It was believed by earlier civilizations that the moon emanates its own light. Science now tells us that the light of the moon is reflected light. However this fact was mentioned in the Qur’an 1,400 years ago in the following verse:
“Blessed is He Who made Constellations in the skies, and placed therein a Lamp and a Moon giving light.”
[Al-Qur’an 25:61]
The Arabic word for the sun in the Qur’an, is shams.It is also referred to as siraaj which means a ‘torch’ or as wahhaaj meaning ‘a blazing lamp’ or as diya which means ‘shining glory’. All three descriptions are appropriate to the sun, since it generates intense heat and light by its internal combustion. The Arabic word for the moon is qamar and it is described in the Qur’an as muneer which is a body that gives noor i.e. reflected light. Again, the Qur’anic description matches perfectly with the true nature of the moon which does not give off light by itself and is an inactive body that reflects the light of the sun. Not once in the Qur’an, is the moon mentioned as siraaj, wahhaaj or diya nor the sun as noor or muneer. This implies that the Qur’an recognizes the difference between the nature of sunlight and moonlight.
The following verses relate to the nature of light from the sun and the moon:
“It is He who made the sun to be a shining glory and the moon to be a light (of beauty).”
[Al-Qur’an 10:5]
“See ye not how Allah has created the seven heavens one above another, “And made the moon
[Al-Qur’an 71:15-16]
a light in their midst, and made the sun as a (Glorious) Lamp?”
The Glorious Qur'an and modern science, are thus in perfect agreement about the differences in the nature of sunlight and moonlight.