THE TIME ELEMENT
Time has been recognized as the most important physical variable in any scientific
calculations. It has been termed by some scientists as the fourth dimension. In fact, time
is the only physical parameter that differentiates between static and dynamic conditions.
Any thing in the universe, no matter how small it is or how large it is, is in continuous
motion. Any dynamic process is time dependent. The universe is a living dynamic system
that changes and evolves continuously. Time and motion always go together. In this vast
and infinite universe, there are infinite number of motions and therefore infinite number
of time frames. The human mind can not grasp or comprehend the universal time frames.
We can only understand, even partially, our very limited time frame associated with the
earth’s motion around the sun and around itself and the moon’s motion around the earth.
A form of time-motion relation has been developed by Albert Einstein in his theory of
relativity.
The corner stone of any study or scientific research is computing. In order to be able to
compute, there must be some reference to relate the computation to. ALLAH (SWT) Has
Created all elements, that we humans can utilize to learn and to develop. The global
reference of computation for us here on earth is the relative motion of the earth around
the sun and the motion of the moon around the earth. In cited verse #(2-1), ALLAH
(SWT) Says that He Has Made the sun to give off powerful light and the moon to be a
light. Notice here that ALLAH (SWT) Has Described the light of the sun and the light of
the moon differently. The sun gives off powerful light, that is, the sun produces its own
powerful light. The moon to be a light, that is, the moon does not produce its light. In the
same verse, ALLAH (SWT) Says that the moon moves along a trajectory with specific
stages, so we can learn how to count years and to compute. It is ONLY the moon and not
the sun that moves along a trajectory with specific stages. Indeed, as the earth moves in
orbit around the sun, the moon moves along another orbit around the earth. The moon’s
22 CH. 2 THE TIME ELEMENT 23
Cited Verse #(2-1)
In The Name of ALLAH, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
It is He Who Made the sun to give off powerful light and the moon to be a light, and
Arranged its stages so you can learn the number of years and to compute, nowise did
ALLAH Create this, but in truth and righteousness, He Explains His signs in detail for
those who know.
(part 11, Surat Yunus “Jonah”)
Cited Verse #(2-2)
In The Name of ALLAH, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
The number of months in the sight of ALLAH is twelve, so ordained by Him the day He
Created the heavens and the earth, of them four are sacred, this precious religion, so do
not be unfair for yourselves therein and fight the pagans all together as they fight you all
together, and know that ALLAH is with those who fear Him.
(part 10, Surat Tawbah “Forgiveness”) 24 EXPLORING THE SCIENTIFIC MIRACLE OF THE HOLY QUR’AN M. WAGDI
light is a reflection of the sun’s light. As the location of the moon relative to the sun and
to the earth changes, the portion of the moon that is exposed to the sun’s light changes.
As viewed from the earth, the shape of the lighted portion of the moon changes from a
very small crescent to larger ones to half moon to full moon. The lighted portion is then
reduced from full moon to half moon to crescent, whose size becomes smaller each night
until it disappears. This cycle takes place as the moon completes one revolution around
the earth and is known as the lunar month. The beginning of the lunar month starts with
the appearance of the first visible crescent. More information about the sun and the moon
is given in Chapter 3.
The Lunar Year and The Solar Year
The lunar year is the year associated with the motion of the moon around the earth.
The solar year is the year associated with the motion of the earth around the sun. In the
Holy Qur’an, ALLAH (SWT) Has Told us directly the duration of the lunar year. He did
not Tell explicitly the duration of the solar year, but instead gave us the exact
mathematical formula that relates the solar year to the lunar year.
In cited verse #(2-2) ALLAH (SWT) Says that the number of months, in His record,
the day He Created the heavens and the earth is TWELVE. The next words in the verse
are, “of them four are sacred”. Those words determine that the lunar year has twelve
months, because the lunar year is the one used by the Arabs, known as “Hijri year”, and
it has four sacred months. The four sacred months in the Hijri year are, “Zulqe’da”,
“Zulhejjah”, “Moharram” and “Rajab”. The solar year also has twelve months.
