Black Holes In Quran

Quran 56:75:76
Then I swear by the setting of the stars, And indeed, it is an oath – if you could know – [most] great.

What does “Mawāqiʿ al-Nujūm” mean?

Arabic word: مواقع (mawāqiʿ)
Root: و-ق-ع — means falling, setting, positions, place where something drops or settles.

It can imply:

1. The locations of stars in the sky.
2. The points where they fall, meaning their collapse or end.
3. The moments or positions in space-time where something major happens.

Critical points in a star’s journey – its collapse, disappearance, or final destination in the universe.

Black Holes = “Setting points” of stars?

• When a star becomes a black hole, it sets in a way no one sees again – it’s the last known position before it vanishes.
• Astronomers now track these locations – where stars once shined, and now a black hole exists.
• So “mawāqiʿ al-nujūm” may perfectly describe the exact locations where stars have ended and become invisible.

Why is this oath “great”?

Because:

• 1400 years ago, no one knew stars had end points or could collapse into unseen zones (like black holes).
• Today, scientists locate black holes using the positions of vanished stars – the mawāqiʿ.

Stellar black holes are made when the center of a very big star falls in upon itself, or collapses. When this happens, it causes a supernova.

Reference: How Do Black Holes Form?

The most well-understood black holes are created when a massive star reaches the end of its life and implodes, collapsing in on itself.

Reference: How do black holes form?

Tidal disruption

• Black holes have very strong gravity that can pull nearby stars toward them.
• When a star gets too close to a black hole, it can be pulled in or torn apart by tidal forces, eventually disappearing inside.

📖Quran 81:15–16
So I swear by the retreating stars – Those that run their courses and disappear.

What are these stars doing?

Arabic Terms:

• Al-Khunnas (ٱلْخُنَّسِ) = Those that withdraw, retreat, or hide.
• Al-Jawār al-Kunnas (ٱلْجَوَارِ ٱلْكُنَّسِ) = Those that move/swim/travel and sweep away or vanish (like something being sucked in or vacuumed).

So, what does it refer to?

This is a dynamic event:

• Stars moving in space,
• Then retreating or vanishing,
• As if being pulled into something unseen – like entering a black hole.

It’s not the black hole itself, but rather the motion of the stars as they:

“run their course and disappear” – meaning: stars that are being swallowed up by something invisible.

So, Quran 81:15–16 likely refers to:

Stars approaching and entering black holes – disappearing from sight, a TDE is not the creation of a black hole, but the event of a star being destroyed by one that already exists.

• Quran 81:15–16 = Describes the star on its path, disappearing (fits the falling into part).
• Quran 56:75–76 = Refers to the final setting or death point (the black hole itself).

Reference: Tidal disruption event

End States of Stars – The Day of Judgment

📖Quran 77:8
“So when the stars are obliterated

“Stellar evolution is the process by which a star changes over the course of time. Depending on the mass of the star, its lifetime can range from a few million years for the most massive to trillions of years for the least massive. Eventually, all stars exhaust their nuclear fuel and end their lives. The final fate of a star depends on its mass: low-mass stars become white dwarfs, intermediate-mass stars may explode in planetary nebulae, and high-mass stars may end in supernovae, leaving behind neutron stars or black holes.”

Reference: Future of an expanding universe