Between Numeric and Universal Phenomena in the Holy Qur’an
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| Allah the Almighty has repeatedly cited the day and night, and the sun and moon in the Holy Qur’an, … |
Allah the Almighty has repeatedly cited the day and night, and the sun and moon in the Holy Qur’an, in a manner that perfectly complies with the respective astronomical cycle of each; an indication of a sublime coherence between the universe and the Qur’an.
God Almighty is the One and Only Creator of the universe, and also the One who sent down the Holy Qur’an. Both are profound creations; we therefore believe that a certain pattern of consistency must exist between the universe and the Holy Qur’an.
The Moon’s Cycle
If we happen to go out on a moonlit night, take a picture of the full moon, then come back and take a picture the next night, there will be a difference, regardless of whether we notice it. This difference will be in terms of both its position in the sky and the amount of light that it reflects. The night after, it will again be slightly more different: its position will have somewhat changed, and it will no longer be the full moon it was two nights ago.
Performing the same experiment a month later will also give us different results, and none of the pictures we take will perfectly match. Here, we remember God Almighty’s words: {It is He Who made the sun to be a shining glory and the moon to be a light (of beauty), and measured out stages for her; that ye might know the number of years and the count (of time). Nowise did God create this but in truth and righteousness. (Thus) doth He explain His Signs in detail, for those who understand.} [Yunus, 10:5].
And now we ask: when does the first picture we took repeat itself? In other words, when does the moon appear again both as a full moon and in the exact same position in the sky?
This question has been studied for thousands of years, and scientists have discovered that what is known as the Moon’s Metonic Cycle (named after the Greek astronomer Meton of Athens) occurs every 19 years. That first image we took of the moon will reassume precisely the same position as a full moon approximately 19 years later.
The Sidereal Period
There are many different types of orbital periods. The sidereal period is considered an object’s true orbital period, because it represents the time it takes a celestial object to make one full orbit around the sun, relative to the fixed stars. In astronomy, when an object’s ‘orbital period’ is mentioned without further explanation, it is naturally assumed that the sidereal period is being referred to.
That being said, the sidereal (or orbital) period of the moon is 27.3 days, which means that, approximately, the moon makes a complete orbit around the Earth every 27 days. Similarly, the word “moon” is mentioned precisely 27 times in the Qur’an!
Please note that this differs from the moon’s synodic period of about 29.5 days, which is the time it takes the moon to return to approximately the same position as seen by an observer on Earth. This figure is not the moon’s actual orbital period, because it is affected by both the rotation of the Earth and the Earth’s revolution around the sun.
The Earth takes about 365 ¼ days to complete one full revolution around the sun. Furthermore, the sun orbits the centre of the Milky Way Galaxy, and completes one full revolution in approximately 250 million years. Here, we are reminded of God Almighty wisdom when He states: {It is not permitted to the Sun to catch up the Moon, nor can the Night outstrip the Day: Each (just) swims along in (its own) orbit (according to Law).} [Yaasin, 36:40].
When observing the rotation of electrons at atomic level, we find that they rotate from left to right, or counter-clockwise; the same direction as the various rotations and revolutions of the sun, moon and Earth. To be more specific, the moon rotates counter-clockwise around its orbit. Similarly, the moon performs counter-clockwise revolutions around the Earth. The same is true with regards to the Earth’s rotations around its own orbit and its revolutions around the sun. In short, all these celestial movements take place in one and the same direction; counter-clockwise, from left to right.
Putting this into perspective for Muslims in particular, during the Hajj season, Muslims complete seven laps around the Ka’aba in Mecca. The direction of movement of these worshippers is always from left to right, in perfect congruence with the rest of the universe.
God Almighty says:
{The seven heavens and the earth, and all beings therein, declare His glory: there is not a thing but celebrates His praise; And yet ye understand not how they declare His glory! Verily He is Oft-Forbear, Most Forgiving!} [Al-Isra’, 17:44]
The Sun’s Cycle
The sun’s solar cycle is witnessed by counting the placement and frequency of visible sunspots on the sun, which appear as a result of intense magnetic activity. These sunspots face significant variations, rising and falling in an irregular cycle that takes place about every 11 years.
The Sun and Moon in the Qur’an
If we take a closer look at the verses of the Holy Qur’an, we notice that the word “sun” always comes before the word “moon”. For instance, God Almighty says: {God is He Who raised the heavens without any pillars that ye can see; is firmly established on the throne (of authority); He has subjected the sun and the moon (to his Law)! Each one runs (its course) for a term appointed. He doth regulate all affairs, explaining the signs in detail, that ye may believe with certainty in the meeting with your Lord.} [Al-Ra’d, 13:2].
And from this, we can conclude from this that God indeed preceded the sun’s mention over the moon’s because the sun is the ultimate source of light. In other words, referring to the sun before the moon is but a sweet indication of the origin of the moon’s light, which is the sun, because the moon merely reflects the sun’s light and emanates no light in and of itself.
