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Geocentrism and the Quran: Difference between revisions
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In several verses the [[Qur'an]] describes the movement of the sun and moon, a few times mentioning that they travel in a circuitous path, or sphere/hemisphere (''fee falakin'' فِى فَلَكٍ), but does not mention once that the Earth too is in motion.<ref name="LanesLexiconFalak">Falak [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000227.pdf Lane's Lexicon Volume 1 page 2443] and [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000228.pdf page 2444] Lane also says that the Arab astronomers said there were seven of these spheres for the sun, moon, and the five visible planets, rotating about the celestial pole. This must reflect the post-Qur'anic influence of Ptolemy, whose astronomical work was translated for the Arabs from the 8th century onwards.</ref> The geocentric (Earth-centered) view was the prevailing understanding of the universe prior to the 16th century when Copernicus helped explain and popularize a sun-centered (heliocentric) view of the universe. | In several verses the [[Qur'an]] describes the movement of the sun and moon, a few times mentioning that they travel in a circuitous path, or sphere/hemisphere (''fee falakin'' فِى فَلَكٍ), but does not mention once that the Earth too is in motion.<ref name="LanesLexiconFalak">Falak [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000227.pdf Lane's Lexicon Volume 1 page 2443] and [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000228.pdf page 2444] Lane also says that the Arab astronomers said there were seven of these spheres for the sun, moon, and the five visible planets, rotating about the celestial pole. This must reflect the post-Qur'anic influence of Ptolemy, whose astronomical work was translated for the Arabs from the 8th century onwards.</ref> The geocentric (Earth-centered) view was the prevailing understanding of the universe prior to the 16th century when Copernicus helped explain and popularize a sun-centered (heliocentric) view of the universe. | ||
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<br>'''Word by word:''' ''Waalshshamsu'' (and the sun) ''tajree'' (runs) ''limustaqarrin'' (to a resting point) ''laha'' (of it).}} | <br>'''Word by word:''' ''Waalshshamsu'' (and the sun) ''tajree'' (runs) ''limustaqarrin'' (to a resting point) ''laha'' (of it).}} | ||
Immediately after describing the change from day to night the | Immediately after describing the change from day to night the passage states that the sun runs on to a designated "resting place" (ِmustaqarrin مُسْتَقَرٍّ See footnotes regarding the Arabic word here, which differs from similar verses).<ref name="mustaqarrin">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 running (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 - However, note that mustaqarrin مُسْتَقَرٍّ in 36:38 is a different word.</ref> There is also a sahih hadith that use the same Arabic word as in {{Quran|36|38}} to identify "a resting place" as part of the sun's daily cycle.<ref>See {{Muslim|1|297}} (also {{Bukhari|6|60|326}} and {{Bukhari|6|60|327}} where Q. 36:38 is explained such that the resting place is under the throne)</ref> An alternative view is that this refers to the sun's final resting on the last day rather than some temporal location. Another narration of the same hadith possibly supports this view.<ref>See {{Bukhari|4|54|421}} and {{Bukhari|9|93|520}} where Q. 36:38 is instead mentioned at the end, possibly 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) instead of under the throne each night.</ref> Whichever meaning was originally 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. | ||
The phrase "It is not for the sun to overtake the moon" in {{Quran|36|40}} does not, critics point out, comfortably fit a heliocentric perspective, yet is quite natural from a 7<sup>th</sup> century perspective where the sun and moon were believed to orbit the same world, and indeed, would one day be joined together (discussed in another section below). The word translated 'for' in the phrase 'It is not for the sun...' in {{Quran|36|40}} is ''yanbaghee (''يَنۢبَغِى'')'', which means "fitting", "suitable", "proper", "behoves", "right and allowable", "good, "facilitated", "easy", "practicable", or "manageable"<ref>ba-ghayn-ya [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume1/00000269.pdf Lane's Lexicon Book 1 page 233]</ref> and the word translated 'overtake' is ''tudrika'' (تُدْرِكَ), which means "catches up and comes upon".<ref>dal-ra-kaf [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume3/00000039.pdf Lane's Lexicon Book 1 page 873]</ref> | The phrase "It is not for the sun to overtake the moon" in {{Quran|36|40}} does not, critics point out, comfortably fit a heliocentric perspective, yet is quite natural from a 7<sup>th</sup> century perspective where the sun and moon were believed to orbit the same world, and indeed, would one day be joined together (discussed in another section below). The word translated 'for' in the phrase 'It is not for the sun...' in {{Quran|36|40}} is ''yanbaghee (''يَنۢبَغِى'')'', which means "fitting", "suitable", "proper", "behoves", "right and allowable", "good, "facilitated", "easy", "practicable", or "manageable"<ref>ba-ghayn-ya [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume1/00000269.pdf Lane's Lexicon Book 1 page 233]</ref> and the word translated 'overtake' is ''tudrika'' (تُدْرِكَ), which means "catches up and comes upon".<ref>dal-ra-kaf [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume3/00000039.pdf Lane's Lexicon Book 1 page 873]</ref> | ||
====The sun's movement is almost always mentioned in the context of day and night==== | ====The sun's movement is almost always mentioned in the context of day and night==== | ||
