Does the Quran say of north and south?

[searcher]

Salam again.  I have another question.  We know that the Quran mentions on the directions of east and west. 

And to Allah belongs the east and the west. So wherever you [might] turn, there is the Face of Allah. Indeed, Allah is all-Encompassing and Knowing.    2:115 Al Baqrah

Does the Quran mention or hint on the north and south directions as well?  I didn’t find it the Quran, or may be I didn’t understand.

[Heba E. Husseyn]

Walaikum as Salam.   Yes, the Quran certainly does refer to north and south, though it doesn’t state the terms “north” and south.”  Nonetheless, there is definitely Quranic information alluding to the arctic circles or the polar regions.

In Chapter 55 Verse 17 of Surah Ar Rahman, Allah Almighty, the Creator of the entire Universe, confims that He is “Rabb of the two Easts, and Rabb of the two Wests!”  The North Pole covers thousands of kilometers  and same is for the South Pole.  As most of us would know, equinox is a time of the year when the Earth's axis is tilted neither toward nor away from the sun, resulting in roughly equal amounts of daylight and darkness across the planet. During the equinox of late March (March 20 or 21) the sun rises for 6 months to the North Pole and the same period it sets for 6 months to the South Pole, informing us of one specific sunrise location and another sunset location - in other words, a different east and a different west.  The reverse of this phenomenon occurs in late September (Sept. 20 or 21) when sun sets to the North Pole for 6 months and rises to the South Pole for 6 months.  This is another notable sunset to the west and noteworthy sunrise to the east. In this beautiful style, Allah refers to the north and south directions of the earth in His Final Message.

People may ask there are lots of sunrises and sunsets on earth because of the various places and thus different sites of east and west. This aspect too is included in Noble Quran, Chapter 70 Surah Maarij Verse 40 quote: “So I swear by the Rabb of [all] risings and settings that indeed We are able”

Something to know:  The history of the words “north” and “south” as cardinal or fundamental directions has been a bit complex through the ages primarily due to differing languages and means of verbal communication of different societies. In some communities the terms “north, south, east, west” were/are used instead of ‘left; and ‘right.’  In many other communities it was/is the other way round.  Early civilizations used natural phenomena such as the rising and setting of the sun, and the position of certain stars, to define the “north” and “south,” for example a terminology "the bear" by observing the constellations of the stars to determine the direction to the north.  Between 350 CE and 400 CE in Europe, the Latin term "borealis" was replaced by ‘north’ and "australis" replaced by ‘south.’ In ancient times before 2,000 BCE "north" was commonly related to terms meaning "left" or "below" in relation to the rising sun.   In ancient Arabia, "shemal" (شمال) meant 'left.'  But nowadays 'shemal' means "north" and the word يسار (yasar) refers to the' left.'  Also, the Arabic word يَمين (yameen) in old times meant 'right' comes from a root that gradually also referred to the direction “south” from which the country of Yemen got its name in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula.  These historical evolvements / developments of names of cardinal directions are lengthy and complicated from society to society.  Keeping it concise and enough to serve our purpose for understanding a fact is as far as we need to go.

Thus the Noble Quran alludes to these directions as we read today in Surah Rahman, the Divine purpose apparently being not to confuse people with unique terminologies for whom many of the Quranic information disclosed by The Almighty was already difficult to grasp and believe. 

A point to remember, though the Quran is full of scientific facts, it is not a Book of science nor about teaching us science.  Needless to say, scientific aspects are created by Allah and none else (like everything else).  These scientifiv creations by The Almighty are all around us, and it is we who are expected to gradually discover His creations and ordainments, understand them and try to resolve them. Thus science is meant to strengthen our Faith in Allah, not the other way round as many stupid humans view because of their petty arrogance. Also, for this reason Allah has granted humans intellectual supremacy over other living beings that He created. To reiterate, though it contains descriptions pertaining to many scientific rules and phenomena as created / ordained by Allah Almighty, the Noble Quran is a Book of guidance, Divine laws and commandments for us to implement in our lives.  The Noble Quran is a Book on matters much beyond the realm of science.

InshAllah, hope the information helps.
 

[Zainab_M]

Beautifully elucidated sister Heba.  Thanks .. 

(20:114  Ta Ha)     رَبِّ زِدْنِي عِلْمًا

"My Rabb, increase me in knowledge"

[Heba E. Husseyn]

You're welcome dear Sis ..

[searcher]

Heba Huseyn, I read your well analyzed  writeup with interest, and indeed it was extremely helpful to resolve my question.  For second opinion I also asked a friend who too is a good exegetist.  He said it 2 easts and 2 wests, in his opinion, refers to the 2 hemispheres of the earth.  Your opinion please.

[Zainab_M]

Even if it refers to the two hemispheres of the earth - and logically that's got to be included - it still answers your question of north and south directions, probably even more directly.

The Earth is divided into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres by the latitudinal line called the Equator (0 degrees latitude).  Northern hemisphere is half above the Equator and Southern hemisphere is half below it.  Countries north of the equator are in the Northern Hemisphere, and countries south of the equator are in the Southern Hemisphere.




Therefore, focusing on the two hemispheres, it can only indicate one aspect of the world - the north and south directions, which definitely, rather must, include the north and south poles as well which are the northern-most and southern-most points of the arctic and antatric regions, respectively.  North pole is within the arctic region, north of the arctic ocean.  Similarly, south pole is at the center of the southern hemisphere on the continent of Antarctica which is the southernmost continent in this planet and a largely ice-covered land mass. 

[searcher]

Indeed yes, without a doubt.  Thank you Zainab M. for this input and additional clarification.  JazekAllah khair.