يَطْلُبُهُۥ حَثِيثًا‬
‫)وَٱلشَّمْسَ وَٱلْقَمَرَ وَٱلنُّجُومَ ُُسَخَّرََٰتٍۭ بِأَُْرِهِۦ‬, “He makes the night to cover
the day, seeking it rapidly, and [He created] the sun, the
moon, and the stars, subjected by His command.” (7:54).
The angle of evidence in the verse is that the night rapidly
pursues the day, and the day is caused by the light of the sun,
and hence the day follows the sun, traversing with the sun’s
traversal. Hence, it indicates that the sun is always in motion,
never remaining still. And in the verse is also another proof,
which is the subjection of the sun. This is discussed in the next
set of verses.

26
Mufradāt Gharīb al-Qurʾān (p. 174).
27
Majmūʿ Muʾallafāt wal-Rasāʾīl (3/266).

abuiyaad.com  16
 QURʾĀNIC EVIDENCES FOR THE MOTION OF THE SUN

10, 11. The statement of Allāh the Exalted: ( َ‫وَسَخَّرَ لَكُمُ ٱلَّيْلَ وَٱلنَّهَار‬
‫)وَٱلشَّمْسَ وَٱلْقَمَرَ وَٱلنُّجُومُ ُُسَخَّرََٰتٌۢ بِأَُْرِهِۦ‬, “And He has subjected to you
the night and the day, the sun and the moon; and the
stars are subjected by His Command.” (16:12) and also ( ‫وَلَئِن‬
َ‫) سَأَلْتَهُم َُّنْ خَلَقَ ٱلسَّمََٰوََٰتِ وَٱِلَْرْضَ وَسَخَّرَ ٱلشَّمْسَ وَٱلْقَمَرَ لَيَقُولُنَّ ٱللَّهُ فَأَنَّىَٰ يُؤْفَكُون‬, “If
you asked them, ‘Who created the heavens and earth and
subjected the sun and the moon?’ they would surely say,
‘Allah.’ Then how are they deluded?” (29:61). The meaning
of the previous three verses is that Allāh has subjected the sun,
moon, stars, night and day and has made them to continuously
run their course (in a circular orbit) around the earth to enable
the livelihood and beneficial interests of the servants to be
established. So Blessed is Allāh, the Lord of the Worlds, who
subjected whatever is in the heavens and earth for His
servants, all from Himself.

12. The statement of Allāh the Exalted: ( ِ‫قَالَ إِبْرََٰهِيمُ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَأْتِى بِٱلشَّمْس‬
َ‫ي‬
ِ ِ‫)ُِنَ ٱِلَْْشِْقِ فَأْتِ بِهَا ُِنَ ٱِلَْغْرِبِ فَبُهِتَ ٱلَّذِى كَفَرَ وَٱللَّهُ َلَ يَهْدِى ٱلْقَوْمَ ٱلظََّٰلِم‬, “Abraham
said, ‘Indeed, Allāh brings up the sun from the east, so
bring it up from the west.’ So the disbeliever was
confounded, and Allāh does not guide the wrongdoing
people.” (2:258). This verse is from the clearest of evidences
for the motion and orbit of the sun around the earth, and that
Allāh subjected it to come from the east every day and depart to
the west. If it was stationary, not moving from its place as is
claimed by modern astronomy, to say that it comes from the
east would be pointless, and idle speech with no meaning to it.
It would be more befitting for Abraham () to say to his

abuiyaad.com  17
 QURʾĀNIC EVIDENCES FOR THE MOTION OF THE SUN

disputant, “Allāh brings the earth [makes it rotate] from the west
[to the east], so make it [rotate from east to west]”. But they
have turned reality the other way around, without any evidence,
but pure conjecture and mathematics.28

