THE IMPORTANCE AND ROLE OF ASTRONOMY IN ISLAM

Posted by Unknown , Thursday, 6 December 2012 05:39

"We have not created the heaven and the earth and all that is between them in mere idle play. None of this have We created without an inner truth: but most of them understand it not. " Surah al-Dukhan 44:38-39

"...He created the sun, the moon, and the stars (all) governed by laws under His commandment." surah al-A'raf 7:54

It is truly remarkable that the Qur'an revealed between 610 and 632 CE contains in it scientific knowledge that has taken centuries to be discovered. The only explanation for this is that without a doubt, it is divine in origin. We Muslims believe that the Qur'an, in original Arabic, is the actual word of Allah, the Most High. A proper understanding of the Qur'an therefore also requires an understanding of the worlds about us.
If there is any religion that invites man to the study and understanding of the heavens, it is Islam. An understanding of the discipline of astronomy is essential for the appreciation of the religion of Islam. No other religion uses or relies on the heavens and the motion of the moon and sun for time keeping and calendars as Islam does. Allah created this tremendous universe that we live in and we are invited to reflect upon it, to understand it so that we may be able to practice our religion with conviction based on reason to the best of our abilities.
"And it is He who ordained the stars for you that you may be guided thereby in the darkness of the land and the sea." Surah al-An'am-97
If you become familiar with the constellations and the stars in the sky, one can never be lost anywhere in the world. They are truly a guiding light in the canopy of the heavens. You can be anywhere in the world and immediately on looking up in the night sky and by recognizing stars, you can know what latitude you are at and where is north and thereby all the other directions. You can know what time of the year it is in the absence of any calendars. It is rather appropriate that the crescent moon and star is used as signs to represent matters of religion among Muslims.
                                  The Hubble telescope shows a pair of supersonic shocks waves created when gas from a collapsing star hits surrounding clouds of cosmic gas and dust.As it dies, the star is creating a new planetary nebula.

 The moon and the sun are of vital importance in the daily life of every Muslim. Using the moon, Muslims determine the beginning and the end of the months in their lunar calendar. By the sun the Muslims calculate the times for prayer and fasting based on the position of the sun in the horizon. It is also by means of astronomy that Muslims can determine the precise direction of the Qiblah, to face the Ka'bah in Makkah, during prayer.
"They ask you about new crescent moons, say they are but signs to mark fixed period of times for mankind and Hajj..." Surah al-Baqarah 2:189

The subject of crescent visibility has been studied in modern times by Prof Ilyas from Malaysia who has developed several visibility criteria and the concept of the International Lunar Date Line (ILDL). Ilyas's main criterion depends on the moon's altitude (in degrees) above the horizon at sunset and the moon's angular distance from the sun (relative azimuth) at sunset. If a moon's altitude and relative azimuth are greater than certain threshold values, then the moon is likely to be visible. The ILDL is a curved line on a world map which separates areas (west of the line) where the crescent is likely to be seen at the start of the lunar month from areas (east of the line) where the crescent is unlikely to be seen. The probability of sighting the crescent increases as one travels west of the ILDL and diminishes as one travels east of the ILDL. Unlike the solar date line which has a fixed position, the position of the ILDL moves from month to month. 

Sumber: www.majalahsains.com
Ulasan:

Adalah sesuatu yang menakjubkan apabila Quran mendedahkan antara 610 dan 630 kandungannya adalah mengenai pengetahuan ilmu Sains yang mengambil masa berkurun untuk ditemui.  Penjelasan yang jelas tentang hal ini tanpa ragu ialah kefahaman dala bahasa.  Sebagai muslim percaya Quran dalam bahasa Arab merupakan bahasa Allah yang paling tinggi.  Kefahaman yang jelas tentang isi Quran memberikan kefahaman yang jelas Dunia yang didiami oleh manusia.
       Dalam Islam, ilmu astronomi merupakan salah satu apresiasi dalam Islam. Tiada agama lain menggunakan disiplin ilmu tersebut untuk mengaitkan dengan alam ghaib seperti Syurga dan menggunakan bayang bulan dan matahari untuk menentukan masa dan calendar seperti yang Islam lakukan.  Allah menciptakan alam  yang menakjubkan tempat untuk kita tinggal dan kita disuruh untuk memahami kebesaran yang Maha Kuasa agar kita dapat mempraktikkannya dalam ajaran agama dengan keyakinan dan iktikad yang jelas kepada Allah.
            Jika manusia biasa dengan kedudukan bintang di langit, manusia tidak akan sesat di dunia.  Bintang merupakan petunjuk cahaya dalam kegelapan dan sebagai payung syurga.  Manusia boleh berada di mana sahaja di dunia dan melihat ke atas langit malam dan akan melihat bintang.  Dengan mengenal pasti bintang, manusia akan tahu latitud sama ada di utara atau di arah yang lain.  Manusia akan tahu tempoh tahun dalam mana-mana kaledar yang wujud di dunia.  Bulan dan Matahari begitu penting dalam kehidupan seharian manusia  terutamanya muslim.  Dengan bulan, muslim akan mengetahui permulaan dan pengakhiran bulan dalam calendar lunar mereka.  Dengan matahari, manusia akan mengira temph waktu solat dan puasa berdasarkan keadaan matahari di ufuk.  Justeru, ianya juga mampu membuatkan muslim dengan ilmu astronomi mengenal pasti arah dan kedudukan kiblat ketika solat.






 

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