The Ocean of the Quran

A verse by verse explanation of The Ultimate Scripture

Al-Qiyāmah – Verses 8-9

وَخَسَفَ القَمَرُ

وَجُمِعَ الشَّمسُ وَالقَمَرُ

And the moon is eclipsed,

and the sun and the moon are brought together.

EXEGESIS

Khasafa (is eclipsed): the core meaning of this root denotes sinking or being enveloped so completely that no trace of that which has sunk remains visible.‎[1] Hence it can mean for the earth to swallow up what is resting on it, like in the verse, So We caused the earth to swallow (khasafnā)‎[2] him and his house (28:81).‎[3] Or it can mean an eclipse, like in this verse, where the shadow of the earth makes it seem like the moon is ‘swallowed up’.

Khusūf is used for a lunar eclipse, whilst kusūf for a solar eclipse.‎[4]

EXPOSITION

Since the verses are talking about the cataclysmic events that would occur during the end times, most probably this verse is not referring to a usual eclipse, but a physical merger between the sun and the moon. Among the signs of the final hour are many cosmic events, which are described in various surahs of the Quran. Without a doubt, there will be significant changes that occur in the cosmos as preparation for the onset of the hereafter, that will forever change the state of the world, The day the earth is transformed into another earth and the heavens (14:48). These changes will occur during the final hour, at the first blowing of the trumpet, and in the time between the two blowings.

Accordingly, some exegetes have suggested that it is possible the moon will be eventually pulled by the gravity of the sun and be ‘swallowed’ by it.‎[5] This would obviously entail an end to the current state of the solar system and all life on earth.‎[6] In this case it is entirely possible to understand khasafa quite literally, not as an eclipse, but the moon being ‘swallowed up’.

We know that our sun is a star that is classified as a G-type‎[7] main sequence star. Like other stars, the energy of the sun is produced by nuclear reaction of hydrogen fusion in its core, which changes the hydrogen into helium. Gradually, the change in the ratio of hydrogen to helium in the sun will cause changes in its behaviour. Eventually, when almost all the hydrogen has depleted, the nuclear reaction will stop. By observing other similar stars, scientists can understand what these changes will be like. The sun is estimated to currently be in approximately the middle of its lifespan. In a few billion years, it will grow in size and enter a phase where it is classified as a ‘red giant’ star. This is because the centre of the sun will collapse into a much smaller size due to its gravity, which results in the outer layer – which still has hydrogen – to get much hotter and to expand to a much larger size. This expansion will swallow up the planets orbiting close to the sun, such as Mercury and Venus, and possibly the earth as well. The increased heat and solar winds will have scorched away the oceans and blown away the atmosphere long before that though. Eventually, when the hydrogen in the sun is almost all burned up, it will collapse and contract into what is known as a ‘white dwarf’. The gravity of the white dwarf star is so intense that all matter is extremely densely packed in it, to the extent that a white dwarf with a mass similar to the sun will have a volume similar to that of the earth.‎[8]

There are numerous Quranic verses that discuss matters related to the final hour that bear striking resemblance to what we have mentioned. In addition to the obvious similarity between these verses that we are dealing with now, the Quran also speaks of the seas being set afire (81:6), of the sky being rent apart (82:1) and stripped off (81:11), and of the sun being wound up (81:1), perhaps in reference to it becoming a white dwarf.

That said, all this may occur at any moment God wills, through unforeseen and inexplicable causes and circumstances, making any prediction of the hour’s arrival impossible.

The sun and moon are also symbolically significant. In matters of religion they mark the keeping of time for rituals such as prayer and fasting. In our human life they are the basis of calendars and timekeeping. The transition of the world into an era where the sun and the moon are changed, indicates a transition to a world that is fundamentally different. It is a world beyond responsibility (taklīf) and trial (balāʾ) and temporality, moving on to accounting (ḥisāb) and recompense (jazāʾ) and eternality.

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

There are many different opinions mentioned as to what is meant by the sun and the moon being brought together, including:

  1. That they will rise together from the west.‎[9]
  2. They will both be wound up (kuwwirat) as we are told in 81:1 is what will happen to the sun.‎[10] Or the light of both will go out.‎[11]
  3. Rāzī understands it figuratively as alluding to when the soul moves on to the hereafter; whereby the sun represents the hereafter, since it ‘makes manifest the hidden, and clarifies the obscure’. The moon represents the soul, which reflects the light of the sun, and so too ‘the soul reflects the true realities of the hereafter’.‎[12]

INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS

  1. ‘There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.’‎[13]
  2. ‘The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.’‎[14]
  3. ‘The sun and moon will be darkened, and the stars no longer shine. The Lord will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; the earth and the heavens will tremble.’‎[15]
  4. ‘Before them the earth shakes, the heavens tremble, the sun and moon are darkened, and the stars no longer shine.’‎[16]
  5. ‘I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.’‎[17] 
[1] Tahqiq, 3/65, kh-s-f.
[2] See also 34:9, 29:40, 28:82.
[3] Lisan, 9/67, kh-s-f.
[4] Raghib, p. 282, kh-s-f. Rāghib also mentions that some have claimed that kusūf refers to a partial eclipse and khusūf to a full eclipse, either lunar or solar. Muṣṭafawī adopts this view in an even more general sense of the core meaning of khasafa.
[5] Related in Nemuneh, 25/288.
[6] See Munyah, 29/140.
[7] Also often called a ‘yellow dwarf’, although this is a misnomer as the light of the sun is white. It appears yellow to us because of the earth’s atmosphere, which causes the various wavelengths of sunlight to scatter in different ways. The shorter blue and violet wavelengths get scattered in all directions, which causes the sky to appear blue. The longer yellow and red wavelengths reach the eyes more directly, causing the sun to appear yellow in colour. See https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun.
[8] See https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun; https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-earthscience/chapter/stellar-life-cycle/; https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/main-sequence-stars.
[9] Zamakhshari, 4/660; Alusi, 15/154. This opinion is attributed to Ibn Masʿūd (Tabrisi, 10/598; Alusi, 15/154).
[10] This opinion is attributed to Mujāhid (Tabari, 29/113).
[11] Related in Muhit, 10/346.
[12] Razi, 30/724.
[13] Luke 21:25.
[14] Acts 2:20.
[15] Joel 3:15-16.
[16] Joel 2:10.
[17] Revelation 6:12-14.