13. The statement of Allāh the Exalted: ( ‫فَلَمَّا رَءَا ٱلشَّمْسَ بَازِغَةً قَالَ هََٰذَا‬
َ‫)رَبِّى هََٰذَ ٓا أَكَْبَُ َفلَمَّآ أَ َفلَتْ قَا َل يََٰقَوْمِ إِنِّى بَرِىٓءٌ ُِّمَّا تُْشِْكُون‬, “When he saw the
sun rising up, he said: ‘This is my lord. This is greater.’
But when it set, he said: ‘O my people! I am indeed free
from all that you join as partners [in worship with Allāh]’.”
(6:78). This verse is from the clearest of evidences for the
motion and orbit of the sun around the earth. Allāh has
mentioned both buzūgh (rising) and ufūl (disappearing, fading,
setting) for the moon with the likes of what he mentioned for the
sun. And he did the same for the stars. Hence, the Muslims
affirmed whatever Allāh affirmed of motion and orbit around the
earth for all of them. The ancient astronomers also affirmed that
too. However, it was Copernicus and Herschel, their followers
among the European philosophers and those who blindly
followed them among the Muslims who opposed this. They
affirmed motion and orbit for the moon around the earth and
affirmed motion and orbit for the planets arorund the sun, but

28
We have indicated before that models and their mathematical
underpinnings do not equate to reality and this is something recognised very
well and also stated by physicists, astronomers, scientists and philosophers
of science. Any celestial body can be taken as stationary with everything
else orbiting it and the mathematics can be worked out for this model. So the
mathematics (in terms of distances, sizes, speed of motion or of orbit and so
on), will work, but that does not mean that it accords with actual reality.

abuiyaad.com  18
 QURʾĀNIC EVIDENCES FOR THE MOTION OF THE SUN

denied motion for the sun completely. What necessary follows

from this is the negation of what Allāh affirmed for the sun of
rising and disappearing, or setting. And this is plain disbelief
without any doubt, because it is takdhīb of what Allāh informed
in His Book. As for the one who affirmed motion and orbit for
the moon, then it is binding upon him to affirm that for the sun
as well. If he does not do so, then he separates between two
like things and believes in part of the Book and disbelieves in
another. Allāh the Exalted stated: ( َ‫أَفَتُؤُِْنُونَ بِبَعْضِ ٱلْكِتََٰبِ وَتَكْفُرُون‬
ٍ‫)بِبَعْض‬, “Do you believe in part of the Book and disbelieve in
a part?” (2:85).

14. The statement of Allāh the Exalted: ( ََٰ‫أَقِمِ ٱلصَّلَوَٰةَ لِدُلُوكِ ٱلشَّمْسِ إَِل‬
ِ‫)غَسَقِ ٱلَّيْ ِل‬, “Establish prayer at the decline of the sun [from
its meridian] until the darkness of the night...” (17:78). The
word dulūk is explained as the sun ceasing to be at the highest
point in the sky at noon due to its westward motion. Al-Baghawī
said: “The origin of dulūk is in mayl (inclining, turning, going
towards), the sun inclines, turns, when it reaches its zenith and
goes westwards.”29

15. The statement of Allāh the Exalted: ( ‫وَتَرَى ٱلشَّمْسَ إِذَا طَلَعَت تَّزََٰوَرُ عَن‬
ِ‫)كَهْفِهِمْ ذَاتَ ٱلْيَمِيِ وَإِذَا غَرَبَت تَّقْرِضُهُمْ ذَاتَ ٱلشِّمَا ِل‬, “And [had you been
present], you would see the sun when it rose, inclining
away from their cave on the right, and when it set,
passing away from them on the left...” (18:17). Ibn ʿAbbās,
Saʾid bin Jubayr, Qatādah and Zayd bin Aslam all said that

29
Tafsīr al-Baghawī (5/114).

abuiyaad.com  19
 QURʾĀNIC EVIDENCES FOR THE MOTION OF THE SUN

tazāwaru means to incline, go towards (tamīlu). The meaning is

to pass by and away from something.

