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02-12-2024
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Scientific topics- Scientific topics from sermons- Lesson (022) : The settings of stars
   
 
 
In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, Most Merciful  
 

What are the settings of stars ?

1-    The wide distance between the settings of the stars: 

Dear believing brothers, there is an Ayah in the Noble Quran in which Allah the Almighty says: 

(So I swear by Mawaqi (setting or the mansions, etc.) of the stars (they traverse)* And verily, that is indeed a great oath, if you but know.)

 

[Al-Waqi'ah, 75-76]

Now, the question is: What is meant by "the settings of the stars"? In fact, there are three interpretations: The first interpretation is that between the stars there are distances that are too great to be conceived by the human mind. For example, the distance between the earth and some galaxies is 18.000.000.000 light years. Bear in mind that the light travels 300.000 km\second. But how many kilometers does it travel  in the minute? This great number has to be multiplied 60 times. Well, how many kilometers does it travel in the hour? How far does it travel in a day, a month, a year…etc?! I repeat the Ayah: 

(So I swear by Mawaqi (setting or the mansions, etc.) of the stars (they traverse)* And verily, that is indeed a great oath, if you but know.)

[Al-Waqi'ah, 75-76]

Dear brothers, the distance between the earth and the moon is 1 light second, i.e. 360.000 km's, and the distance between the earth and the sun is 8 light minutes, i.e. 156.000.000 km's. Furthermore, the length of the Solar System is 13 light hours, and that of the Milky Way is 150.000 light-years. I would like to mention the Ayaat one more time:  

(So I swear by Mawaqi (setting or the mansions, etc.) of the stars (they traverse)* And verily, that is indeed a great oath, if you but know.)

[Al-Waqi'ah, 75-76]

2-    The various settings of the stars: 

The second interpretation of the noble Ayaat is that the heavenly objects do not have a fixed unchangeable location, but rather they have different locations, because they are constantly moving; and each one of them has its own orbit. Allah the Almighty says:

(…They all float, each in an orbit.)


 [Ya-Sin, 40]

The earth revolves around the sun once every 365 days, while another planet in the Solar System goes around the sun once every two or three years. Some other planets need less than a year to complete their rotation around the sun, and so on and so forth. Hence, each heavenly object has its own settings, long or short orbit, circular or oval orbit, which indicate Allah's accurate creation. Allah the Almighty says:

(So I swear by Mawaqi (setting or the mansions, etc.) of the stars (they traverse).)

[Al-Waqi'ah, 75]

Actually, each heavenly object has a different setting every moment; and the most accurate of our timers are set according to certain heavenly objects. Moreover, their makers may find that such timers are one second late or early, but on which timer do they basically depend to have accurate timing? In fact, they depend on the passage of certain heavenly objects that is 100% accurate. Therefore, such settings are organized according to a miraculously accurate system, and every second, each heavenly object has a new different setting. Even the comet Halley, which we look forward to seeing, covers its course in 76 years. People saw it in 1910, and so did we in 1986. It was also seen in the year 2000 BC. 

3-    The various forces which affect the settings:

The third interpretation is that there are forces of gravity between the different heavenly objects, and the heavenly object whose mass is greater pulls the one whose mass is smaller. There is another factor, namely the square number of the distance between the two objects. The miraculous thing is that if the settings of stars were changed, balance of the whole universe would be disrupted, stars would clash with one another, and the whole universe would become one block. Undoubtedly, such settings have been set most precisely, so that they keep running in absolute balance and accuracy.

Let me repeat the three interpretations: The first interpretation of the settings of the starts has to do with the fabulously great distances between the heavenly objects; the second interpretation has to do with the miraculously fast speeds of constant movements of the heavenly objects from one location to another; and the third interpretation is that some of such heavenly objects are small while others are enormous, and some of them are near while other ones are remote. The miraculous thing is that all such heavenly objects have been positioned in most accurate places that keep them in utmost balance and harmony so as to make the marvelous cosmic system that we see with our own eyes.
 What is the interpretations of "lest they move away from their places"?
Dear brothers, Allah the Almighty says: 

(Verily! Allah grasps the heavens and the earth lest they move away from their places…) 

 [Fatir, 41]

What does "lest they move away from their places"? It means they will cease to exist due to getting away from their places. When the earth comes near to the sun, it increases its speed so that it is not pulled by the sun. Such increase of speed gives the earth a centrifugal force that keeps it in orbit. The miraculous fact is that without such a centrifugal force, the earth would go away from the sun:

(So I swear by Mawaqi (setting or the mansions, etc.) of the stars (they traverse)* And verily, that is indeed a great oath, if you but know.)

[Al-Waqi'ah, 75-76]

Just ponder over this Ayah! Reflect! Search! Contemplate! Imagine! And get to know Allah, Who says: 

(And on the earth are signs for those who have Faith with certainty)

 

[Adh-Dhariyat, 20]


He also says: 

(Say: "Behold all that is in the heavens and the earth,"…)

 [Yunus, 101]

Undoubtedly, in the heavens and the earth there are endless countless Signs, and there are evidences that may seem unconvincing, but they are definitive and indisputable. In fact, the definitive evidences are far stronger than the convincing ones.

Allah the Almighty says: 

(Tell the believing men to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things)…)

[An-Nur, 30]

He the Almighty also says: 

(And stay in your houses…)

[Al-Ahzab, 33]


 

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