The Quran states that the light of the moon is reflected light
By
Ahmed
Eldin
(He is a new convert to Islam from Greece)
Assalam alekom
Many times, I come across with ignorant statements from Christian’s missionaries. They are telling that the Noble Quran contains a scientific error concerning the moonlight. They Say that Quran states or imply that the moon has its own light and therefore is a scientific error, because as we know moonlight is reflected light from the sun. Well let us see if this is true and expose very easy once again this haters of Islam.
The only thing that iam going to do is only to paste the words of DR Zakir Naik from his book “The Quran and Modern Science Compatible or incompatible?” concerning the issue about the moonlight.
Dr Zakir States :
THE LIGHT OF THE MOON IS REFLECTED LIGHT
It was believed by earlier civilizations that the moon emanates its own light.
Science now tells us that the light of the moon is reflected light. However this
fact was mentioned in the Qur’aan 1,400 years ago in the following verse:.
“Blessed is He Who made Constellations in the skies, And placed therein
a Lamp And a Moon giving light.” [Al-Qur’aan 25:61]
The Arabic word for the sun in the Qur’aan, is shams. It is referred to as
siraaj, which means a ‘torch’ or as wahhaaj which means ‘a blazing lamp’ or
as diya which means ‘shining glory’. All three descriptions are appropriate to
the sun, since it generates intense heat and light by its internal combustion.
The Arabic word for the moon is qamar and it is described in the Qur’aan as
muneer, which is a body that gives nur i.e. light. Again, the Qur’aanic
description matches perfectly with the true nature of the moon, which does
not give off light itself and is an inert body that reflects the light of the sun.
Not once in the Qur’aan, is the moon mentioned as siraaj, wahhaaj or diya or
the sun as nur or muneer. This implies that the Qur’aan recognizes the
difference between the nature of sunlight and moonlight.
Consider the following verses related to the nature of light from the sun and
the moon: “It is He who made the sun To be a shining glory And the
moon to be a light (Of beauty).” [Al-Qur’aan 10:5]
“See ye not How Allah has created The seven heavens One above
another, “And made the moon A light in their midst, and made the sun
As a (Glorious) Lamp?” [Al-Qur’aan 71:15-16]
So as you can see there is no contradiction with Modern Science. And the words of Dr Zakir Naik completely silence any attempt from the haters of Islam (Christian missionaries) to prove that Quran has a scientific error.
An addition from Ibn Kathir's Tafsir (interpretation) of the Noble Quran by brother Ramiz, may Allah Almighty always be pleased with him:
Hello/As Salam Alykum
I am a muslim from Pakistan. Recently I read up some articles on
answering-islam.org regarding Moon's light being reflected light. They
base their claim on the fact that none of the Quranic translators have
translated the verses as such and muslims today twist them etc etc. So
recently I was reading the "Tafsir
Ibn Kathir", written in the 13th
century AD when I found something that astonished me. Ibn
Kathir
CLEARLY mentioned the fact that Moon light was different then the light
of the sun and even that it was reflected light from the sun (in 13th
century!). This shows that the muslims do not twist the Quranic
translations today. This should shut the non-muslims up for good. The
fact is CLEARLY mentioned there if one is willing to look.
Excerpt from "Tafsir Ibn Kathir"
The sun rises each
day and sets at
the end of the day, giving one kind of light all the time, but it
moves, rising and setting at different points in the summer and winter,
thus making the days and nights longer or shorter alternatively
according to the season. Its authority is in the daytime, for it is the
heavenly body that dominates the day. As for the moon, Allah has
decreed that it should pass through different phases. At the beginning
of the month, the moon appears small when it rises. It gives off little
light, then on the second night its light increases and it rises to a
higher position, and the higher it rises the more light it gives --
even
though it is reflected from the sun -- until it becomes
full on
the fourteenth night of the month.
(http://www.tafsir.com/default.asp?sid=36&tid=43541)
(You will have to scroll down quite a bit. Its the biggest paragraph on this page)
Another from a different page:
He created the night with its darkness and the day with its light, and they alternate without ceasing. And He created the sun with its shining light, and the moon with its reflected light. and He allotted their stages and gave them separate orbits in the heavens.
(http://www.tafsir.com/default.asp?sid=41&tid=46725......First big paragraph)
You guys should definitely make an addendum to your website regarding
this.
Salam Alykum
- Ramiz