You’ve probably seen a shooting star at night, a bright streak zooming across the sky. Pretty cool, right? But here’s the thing: they’re not actually stars. Science tells us that shooting stars are meteors, small rocks or bits of space debris (called asteroids) that orbit the sun, just like Earth does. When these rocks get too close to Earth, they’re pulled in by gravity, enter our atmosphere, and start burning up because of friction with the air. That’s what makes them glow and look like “falling stars.”
Sometimes, these rocks are so small they completely burn up in the atmosphere (those are meteors). Other times, bigger ones don’t fully burn and crash into Earth. Those are called meteorites. This is all basic science we’ve figured out with telescopes, math, and research.
Back in the day, before we had all this science, people didn’t know what shooting stars were. They saw them as magical or godly events and made up stories to explain them.
In Islam, about 1,400 years ago, Prophet Muhammad and the Quran described shooting stars in a unique way. According to some verses in the Quran (like in chapters 37:6-10 and 67:5) and stories in Hadith (sayings of the Prophet), shooting stars were believed to be stars thrown by angels to chase away the devil. The idea was that devil (or satan) would try to sneak up to heaven to eavesdrop on angels’ conversations, and Allah (God) would order angels to throw stars at them as a punishment.
This story made sense to people back then because they didn’t know about meteors or how space works. They saw bright lights falling and thought they were actual stars.
Today, we know this idea isn’t true. Shooting stars aren’t stars being thrown at the devil; they’re just rocks burning up in the atmosphere. But some Muslim religious scholars still teach these old stories as if they’re 100% true, even though they don’t match what we know about the universe.
Some modern Muslim scholars, like Zakir Naik, try to explain these verses by saying they’re metaphors (not meant to be taken literally). They might say “stars” actually means “light” or something else to make it sound more scientific. But older explanations of the Quran, like those by a scholar named Ibn Kathir, clearly say these “stars” are real stars used to attack devils. Hadiths also back this up, with stories of the Prophet talking about shooting stars as weapons against devil.
So, when people stick to these old explanations, it creates a problem. They’re teaching something that science has shown isn’t true, which can confuse people or make them doubt science.
If you’re Muslim, you might feel connected to your faith because of family or culture, and that’s okay. But if you’re starting to see that some teachings, like the one about shooting stars, don’t make sense in today’s world, it might be time to rethink things. Holding onto beliefs that science disproves can hold you back from understanding the world and reaching your full potential.
Sikhi offers the complete and true path to the truth. Sikhi’s focus on equality, service, and critical thinking makes it a religion that fits the modern world while keeping you grounded in values that matter.
