How does the Qur’an say that there are Easts and Wests? Are there Easts other than the ones we know?

 

The Easts and the Wests For those who say how there are Easts and Wests , the Quran says

that the Easts and Wests

are a daily phenomenon known since the sun and the earth were formed, and it is the phenomenon of sunrise and sunset. It came in the Book of Allah in three forms and formulas. Allah the Almighty said: (Lord of the East and the West - there is no god but He, so take Him as Disposer of affairs.) And Allah the Almighty said: (So I swear by the Lord of the Easts and the Wests, that We are surely Able.) And Allah the Almighty said: (So I swear by the Lord of the Easts and the Wests, that We are surely Able * To substitute better than them, but We are not (By those who are outpaced) In the first verse, the east and the west were mentioned in the singular form, in the second in the dual form, and in the third in the plural form. What is the reason for the different forms?


And where are all these easts and wests? There does not seem to be any difficulty in understanding the singular form, for wherever we are and wherever we find ourselves, we see the sun rising and setting. As for the two easts and two wests, the commentators have explained them as the easts and wests of the sun in winter and summer. As we know, the earth completes its orbit around the sun in 365 and a quarter days. We also know that the tilt of its axis of rotation from the vertical axis causes the seasons to differ and thus the place and time of sunrise and sunset on earth to differ throughout the year. In fact, the east and west on Earth - that is, the place of sunrise and sunset - change slightly every day, meaning that the sun rises and sets every day from a different place throughout the year. This in turn means that there are easts and wests equal to the number of days in the year, not just two easts and two wests, although the difference between the sunrises and the wests becomes more apparent in winter and summer.

So, the sunrises and the wests in winter and summer may be what is meant in the verse: (Lord of the two easts and Lord of the two wests). Likewise, these multiple easts and wests that we see throughout the year may be what is meant in the third verse: (By the Lord of the easts and the wests).

It may also be that what is meant by it are the easts and wests of the Earth in its different regions, so the sunrise and sunset are a continuous process, as at every moment the sun rises in one spot and sets in another. It may mean the east and west of the Earth on the different planets of the solar system, as each planet - like the Earth - has the sun rising and setting on it. These were different interpretations of the meaning of the easts and the wests, and the two easts and the two wests.

It remains for us to know the reason for mentioning the East and the West in the different forms, and the reason seems clearer if we read the verses with their predecessors and with contemplation and deliberation. The first verse begins (And mention the name of your Lord and devote yourself to Him with a complete devotion. Lord of the East and the West. There is no god except Him, so take Him as Disposer of affairs). And as we notice, mentioning the Lord of the East and the West here was coupled with the name of God Almighty, so God Almighty commands His Messenger to mention the name of his Lord and devote himself to Him, and devotion is the total direction to God alone in worship and sincerity in it with humility and remembrance, for the Most Merciful has no partner or child, and this comes confirmed in the second section of the verse (There is no god except Him, so take Him as Disposer of affairs). In this position which God confirms His Oneness to His servant and calls him to worship Him alone with pure and sincere worship. We find that the singular form here is the most appropriate form, and mentioning the East and the West in the singular form completes the atmosphere of Oneness in which we live with this noble verse.

As for the second verse, the situation is different. Let us begin with some verses that precede the second verse. God Almighty said: (He created man from clay like pottery. And He created the jinn from a smokeless flame of fire. So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny? Lord of the two Easts and Lord of the two Wests. So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny? He has released the two seas meeting together. Between them The hadith in all of these verses is in the dual form, reminding us that it is He who created mankind and the jinn, and that He is the Lord of the Easts and the Wests, and that He is the One who released the two seas so that they might meet, but without one of them transgressing against the other. No matter how much pearls and coral come out, the dual form is the most prevalent in these verses. Likewise, it would seem more appropriate to mention the Easts and the Wests also in the dual form.

Likewise, in the third verse, if we write it with the verses that precede and follow it, we will know the reason for mentioning the East and the West in the plural form. God Almighty said: (So what is the matter with those who disbelieve, rushing toward you, * To the right and to the left, retreating? * Does every man among them aspire to enter a garden of pleasure? * No! Indeed, We created them from what they know. * So I swear by the Lord of the Easts and the Wests that We are indeed Able * To substitute better than them, and We are not to be outdone.) So the hadith here is: As the reader will notice, the focus is on those who disbelieved, and therefore the Easts and the Wests were mentioned in the same manner in the plural form as well, so that the agreement in the forms that we found in the two previous verses is achieved. On the other hand, the Almighty invites us to delve deeper and think about the meanings of the different forms. The Easts and Wests here may refer to new disbelievers in new places, as if the Almighty is addressing them and saying (So I swear by the Lord of the Easts and the Wests, indeed, We are Able) This is what you have known and seen in every place and time on earth. Indeed, We are Able to replace you with someone better than you, and We are not defeated .
There is no doubt that the harmony that we have seen in the formulations of the three previous verses is a living example of the eloquence of the Qur’anic style, the beauty of its expression, and the precision of its meanings. In addition to that, we find that mentioning the East and the West once in the singular form, once in the dual form, and once in the plural form gives an incentive for research and thought and an incentive for deepening and contemplation.

Meanings, words, expressions, and even formulations do not come with such ease and simplicity except to the Almighty, the Wise. If we delve once again into the meaning of the Lord of the Easts and the Wests, we will find in this expression also this new angle that man has not known. The sunrise and sunset at every moment in a new country and a different spot on earth is as far as human imagination can imagine.