In the Arabic language (the Holy Qur’an language), there are two different words
having the meaning of “year”. Those two words are the word “SANAH” and the word
“AAM”. Almost all the Arabic speaking people are using both words indiscriminately,
without knowing the difference between them. It will be shown here that there is a
significant difference between the two words, and only the Holy Qur’an shows that in a
very striking way.
In cited verse #(2-1), we see that the word “SINEEN”, which is the plural of the word
“SANAH” is associated with the motion of the moon and its different stages. Therefore,
the word “SANAH” means “LUNAR YEAR”.
Surat Al Kahf (The Cave), in the Holy Qur’an, presents the story of a group of men
and their dog. They fled their town in fear of prosecution because of their religious belief.
They went to hide in a cave. ALLAH (SWT) Made them go into deep sleep (as if they
were dead), in the cave for a long period of time, then awaked (resurrected) them. Cited
verse #(2-3) depicts the moment when they woke up [when they were resurrected by
ALLAH (SWT)]. They were asking each other, how long have we stayed in this cave?. CH. 2 THE TIME ELEMENT 25
Cited Verse #(2-3)
In The Name of ALLAH, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
And so We Have Resurrected them (from the deep sleep), that they question each other,
said one of them “how long have we stayed (asleep)”, they said “we have stayed a day or
part of a day”, they said “your LORD Knows best how long we have stayed”, send one of
you with these papers (money) of yours to the town and let him find which is the best
food and bring some to you and let him behave with cautious and not to let any body feel
your presence.
(part 15, Surat Al Kahf “The Cave”)
Cited Verse #(2-4)
In The Name of ALLAH, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
And they stayed in their cave three hundred years and increased by nine.
(part 15, Surat Al Kahf “The Cave”) 26 EXPLORING THE SCIENTIFIC MIRACLE OF THE HOLY QUR’AN M. WAGDI
They all said that they have stayed “a day or part of a day”. Cited verse #(2-4) states that
they have stayed (they have been asleep in the cave) three hundred years “SANAH” and
increased by NINE. This is a very significant statement. ALLAH (SWT) is Educating us,
He Wants us to think. ALLAH (SWT) Could Have Said that the cave people stayed there
for three hundred and nine years “SANAH’, but instead He Said, three hundred years and
increased by nine. ALLAH (SWT) is Giving us a clue here. Studying this phrase
carefully, we find the following :-
♦ The cave people stayed in their cave (in deep sleep) for three hundred and nine
LUNAR YEARS.
♦ When the cave people were resurrected from their deep sleep, they believed that they
have stayed asleep for a day or part of a day. This indicates that the deep sleep started
and ended in THE SAME WEATHER CONDITION (SAME SEASON).
♦ Changes in the weather conditions are associated mainly with the four seasons
(spring, summer, autumn and winter). These four seasons have fixed starting and
ending dates in the solar year calendar not in the lunar year. Figure (2-1)
symbolically illustrates the location of the earth relative to the sun in consecutive
solar and lunar years. It shows that the months of the lunar year move from one
season to another along the years.
♦ Had the cave people stayed in their cave (in deep sleep) only three hundred lunar
years “SANAH”, they would have been resurrected in a different weather condition.
In such case, they could have never said that they have stayed a day or part of a day.
♦ After being asleep for three hundred and nine years “SANAH” , the cave people did
not notice any change in the weather. THEREFORE, THE EARTH MUST HAVE
COME TO THE SAME EXACT POSITION IN ITS ORBIT AROUND THE SUN AS IT
WAS AT THE BEGINNING OF THESE YEARS.
These findings together with the clue that ALLAH (SWT) Gave (three hundred years
and increased by nine), indicate that THREE HUNDRED AND NINE LUNAR YEARS
ARE EQUIVALENT TO THREE HUNDRED SOLAR YEARS.
