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How do we interpret the Almighty’s saying: "Lord of the two Easts and Lord of the two Wests" [Quran 55:17]? Does it refer to the East in this world and the East in the Hereafter, or does it have another interpretation?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The terms "Mashriq" (East) and "Maghrib" (West) are mentioned in the Quran in singular, dual, and plural forms, and there is no contradiction in this: - (Lord of the two Easts and Lord of the two Wests): This refers to the easts of summer and winter and their wests, as the sun changes its movement throughout the seasons. - (Lord of the Easts and the Wests): This refers to the sun's easts and wests each day, or the easts and wests of the planets and stars. - (Lord of the East and the West): This refers to the general category of all easts and wests.

The intended meaning of East and West in these verses is the East and West in this world, as there will be no sun or moon in the Hereafter, for they will be rolled up on the Day of Resurrection as a rebuke to those who worshipped them.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

Read the full answer on Ftawy