Some of the participants were debating whether day was...

Some of the participants were debating whether day was created first or night prevailed prior to the onset of the day. After some time, one of the senior military chief (Zul Riyasathain) consulted Imam Raza -asws about which appeared first, the day or the night, with a request to enlighten all the participant by an answer from the Book of Allah -azwj supported by the astronomical calculations, but first from the astronomical basis.

Imam -asws replied: Don’t people say that one’s fortune is reflected from the (position of) Cancer, And the planets have their Zenith (SHARAF)? The military man replied: yes. Imam -asws said: When Saturn is in the Libra, the Jupiter in Cancer and Mars in Capricorn, and the Venus in the Pisces, the Moon in the Taurus and the Sun in the middle of the sky in the Aries, This does not happens but only during the day-time. He said: yes, (I agree) but tell us from the Book of Allah.

Imam -asws then recited the 40 th verse of Ya-Sin: It is not permitted to the Sun to catch up the Moon, nor can the Night outstrip the Day: Each (just) swims along in (its own) orbit (according to Law). Meaning, despite the fact that both sun and moon move in the same Zodiac path, the laws of movement of each have been so fixed by Allah -azwj that they can never cross each other or clash with one another.

(d) Tradition of Imam Jafar-e-Sadiq -asws -The Motion of the Sun [19] Imam Jafar-e-Sadiq -asws explained to Mufaddal ibn `Umar in famous tradition ‘Hadith-e-Mufaddal’, now consider the motion of the sun through the twelve Zodiac [20] belts to complete a year and the skill underlying it. This is the period that comprises of the four seasons – Winter, Summer, Autumn and Spring, in their completeness. Grains and fruits ripen during this annual movement of the sun to meet human needs.

The cycle of development goes on repeating. Don’t you know that the sweep of this Sun across the heavenly belt, from the Pisces belt back to it, constitutes one year? The year, etc. have continued as the calculating measures of time since the beginning of the world in all past ages. People calculate thereby the periods of life-spans, loans, contracts and other business matters.

It is with the movement of the sun through this zone, after full cycle year is complete and a correct estimate of time is established. Just see how the sun sheds its light on the world and with what ingenuity has this been ordained for it.