Sun setting and the Quran, Murky Water etc
snow.fo...@hotmail.co.uk
the sun sets in a murky pool.
This is a false claim, the Quran does not teach such inaccuracy. The
verse the Christians pick out from the Quran is 18:86
86. Until, when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it set in
a spring of murky water: Near it he found a People: We said: "O Zul-
qarnain! (thou hast authority,) either to punish them, or to treat
them with kindness." (1)
Hesham Azmy & Mohd Elfie Nieshaem Juferi explain this verse:
““Until, when he reached the setting of the sun…”: The translation of
this part of the verse does not say that Zul-Qarnain reached the place
where the sun sets LITERALLY, rather it means here that Zul-Qarnain
was facing the direction in which the sun is setting. The “setting of
the sun,” is an Arabic idiom meaning ‘the western-most point’ of his
expedition. However, in general, idioms should not be literally
translated.
“…he found it set in a spring of murky water”: The Qur’an is obviously
describing what Dhul-Qarnain saw. What Dhul-Qarnain saw was the image
of the sun setting in a dark body of water. Since the Qur’an is
clearly describing this from Dhul-Qarnain’s direct point of view (the
Qur’an is quite explicit here in doing that), there is in fact no
problem with the description of what Dhul-Qarnain saw. Of course the
Critic is right when he says that “the sun does not set in a spring of
murky water”, but try standing at a beach during the time when the sun
is about to set and the Critic would be able to see the sun “entering”
the sea far in the horizon. This therefore gives us the conclusion
that Dhul-Qarnain was somewhere west and by a large body of water,
possibly the sea.
Therefore, it is clear the verse says that Dhul-Qarnain went west and
saw the sun setting over the horizon so that it looked to him as
though it was setting into the sea, which is murky-looking. Probably
the critic have never stood by on the beach and observe the sun
set” (2)
The unscholarly nature of the claim against the Quran extends further
as the critics overlook the authoritative explanations of this verse
by the early Muslim scholars. These authoritative explanations (by ibn
Kathir and al-Qurtabi) teach us that the Quran is not talking
literally therefore it is not telling Muslims to belive the Sun sets
in a pool of water. The question is why did the critics ignore what
the authorities (al-Qurtabi and inb-Kathir) on this verse had to say
as the authorities reflect the earliest,purest and moste accurate
understanding of the Quran (2).
However, if the Christian critic is going to continue with such
unscholarly and down-right deceptive methodology then it would be
reasonable for one to expect the Christian critic to be consistent and
extend the same level of thought to biblical verses, such as:
Are they not on the other side Jordan, by the way where the sun goeth
down, in the land of the Canaanites, which dwell in the champaign over
against Gilgal, beside the plains of Moreh? (Deuteronomy 11:30 KJV)
This verse of the Bible (Deut 11:30) is obviously not meant to be
taken literally, just like the Quranic verse 18:86. The hypocrisy of
the Christian critic is displayed quite openly in the way the critic
uses one method for the Quranic verse while another for the Bible. If
the critic was consistent then he/she would claim the bible to be
unscientific here. However, just like the Quranic verse in question,
the Bible verse is obviously not to be taken literally.
“In the New Testament, Jesus is reported to have said about the Queen
of Sheba that she came from the ends of the earth (Matthew 12:42; Luke
11:31). Would the author also say that Jesus’ words were also foolish
and false and would he reject him also? Obviously, we know that the
Queen Sheba did not come from the ends of the earth. Yemen is not the
end of the earth. The author would say that Jesus spoke
metaphorically. We say the same thing, that in the story of Zul
Qarnain, God spoke metaphorically”(3)
So to summarise this section; the critic of Islam takes the Quranic
verse 100% literally when it is not meant to be taken to such a
literal level, the critic of Islam ignores the authorities of the
Quran as the authorities on the Quran confirm the verse in question is
not to be 100% literally. The critic who is Christian also falls into
the realms of hypocrisy as he/she applies a different standard for the
Quran and the Bible.
May Allah guide us all and save Muslims and non-Muslims from the
critic’s misinformation/deception. Ameen.
Further reading:
http://www.geocities.com/noorullahwebsite/zul-qarnain.html
http://www.bismikaallahuma.org/archives/2005/quranic-commentary-on-sura-al-kahf-1886/
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?cid=1119503547494&pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaEAskTheScholar
http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2704&Itemid=73
References
1. Abdullah Yusuf Ali translation of the Quran (18:86)
2. http://www.bismikaallahuma.org/archives/2005/quranic-commentary-on-sura-al-kahf-1886/
3. http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?cid=1119503547494&pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaEAskTheScholar