ISLAM

LOCATION : Mecca

HISTORY : 613

NAME : Quran, Surah Tariq, verses 1-3

NEWS : And the Universe and the Striking (Tariq). Can you comprehend what is the Striking (Tariq)? It is the piercing star.

SCIENCE

LOCATION : England, University of Cambridge

DATE : 1967

NAME : Jocelyn Bell Burnell and Antony Hewish

NEWS : Motion of neutron stars

The word “Tariq” in the verse is derived from the root “Tark”, meaning “way”. Tark means to hit, to strike.

In 1967, Jocelyn Bell Burnell noticed a different radio signal. At first, the rhythmic arrival of this radio signal was attributed to the existence of other living beings in the universe and the forms of communication. After a short time, it is realised that this is the signal sent by the neutron stars, which are formed at the end of the big explosions in the universe, as they rotate at a very high speed.

Neutron stars are formed when stars at least eight times more massive than the Sun run out of energy, explode violently and collapse in on themselves. Neutron stars that send radio waves into space after this collapse are called pulsars. The name pulsar is derived from the word “pulsate”, which means “beating of the heart” in English, due to the rhythmic arrival of the wave.

Although no celestial body in space is pulsating, we understand that the pulsating stars mentioned in the verse are pulsars. The fact that the star is described in the verse as “Annecmüssakıbü”, that is, “piercing the darkness”, “burning”, also gives information that this information points to pulsars. The Holy Qur’an foretold this situation 1354 years before the discovery of Pulsar.