Harnessing the Sun and the Moon
Selections from the Book The Story of The Beginning of Creation and The Creation of Adam, peace be upon him …
Written by Dr. Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi...
Episode (40)
Allah Almighty said: {and made subject the sun and the moon, each running [its course] for a specified term.} [Ar-Ra'd: 2]. One of the meanings of subjecting the sun and the moon is the regulation of each of their movements in a way that ensures the proper functioning of the universe and the continuity of life on Earth.
The Quranic references to the subjection of both the sun and the moon, and to their running for a specified term, appear in four verses in the Quran as follows:
Allah Almighty said: {It is Allah who erected the heavens without pillars that you [can] see; then He established Himself above the Throne and made subject the sun and the moon, each running [its course] for a specified term. He arranges [each] matter; He details the signs that you may, of the meeting with your Lord, be certain.} [Ar-Ra'd: 2]. And He said: {He causes the night to enter the day, and He causes the day to enter the night and has subjected the sun and the moon - each running [its course] for a specified term. That is Allah, your Lord; to Him belongs sovereignty. And those whom you invoke other than Him do not possess [as much as] the membrane of a date seed.} [Fatir: 13]. Allah Almighty also said: {He created the heavens and earth in truth. He wraps the night over the day and wraps the day over the night and has subjected the sun and the moon, each running [its course] for a specified term. Unquestionably, He is the Exalted in Might, the Perpetual Forgiver.} [Az-Zumar: 5]. And He Almighty said: {Do you not see [i.e., know] that Allah causes the night to enter the day and causes the day to enter the night and has subjected the sun and the moon, each running [its course] for a specified term, and that Allah, of whatever you do, is Aware?} [Luqman: 29].
This means that both the sun and the moon run their course toward their destined end, which is the Day of Judgment. This appointed term is a form of subjection, and the Hour will only come suddenly, as mentioned in the words of Allah Almighty: {They ask you, [O Muhammad], about the Hour: when is its arrival? Say, "Its knowledge is only with my Lord. None will reveal its time except Him. It lays heavily upon the heavens and the earth. It will not come upon you except unexpectedly." They ask you as if you are familiar with it. Say, "Its knowledge is only with Allah, but most of the people do not know."} [Al-A'raf: 187].
Therefore, our Lord, Blessed and Exalted, has left visible signs in the sky to confirm to those with insight the inevitable demise of both the sun and the moon. The sun loses, every second of its life, an amount of energy equivalent to 4.6 million tons of its mass, meaning that the sun is gradually burning out, inevitably leading to its total extinction. However, the Hereafter will not wait for the sun to burn out completely, as the Hereafter is a divine command—{"Be," and it is.}. Thus, it will come suddenly, without waiting for the natural processes that Allah has left as witnesses to the certainty of the Hereafter, even though the Hereafter will not be accomplished through them.
It has been established that the Earth, due to its rotation around its axis—affected by ocean waves, particularly the processes of tides in shallow seas, and wind movements—loses approximately one-thousandth of a second of its speed every century. This slight decrease in the Earth's rotational speed leads to a gradual increase in the moon's rotational speed, causing it to move away from the Earth at a rate of about three centimeters per year. Astronomers estimate that this gradual distancing will eventually cause the moon to exit Earth's gravitational pull and enter the sun's gravitational field, where it will be swallowed, marking its inevitable end. It is significant to note that the Holy Quran anticipated this scientific finding, affirming the certainty of the sun swallowing the moon fourteen hundred years ago. Allah Almighty says: {So when vision is dazzled. (7) And the moon darkens. (8) And the sun and the moon are joined, (9)} [Al-Qiyamah: 7-9].
- Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi, The Story of The Beginning of Creation and The Creation of Adam, peace be upon him, pp. 277-280.
- The Eternal Miracle, Al-Salabi, , p. 49.
- From the verses of scientific miracles in the sky, Al-Najjar, p. 586.
For further information and review of the sources for the article, see:
The Book of The Story of The Beginning of Creation and The Creation of Adam, peace be upon him on the official website of Sheikh Dr. Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi:
