The Sun

the sun

in addition to the subject of bees, the quran also discusses

the sun and the manner in which it travels through space.

again, a person can guess on that subject. when the sun

moves through space, there are two options: it can travel just as a stone would travel if one threw it, or it can move of its own accord. the quran states the latter - that it

moves as a result of its own motion (surah al-anbiya 21:33). to do such, the quran uses a form of the word

sabaha to describe the sun's movement through space. in

order to properly provide the reader with a

comprehensive understanding of the implications of this

arabic verb, the following example is given.

if a man is in water and the verb sabaha is applied in

reference to his movement, it can be understood that he is swimming, moving of his own accord and not as a result

of a direct force applied to him. thus when this verb is used in reference to the sun's movement through space, it in no way implies that the sun is flying uncontrollably through space as a result of being hurled or the like. it simply means that the sun is turning and rotating as it travels. now, this is what the quran affirms, but was it an

easy thing to discover? can any common man tell that the

sun is turning? only in modern times was the equipment

made available to project the image of the sun onto a

tabletop so that one could look at it without being blinded.

and through this process it was discovered that not only

are there spots on the sun but that these spots move once

every 25days. this movement is referred to as the rotation

of the sun around its axis and conclusively proves that, as

the quran stated 1400years ago, the sun does, indeed,

turn as it travels through space.

and returning once again to the subject of good guesses,

the odds of guessing correctly about both subjects - the sex

of bees and the movement of the sun - are one in four!