Based on this mathematical relation, and since the solar year has 365.2422 days, we
find that the lunar year “SANAH” has 354.604 days, that is the lunar year is 10.6382 days
shorter than the solar year. Since the lunar year has twelve months [cited verse #(2-2)],
we find that the lunar month has 29.55 days.
It is worth mentioning here that the measurements and computations using the latest
scientific and technological tools, have yielded results that are almost identical to the
above. We have to emphasize here that the findings that we can correctly deduce from the CH. 2 THE TIME ELEMENT 27
28 EXPLORING THE SCIENTIFIC MIRACLE OF THE HOLY QUR’AN M. WAGDI
Holy Qur’an are the most accurate, since they are given to us by the Creator, ALLAH
(SWT).
Cited verse #(2-5) depicts the story of a man who was passing by a village, which was
completely in ruins. He wondered, how could ALLAH (SWT) Resurrect this village after
its death. ALLAH (SWT) then Put him to death for one hundred years “Aam”, then
Resurrected him. In this verse, the Arabic word for a year “Aam” was used NOT the word
“Sanah”. After his resurrection the man was then asked, “how long have you stayed ?”.
The man said, “I have stayed a day or part of a day”. The man said that because when he
was resurrected, he found that the weather conditions were the same as when he died.
This indicates that after one hundred years “Aam”, the earth returned to the same position
in its orbit around the sun as it was at the beginning of the hundred years “Aam”. This
happens only, if those hundred years were Solar Years.
Therefore, the Arabic word for a year “Aam” is meant to be a solar year, and the
Arabic word for a year “Sanah” is meant to be a lunar year.
Such distinction between the two words in the Holy Qur’an, the word “Sanah” and the
word “Aam” is very important in establishing the creation timeline.
In cited verse #(2-6), the two Arabic words for the word “year”, which are, “Sanah”
and “Aam”, are mentioned. In this verse, ALLAH (SWT) with His Holy wisdom Gave a
rather noticeable expression, in order to let us know the difference between the two
Arabic words, “Sanah” and “Aam”. In Telling how long Prophet Nooh “Noah” lived
among his people, ALLAH (SWT) Gave two different counts of the years. One count in
terms of “Sanah” and another in terms of “Aam”. In this verse, ALLAH (SWT) Said,
“he (Noah) stayed among his people for one thousand “Sanah” less fifty “Aam”. If the
two words “Sanah” and “Aam” were the same, that is having the same duration of time,
ALLAH (SWT) Would Have Said, nine hundred and fifty “Sanah” or “Aam”. By this
particular phrasing, ALLAH (SWT) is Giving us a pointer to think about the two words
“Sanah” and “Aam”. Cited verse #(2-6) is the only verse in the Holy Qur’an where the
two words for a year “Sanah” and “Aam” were mentioned together to describe a period
of time.
Using the mathematical relation shown earlier between the lunar year “Sanah” and the
solar year “Aam”, we find that Prophet Noah has stayed among his people for the period
of 948.499 lunar years, which is equivalent to 920.87 solar years.
Since we are living on the earth, our time frame, that is all the variables that we
compute time with (second, minute, hour, day, week, month, year, decade, century, …
etc.) are determined by the rotation of the earth around itself, the motion of the earth
around the sun, and the motion of the moon around the earth. The speed of the earth
rotation about itself, determines the length of the day. The distance of the earth from the
sun, and the speed at which the earth moves in its orbit around the sun, determine the CH. 2 THE TIME ELEMENT 29
Cited Verse #(2-5)
In The Name of ALLAH, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Or like the one who passed by a village, all in ruins, said “how shall ALLAH Bring this
to life after its death, ALLAH then put him to death for one hundred years “Aam” then
resurrected him, He said “how long Have you stayed (dead), he said, “I stayed a day or
part of a day”, He said, “but you have stayed (dead) for one hundred years “Aam”, look
at your food and your drink, they show no signs of aging, and look at your donkey, and
We may make of you a sign for the people, and look at the bones how We bring them
together and clothe them with flesh, when this was shown clearly to him, he said, “I
know that ALLAH is capable of doing everything.
