Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Sun Sets in a Spring of Water


The clearest scientific error in the Quran is its claim that the Sun sets in a spring of muddy water.

18:86 - Hatta itha balagha maghriba alshshamsi wajadaha taghrubu fee AAaynin hami-atin wawajada AAindaha qawman qulna ya tha alqarnayni imma an tuAAaththiba wa-imma an tattakhitha feehim husnan.

18:86 - Till, when he reached the setting-place of the sun, he found it setting in a muddy spring, and found a people thereabout. We said: O Dhu'l-Qarneyn! Either punish or show them kindness.

This verse is alone enough to show that the Quran is falsehood. According to the verse, the Sun has a setting place on Earth that we can reach, where it was found to set in a "muddy spring"

There are two defenses that are offered by Islamic apologists to this:

1). That the verse is talking about reaching the time of sunset - clearly refuted by looking at the context and wording of the verse - "till when he reached the setting time of the sun" has no meaning if the verse meant setting time of sun.

2). That the verse is talking about reaching the westernmost point that he can reach in the direction of sunset - again refuted by the context and wording - "till when he reached the west, he found it setting" - here "it" has no meaning if the words maghriba alshshamsi meant west because the word sun has not even been used to know what "it" refers to.

Besides, this blatant error is confirmed in the authentic (Sahih) hadiths.

Sunan Abu-Dawud 4002 (Sahih) - Narrated Abu Dharr: I was sitting behind the Messenger of Allah who was riding a donkey while the sun was setting. He asked: Do you know where this sets? I replied: Allah and his Apostle know best. He said: It sets in a spring of warm water (Hamiyah).

Every single Tafsir for the first 440 years after Muhammad's death (19 Tafsirs in this period) supported this claim:

Tafsir Mujahid (104 After Hijra), Tafsir Ghareeb al-Quran (120 AH), Muqatil bin Sulaiman (150 AH), Tafsir Sufyan al-Thawri (161 AH), Tafsir AbdulRazaq al-Sanaani (211 AH), Tafsir al-Quran - Al-Tustari (283 AH), Tafsir al-Hibri (286 AH), Tafsir Furat al-Kufi (~300 AH), Tafsir al-Hiwari (~300 AH), Tafsir al-Nisa'i (303 AH), Tafsir al-Tabari (310 AH), Tafsir Nazhat al-Quloub (330 AH), Ta'wilat Ahlul Sunnah (333 AH), Tafsir Bahr el-uloum (375 AH), Tafsir IbnAbi Zamanayn (399 AH), Tafsir Ali Ibrahim al-Qimmi (~400 AH), Haqa'iq al-Tafsir - Al-Silmi (412 AH), Tafsir al-Kashf wal bayan (427 AH), AlHidaya ila bulugh alNihaya (437 AH) - all of them clearly stated that Sun literally sets in a spring of water.

It was only Tafsir Al-Mawirdi written 450 AH which first started suggesting that it could be talking about it being an illusion - as an alternate theory - it didn't dismiss the main theory of Sun setting on a spring. These interpretations developed as a result of scientific knowledge about Sun's size rather than an objective translation of the verse.

And besides, even if we ignore all of this and buy the unlikely claim that somehow Dhul-Qarnain had an illusion of sun setting in a spring, lets take a look at the picture of the largest spring in the world - the Frying Pan Lake in New Zealand:



Clearly, even the largest spring in the world is not large enough to cause this illusion. Humans can clearly see far enough by simply standing up.

Conclusion: This is a clear scientific error in the Quran and the evidence that points to this error is overwhelming not only from the Quran itself, but from the authentic hadiths and earliest tafsirs. To pretend that there is nothing wrong in this passage would be delusional at best.

6 comments:

  1. Researching the setting of the sun does not mean the exttreme west.. for there is no such thing. West and East are relative terms. It means a western eepedition terminated by a spring of murky water. This has puzzled Commentators, and they have understood this to mean the dark, temptuous sea. If Zul-qarnain is Alexander the Great,the reference is easily understood to be Lychnitis (now Ochrida), west of Macedonia. It is fed fed entirely by underground springs in a limestone region, where the water is never very clear.

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  2. Reaching the setting place of the sun means the author thought sun had a setting place on the earth.

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  3. Reaching the setting place of the sun means the author thought sun had a setting place on the earth.

