[welida]

Asalamu aleukum dear brothers? My name is sebri bekeri and I am acanadian citizen with the ethiopian back ground. Recently I went to ethiopia to visit my parants and I met with some religious scholar that I know them since my child hood.what made me surprise they come to definite conculusion that the earth is not rotating it only the sun ,themoon and the stars are rotating. They read different verses from the quran which support their claim. Is the earth really not moving ? Does the quran really says what they said? How come we have day and night I f the earth is not revolving? In the present day advancement of technology do you really thing that it is difficult for the astronmer to identify the earth is moving or not? Please help really very confused.

[JimGunther]

As a person who has studied a lot of astronomy in college I will have to say that are various ways to objectively show that the Earth is rotating, and it really doesn't matter what your religion is, an objective observer will reach the same conclusion. Mixing religion with what is objectively observed in the real world is never a good idea.

One of the many ways it is possible to determine that the Earth is rotating is to observe the night sky around the North Star. This star is pretty much right straight above the north pole and you can see the field of stars rotating around it if you observe long enough from the right place.

Another way to determine that the Earth is rotating is the fact that an object that is spinning, and not completely solid, will be wider at the center of the rotation (the equator) than at the top and bottom, due to centrifugal force. This is the case with the Earth because much of the surface is water.

As you mentioned, day and night are also caused by the Earth's rotation. The Sun is 93 million miles away from the Earth and an objective observer will notice that a telescope or other similar instrument pointed at the sun will gradually turn away and return to the same position facing the Sun in 24 hours.

There are other proofs that the Earth is rotating, such as procession, that I won't go into, but the point is that science has shown with methods that can be verified by anyone who seeks to do so that the Earth is rotating.

[firmbeliever]

Assalaam alaikum,

Could you be more specific about the verse they quoted?

Following are some verses from the Quran regarding heavenly bodies,I have not found any that states the earth is stationary.


Surah 31 verse 29
"See you not (O Muhammad SAW) that Allâh merges the night into the day , and merges the day into the night (i.e. the decrease in the hours of day are added in the hours of night), and has subjected the sun and the moon, each running its course for a term appointed; and that Allâh is All­ Aware of what you do."

Surah 70 verse 40
"So I swear by the Lord of all points of sunrise and sunset in the east and the west..."


Surah 21 verses 30-33
"Have not those who disbelieve known that the heavens and the earth were joined together as one united piece, then We parted them? And We have made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe?"
"And We have placed on the earth firm mountains, lest it should shake with them, and We placed therein broad highways for them to pass through, that they may be guided."
" And We have made the heaven a roof, safe and well guarded. Yet they turn away from its signs (i.e. sun, moon, winds, clouds, etc.)."
"And He it is Who has created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon, each in an orbit floating."


Surah 36 verse 37-40
" And a sign for them is the night, We withdraw therefrom the day, and behold, they are in darkness."
"And the sun runs on its fixed course for a term (appointed). That is the Decree of the All-Mighty, the All-Knowing."
"And the moon, We have measured for it mansions (to traverse) till it returns like the old dried curved date stalk."
"It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor does the night outstrip the day. They all float, each in an orbit."

Wa alaikum salaam