1. (Qur'an, 21:33) BASED ON THE WORKS OF HARUN YAHYA WWW.HARUNYAHAY.COM and others WWW.HARUNYAHAY.COM PREPARED BY fereidoun.dejahang@ntlworld.com

2. The Holy Qur'an is the Word of Allah

3. 1400 years ago the Holy Qur'an reviled that the Sun and Moon follow specific trajectories

4. It is He Who created night and day and the sun and moon, each one swimming in a sphere. (Qur'an, 21:33)

6. 21:33 Sahih International And it is He who created the night and the day and the sun and the moon; all [heavenly bodies] in an orbit are swimming. Dr. Ghali And He (is) The One Who created the night and the daytime, and the sun and the moon, each swimming in an orbit. Farsi او کسی است که شب و روز و خورشید و ماه را آفرید؛ هر یک در مداری در حرکتند !

7. The word "swim" in the above verse is expressed in Arabic by the word "sabaha" and is used to describe the movement of the Sun in space. The word means that the Sun does not move randomly through space but that it rotates around its axis and follows a course as it does so.

8. The fact that the Sun is not fixed in position but rather follows a specific trajectory is also stated in another verse:

9. And the sun runs to its resting place. That is the decree of the Almighty, the All-Knowing. (Qur'an, 36:38)

10. 36:38 Sahih International And the sun runs [on course] toward its stopping point. That is the determination of the Exalted in Might, the Knowing. Dr. Ghali And the sun runs to a repository for it; that is the determining of The Ever-Mighty, the Ever-Knowing. Farsi و خورشید ( نیز برای آنها آیتی است ) که پیوسته بسوی قرارگاهش در حرکت است؛ این تقدیر خداوند قادر و داناست.

12. According to astronomers' calculations, the Sun moves along a path known as the Solar Apex in the path of the star Vega at an incredible speed of 720,000 kmph. These facts set out in the Qur'an were only discovered by means of astronomical advances in our own time.

13. As well as the Sun itself, all the planets and satellites within its gravitational field also travel the same distance. In rough terms, this shows that the Sun traverses some 17.28 million km a day.

14. And We have decreed set phases for the moon, until it ends up looking like an old date branch. It is not for the sun to overtake the moon nor for the night to outstrip the day; each one is swimming in a sphere. (Qur'an, 36:39-40)

16. As it orbits the Earth, it sometimes moves behind it and sometimes in front. The Moon does not follow a regular orbit like the satellites of other planets.

17. This route, traced by the Moon in space, is described in the Qur'an as resembling an old date branch and does indeed resemble the twisted form of the date tree branch. As it also moves with the Earth around the Sun, it actually follows a constant pattern resembling the letter "S" in space.

18. The way that this branch is described as "old" is also most appropriate since old date branches are thinner and more twisted. Indeed, the word "urjoon" employed in the Qur'an refers to a thin and twisted date branch and is used to describe that part left after the fruit has been picked.

19. Since the Moon revolves around the Sun together with the Earth, it follows a path through space which resembles the letter “S.”

20. The appearance of this orbit resembles the twisted shape of a dry date branch, as is revealed in the Qur’an.

21. * There is no doubt that it was impossible for anyone to have any knowledge about the orbit of the Moon 1,400 years ago. * The way that this pattern, identified by modern technology and accumulated knowledge, was revealed in the Holy Book is yet another scientific miracle of the Qur'an.

22. It is He Who appointed the sun to give radiance, and the moon to give light, assigning it phases so you would know the number of years and the reckoning of time. Allah did not create these things except with truth. We make the Signs clear for people who know. (Qur'an, 10:5)

24. 10:5 Sahih International It is He who made the sun a shining light and the moon a derived light and determined for it phases - that you may know the number of years and account [of time]. Allah has not created this except in truth. He details the signs for a people who know Dr. Ghali He is The (One) Who has made the sun an illumination, and the moon a light and determined it by phases that you may know the number of years and the reckoning. In no way has Allah created that except with the truth. He expounds the signs for a people who know. Farsi او کسی است که خورشید را روشنایی، و ماه را نور قرار داد؛ و برای آن منزلگاه‌هایی مقدّر کرد، تا عدد سالها و حساب ( کارها ) را بدانید؛ خداوند این را جز بحق نیافریده؛ او آیات ( خود را ) برای گروهی که اهل دانشند، شرح می‌دهد !

25. And We have decreed set phases for the moon, until it ends up looking like an old date branch. (Qur'an, 36:39)

27. 36:39 Sahih International And the moon - We have determined for it phases, until it returns [appearing] like the old date stalk. Dr. Ghali And the moon, We have determined it by phases, till it becomes again (Literally: goes back) like the old date-stalk. Farsi و برای ماه منزلگاه‌هایی قرار دادیم، ( و هنگامی که این منازل را طی کرد ) سرانجام بصورت « شاخه کهنه قوسی شکل و زرد رنگ خرما » در می‌آید.

29. Furthermore, our attention is also drawn to the fact that these calculations will be performed according to the positions of the Moon as it revolves in its orbit. The first of the above verses, Allah has clearly revealed that the Moon will be a means of measurement for people to calculate the year.

30. * Since the angles between the Earth and Moon and the Moon and Sun constantly change, we see the Moon in different forms at different times. * Furthermore, our ability to see the Moon is made possible by the fact that it is illuminated by the Sun.

31. * The amount of the lighted half of the Moon we see from Earth changes. * Bearing in mind these changes, a number of calculations can be made, making it possible for human beings to measure the year.

32. According to this, one month was equal to 29 days, 12 hours and 44 minutes. In former times a month was calculated as the time between two full moons, or the time it took the Moon to travel around the Earth.

33. Twelve lunar months represent one year, according to the Hijri calendar. This is known as the "lunar month."

34. Attention is drawn to this difference in another verse: However, there is a difference of eleven days between the Hijri calendar and the Gregorian calendar, in which a year is the time it takes the Earth to orbit the Sun.

35. They stayed in their Cave for three hundred years and added nine. (Qur'an, 18:25)

36. Bearing in mind that one solar year lasts 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 45.5 seconds, 3,300 days/365.24 days = 9 years. We can clarify the time referred to in the verse thus: 300 years x 11 days (the difference which forms every year) = 3,300 days.

37. As we can see, the verse refers to this finely calculated difference of 9 years. To put it another way, 300 years according to the Gregorian calendar is equal to 300+9 years according to the Hijri calendar.

38. (Allah knows best.) There is no doubt that the Qur'an, which contains such pieces of information, which transcended the everyday knowledge of the time, is a miraculous revelation.