Question : There was a question about the veracity of the motion of the earth around the Sun, and what a geography teacher should say to his students about the matter.

Fatwa in Brief: A geography teacher should make it clear to his students that both the Holy Qur’an and the Sunna [of the Prophet] literally show that the succession of day and night is caused by the motion of the sun around the earth, rather than the reverse.

Shaykh Ibn al-‘Uthaymin, Collected Fatawa and Letters of Ibn al-‘Uthaymin, Part I, p.39

Similarly, Shaykh Ibn Baz holds the view that:

[t]he person who persists that the sun does not move should be condemned to death after being called upon to repent, as his denials of the motion of the sun [round the earth] constitutes a denial of God’s Word, God’s Prophet and God’s Holy Book.

From www.binbaz.org.sa

Response:

Matters which are not explicitly indicated in texts revealed by God should be referred to experts in these fields like astronomers and physicians. Such fatawa as this one sadly distort the image of Islam and Muslims worldwide.

Commentary:

There is nothing in the Qur’an or in the Sunna to the effect that the earth does not move around the Sun, nor is there any reference to the [false] idea that the earth does not move. There are some Qur’anic verses which have been interpreted to mean, however, that the earth moves and circles the sun. According to Muslim and non-Muslim astronomers alike throughout the ages, the earth moves, as do all planets in the universe. Indeed, this is a well-known fact.

In a work entitled The Universe from the Atom to the Galaxy, Dr. Hammad el-‘Ubaidy observes:

The earth floats in space as if it were a ship… when it moves around the sun it rotates anti-clockwise at the speed of 23 km per second, as if it were a missile. Despite such startling speed, we do not perceive its movement because of the earth’s gravity and its atmospheric pressure. These factors make us feel stable, as if we were solidly based on the earth’s surface. Indeed, this is one of the wonders of God’s Creation. (www.islamweb.net)

The motion of the earth around the sun causes the occurrence of the four seasons in one solar year. This time frame dominates the calculations of people’s various activities and practices. The Earth also revolves clockwise around itself from West to East, at the speed of 1609 km per hour; every 24 hours this rotation accounts for the process of our days and nights.

Dr. El-Zeheili elaborates further:

The circular Earth revolves around itself, facing the sun. The round part of its surface, which faces the sun, is covered by light. However, this area of its surface is not fixed in one place. The Earth continues to rotate, and, as it does so, the more darkness comes to replace the area previously covered by sunlight. (www.islamweb.net)

The motion of the Earth, and the fact of its rotation, is neither stated nor categorically negated by reason, it is in the realm of the possible. If Muslim or non-Muslim experts have proven that it happens, and none of Divine law contradicts this, then we must accept it [the fact that the Earth rotates around the sun] as fact. Further, there should be no doubt that our Revelation would ever disagree with such a well-established scientific fact.

Ultimately, such factors, which have not been categorically [i.e. it is not further open to interpretation] dealt with in any revealed text, should be left in the hands of its scholars and experts in the field of astronomy. God Almighty says:

“Ask Anyone Informed”. (Q. 25:59)

And God also says:

“Ask the followers of the Remembrance, if ye know not!”. (Q. 16:43)

It is noteworthy to point out the answers to such questions do not entail any legal judgment or obligation on our part. Exploring such matters [as we have now made clear] must be left to expert astronomers.[1]

And God knows best.

Dr. Muhammad Fouad