An important observation is that the sun's movement is almost always mentioned in the context of night and day, {{Quran|13|2}} being the only exception. See the "floating" of the sun and moon in {{Quran|21|33}} and {{Quran|36|40}} (discussed in the next section), and the "running" of the sun and moon in | An important observation is that the sun's movement is almost always mentioned in the context of night and day, {{Quran|13|2}} being the only exception. See the "floating" of the sun and moon in {{Quran|21|33}} and {{Quran|36|40}} (discussed in the next section), and the "running" of the sun and moon in {{Quran|31|29}}, {{Quran|35|13}}, {{Quran-range|36|37|40}}, and {{Quran|39|5}}. Similarly, {{Quran|14|33}} (the word translated there as "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>). | ||
===Quran 21:33 and 36:40 - The sun, moon, night and day all float in a falak=== | ===Quran 21:33 and 36:40 - The sun, moon, night and day all float in a falak=== | ||
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====No mention of Earth's orbit==== | ====No mention of Earth's orbit==== | ||
Critics often point out that while, according to the Quran, the stars have certain fixed "settings" (''mawaqi'', {{Quran|56|75}}); and while the day, night, sun and moon are mentioned as all floating in a falak; and while the sun and moon are often mentioned as running their courses, there is never any indication whatsoever that the Earth itself runs any kind of course or orbit. | Critics often point out that while, according to the Quran, the stars have certain fixed "settings" (''mawaqi'', {{Quran|56|75}}); and while the day, night, sun and moon are mentioned as all floating in a falak; and while the sun and moon are often mentioned as running their courses, there is never any indication whatsoever that the Earth itself runs any kind of course or orbit. | ||
Some suggest that the word "all" (kullun) in Q. 21:33 and Q. 36:40 quoted above refers to all heavenly bodies, which would implicitly include the earth. Critics point out that the verses themselves already explicitly state what "all" refers to - they name the sun, moon, night, and day, all of which are described as mobile entities in other verses. | |||
In any case, vast numbers of interstellar objects (even planets and stars) are not currently in circular orbits but rather are travelling in hyperbolic trajectories (becoming ever straighter), having been dynamically ejected at greater than escape velocity from their solar systems or even from their galaxies (indeed, [[w:Intergalactic_star|intergalactic stars]] have been observed by astronomers). | |||
====The galactic orbit interpretation==== | ====The galactic orbit interpretation==== | ||
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In the view of critics, this suggests that the sun takes a path or action similar or at least comparable to that of the moon (which goes around earth once per month, and to an ancient person would appear to do so on a nightly basis). The word translated "follow" is used many other places to mean recite, but is primarily defined as "to follow", "go", "walk behind", or "follow in way of imitation" or "of action", and was used for animals like camels following behind each other.<ref>Ta-Lam-Waw [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume1/00000350.pdf Lane's Lexicon Book 1 page 313]</ref> Critics note that while the moon neither follows behind the sun's movement nor provides its own light like the sun, a pre-modern observer would get the impression that the moon and sun, in a sense, "chase" one another in their course about the Earth (an impression the Quran appears to agree with). | In the view of critics, this suggests that the sun takes a path or action similar or at least comparable to that of the moon (which goes around earth once per month, and to an ancient person would appear to do so on a nightly basis). The word translated "follow" is used many other places to mean recite, but is primarily defined as "to follow", "go", "walk behind", or "follow in way of imitation" or "of action", and was used for animals like camels following behind each other.<ref>Ta-Lam-Waw [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume1/00000350.pdf Lane's Lexicon Book 1 page 313]</ref> Critics note that while the moon neither follows behind the sun's movement nor provides its own light like the sun, a pre-modern observer would get the impression that the moon and sun, in a sense, "chase" one another in their course about the Earth (an impression the Quran appears to agree with). | ||
===Quran 75:8 - The similar size and distance of the sun and moon (one day they will be joined)=== | ===Quran 75:8-9 - The similar size and distance of the sun and moon (one day they will be joined)=== | ||
In a passage about events on the day of resurrection, the Quran makes an assertion which, critics argue, strongly builds on the implication that the sun and moon are of a similar size and are located a similar distance from Earth. As already noted, the Quran says that the moon "follows" the sun ({{Quran-range|91|1|2}}), and "It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor doth the night outstrip the day." ({{Quran|36|40}}). Verse {{Quran|75|8}} adds that on the last day the sun and moon will be joined together: | In a passage about events on the day of resurrection, the Quran makes an assertion which, critics argue, strongly builds on the implication that the sun and moon are of a similar size and are located a similar distance from Earth. As already noted, the Quran says that the moon "follows" the sun ({{Quran-range|91|1|2}}), and "It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor doth the night outstrip the day." ({{Quran|36|40}}). Verse {{Quran-range|75|8|9}} adds that on the last day the sun and moon will be joined together: | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|75|8}}|And the moon darkens And the sun and the moon are joined,}} | {{Quote|{{Quran-range|75|8|9}}|And the moon darkens And the sun and the moon are joined,}} | ||