16, 17, 18, 19. The statement of Allāh the Exalted: ( َ‫حَتَّىَٰٓ إِذَا بَلَغ‬
ٍ‫)َُغْرِبَ ٱلشَّمْسِ وَجَدَهَا تَغْرُبُ ِفِ عَيٍْ حَ ِمئَة‬, “Until he reached the
westernmost setting place of the sun, he perceived it
setting over a hot, muddy spring...” (18:86). And also ( ‫حَتَّىَٰٓ إِذَا‬
‫) بَلَغَ َُطْ ِلعَ ٱلشَّمْسِ وَجَدَهَا تَطْلُعُ عََلََٰ قَوْمٍ لَّمْ نَجْعَل لَّهُم ُِّن دُونِهَا سِْتًْا‬, “Until, when
he came to the rising place of the sun [in the easternmost
part of the earth], he found it rising over a people for
whom We had not made against it any shield [through
trees, rocks, habitations and the likes].” (18:90). And also
(‫)فَٱصَْبِْ عََلََٰ َُا يَقُولُونَ وَسَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّكَ قَبْلَ طُلُوعِ ٱلشَّمْسِ وَقَبْلَ غُرُوبِهَا‬, “So be
patient over what they say and exalt [Allāh] with praise of
your Lord before the rising of the sun and before its
setting...”, (20:130). And also ( َ‫فَٱصَْبِْ عََلََٰ َُا يَقُولُونَ وَسَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّكَ قَبْل‬
ِ‫ب‬ِ ‫)طُلُوعِ ٱلشَّمْسِ وَقَبْلَ ٱلْغُرُو‬, “So be patient, over what they say and
exalt [Allāh] with praise of your Lord before the rising of
the sun and before its setting...” (50:39).

In these verses, and the three that came before, the following
have been ascribed to the sun: ṭulūʾ (rising), ghurūb (setting),
dulūk (departing from the zenith to the west), tazāwur
(inclining, turning, going to, passing by) and buzūgh (rising)
and ufūl (disappearing). This categorically proves that it is the
sun that is in motion and in orbit around the earth. It rises and
comes from the east, reaches the zenith (highest point) and
then continues in the other direction to the west. If the sun was

abuiyaad.com  20
 QURʾĀNIC EVIDENCES FOR THE MOTION OF THE SUN

stationary relative to the earth, then what is stated in all the

above verses is futile, pointless and in vain, without any
meaning. And this saying does not emanate from anyone who
believes in Allāh the Exalted.

20. The statement of Allāh the Exalted: ( ‫وَٱلشَّمْسِ وَضُحَىَٰهَا وَالْقَمَرِ إِذَا‬
‫)تَلَىَٰهَا‬, “By the sun and its brightness. And [by] the moon
when it follows it.”, (91:1-2). This verse is evidence that the
sun travels and the moon follows it. Ibn ʿAbbās said, “talāhā,
meaning, follows it.” Mujāhid also said the same. Ibn ʿAbbās
also said, “It follows the day”. Qatādah said, “On the night of the
hilāl (new moon), when the sun falls below the horizon, the new
cresent moon is seen.” He means that the moon can then be
seen following behind the sun, and it continues to do so for the
next 14 days. Ibn Zayd said, “It follows it for the first half of the
month, then the sun follows the moon, which remains ahead of
it for the latter half of the month.”30

21, 22. The statement of Allāh the Exalted: (ٍ‫)ٱلشَّمْسُ وَٱلْقَمَرُ بِحُسْبَان‬,
“The sun and the moon [move] by precise calculation.”
(55:5). And also ( ُ‫فَالِقُ ٱْلِْصْبَاحِ وَجَعَلَ ٱلَّيْلَ سَكَنًا وَٱلشَّمْسَ وَٱلْقَمَرَ حُسْبَانًا ذََٰلِكَ تَقْدِير‬
ِ‫)ٱلْعَزِيزِ ٱلْعَلِي ِم‬, “[He is] the cleaver of daybreak and has made
the night for rest and the sun and moon for calculation.
That is the determination of the Exalted in Might, the
Knowing.”, (6:96). Mujāhid explained that the ḥusbān, is the
handle on the grinding mill (pictured earlier), and the mill does

30
These statements are cited by Ibn Abī Ḥātim, al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr and
others.

abuiyaad.com  21
 QURʾĀNIC EVIDENCES FOR THE MOTION OF THE SUN

not move except with the handle and the handle does not move
except with the mill.31 Thus, there are two explanations for this,
and both describe the motions of the sun and moon. First that
they are circular, orbiting around a central axis which would be
the centre of the earth, and second, that they are by precise
calculation, moving at fixed, precise times, having cycles that
are repeated over given durations.32

