Narrated Abu Dhar: The Prophet (ﷺ) 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.
And that is the interpretation of the Statement of Allah: “And the sun Runs its fixed course For a term (decreed). that is The Decree of (Allah) The Exalted in Might, The All- Knowing.” (36.38)
Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari 3199
The words of the Messenger, ﷺ are true and must be believed and accepted. As for the meaning of the hadith, it does not contradict the fact that the sun never fully disappears from the globe.
The setting mentioned in the hadith is explained by the going mentioned in another narration, where he said, “Do you know where it goes?” and his statement, “It goes…” and so on. Supporting this meaning is what the author of Lisan al-Arab said: “al-gharb means going away and moving away from people… and al-ghurb means distance and separation.” He also said elsewhere, “al-ghurub is the disappearance of the sun, gharabat means it disappeared in the west.”
So, the setting is its departure until it disappears from view in the direction of the west for the observer, wherever he may be. This is consistent with the verse, “And the sun runs for its fixed course” (Yasin: 38), as explained by Ibn Kathir in his tafsir, and also by al-Qurtubi and Ibn Ashur.
Know that many experts in astronomy have confirmed that the sun moves and runs just as the earth moves and rotates. The earth’s rotation does not contradict the sun’s motion and course. The earth moves in one orbit and the sun, which is far from it, also rotates in another orbit. The earth spins on its axis daily and orbits around the sun once a year.
Its daily rotation causes the sun to disappear from certain parts of the earth, resulting in the alternation of night and day. Its yearly orbit brings about the alternation of the seasons and the change in climate and weather from heat to cold and from summer to winter.
The hadith does not address the movement of the earth, neither negating nor affirming it, but it addresses the movement of the sun and mentions that it goes until it prostrates under the Throne. It did not mention that it disappears, so it is possible for it to prostrate under the Throne without disappearing from all parts of the earth. The commentators on the hadith differed about whether the sun prostrates while still running and moving.
This is the apparent meaning of the words of al-Khattabi and is supported by the reading: “It runs without a resting place.” This is also the apparent view of Ibn Hajar. If we say it settles, this does not necessarily mean that its settling and prostration take a long time that can be noticed by observers. Nor does its prostration under the Throne mean that it disappears from the sight of all people, because the Throne is above the heavens and the earth and the sun. Ibn Kathir mentioned in al-Bidayah that the hadith does not indicate that the sun ascends above the heavens to prostrate under the Throne.
Rather, it sets from our sight while remaining in its orbit. When it moves through this orbit until it reaches its midpoint, that is the place of its prostration and its seeking permission from Allah to rise again from the east. So permission is given to it. But when it is the night in which Allah wills that it rise from the west, it is said to it: return from where you came. That is the end of his words.
Translation: The jurists (fuqaha) have differed regarding unrestricted prostration without a specific reason. Is it considered an act of worship or not? Those who permitted it said: it is an expression of humility before Allah, and prostration means humility. Allah said, “And enter the gate in prostration and say: ‘Relieve us’” (al-Baqara: 58). The scholars of language said that prostration in Arabic means humility. More than one of the commentators said that they were commanded to enter while bowing, because entering with one’s forehead placed on the ground is not possible.
Allah also said, “Do you not see that to Allah prostrates whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth, the sun, the moon, the stars, the mountains, the trees, the animals, and many of the people” (al-Hajj: 18), and He said, “To Allah prostrates whoever is in the heavens and the earth willingly or unwillingly” (al-Raʿd: 15).
It is known that the prostration of each thing is in a way that suits it. The prostration of these created beings is not by placing their foreheads on the ground. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said in the hadith of Abu Dharr, when the sun set: “It goes and prostrates under the Throne,” narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
This shows that prostration is a general term. It means perfect humility before Allah. The most honoured part of the human being is his face. Placing it on the ground for Allah is the ultimate physical act of submission, and it is the highest form of humility a person can offer. That is why the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “The closest a servant is to his Lord is while he is in prostration,” and Allah said, “Prostrate and draw near” (al-Alaq: 19).
Therefore, it is from the same category as the other acts of remembrance in the prayer that are also prescribed outside the prayer, like saying Subhan Allah, Alhamdulillah, Allahu Akbar, La ilaha illa Allah, and reciting the Quran. All of these are recommended to be done in a state of purity.
Majmu Fatawa By Ibn Taymiyyah (21/284)
Ibn Ashur considered that the place of its prostration is something unknown which people have no way of knowing.
The hadith referred to in this doubt is directed at the Muslim who finds the meaning of the narration unclear. As for the atheist, he does not accept the use of texts as proof in the first place. The prostration of all creatures is affirmed in the Quran, and among these creatures are the sun and the moon.
This general prostration presents no problem. It is a form of prostration whose true nature and method are unknown to us. It is specific to those created beings and is not connected to the prostration we human beings perform in our prescribed acts of worship. It is similar to the glorification of creatures, regarding which Allah said, “…but you do not understand their glorification.” So we know that creatures glorify Allah and prostrate to Him, but we do not comprehend how. Our belief in this glorification and prostration is based on a trusted and true source, which is revelation.
As for the specific prostration mentioned in the hadith, which occurs at a particular moment in the day, it also comes from the sacred text (revelation) and it is not valid to reject it without a reason, so long as its chain is sound, as is clear in this case. The authority of the general prostration of creatures is exactly the same as the authority of this specific prostration. The difference is that the first is affirmed in the Quran, and the second is affirmed in an authentic hadith. Both sources are accepted in affirming matters of the unseen.
The objection raised by some about the specific prostration mentioned in the hadith is that it contradicts science, but this is incorrect. The sun runs its course, as we have clarified, and this is established scientifically. The confusion arises from comparing the sun to human beings when interpreting its prostration and its seeking permission and so on.
The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, explained this resting place when he said to Abu Dharr, “Do you know what its resting place is, O Abu Dharr?” I said, “No.” He said, “Its resting place is its prostration under the Throne.” That is, when it aligns with the Throne, it prostrates a prostration suitable to it, the nature of which no one knows except Allah. He alone knows its manner. The hadith of Abu Dharr is in complete agreement with the verse and does not differ from it in any way, nor does it contain anything objectionable.
Then permission is granted for it, and it continues until it rises from its place of rising. But when the end of time comes, it will be said to it, “Return from where you came,” so it returns and rises from the west. Therefore, the resting place is its alignment with the Throne, and when it aligns with the Throne in the middle of its movement, it prostrates.
Al-Khattabi, may Allah have mercy on him, said, “It is not impossible for it to have a resting place beneath the Throne, from a perspective we cannot perceive or observe. Rather, it is a report about the unseen, so we neither deny it nor try to define it, since our knowledge does not encompass it.” (Aʿlam al-Hadith in his explanation of Sahih al-Bukhari, p. 1893)
Moreover, this prostration does not mean that the sun stops its movement. It is possible that it prostrates while running and revolving. Even if we say it settles, this does not necessarily mean that it remains still in prostration for a long time such that observers would notice it. Nor does its prostration under the Throne mean that it disappears from the sight of all people, because the Throne is above the heavens and the earth and the sun.
Ibn Kathir mentioned in Al-Bidayah that the hadith does not mean that it ascends above the heavens in order to prostrate under the Throne. Rather, it disappears from our sight while continuing in its orbit. When it travels through that orbit until it reaches its midpoint, that is the location of its prostration. It then seeks permission from Allah to rise from the east, and permission is granted. But when it is the night on which Allah wills for it to rise from the west, it is said to it, “Return from where you came.”