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  4. Hei Rohit Balakrishnan!
    (1)Who are you? Are you Muslim? You are not, then why you talk about Islam,your article consists of
    BIG ERRORS because you cut and paste without honestly revailing the actual chronicle events of it! PROOF OF YOUR EVIL INTENTIONS AND IGNORANT! (2)Are you cleverer
    than God? If yes, then don't use God's soul, brain, eyes, mouth, nose etc created by God, create yourself! Don't eat food and drinks created by God, create yourself! Don't live in this earth created by God, create yourself!!! If you acknowledge God cleverer than yourself, then SHUT UP, don't judge God!!!
    (2)STOP translating Quran and giving opinions, you are NOT QUALIFIED!!!
    Before you open your mouth, read these :
    There are at least 11 sub-knowledge(besides 3 below) for a person (Muslim or not) to MASTER to qualified in interpreting the Holy Quran, read :

    (1)Tafsir refers to the accurate interpretation of the Quranic texts, such as Arabic grammar and syntax, Arabic literature and Quranic sciences (Uloom al-Quran). A commentator’s familiarity with modern fields of learning, like the pure sciences and social sciences can aid in making the Quranic explanations relevant to modern human society.

    (2)Usool at-Tafsir literally means “The Fundamental Principles of Quranic Interpretation”. It refers to those branches of knowledge which are necessary to provide the proper Quranic interpretation (tafsir). This branch of knowledge provides the step-by-step methodology of interpreting the Quran to ensure that interpretations are not merely the result of human whims and fancies.

    (3)Uloom al-Quran, refers to all the fields of knowledge which aid in elucidating the Quran. These include the following :

    1.Knowledge of tafsir (exegesis),
    2.Qiraa’aat (recitations),
    3.Ar-rasmul-‘Uthmaanee (the ‘Uthmaanic script),
    4.I‘jaaz al-Quran (miraculous aspects of the Quran),
    5.Asbaab an-nuzool (reasons for revelation),
    6.An-naasikh wal-mansookh (abrogating and abrogated verses),
    7.I‘raab al-Quran (Quranic grammar),
    8.Ghareeb al-Quran (unusual Quranic terms),
    9.Religious rulings,
    10.Arabic language
    11.Arabic literature.

    * Therefore, as you can see, you ARE NOT qualified to interpret the Quran(not even a single sentence or a word), so don't ever try!

    A lot of the ignorant interpretations are TOTALLY WRONG and so their and your opinions. Simply because you don't get from the Authentic Sources. Among Authentic Sources of books interpreting Quran by the Scholars :
    *Tafsir At Tabari.
    *Tafsir Al Qurtubi.
    *Tafsir Ibnu Kathir.
    *And Many More.
    *REFER TO THESE AUTHENTIC SOURCES, DON'T EVER USE YOUR LIMITED BRAIN. If brain can be use, God don't sent Prophet Muhammad pbuh to explain it(HADITH).(to be continue)

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  5. (3)To translate let alone interpret Quran, (First and foremost)you MUST BE a Scholar(can you let someone build your house who know nothing about Building, building materials,soil, architectural, engineering, electrical, plumbing to give the least).(Second)MUST be a MUSLIM! Because only Muslims(to be exact BELIEVERS) are 'guided', others are NOT(to be exact, guided by SATAN). Most of your article is just cut and paste here and there, to suit your evil mission and intention. You neglect the chronicle orders of that particular event. You neglect other views of the Scholars who are more knowledgeable and more authority, which will give more accurate meanings of that particular subject mainly because YOU HAVE EVIL INTENTION AND MISSION! So DELETE YOUR WEBSITE, It's USELESS AND SHIT! Because it comes from (1)EVIL INTENTIONS AND MISSIONS.(2)Unqualified person.(3)Misleading and polluting Islam which is Sacred.
    (8)Rohit Balakrishnan, the difference between others talking about our belief and vice-versa is : Other beliefs especially liberalism and atheism does not holds responsibility and accountability, so why criticized? Our beliefs comes with responsibility and accountability, that it's our duty towards God to bring 'wrong' to 'right'.(9)Lastly, let settle this RIGHT NOW, to know who are right between us : In the middle of the night(no single one hear), you say SINCERELY(with humble and low voice(you only hear),(1)If you REALLY sincere to find the TRUTH say, "Oh God who creates the universe, show me your way".(2)If you don't believe in God, say "Oh God, if you exist, take my life now! YOU WILL SURELY FIND THE TRUTH!!!

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  6. Quran knows that Sun moves in its orbit as stated in verse 21:33. In the verses regarding Zal-Qarnain, it gives from the perspective of Zal-Qarnain that he saw the Sun setting on a muddy stream. The terms mentioned in these verses such as 'muddy spring', 'no shelter from the sun' and 'wall between mountains' gives geographical clues to the places where Zalqarnanin's journeys may have taken him. the below post reviews this topic:

    topicsfromquran.com/2018/09/22/zal-qarnain-dual-qarnain/

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