After presenting these evidences Shaykh Ḥamūd says: “Allāh

()—and He is the all-Knowing and All-Informed—has tied
[the mention of] the sun and moon in most of these places [that
have been cited from in the Qurʾān] which we have mentioned.
He informed that both of them run and swim in orbit. The
modern astronomers affirmed this for the moon but rejected it
for the sun... they have no evidence for distinguishing between
them except false conjectures and corrupt imaginations.” 33

31
It could also refer to the central cog or spindle on which it sits and revolves
around, either way, the meaning is the same.
32
These cycles—in addition to days, nights, months and years—include the
cycles of eclipses which have been known to civilisations from thousands of
years ago.
33
Majmūʿ Muʾallafāt wal-Rasāʾil (3/276).

abuiyaad.com  22
 QURʾĀNIC EVIDENCES FOR THE MOTION OF THE SUN

STATEMENTS OF THE SCHOLARS OF AHL AL-SUNNAH

Shaykh Muḥammad bin Ṣāliḥ al-Uthaymīn () said, “The

alternation of the day and night is due to the Sun’s orbit around
the Earth. Allāh subjected the Sun and the Moon for us, making
them persistent [in their courses] and as two signs amongst the
signs of Allāh indicating the perfection in His power and
vastness in His mercy. Since Allāh the Exalted created them
they both traverse in their orbits in accordance with the
command of Allāh. They do not raise above, fall below or
deviate to the right or left [from their orbits]. He determined
phases for them [in their orbits] that you may count the years
and measurement [of time]. Thus, by the variation in the phases
of the moon we have [the variation] of the new moons and
months. And by the varation in the phases of the Sun’s [orbit]
we have the variation in seasons. When the Sun reaches the
[position of the] furthermost northern constellations, the day’s
[gradual increase in] length ends and the midsummer season is
reached. Then it begins to recede gradually until it returns to
[the position of] the constellations [in the direction of] Yemen,
and the [gradual] increase in the night’s length comes to an end
and the midwinter season enters.”34

Shaykh Bin Baz () said: “As for the one who said that the
Earth [moves] in orbit and the Sun also moves, his saying is
lighter than the one who speaks with the stationary Sun.
However, this in itself is a clear error and opposes the

34
Refer to Majmūʾ al-Fatāwā of the Shaykh (6/193).

abuiyaad.com  23
 QURʾĀNIC EVIDENCES FOR THE MOTION OF THE SUN

preceding verses, sensory perception and outward reality. It is

an avenue to the saying that the Sun does not move. Allāh has
already made clear in the aforementioned verses that He
placed the mountains in the Earth so that it does not move with
them and [the word] mayd means movement (ḥarakah),
shaking (iḍṭirāb) and motion (dawrān) as the scholars of
exegesis and imāms of the [Arabic] language have textually
stated. In the takfīr of the one who speaks with this saying there
is some observation to be made because the evidences
relayed regarding the stationary Earth and its rest and the
absence of its orbit are not as clear as the evidences relayed
regarding the motion of the sun and the absence of its rest. It is
also because those who affirm the orbital motion of the Earth
present doubts which obligate the avoidance of [ascribing]
disbelief to the one who spoke with that. But there is no doubt
about the disbelief of the one who rejects the orbital motion of
the Sun due to the clear definitive evidences regarding it”35

Shaykh Ṣāliḥ al-Fawzān said: “There is no doubt with us or

with the Believers regarding that, that the Earth is stationary
and that the Sun orbits around it, as do the stars and the other
celestial bodies (aflāk), that they orbit the Earth. There is no
doubt about this. This is what is evidenced in the Qurʾān and
the Sunnah.”36

35
Al-Adillah al-Naqliyyah wal-Ḥissiyah ʿalā Jaryān al-Shams wa Sukūn al-
Arḍ. (1402H),
36
See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NH_NQisXTRE

abuiyaad.com  24
 QURʾĀNIC EVIDENCES FOR THE MOTION OF THE SUN

Shaykh Muqbil bin Hādī () said: “As for [the question of]
whether the Earth is in motion, this is an affair for which neither
the Book nor the Sunnah have brought [evidence]. Rather, the
one who speaks with it is closer to disbelief because he
ascribed [something to] Allāh without knowledge and also he
rejected what is observed...”37