(part 3, Surat Al Baqarah “The Heifer”) 30 EXPLORING THE SCIENTIFIC MIRACLE OF THE HOLY QUR’AN M. WAGDI
duration of the solar year. The movement of the moon around the earth determines the
lunar month and the lunar year. If we were living on a different planet in our solar
system, say Mars, our local time frame will be different. Different day length, different
duration of the solar year and two different lunar years, because Mars has two moons.
In our solar system, there are several different time frames. The size of our solar
system compared to the size of our galaxy (the Milky Way) is like a needle in the ocean.
Our galaxy is among billions and billions of other galaxies and celestial objects.
Therefore, there are an infinite number of time frames in the universe. Our human mind
is incapable of understanding even the most elementary concept of time beyond our solar
system.
In cited verse #(2-7), ALLAH (SWT) Says that the angels and the spirit ascend unto
Him in a day which is equivalent to fifty thousand of our lunar years. This gives us
another very important piece of information regarding the motion of the angels in the
heavens. From this verse we learn two things. The length of time here on earth and even
in our solar system is extremely insignificant compared to the length of time in the
universe (the heaven). Generally, the size and the dynamics of a physical system are
indicative of the time measuring unit. The largest unit of measuring time here on earth is
the year (whether a solar year or a lunar year). This tells us that the size of the universe
(the heaven) is infinitely huge and beyond our comprehension. More detailed information
about the size of the heaven/s is presented in Chapter 3. Also, based on this verse, it will
be shown in Chapter 4 that the angels move with a speed millions of times faster than the
speed of light. To us humans, the fastest speed that we have observed is the speed of
light, which could be achieved only by zero mass particles, such as Photons. This proves
that the human knowledge is very limited and that our minds could not understand
beyond a very tiny portion of the mysteries of ALLAH’s creation.
TIME IN THE SIGHT OF ALLAH (SWT)
Time is a relative quantity. It measures the duration and the relative changes in the
conditions of a dynamic event. If there was no change, time would have no meaning.
Among the names of ALLAH (SWT) are “THE FIRST” and “THE LAST”. That is,
nothing before Him and nothing after Him. He Existed before the creation of the heavens
and the earth and He Will ever exist after the heavens and the earth will cease to exist.
Therefore, before the creation of the heavens and the earth, time as a quantity was not
there. Also, after the heavens and the earth (in their present condition) will cease to exist,
that is, on and after judgment day (see Chapter 5), time as a quantity will not exist, since
every thing will be eternal. The paradise and the hell will be there forever. From this it is
seen that time was created with the creation of the heavens and the earth. In Chapter 3, it
will be shown that the heavens and the earth are in continuous motions and evolution.
Therefore, time is essential to account for such motions and evolution. CH. 2 THE TIME ELEMENT 31
Cited Verse #(2-6)
In The Name of ALLAH, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
And We Have Sent Nooh “Noah” to his people and he stayed among them one thousand
years “Sanah” less fifty years “Aam”, and the deluge overwhelmed them while they
persisted in sin.
(part 20, Surat Al Ankaboot “The Spider”)
Cited Verse #(2-7)
In The Name of ALLAH, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
The angels and the spirit ascend unto Him [ALLAH (SWT)] in a day measure thereof is
fifty thousand years (Sanah)
(part 29, Surat Al Ma’arij “Ascending in Heaven” 32 EXPLORING THE SCIENTIFIC MIRACLE OF THE HOLY QUR’AN M. WAGDI
Since time is a measurable quantity, therefore it must have units to measure it with. As
mentioned earlier in this chapter, the units that we humans use to measure the time are
based on the motions of the earth.
