Sun Prostrates Under Allah's Throne

Where Does the Sun Go at Night?

According to authentic hadith found in Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim—Islam's two most authoritative hadith collections—Muhammad taught that the sun prostrates under Allah's throne at night and asks permission to rise again. This reflects a geocentric, pre-scientific understanding where the sun actually moves around the earth and has consciousness.

"The Prophet asked me at sunset, 'Do you know where the sun goes (at the time of sunset)?' I replied, 'Allah and His Apostle know better.' He said, 'It goes (i.e. travels) till it prostrates Itself underneath the Throne and takes the permission to rise again, and it is permitted and then (a time will come when) it will be 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, but it will be ordered to return whence it has come and so it will rise in the west.'" — Sahih Bukhari 4:54:421

What the Hadith Claims

This hadith makes several specific claims:

• The sun travels (goes somewhere) at sunset
• It prostrates (performs sujud) beneath Allah's throne
• It asks permission to rise again each day
• Permission is granted, so it rises
• One day permission will be denied and it will rise in the west (a sign of the Day of Judgment)

This is presented as literal fact, not as metaphor or parable. The companion Abu Dharr asks a question and Muhammad provides a straightforward answer about the sun's actual behavior.

The Scientific Reality

Modern astronomy conclusively demonstrates:

• The sun doesn't move around Earth: Earth orbits the sun, and Earth's rotation creates the appearance of sunrise and sunset
• The sun doesn't "go" anywhere at night: It's always shining; your location on Earth simply rotates away from it
• The sun has no consciousness: It cannot prostrate, ask permission, or make decisions—it's a ball of plasma undergoing nuclear fusion
• No throne in space: There's no physical throne beneath which the sun prostrates
• Sunrise from the west is impossible: For this to happen, Earth's rotation would need to reverse—a catastrophic event that would destroy all life

Supporting Quranic Verses

The Quran supports this geocentric view in several passages:

"And the sun runs [on course] toward its stopping point. That is the determination of the Exalted in Might, the Knowing." — Quran 36:38

The Arabic word tajri (تَجْرِي) means "runs," "flows," or "moves." The verse says the sun runs to a stopping point or resting place (mustaqarr). This supports the hadith's claim that the sun travels and stops at a specific location (under the throne).

Classical Understanding

Classical Islamic scholars took this hadith literally:

• Ibn Kathir affirmed that the sun prostrates beneath the throne and asks permission to rise
• Al-Tabari and other early commentators accepted this as fact
• Islamic astronomy for centuries operated on a geocentric model with the sun orbiting the earth

These scholars had no reason to question Muhammad's teaching—it matched their observations (the sun appears to move) and their cosmology.

The Problem for Islamic Claims

This hadith creates several problems:

1. It's in Sahih Bukhari and Muslim: These are Islam's most authentic hadith collections. Muslims cannot easily dismiss them without undermining the entire hadith tradition
2. Muhammad spoke it directly: This isn't a weak narration—it's directly attributed to Muhammad with strong chains of transmission
3. It's scientifically false: The sun doesn't travel to prostrate beneath a throne at night
4. It reveals geocentrism: The entire concept requires believing the sun moves around the earth

Modern Apologetic Responses

Defense 1: "It's metaphorical"

Some Muslims claim this is metaphorical language about the sun's submission to Allah's power.

Problem: The hadith is phrased as a direct answer to a direct question about where the sun goes at sunset. Muhammad didn't say "It's as if..." or "metaphorically speaking..." He stated it as fact. Classical scholars understood it literally.

Defense 2: "Prostration means submission, not physical prostration"

Some argue that prostration here means submission to Allah's laws (like gravity), not literal bowing.

Problem: If it's just about following natural laws, why specify it happens at night? Why mention asking permission to rise? Why describe it going somewhere? The details only make sense if understood literally.

Defense 3: "It's about the sun's orbit in the galaxy"

Some modernists claim this refers to the sun's orbit around the Milky Way galaxy, which does have a "stopping point."

Problem: The hadith explicitly connects this to daily sunset, not the sun's 225-million-year galactic orbit. The sun doesn't ask permission each evening to rise the next morning based on its galactic orbit. This is reading modern astronomy back into an ancient text.

The Pattern of Geocentrism

This isn't isolated—Islamic sources consistently reflect geocentric cosmology:

• The sun sets in a muddy spring (Quran 18:86)
• The sun and moon are described as moving in orbits around Earth (Quran 36:40)
• Day and night are described as if they're caused by the sun's movement (Quran 13:2)
• The earth is described as stable and unmoving (Quran 27:61)

Biblical Contrast

While the Bible also uses observational language, it doesn't make the error of describing the sun's nighttime prostration or asking permission. Biblical language about the sun is consistently phenomenological—describing appearances without claiming scientific precision:

"The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises." — Ecclesiastes 1:5

This describes what we observe without making false claims about the sun's consciousness or actions. The Bible also emphasizes God's transcendence beyond the created order:

"The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you." — 1 Kings 8:27

God isn't limited to a physical throne beneath which celestial bodies prostrate—He transcends all creation.

Questions to Consider

1. If Muhammad was a prophet receiving divine revelation, why did he teach geocentric cosmology?
2. Can we trust hadith collections like Sahih Bukhari if we must reject clear narrations like this?
3. Does this error suggest Muhammad shared the scientific misconceptions of his 7th-century Arabian context?
4. If we can reinterpret this clear hadith as metaphor, what prevents reinterpreting any Islamic teaching?
5. How can an all-knowing God not know that the sun doesn't prostrate beneath a throne at night?

Conclusion

The hadith about the sun prostrating beneath Allah's throne at night is a clear scientific error reflecting geocentric cosmology. Found in Islam's most authentic hadith collections and attributed directly to Muhammad, this teaching cannot be easily dismissed.

The sun doesn't travel anywhere at sunset, doesn't prostrate beneath a throne, and doesn't ask permission to rise. These claims only make sense in a pre-scientific worldview where the sun actually moves around a stationary earth.

This error, combined with similar mistakes in the Quran and hadith, strongly suggests that Islamic sources reflect the limited scientific understanding of 7th-century Arabia, not timeless divine knowledge.

Related articles: The Sun Sets in a Muddy Spring, The Sky as a Solid Ceiling, Stars as Missiles