The word translated "are joined" is ''jumi'a'', a verb which means to collect together, gather together, bring together.<ref>Jama'a [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume2/00000091.pdf Lane's Lexicon Book 1 page 455]</ref> Critics note that this would require the moon to travel 98 million miles away from Earth and into the sun, which is over | The word translated "are joined" is ''jumi'a'', a verb which means to collect together, gather together, bring together.<ref>Jama'a [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume2/00000091.pdf Lane's Lexicon Book 1 page 455]</ref> Critics note that this would require the moon to travel 98 million miles away from Earth and into the sun, which is over 400 times wider. To describe them as brought together (jumi'a) in such a scenario would hardly be apt, critics argue, and a very odd apocalyptic event. Rather, the description sits comfortably in the ancient understanding of the cosmos, whereby the sun and moon were assumed to be two roughly equivalent celestial bodies in the sky above the Earth. | ||
It is worth noting that the darkening of the moon in | It is worth noting that the "darkening" of the moon in verse 8 is an Arabic word which in hadiths refers to a lunar or solar eclipse (in this case lunar). However, for a lunar eclipse to occur (when the earth's shadow is cast upon the moon) the sun and moon are on opposite sides of the earth and thus are not in any sense "joined". Nor does "joined" in verse 9 work as a reference to a solar eclipse (when the sun occasionally casts a shadow of the moon on the earth). The moon is invisible during the portion of a month when it can eclipse the sun since it must be on the daylit side of the earth, and hence the moon does not "darken" or itself become eclipsed (verse 8) as it passes between observers and the sun but rather its silhouette becomes visible. | ||
===The sun and its movement is always paired with the moon=== | ===The sun and its movement is always paired with the moon=== | ||
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As with {{Quran|7|54}} and {{Quran|36|37}} and the verses where the day and night (as well as the sun and moon) are said to swim in a ''falak''<ref name="LanesLexiconFalak" /> (see above), the night and day in this verse are referred to as some kind of entities. Here, critics argue that it would make sense to describe the Earth as passing through night and day or possibly to say that night and day wrap around the earth, as one might spin an item in order to wrap it with something. But, the critics note, the Qur'an instead says that Allah wraps the day and night over one another rather than the earth, suggesting that the night and day possess some manner of corporeal form. | As with {{Quran|7|54}} and {{Quran|36|37}} and the verses where the day and night (as well as the sun and moon) are said to swim in a ''falak''<ref name="LanesLexiconFalak" /> (see above), the night and day in this verse are referred to as some kind of entities. Here, critics argue that it would make sense to describe the Earth as passing through night and day or possibly to say that night and day wrap around the earth, as one might spin an item in order to wrap it with something. But, the critics note, the Qur'an instead says that Allah wraps the day and night over one another rather than the earth, suggesting that the night and day possess some manner of corporeal form. | ||
Another problem is that there is no coherent way to consistently interpret each term in the phrase "wraps the night over the day and wraps the day over the night" to correspond with scientifically meaningful concepts. For example, if one takes the first half of the phrase to mean that the sunlit side of the Earth revolves into the shadow of the Earth cast by the sun, those definitions of "day" and "night" do not work for the second half of the phrase, "wraps the day over the night". The word "day" would now have to mean the light from the sun and "night" would have to refer to the shadowed side of the earth which rotates into it. | |||
Two verses nearly identical to {{Quran|39|5}} are {{Quran|31|29}} and {{Quran|35|13}} (also containing similar phrasing are {{Quran|3|27}}, {{Quran|22|61}}, and {{Quran|57|6}}) where instead of "he wraps", the verb "he causes to enter" (''yooliju'') is used. Critics argue that, along with {{Quran|7|54}} where the day is said to "cover" and "chase" the night (or possibly vice versa) and {{Quran|36|37}} where Allah strips the day from the night, these verses present a picture of the day and night successively being wrapped across each other and in so doing covering the other and entering into it. It is in this picture, they note, that night never "outruns" (''sabiqu'') the day ({{Quran|36|40}}). | Two verses nearly identical to {{Quran|39|5}} are {{Quran|31|29}} and {{Quran|35|13}} (also containing similar phrasing are {{Quran|3|27}}, {{Quran|22|61}}, and {{Quran|57|6}}) where instead of "he wraps", the verb "he causes to enter" (''yooliju'') is used. Critics argue that, along with {{Quran|7|54}} where the day is said to "cover" and "chase" the night (or possibly vice versa) and {{Quran|36|37}} where Allah strips the day from the night, these verses present a picture of the day and night successively being wrapped across each other and in so doing covering the other and entering into it. It is in this picture, they note, that night never "outruns" (''sabiqu'') the day ({{Quran|36|40}}). | ||