Exegesis of the verse: (And the sun runs to its appointed place. That is the decree of the Exalted and Knowing).

Question:
The questioner says: In the noble verse: (And the sun runs to its appointed place. That is the decree of the Exalted and Knowing)?

Answer:
Answer: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) mentions in this verse: (And the sun runs to its appointed place). The meaning of "runs" is that it travels in its orbit from the east to the west. This is a refutation of those who say that the earth is stationary and that the sun revolves around it, whereas Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) stated regarding Ibrahim (peace be upon him) that he argued with Nimrod when Ibrahim said: (My Lord is He who gives life and causes death), and he said: (I give life and cause death). This means that he would bring two people who had earned the death penalty, kill one of them, and release the other. Ibrahim turned away from this fallacy and moved to something in which Nimrod could not refute him. He said: (But Allah brings the sun from the east, so bring it from the west. Then the disbeliever was confounded. And Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people). This indicates that the sun runs in this verse: (And the sun runs to its appointed place). As for the appointed place it has, it is said that it prostrates beneath the Throne. It comes from the east, prostrates beneath the Throne, then goes, and so on. This explains His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He): (to its appointed place). And in a reading: (And the sun runs, not to an appointed place), meaning that it runs constantly and does not settle.