Another lovely fact that caught my attention was that “sun” is mentioned in the entire Qur’an more times than “moon”. That is, the word “sun” is mentioned precisely 33 times in the Qur’an, and the word “moon” is cited 27 times.
A Beautiful Meeting of Moon and Sun!
Astronomers have established that a natural 19-year cycle exists between the moon and the sun. That is, they interact together in a cycle which takes about 19 years to complete. Very interestingly, we find that the words “sun” and “moon” have been mentioned together exactly 19 times in the Holy Qur’an. In other words, there are precisely 19 Qur’anic verses which contain the combined phrase “the sun and the moon”.
Night and Day in the Qur’an
One of the important facts of our universe is that night originally prevailed before day or light ever appeared. That is, our universe, in the beginning of its existence, encountered a lengthy period of darkness, and afterwards, light and day emerged. In the same way that night appeared before day, we find that in the Qur’an, in all the verses which mention night and day, the word “night” always comes before “day”! For instance, God Almighty says: {He has made subject to you the Night and the Day; the sun and the moon; and the stars are in subjection by His Command: verily in this are Signs for men who are wise.} [Al-Nahl, 16:12].
Moreover, the word “night” is mentioned more times than the word “day”! That is, “night” is mentioned 92 times and “day” 57 times, making the very order of night and day in our universe consistent with the repetition of each phenomenon in the Qur’an.
The Night, the Day, the Sun and the Moon
The words “night”, “day”, “sun” and “moon” are all found in the Qur’an. However, they have been mentioned together in the same verse on two occasions, and interestingly, the order is the same on both occasions: “night” is mentioned first, followed by “day”, “sun”, and “moon”. For example, God says: {It is He Who created the Night and the Day, and the sun and the moon: all (the celestial bodies) swim along, each in its rounded course.} [Al-Anbiya’, 21:33]
But more amazingly, the number repetitions of each of these words in the Holy Qur’an is in that very same order: “Night” has been repeated the most, followed by “day”, then “sun”, and finally “moon”!
The word “night” is repeated 92 times.
The word “day” is repeated 57 times.
The word “sun” is repeated 33 times.
The word “moon” is repeated 27 times.
Qur’anic and Universal Compatibility!
God Almighty is the Creator of this universe and the One who revealed the Holy Qur’an to mankind. Therefore, it is necessary for consistency to be found between the Qur’an and the universe, and this was something that truly caught me by surprise when I came across the following profound numeric miracle.
We have already established that the moon reassumes the same form in exactly the same position every 19 years. The sun’s cycle, on the other hand, repeats itself every 11 years. In other words, we can say that the universal cycles of the sun and moon repeat themselves every (19 x 11) years, or every 209 years.
Since the degrees of dark and light (or night and day) are determined by the sun’s solar cycle and the moon’s metonic cycle, which are represented by the numbers 11 and 19 respectively, we can also say that the cycles of night, day, the sun and the moon repeat themselves every (19 x 11) years, or every 209 years.
That being said, when we count the repetitions of the words “night”, “day”, “sun” and “moon” across the entire Qur’an, we find that they are repeated:
92 + 57 + 33 + 27 = 209 times!
And the number 209 is equal to 19 x 11. In other words, the cycles of the night, the day, the sun and the moon take place every 209 years, and the repetition of those very four words in the Qur’an is also 209, resembling the exact number of those years!
The Miracles in Brief
1- The word “night” in the Qur’an always comes before the word “day”, and in this fact lies two observations, a universal and numeric observation. Universally, night, or darkness, originated first, and is accordingly mentioned first. Numerically, “night” is mentioned more times than “day”, and for that reason too, is accordingly mentioned first.
2- The word “sun” in the Qur’an always comes before the word “moon”, and again, our observations are the same. In our universe, the sun is the source of light, and the moon merely reflects this light, therefore, it is only fitting for it to be mentioned first. And in terms of numbers, “sun” is mentioned more times than “moon”, and it thus makes sense that it is mentioned first for that reason as well.
3- The words (The night and the day, and the sun and the moon) appear in that order wherever they are mentioned in the Qur’an (two instances), and there is also both a universal and numerical significance here. First, universally, night (or darkness) prevails over almost the entire universe. That is, it covers more than 99% of it. Day (or light) has its presence in less than 1% of the universe. Next comes the sun, which is larger than the moon, and so we notice a descending order in terms of size. Numerically, of course, as we stated before, the repetition of these words is also in the same descending order.
4- The sun’s solar cycle, which is a sign of day, is repeated every 11 years, and the moon’s Metonic cycle, which is a sign of night, is repeated ever 19 years. And the words “night”, “day”, “sun” and “moon” are repeated a total of 11 x 19 times in the Qur’an, in a manner that matches their respective cycles.
Finally, we can only ask: Could this beautiful coming together of universal and Qur’anic marvels have occurred by chance? Can coincidence be used to explain this immaculate compatibility, or is the Creator of this universe Himself the One who sent down this Holy Scripture? He explains in the Qur’an: {God is the Creator of all things, and He is the Guardian and Disposer of all affairs.} [Al-Zumar, 39:62].
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By: Abduldaem Al-Kaheel
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