In the Holy Qur’an ,ALLAH (SWT) is Talking to us humans. He is Giving us enough
information about all things that touch our life, cited verse #(I-1). ALLAH (SWT)
Demanded from the believers to study the creation of the heavens and the earth, cited
verses #(I-4). In order to gain some understanding of the creation of the heavens and the
earth, ALLAH (SWT) Gave some basics. Among these basics is the time measuring unit
for the creation of the heavens and the earth. ALLAH (SWT) is Telling us about this time
unit, because before and during the creation of the heavens and the earth, there were no
earth days. The earth started to function as it is today and the duration of the earth days
was established after the creation period has ended (see Chapter 3).
In cited verse #(2-8), ALLAH (SWT) Says that a day in His Holy sight is equivalent to
one thousand of our lunar years “Sanah”. Using the mathematical relation established
earlier between the lunar and the solar years, we find that one day in ALLAH’s Holy
sight is equivalent to 970.87 solar years. In mentioning the duration of a day in the sight
of ALLAH (SWT), He is Giving us a very important piece of information. This piece of
information enables us to compute exactly and in our time frame, the length of time
during which ALLAH (SWT) Created the heavens and the earth. This will be shown in
full details in Chapter 3.
The duration of the day in the sight of ALLAH (SWT) has been mentioned in the Holy
Qur’an only twice, in cited verse #(2-8) and cited verses #(2-9). In the first Aayah (verse)
of cited verses #(2-9), ALLAH (SWT) is Telling that He Has Created the heavens and the
earth and what in between them in six days. In the second Aayah (verse) of cited verses
#(2-9), ALLAH (SWT) Says that the affairs which He Arranges from the heaven to the
earth, go back to Him in a day which is equivalent to one thousand years (Sanah) of what
we count. The years which we count are the earth’s years [see Appendix D].
The sequence of events in these verses is very clear. First ALLAH (SWT) Created the
heavens and the earth and what in between them in six days, then He Arranges all affairs
from the heaven to the earth, that is He sends His commands from the heavens to the
earth. The commands of ALLAH (SWT) are instantly executed. The executed commands
go back to report to Him in a day which is equivalent to one thousand of our years
(Sanah). The association between the days of creation and the day which the executed
commands go back to ALLAH (SWT) indicates that a creation day is a day in the sight of
ALLAH (SWT), which is equivalent to one thousand of our lunar years (Sanah). CH. 2 THE TIME ELEMENT 33
Cited Verse #(2-8)
In The Name of ALLAH, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
And they ask you to hasten on the torture, and ALLAH Will not Fail in His promise,
verily a day in the sight of Thy LORD is equivalent to one thousand years (Sanah) of
those what you count.
(part 17, Surat Al Hajj “The Pilgrimage”
Cited Verses #(2-9)
In The Name of ALLAH, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
ALLAH is He Who Created the heavens and the earth and what in between them in six
days, then firmly Established on the Throne, you do not have other than Him to protect
you and to intercede on your behalf, should not this be always on your mind. He
Arranges all affairs from the heavens to the earth, then they go back to Him in a day
equivalent to one thousand years (Sanah) of what you count.
(part 21, Surat Al Sajdah “The Adoration) 34 EXPLORING THE SCIENTIFIC MIRCLE OF THE HOLY QUR’AN M. WAGDI
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
The findings from Chapter 2 may be summarized as follows:-
♦ Time as we know it, is a relative quantity. It is measured and calibrated by the
rotation of the earth about itself, and its motion around the sun.
♦ There are billions of galaxies, each have billions of stars. Also there are huge
numbers of other celestial objects. All of these are in continuous motion. Associated
with those motions there are an infinite number of time frames that we could not
comprehend.
♦ In the Holy Qur’an ALLAH (SWT) Has Given us the exact mathematical relation
between the lunar year and the solar year. Based on the solar year of 365.2422 days,
the lunar year has 354.604 days, that is 10.6382 days shorter than the solar year.
Accordingly, the lunar month has 29.55 days.
♦ A day in the sight of ALLAH (SWT) is equivalent to one thousand of our lunar years.
This is a very important piece of information. Such information is essential in
determining the length of time, in our years, during which the heavens and the earth
were created (as will be presented in Chapter 3).
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