The Sun is the largest body in the Solar System. It is exceedingly hot and consists of burning gases. Explosions like millions of atom bombs going off take place the whole time on its surface. These explosions throw up giant flames 40 or 50 times bigger than our Earth.
The Sun is like a huge ball of fire that gives off enormous heat and light from its surface. Space, however, is pitch black. Our Earth is a heavenly body in that blackness. And, no other heavenly body in that darkness apart from the Sun can warm and brighten our Earth. Were it not for the Sun, it would be permanent night, and everywhere would be covered in ice. Life would therefore be impossible, and we would not exist.
The heat given off by the Sun is very high during the summer. And yet, the Sun is millions of kilometers away from the Earth, and only 0.2 percent of the heat it gives off actually reaches the Earth. Since temperatures on Earth can be so high, even though the Sun is so far away, what can the temperature on the Sun itself be like?
The temperature on the surface of the Sun is 6,000 degrees Celsius, and 12 million degrees Celsius inside it.
Allah has created the perfect distance between the Earth and the Sun. If the Sun were just a little bit closer to us, then everything on Earth would dry up and burn. However, if it were any further away, then everything would be covered in ice. Either way, of course, life would be impossible.
Polar regions, which receive less heat from the Sun, are permanently covered in ice, while Equatorial regions, which receive more, are always hot. However, this difference in temperature between the Poles and the Equator leads to a moderate climate on the Earth as a whole, and thus to a climate capable of supporting life. This is one of the countless signs of Allah’s love for us. If He had not created the ideal distance between the Sun and the Earth, life on Earth would have been impossible.
If the Sun were any larger or any smaller, or if it were any closer to or any further away from the Earth, it would be impossible to live on our planet.
However, Allah has created the Sun, the Earth, and the order in the Solar System in just such a way as to allow us to live in comfort. Another verse from the Qur’an tells us how the Sun and the Moon are always moving at Allah’s command:
He has made night and day subservient to you, and the Sun and Moon and stars, all subject to His command. There are certainly signs in that for people who use their intellect. (Surat an-Nahl, 12)
