Surah al-Qamar, 1

The Orbit of the Moon

The word "Qamar," a direct reference to the Moon, appears a total of 27 times. The elliptical orbit of the Moon around the Earth also takes 27 days.

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Interactive visual
photograph of the Earth
This photograph of the Earth, taken by Bill Anders, one of the crew of Apollo 8, on December 24, 1968, was taken from the surface of the Moon. (NASA)

The word "Qamar," a direct reference to the Moon, appears a total of 27 times. The elliptical orbit of the Moon around the Earth also takes 27 days. But this is not a number that someone looking from Earth could actually determine. Because there is a 29-day period between full moons, it used to be thought it took the Moon this amount of time to travel around the Earth. However, the reality is that whilst the Moon revolves around the Earth, the Earth is also orbiting the Sun. Interestingly, because of the movement of the Earth, the Moon completes its orbit with a delay of 2 days. This is another reference in the Qur'an consistent with modern astronomical findings. (Allah knows the truth.)

◉ Number of times the word "Moon" appears in the Qur'an = 27

◉ Time it takes the Moon to travel round the Earth (in days) = 27

Quranic references

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