The Sun
The Sun is not stationary; it moves through space at a speed of approximately 800,000 km/hr towards the bright star Vega in the constellation Lyra. This journey, which includes the entire solar system—Earth and our Moon—takes about 225 million years to complete one orbit around our galaxy, known as a galactic year. Since the Sun’s formation, it has completed roughly 20 such orbits.
In addition to its galactic journey, the Sun also rotates around its own axis at a speed of about 7,000 km/hr, taking approximately 24 days to complete one rotation. This understanding of the Sun’s motion is relatively recent. Just a century ago, scientists believed that the Earth revolved around a stationary Sun.
How could it be then, that more than 1400 years ago that the Quran proclaimed:
"It is He Who created the Night and the Day, and the sun and the moon: all (the celestial bodies) swim along, each in its rounded course."
وَهُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ وَالشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ ۖ كُلٌّ فِي فَلَكٍ يَسْبَحُونَ
Quran 21:33
The first and last mention of the word Sun in the Quran occur at:
Surah 2:258
Last mentioned: 91:1
Between these two verses are 5778 verses.which just so happens to be the temperature of the sun in Kelvin!
There is only one Star named by name in the Quran, it is Sirius. Interestingly, the star Sirius is part of a binary star system, it is not one star but two! The Quran mentions the word star 1st in Surah 53 ayah 1, and mentions the word 'Earth' in the same Surah at ayah 32. Between them are 861 letters - which is actually the distance between the Earth and Sirius in light years, al Hamdolillah!
YaSin 36:39
A quick time lapse of the moon shows that indeed if you track its position in the night sky, it does indeed seem thats it travels across the night sky in the patter of an old withered date palm!
The miracle in Surah Tariq
Allah swt says in the Quran, in Surah Tariq verses 1-3, revealed over 1400 years ago:
1- By the heavens and The Knocker.(86- The Knocker, 1)
وَالسَّمَاءِ وَالطَّارِقِ
2- How will you comprehend what the The Knocker is? (86- The Knocker,
٢ وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا الطَّارِقُ
3- It is a piercing star.(86- The Knocker, 3)
٣ النَّجْمُ الثَّاقِبُ
Allah s.w.t swears by the piercing star, The word طَّارِقِ (tareq) translated by early Commentators of Quran as طَّارِقِ as such, taken for a name and left untranslated or as “Morning Star” “Bright Star” or as “Night comer.”
The literal meaning of the word is طَّارِقِ (Tareq) is “one who knocks at the door.” So the Ayah is refering to a star that is especially bright, and makes a knocking sound...and Allah swt has taken his oath by these magnificent creations.
Listen to the sound of this pulsating star as recorded by NASA: