Advocates of Stagnation

Qur'aanic Verse 37:5:

Transliteration:

5. Rabbu alssamawati waal-ardi wama baynahuma warabbu almashariqi

Translation:

5. (And the One Whom you should worship is the) Lord of the heavens and the earth and what is in between, and Lord of the Easts! ²

^{Study Note:}

2. The Sun has many planets other than the earth. All these planets have rotational movements around their respective axes. So like the earth, these other planets have their respective easts. Besides, there are innumerable stars out there in the vast cosmos. And these stars, like our own Sun, may also have their respective planets revolving and rotating around them. All these planets should therefore be having their own respective easts. ‘Lord of the easts’ is Lord of all these innumerable planets. The planets are of course included in the Arabic expression wama baynahuma contained in the earlier part of this Verse, but by mentioning ‘easts’ Allah Ta’ala has brought to light the factual positions of the planets, orbiting the Sun and other stars, that were unknown to mankind at the time the Qur’aan was revealed. [The people then thought that the Sun moved round the earth.] This also shows the need for interpreting Qur’aanic Verses in the light of knowledge gained by mankind from time to time. Those who advocate sticking to the interpretation at the time of revelation are advocates of stagnation.

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The above is an extract from yet-to-be-published Qur'aanic Studies Manzil VI.

Mohammad Shafi