فَلَاۤ اُقۡسِمُ بِالشَّفَقِۙ
So I swear by the twilight glow
— Saheeh International
Oh, I swear by the afterglow of sunset,
— English Translation (Pickthall)
[Al-Quran 84:16]
Surah al-Inshiqaq (The Splitting Asunder) begins with the statement:
اِذَا السَّمَآءُ انْشَقَّتۡۙ
When the sky has split [open]
— Saheeh International
When the heaven is split asunder
— English Translation (Pickthall)
[Al-Quran 84:1]
After describing the events that will take place leading up to the meeting with our Lord, Allah ﷻ , and the consequent result of each individual's efforts, the sixteenth ayat takes an oath by the afterglow of sunset, by the shrouding night, and by the full moon, ...
In this post, I want to concentrate on the link between the splitting of the sky and the afterglow of sunset.
Sunsets are a beautiful spectacle all over the world. They come in different colour palettes. There are many photos online of sunsets as viewed in different regions of the Earth:
There are more screenshots of regional sunsets at the bottom of this post.
Another spectacular colour show are the aurorae, which can generally been seen at the polar regions, or from space:
The afterglow of sunsets, and the aurorae, both occur when the sun is low on the horizon or has set.
Scientists have different explanations for the colours that can be seen in the afterglow of sunset, and the aurorae.
The afterglow of sunset is described as the scattering of light through the atmosphere.
The aurorae colours are described to be the result of ionisation of gases in the atmosphere.
We have been informed that as the Promised Day approaches, there will be many events, and the sky will not remain the same as we see it today. As it states in
Surah ar-Rehman, ayat thirty-seven:
فَاِذَا انْشَقَّتِ السَّمَآءُ فَكَانَتۡ وَرۡدَةً كَالدِّهَانِۚ
And when the heaven is split open and becomes rose-colored like oil -
— Saheeh International
And when the heaven splitteth asunder and becometh rosy like red hide -
— English Translation (Pickthall)
The colours of the sunset afterglow, and the aurorae, are a clear reminder of a changed sky when the time comes. The following a few screenshots from Google Images search results for 'sunset afterglow' by region:
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Title Photo Credit: Yacoob Suttar , taken on December 15, 2022
Aurorae videos: https://vimeo.com/timestormfilms
Last updated on: December 23, 2022
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