Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

i once went to a jewish site that said they had found an error in the Quran. Their proof was that one of the ayaat says "the sun set in a pool of murky water". This really confused me. please help me out. 

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Answer:

Meaning of aayah sunset in murky waters

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His  forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 18 Surah Kahf verses 83-86:

83 They ask thee concerning Zul-qarnain. Say "I will rehearse to you something of his story."

84 Verily We established his power on earth, and We gave him the ways and the means to all ends.

85 One (such) way he followed,

Until when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it set in a spring of murky water: near it he found a People: We said: "O Zul-Qarnain! (thou hast authority) either to punish them or to treat them with kindness."

Beloved brother, when the disbelievers in the Glorious Quran could not find anything contradictory or an error in the Perfect Revelations of the Perfect Lord, in their frustration quite a few of them searched and have constantly challenged this one ‘term’ of the Glorious Quran to prove it incorrect!

In the above Aayah of Surah Kahf, Allah Subhanah has only given the portrayal or vision as witnessed by Zul-Qarnain when he reached the end of the distance he was traveling, beyond which he witnessed nothing but water (probably a huge sea or an ocean). Please note the words of the Quran, where it clearly mentions that ‘he’ (Zul-Qarnain) found it setting in a spring of murky water!

This portrayal would be similar to one of us standing today on a beach and watching the sun set in the ocean! We all know today that the sun does not actually set in the ocean, but it moves in its own orbit…it just seems so to the naked eye!

In Zul-Qarnain’s case, the portrayal was just to denote that he had traveled to the farthest land he could, and beyond was nothing but sea or ocean water!

If one reads the Quran in context, he will realize that in other places Allah Subhanah has clearly Declared that the heavenly bodies like the sun and the moon move in their fixed orbits.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 21 Surah Anbiyaa verse 33:It is He (Allah) Who created the Night and the Day, and the sun and the moon: all (the celestial bodies) of them are floating, each in its own orbit.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 36 Surah Yaa Seen verse 38: And the Sun runs its course for a period determined for it: that is the Decree of (Allah); The Exalted in Might, The All-Knowing.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan