The following question and Hadith-narrations of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, were taken from http://www.islamtoday.net/english/show_detail_section.cfm?q_id=811&main_cat_id=31.   The response below is mine.  I didn't like their answer, and that is why I wrote this article.

Emphasis below are mine.

My response:

It is, first of all, important to know that neither was Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, a scientist, nor was the Noble Quran a Science Book.  While it is true that Allah Almighty gave many scientific notions in the Noble Quran that clearly prove that the Noble Quran was truly revealed to Prophet Muhammad by a supernatural power, which we call GOD Almighty, but Allah Almighty did not cover every single scientific topic in the Noble Quran.

There is also a very important point that Muslims often miss regarding Prophet Muhammad, and that is his GOD-given knowledge.  While it is true that Allah Almighty clearly declared in the Noble Quran that Prophet Muhammad doesn't utter nonsense and lies from his mouth and actions, but at the same time, Allah Almighty also did clearly declare that the Prophet and his followers and all of mankind were only given little and limited knowledge.  Let us look at the following Noble Verses:

Prophet Muhammad doesn't utter nonsense and lies either through his words or actions:

"Your companion (Muhammad SAW) has neither gone astray nor has erred. Nor does he speak of (his own) desire. It is only an Inspiration that is inspired. He has been taught (this Quran) by one mighty in power (Jibrael (Gabriel)).  (The Noble Quran, 53:2-5)"

"So Today (i.e. the Day of Resurrection), none of you can profit or harm one another. And We shall say to those who did wrong (i.e. worshipped others (like angels, jinns, prophets, saints, righteous persons, etc.) along with Allah): "Taste the torment of the Fire which you used to belie. And when Our Clear Verses are recited to them, they say: "This (Muhammad SAW) is naught but a man who wishes to hinder you from that which your fathers used to worship." And they say: "This is nothing but an invented lie." And those who disbelieve say of the truth when it has come to them (i.e. Prophet Muhammad SAW when Allah sent him as a Messenger with proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, etc.): "This is nothing but evident magic!" And We had not given them Scriptures which they could study, nor sent to them before you (O Muhammad SAW) any warner (Messenger). And those before them belied; these have not received one tenth (/th) of what We had granted to those (of old), yet they belied My Messengers, then how (terrible) was My denial (punishment)! Say (to them O Muhammad SAW): "I exhort you on one (thing) only: that you stand up for Allahs sake in pairs and singly, and reflect (within yourselves the life history of the Prophet SAW): there is no madness in your companion (Muhammad SAW), he is only a warner to you in face of a severe torment." Say (O Muhammad SAW): "Whatever wage I might have asked of you is yours. My wage is from Allah only. and He is Witness over all things." Say (O Muhammad SAW): "Verily! My Lord sends down Inspiration and makes apparent the truth (i.e. this Revelation that had come to me), the AllKnower of the Ghaib (unseen). Say (O Muhammad SAW): "The truth (the Quran and Allahs Inspiration) has come, and AlBatil (falsehood - Iblees (Satan)) can neither create anything nor resurrect (anything)." Say: "If (even) I go astray, I shall stray only to my own loss. But if I remain guided, it is because of the Inspiration of my Lord to me. Truly, He is AllHearer, Ever Near (to all things)."   (The Noble Quran, 34:42-50)"

""He is only a man who has invented a lie against Allah, but we are not going to believe in him." He said: "O my Lord! Help me because they deny me."  (The Noble Quran, 23:38-39)"

"Or say they: "He has invented a lie against Allah?" If Allah willed, He could have sealed your heart (so that you forget all that you know of the Quran). And Allah wipes out falsehood, and establishes the truth (Islam) by His Word (this Quran). Verily, He knows well what (the secrets) are in the breasts (of mankind).  (The Noble Quran, 42:24)"

Prophet Muhammad, his followers, and all humans were only given little and limited knowledge:

"And they ask you (O Muhammad SAW) concerning the Rooh (the Spirit); Say: "The Rooh (the Spirit): it is one of the things, the knowledge of which is only with my Lord. And of knowledge, you (mankind) have been given only a little."  (The Noble Quran, 17:85)"

"Say: "I have no power over any good or harm to myself except as God willeth. If I had knowledge of the unseen, I should have multiplied all good, and no evil should have touched me: I am but a warner, and a bringer of glad tidings to those who have faith."  (The Noble Quran, 7:188)"

"This is part of the tidings of the things unseen, which We reveal unto thee (O Apostle!) by inspiration: Thou wast not with them when they cast lots with arrows, as to which of them should be charged with the care of Mary: Nor wast thou with them when they disputed (the point).  (The Noble Quran, 3:44)"

"God will not leave the believers in the state in which ye are now, until He separates what is evil from what is good nor will He disclose to you the secrets of the Unseen. But He chooses of His Apostles (For the purpose) whom He pleases. So believe in God. And His apostles: And if ye believe and do right, ye have a reward without measure.  (The Noble Quran, 3:179)"

"With Him are the keys of the unseen, the treasures that none knoweth but He. He knoweth whatever there is on the earth and in the sea. Not a leaf doth fall but with His knowledge: there is not a grain in the darkness (or depths) of the earth, nor anything fresh or dry (green or withered), but is (inscribed) in a record clear (to those who can read). (The Noble Quran, 6:59)"

"Such is one of the stories of what happened unseen, which We reveal by inspiration unto thee; nor wast thou (present) with them then when they concerted their plans together in the process of weaving their plots.  (The Noble Quran, 12:102)"

"Neither doth he withhold grudgingly a knowledge of the Unseen.  (The Noble Quran, 81:24)"

In the light of this, I will go ahead and answer the above Hadiths.

What we have to understand from the above Hadiths is that the Prophet, peace be upon him, was rather aiming for more Glorification and Praising of Allah Almighty.  Since every created thing that GOD Almighty created recognizes the Creator, Allah, and worships Him, then the sun too prostrates to GOD Almighty in its own way and worships Him.   This is clearly mentioned in the following Noble Verses:

"Seest thou not that to God bow down in worship all things that are in the heavens and on earth,- the sun, the moon, the stars; the hills, the trees, the animals; and a great number among mankind? But a great number are (also) such as are fit for Punishment: and such as God shall disgrace,- None can raise to honour: for God carries out all that He wills.  (The Noble Quran, 22:18)"

"They say: "God hath begotten a son" :Glory be to Him.-Nay, to Him belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth: everything renders worship to Him.  (The Noble Quran, 2:116)"

"To God do belong the unseen (secrets) of the heavens and the earth, and to Him goeth back every affair (for decision): then worship Him, and put thy trust in Him: and thy Lord is not unmindful of aught that ye do.  (The Noble Quran, 11:123)"

So the Prophet wasn't really trying to prove a scientific theory here, even though his statements above don't make much scientific sense as far as our astronomists today would be concerned, because of the sun going underneath the throne of Allah Almighty and prostrating to Him and seeking His permission, etc....  But, nonetheless, his statements above are not in HOSTILITY with science either, because no where did the Prophet, for instance, say that the sun goes through a hole on earth (as the Hindu scriptures say), nor did he say that the sun goes UNDER THE EARTH!  He said that the sun goes underneath the throne of Allah Almighty, prostrates to Him and seeks His permission, which again proves my point about the Prophet wasn't trying to say a scientific statement more than he was trying to really Glorify and Praise Allah Almighty as much as possible through his metaphoric speech.  The clear-cut proof regarding his speech being metaphoric is the fact that he said that the sun prostrates to Allah Almighty, which is obviously different from how we, humans, prostrate to the Almighty GOD.

Personally and frankly, I do not look forward for scientific notions in the Hadiths.   I look for them in the Divine Revelations of Allah Almighty in the Noble Quran, and there are tons of them that are truly breath taking!  Putting the Prophet and his Hadiths to the ultimate grilling and test is not fair and just!   Putting the Noble Quran is definitely fair and just and Allah Almighty Has truly proven the Noble Quran to be a Divine Miracle and Revelation!  The reason for this is following simple and logical reasons:

1-  Only the Noble Quran is the Divine Revelation directly from Allah Almighty.   The Hadiths are rather inspirations by Allah Almighty and His Angel(s) to the Prophet, which mostly and mainly covered social laws and issues.

2-  The Prophet, as we clearly an indisputably saw in the Noble Verses above, was given limited and little knowledge, and thus, we can't expect sophisticated statements from him, because he didn't know everything nor was he capable of giving anything sophisticated as far as science is concerned.

3-  The Prophet's statements weren't in hostility with science, and therefore, the Noble Verses above that state that the Prophet never utters nonsense and lies either through his words or actions are not in contradiction because as I said, the Prophet was given limited knowledge by GOD Almighty, and therefore, we can only expect limited interpretations by the him.

Conclusion:

In light of all of the evidence that I provided and demonstrated above, I'd like to summarize this article with the following statement:

We can only expect limited statements and interpretations by Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, because Allah Almighty Willed for him to only go this far and only have this capability as clearly stated in the Noble Verses above, and especially in Noble Verse 17:85.

So to answer the question of this article's title above: Does the Hadith really contain scientific errors regarding the sun's rising and setting?

Maybe Yes:  From a pure scientific point of view, the answer might be yes, because we obviously can't teach Prophet Muhammad's statements in astronomy classes, nor can we include them in academic astronomy books.  However, his statement is also like our statement today "sun rise and sun set".  The sun never actually sets nor does it actually rise, because the earth rotates around its own axle and swims around the sun.  Therefore, this statement too is scientifically inaccurate despite the fact that we live 1,500 years after the Prophet!

Also, it is vital to note that while the Prophet's statement was not scientifically accurate, but it is also not in hostility and contradiction with science because it is metaphoric.  This is clearly shown through the Prophet's emphasis on the Glorification and Worship of Allah Almighty -- that the sun can not do anything without His Divine Command and Will!  That's what the Prophet was trying to demonstrate.  I believe he relied on the following Noble Verse and several other Noble Verses:

"Seest thou not that to God bow down in worship all things that are in the heavens and on earth,- the sun, the moon, the stars; the hills, the trees, the animals; and a great number among mankind? But a great number are (also) such as are fit for Punishment: and such as God shall disgrace,- None can raise to honour: for God carries out all that He wills.  (The Noble Quran, 22:18)"

Definitely No:  From a theological point of view, and from the limited knowledge that Allah Almighty, with His own Divine Will, gave the Prophet, the answer is clearly no, because the Prophet can not be expected to give accurate scientific statements according to the Noble Quran.  Only Allah Almighty is expected in the Noble Quran to give them, and He has already done so with ample Noble Verses.  That is why I am a Muslim today, because Islam is not only a perfect Divine Religion that I can live by in my daily life, and keeps me morally pure and chaste, but the Noble Quran is also perfect and stood the test of time and the grilling of science!  It would be unfair to put Prophet Muhammad, who had limited knowledge by Allah Almighty's Divine Will, through the grilling of science.  It's just not Islamically right as I clearly demonstrated and proved above.

Please visit:  The Amazing Scientific Miracles in the Noble Quran.

All Praise and Glory are due to Allah Almighty alone, and all peace and blessings be upon our beloved, cherished and blessed Prophet, Muhammad, peace, blessings and mercy be upon him!

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