Answer
Short Answer: In this verse, the Quran is using the language and the vocabulary that the Arab could understand. The Quran is not telling us a scientific fact. It is just telling what Dhul-Qarnayn saw with his eyes. The Quran says Dhul Qarnayn saw the sun setting in a muddy spring. That’s how he sees it and that’s how it appeared to him. Read the exact words of the Quran: (he found it [as if] setting in a spring of dark mud). The Quran did not say: “the sun was setting in a muddy spring.” In no way, does the Quran contradict scientific facts. It is always compatible with science. What Muslim scholars should do is to study the Quran carefully and focus on the verses that deal with natural phenomena to come up with theories that are supported by modern findings.
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Salam dear questioner,
Thank you for your question.
Who Is Dhul-Qarnayn?
The verse you are referring to in your question and the following verses read:
*{Until, when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it [as if] setting in a spring of dark mud, and he found near it a people. Allah said, “O Dhul-Qarnayn, either you punish [them] or else adopt among them [a way of] goodness.” He said, “As for one who wrongs, we will punish him. Then he will be returned to his Lord, and He will punish him with a terrible punishment. But as for one who believes and does righteousness, he will have a reward of Paradise, and we will speak to him from our command with ease.”}* (Quran 18:86-88)
The story of Dhul-Qarnayn (two-horned one) is of a man who helped the oppressed, stopped corruption and applied the divine laws of Allah. Different interpretations were given regarding who Dhul-Qarnayn was and where he was located.
But we should not busy ourselves with these details. We should ponder on the story and learn from it what benefits us.
In the above verses, Dhul-Qarnayn applied the rule that if one does not obey Allah, he/she will not find a refuge from the torment in the Hellfire.
What Is the Ayan al-Hami’ah?
According to the commentators of the Quran, the ayan is the spring of water or a spring in the sea or the sea itself.
It is described as hami’ah because it is very hot or it is full of black mud.
Did the Quran say the sun sets in a spring of muddy water?
In this verse, the Quran is using the language and the vocabulary that the Arab could understand. The Quran is not telling us a scientific fact. It is just telling what Dhul-Qarnayn saw with his eyes.
The Quran says Dhul Qarnayn saw the sun setting in a muddy spring. That’s how he sees it and that’s how it appeared to him. Read the exact words of the Quran: (he found it [as if] setting in a spring of dark mud). The Quran did not say: “the sun was setting in a muddy spring.”
If the sun sets in one country, it is still in the sky in another. This happens until it rises in the east the next day.
Ibn Kathir said:
“That is, the way he saw the sun was as if it was setting in the ocean, which is something that happens to everyone who stands on the shore: he sees the sun as if it is setting into the sea, when in fact it does not leave the celestial path on which it is firmly established.” (Tafsir al-Quran al-Kareem, 5/191)
What is scientifically proved is that the earth is a sphere and the sun does not go down into any spring.
Does the Quran Contradict Scientific Facts?
Muslims believe that the Quran is the final and authentic word of God. The Quran is not about giving details about the sun, the moon, galaxies, and the planets. It just gives some hints about the marvelous creation of these things and pondering on their structure.
We read, for example:
*{Who remember Allah while standing or sitting or [lying] on their sides and give thought to the creation of the heavens and the earth, [saying], “Our Lord, You did not create this aimlessly; exalted are You [above such a thing]; then protect us from the punishment of the Fire.}* (Quran 3:191)
*{Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and earth, and the alternation of the night and the day, and the [great] ships which sail through the sea with that which benefits people, and what Allah has sent down from the heavens of rain, giving life thereby to the earth after its lifelessness and dispersing therein every [kind of] moving creature, and [His] directing of the winds and the clouds controlled between the heaven and the earth are signs for a people who use reason. }* (Quran 2:164)
In no way, does the Quran contradict scientific facts. It is always compatible with science. What Muslim scholars should do is to study the Quran carefully and focus on the verses that deal with natural phenomena to come up with theories that are supported by modern findings.
And Allah knows best.
I hope this helps.
Salam and please keep in touch.
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