[Al-Quran 50:6-8] Have they not looked at the heaven above them - how We structured it and adorned it and how it has no rifts? And the earth - We spread it out and cast therein firmly set mountains and made grow therein [something] of every beautiful kind, Giving insight and a reminder for every servant who turns [to Allah].

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Length of a Day: variable or fixed?

A day is a period of time which can be of variable length. The arabic word for day is  يَوْمٍ .  On Earth, a day is approximately 24 hours which is the approximate time the earth completes one rotation on its axis. A day on Venus is also the time it takes to complete one rotation on its axis, however the speed of rotation is so slow that a Venusian day is longer than a Venusian year. 

Verses of the Quran also state that the length of a day is variable. Consider the following verses:

اللَّهُ الَّذِي خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا فِي سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍ ثُمَّ اسْتَوَىٰ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ ۖ مَا لَكُم مِّن دُونِهِ مِن وَلِيٍّ وَلَا شَفِيعٍ ۚ أَفَلَا تَتَذَكَّرُونَ
يُدَبِّرُ الْأَمْرَ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ إِلَى الْأَرْضِ ثُمَّ يَعْرُجُ إِلَيْهِ فِي يَوْمٍ كَانَ مِقْدَارُهُ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍ مِّمَّا تَعُدُّونَ 

[Al-Qur’an 32: 4-5, Translator: Shakir] Allah is He Who created the heavens and the earth and what is between them in six periods, and He mounted the throne (of authority); you have not besides Him any guardian or any intercessor, will you not then mind? He regulates the affair from the heaven to the earth; then shall it ascend to Him in a day the measure of which is a thousand years of what you count. 

مِّنَ اللَّهِ ذِي الْمَعَارِجِ
تَعْرُجُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ وَالرُّوحُ إِلَيْهِ فِي يَوْمٍ كَانَ مِقْدَارُهُ خَمْسِينَ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍ

[Al-Qur’an 70:3-4 Translator: Shakir] From Allah, the Lord of the ways of Ascent. To Him ascend the angels and the Spirit in a day the measure of which is fifty thousand years



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