Living The Quran
From Issue: 1014 [Read full issue]
Sun's Dwelling Place
Ya-Sin (Ya Sin) - Chapter 36: Verse 38
"And the sun runs to a dwelling place of its own. That is the decree of the Mighty, the Knowing."
It is reported that a Companion of the Prophet, Abu Dharr, said, "The Prophet asked me at sunset, 'Do you know where the sun goes [when it sets]?' I replied, 'God and His Messenger know best.' He said, 'It travels till it prostrates itself underneath the Throne and asks permission to rise again, and it is permitted. Then it is about to prostrate itself, but its prostration will not be accepted, and it will ask permission to go on its course, but it will not be permitted and will instead be ordered to return whence it has come, and so it will rise in the west'". In light of this account, the verse alludes to the sun's final dwelling place on the Day of Judgment.
Others see the verse as a reference to the sun following its winter and summer orbits until each solstice, when it reaches its northernmost or southernmost extreme before reversing direction. Dwelling place then indicates the solstice. In this interpretation it bears a close resemblance to the word "solstice," which derives from the Latin solstitium, meaning "sun-stopping."
Another reading, "And the sun runs; it has no dwelling place (la mustaqarra laha)," was reportedly preferred by some of the Prophet's Companions, such as the famous Quran scholars Ibn Masud and Ibn Abbas.
Compiled From:
"The Study Quran: A New Translation and Commentary" - Seyyed Hossein Nasr