Shaykh ʿUbayd al-Jābirī was asked, “Is the belief that the
Earth revolves around the Sun as claimed by the astronomers
considered disbelief?” He replied, “I say: That which the Qurʾān
and the Sunnah have indicated is that the Sun is what moves
and the Earth is stationary. From the evidences that the Earth is
stationary and the Sun is the one that moves is the authentic
tradition which is that Joshua bin Nūn (), the successor of
Moses and Ḥārūn (), he was the inheritor of
Prophethood after them. He approached Bayt al-Maqdis whilst
the Sun was approaching its setting-place in the West. He said,
“Indeed you are commanded and I am commanded, O Allāh
restrain it for us.” So Allāh restrained the Sun [in its place] until
that prophet () entered Bayt al-Maqdis and Allāh granted
him victory over it.38 If the Earth had been the one that moves,
then the address of this prophet to the Sun would have been
vain, and the prophets are immune from error [in such matters].
This saying that the Sun is stationary is rejection (takdhīb) of

37
Refer to https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ymd4PiAgkuk for the audio.
38
This is related by al-Bukhārī (no. 3124) and Muslim (no. 1747).

abuiyaad.com  25
 QURʾĀNIC EVIDENCES FOR THE MOTION OF THE SUN

the Qurʾān and the Sunnah. It is a theory of disbelief and most

of the astronomers are ignoramuses.”39

39
Refer to http://ar.miraath.net/fatwah/5091.

abuiyaad.com  26
 QURʾĀNIC EVIDENCES FOR THE MOTION OF THE SUN

CONCLUSION

By textual evidence of the Qurʾān—which is the knowledge of

Allāh the Exalted—the sun is in motion, thereby leading to the
phenomena of the alternation of the night and day. The Qurʾān
ascribes the following actions to the sun:

— jarayān - swift motion

— sibāḥah - swimming
— ṭulūʾ - rising
— ghurūb - setting, departing to the west
— dulūk - deviating from the zenith to the west
— tazāwur - passing by
— buzūgh - rising
— ufūl – disappearing out of sight

Every verb (fiʿl) has a fāʾil (doer), and these actions are ascribed
to the sun as the doer, so these are the actions of the sun and
to deny this is to deny the foundation of language. Whoever
rejects this has made takdhīb of Allāh and is a disbeliever,
having nullified his īmān. Allāh said (ِ‫)أََلَ يَعْلَمُ َُ ْن خَلَ َق‬, “Should He
not know who created...” (67:14), and (ِ‫“ )قُلْ ءَأَنتُ ْم أَعْلَمُ أَ ِم ٱللَّ ُه‬Say:
Are you more knowing or is Allāh?”, (2:140), and ( ُ‫وََلَ يُنَبِّئُكَ ُِثْل‬
ٍ‫)خَبِري‬, “And none can inform you like [one] Acquainted [with
all matters].” (35:14). Qatādah said: “Meaning, Himself, the
Blessed and Exalted.”40

40
Tafsīr al-Baghawī (6/417).

abuiyaad.com  27
 QURʾĀNIC EVIDENCES FOR THE MOTION OF THE SUN

It is not possible to explain away these verses which mention

these actions of the sun. Likewise, it is not possible—given that
the Qurʾān ascribes the same actions to the sun and moon
combined in some places and the sun, moon and stars
combined in others—to distinguish between the sun and the
moon in their respective motions. This then leads to a problem
for those weak, apologetic Muslims who bend over backwards
in the face of atheists, non-Muslims and apostates to make it
appear that there is nothing in the Qurʾān that clashes with
modern astronomy. This is a lie and these Muslims are lying to
themselves. In reality, there is zero evidence for the earth’s
motion and all experiments to detect it have failed. No
experiment can detect the earth’s motion and any claim to the
contrary will be based upon hidden,undisclosed assumptions.
This claim of a motionless sun relative to the earth opposes
sensory perception, sound reason and revealed text. It is only
believed in by the brainwashed, the insane who distrust their
physical senses, or those deceived by the claims of the
astrologer-astronomers—thinking them to be established
certainties when they are nothing but imaginations and
conjectures—the aim of which is to erase the traces of Allāh’s
rubūbiyyah from being perceived and witnessed.

Abu Iyaad
@abuiyaadsp (v1.04)
19/03/1440 - 27/11/2018

abuiyaad.com  28