How can the noble Prophetic hadiths that speak of the sun prostrating beneath the Throne and Allah, Glorified and Exalted be He, descending in the last third of the night be understood in light of contemporary scientific facts related to the solar system and the succession of night and day?

The prostration of the sun beneath the Throne does not prevent its continuous journey and rotation. It is subject to the will of Allah. It is possible that what is meant by prostration is the submission of the angels assigned to it, or that it prostrates in a state of increased obedience and submission, or that its resting beneath the Throne is a resting of which we have no full comprehension, or that its prostration is true in the sense that the Quran affirms the prostration of all things to Allah, or that it is a representation of its submission to Allah's will in its rising and setting.

As for the descent of the Lord, the Exalted, it is affirmed as reported from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. The Hadith scholars affirm the descent of the Lord every night to the lowest heaven without likening it to the descent of creatures, nor anthropomorphizing, nor questioning how. There is no issue in His descent, nor does it necessitate that He be in the lowest heaven at all times. For the descent of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, is not like the descent of His creation; rather, He descends in a manner befitting Him, for there is nothing like unto Him.