Question: I want
an explanation of some verses of the Qur’an.
(i) 81:2 describes a particular event
which will take place on the Day of Judgement. It is generally translated
as ‘when the stars will fall’. It is confusing to imagine the direction
in which they will fall since the earth is round. Also, since the stars
are larger than the earth, they cannot obviously fall on the earth, though
it seems at first sight that this is what is being referred to. Please
clarify.
(ii) 86:6-7 mentions that a human
being is created from a gushing fluid that springs from between the ribs
and the loins. It seems that this is a reference to the blood. Kindly,
explain how humans are created from blood.
(iii) 21:33 states that the sun and
the moon are moving in an orbit. It has been scientifically proved that
the moon is in orbit. However, I do not know what science says about the
sun. Please let me know if there is any scientific discovery about whether
the sun is also in orbit.
(iv) Who is Luqman whom the Qur’an
refers
to and what is the context of the following verses:
Turn not your cheek in scorn toward folk, nor walk with
pertness on the land. Verily, Allah loves not each braggart boaster. Be
modest in your bearing and subdue your voice. Indeed, the harshest of all
voices is the voice of the ass. (31:18-19)
Answers: (i) A more
precise translation will perhaps remove your confusion. Read: ‘When the
stars fall out’, instead of ‘When the stars fall’. This of course does
not mean that the stars will fall down on the earth. It means that they
will be dispersed from their positions, and will no longer follow their
systematic routine and schedule.
(ii) The reference is not to blood;
it is to a man’s seminal fluid about which it is now medically known that
the neuron system which controls its release is spread between the ribs
and the loins.
(iii) According to modern astronomical
advancements and discoveries, the sun together with its solar system is
moving in an orbit at the speed of 20 km/sec. Its movement seems outwardly
linear to us, but in all probability is following a closed circuit path.
(iv) These verses present a part of
the advice given by Luqman
to his son as recorded by the Qur’an.
Luqman was a wise man who lived
many centuries before the Prophet (sws) (some say in the time of the Prophet
David (sws)) in the south of Arab in Yemen. His people are the descendants
of the nation of ‘Aad. Ancient
Arab literature mentions him as a sage and a man of wisdom. He is well-known
to the Arabs in this capacity. He seems to have been the ruler of his tribe
and his advice and counselling mentioned in the Qur’an show that they were directed to his son and were given at the time
when his son was taking over as the tribe ruler after him. The idolaters
of Makkah are the addressees of the surah in which these verses occur and the context and background of these
verses is that the words of wisdom the Qur’an is presenting before the idolaters of Makkah are nothing new.
These words of wisdom of the Almighty are the same as what they know from
one of their own sages: Luqman.
It is their misfortune caused by their own wrong attitude that they are
denying the very facts which are upheld in their own intellectual tradition.
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