The extent of the validity of the claim that the sun is larger than the earth
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Allah the Exalted mentioned the creation of the heavens and the earth as a sign of His great power, and He did not single out the creation of the sun for mention; rather, He included it among the general signs. So what is the validity of the claim that the sun is larger than the earth, and what is the evidence for that? May Allah reward you.
Answer:
The sun is a sign of the signs of Allah, the moon is a sign of the signs of Allah, the stars are signs, the sky is a sign, the earth is a sign, and there are signs in it, and there are signs in the sky. The sun is among the signs of the sky, meaning the signs of what is above; everything above is considered the sky. It is independent of the sky, a great sign independent of the sky. Its light dazzles the minds now, despite its great height, and its heat in the summer is not hidden from anyone despite its distance. This indicates that it is one of the greatest of signs. Allah made it a radiance and made it a light for people, so it is among the greatest of the signs of Allah . And yet people see it all, and it is as if it is nothing. Most hearts are afflicted; they do not comprehend, nor do they take heed.
The moon is likewise a great sign of the signs of Allah, among the signs of the sky, among the signs of what is above you. And so are the moving stars and the fixed stars, despite their multitude; they are all signs for whoever uses his intellect, for whoever reflects, and for whoever is granted success to take heed by them and to use them as evidence that his Lord is the Greatest and the Greatest, and that He is their Creator . He is the Great One who is worthy of worship, the All-Knowing One who is able to do everything, who created these great signs. He is the Greatest and the Greatest , and He is the One who is worthy of being worshipped and magnified, Exalted and Majestic is He.
As for the claim of some astronomers that the sun is larger than the heavens and larger than the earth, and so on; it is a mere claim. We do not know its truth, nor do we know any evidence for it. It is a great sign, but to say that it is larger than the heavens and the earth is something that requires evidence. This is a mere claim, as the scholars say. These are mere claims without clear evidence, as far as we know.
Also, even if we knew that it is larger than the sky, what benefit would that be to us? Is it larger than the sky or smaller? It is a great sign! It is a sign whether we know it is larger or smaller; it is a great sign. It moves, coming from the east and going to the west, and thus it covers the world, it covers this inhabited earth, it covers the world and the seas. It rises from the east, moving for twenty-four hours in a day, then it returns to its rising point. And in the end times, and it may not be far off, it will be said to it: "Return from where you came." So it will rise from the west, the door of repentance will be closed, and no one will benefit after that except by their previous deeds.
All of this will happen, as the Exalted said: [Al-An'am: 158]. This is the sun when it rises from its west, as the texts from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) have brought. It is a great sign, whether the astronomers say it is larger than the sky or smaller; it is a great sign, along with the moon, both striving.
Allah the Exalted mentioned the creation of the heavens and the earth as a sign of His great power, and He did not single out the creation of the sun for mention; rather, He included it among the general signs. So what is the validity of the claim that the sun is larger than the earth, and what is the evidence for that? May Allah reward you.
Answer:
The sun is a sign of the signs of Allah, the moon is a sign of the signs of Allah, the stars are signs, the sky is a sign, the earth is a sign, and there are signs in it, and there are signs in the sky. The sun is among the signs of the sky, meaning the signs of what is above; everything above is considered the sky. It is independent of the sky, a great sign independent of the sky. Its light dazzles the minds now, despite its great height, and its heat in the summer is not hidden from anyone despite its distance. This indicates that it is one of the greatest of signs. Allah made it a radiance and made it a light for people, so it is among the greatest of the signs of Allah . And yet people see it all, and it is as if it is nothing. Most hearts are afflicted; they do not comprehend, nor do they take heed.
The moon is likewise a great sign of the signs of Allah, among the signs of the sky, among the signs of what is above you. And so are the moving stars and the fixed stars, despite their multitude; they are all signs for whoever uses his intellect, for whoever reflects, and for whoever is granted success to take heed by them and to use them as evidence that his Lord is the Greatest and the Greatest, and that He is their Creator . He is the Great One who is worthy of worship, the All-Knowing One who is able to do everything, who created these great signs. He is the Greatest and the Greatest , and He is the One who is worthy of being worshipped and magnified, Exalted and Majestic is He.
As for the claim of some astronomers that the sun is larger than the heavens and larger than the earth, and so on; it is a mere claim. We do not know its truth, nor do we know any evidence for it. It is a great sign, but to say that it is larger than the heavens and the earth is something that requires evidence. This is a mere claim, as the scholars say. These are mere claims without clear evidence, as far as we know.
Also, even if we knew that it is larger than the sky, what benefit would that be to us? Is it larger than the sky or smaller? It is a great sign! It is a sign whether we know it is larger or smaller; it is a great sign. It moves, coming from the east and going to the west, and thus it covers the world, it covers this inhabited earth, it covers the world and the seas. It rises from the east, moving for twenty-four hours in a day, then it returns to its rising point. And in the end times, and it may not be far off, it will be said to it: "Return from where you came." So it will rise from the west, the door of repentance will be closed, and no one will benefit after that except by their previous deeds.
All of this will happen, as the Exalted said:
The Day that some of the signs of your Lord will come no soul will benefit from its faith as long as it had not believed before or had earned through its faith some good.
يَوْمَ يَأْتِي بَعْضُ آيَاتِ رَبِّكَ لاَ يَنفَعُ نَفْساً إِيمَانُهَا لَمْ تَكُنْ آمَنَتْ مِن قَبْلُ أَوْ كَسَبَتْ فِي إِيمَانِهَا خَيْراً
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.