Earth

Good question - here is a previous response to it:

https://www.al-islam.org/ask/does-the-quran-say-anything-to-suggest-that...

If you have any further enquiries, feel free to ask!

Short answer:

The things that are created in these two ayat are different. 41:10-11 refer to the creation of the earth (ard) and the things upon it, which is done in 4 days, whereas 41:12 refers to the creation of the seven heavens (samawat), which is done in 2 days. So altogether they add up to 6 days.

There are also other ways these ayat are understood, beyond a literal interpretation of "days".

Long answer:

"Day" is usually taken to refer to a time period in general, rather than a "day" in the sense of one rotation of the earth since our measurements of time rest on the physical world, and there was no such thing as an earth-day before the creation of the earth and sun. That said, a narration ascribed to Imam al-Baqir (A), in response to an enquiry about how a "day" could be meaningful before creation, says that time is also measured in an area of existence near Allah, and therefore is not only reliant on the physical world.

Some people maintain that the expression "two days" (or "two periods") refers to spiritual and physical aspects of creation, or that "days" refers to distinctly different stages of creation, rather than timespans.

Some people also understand "four days" with respect to the earth to refer to the four seasons, insofar as they are equal in length and relate to sustenance.

For instance, in Tafsir al-Qummi, "two days" is explained as "the beginning of Creation and its end", and "four days" is explained as "the four times when Allah brings out the world's means of sustenance... spring, summer, autumn, and winter."

If one is taking a numerical approach to "days", however, Qur'an 41:10-41:12 outline the creation of our world as follows:

41:10 - the earth (ard) in 2 days
41:11 - mountains, sustenance, and blessing in 4 days
41:12 - the heavens (samawat) in 2 days

Elsewhere, the Qur'an mentions that the world was created in 6 days.

From this, it can be understood that the 4 days in 41:11 include the 2 days mentioned in 41:10. That is, the earth and its features were, altogether, created in 4 days. Then, the heavens were created in 2 days. Altogether, these sum up as 6 days - or, rather, spans of time.

"The sun runs to a resting place/stopping point/stopping time (mustaqirr) of its own. That is the decree of the Mighty, the Knowing." (36:38)

Clasically, the sun's "resting place" has been taken to mean: (a) the sun disappearing after sunset (just as a human being goes to their dwelling place at night before rising in the morning), (b) the final destiny of the sun on the Day of Judgment, or (c) the solstice, in a reference to the sun following its winter and summer orbits until the solstice.

Today, some Muslims interpret it as referring to (d) the astronomical end of the sun/the solar system.

Personally, I tend to see this as a poetic or celebratory expression of the natural world, than a statement intended to inform people of a scientific fact (even if the Qur'an is consistent with facts of reality).

In any case, options (a), (c), and (d) match scientific understanding (obviously, from the perspective of earth, the sun rises and sets).

Option (b) is outside the domain of science since it pertains to the end times and hereafter which no longer operate according to the natural laws presently.

(Some people seem to be of the view that it is unscientific to say that, from the perspective of an earth observer, the sun rises and sets. Perhaps people do not go out and watch sunrises as often as they used to; however, I would challenge them to explain why it is unscientific to discuss sunrise and sunset, when this has such a gigantic impact on things such as the weather and ecology, not to mention basics such as timekeeping. So it is scientifically fine to discuss the sun from the perspective of an earth observer, or from the perspective of right outside the solar system, or from an intergalactic perspective; they are all just viewpoints.)

As for "running", this matches the idea that the sun has a motion in the galaxy/universe and is not fixed in one spot, although it also matches the idea that the sun moves along the sky from the perspective of an earth-based observer. So either perspective is correct with respect to reality.

So the verse is open to several interpretations but they do not conflict with what is known about how the universe and natural world works. Probably the main point is to inspire reflection on the natural order.

Some people say it is because Allah had created the jinn first, and the angels had seen the jinn fighting so knew that a new species with free will would also fight.

Some say that there were other humanoids (nasnas), and they had fought, and so they deduced from this that a new species with free will would also fight.

These two views are reinforced by a narration from Imam al-Sadiq (A) in which he says that the angels could not have known that humans would cause bloodshed if they hadn't seen the precedent of earlier creatures on earth.

Some simply say that they understood this from looking at human nature, or by looking at the nature of life on earth and the challenges of living as an earth-based being (for instance, competition for food, water, reproduction, and land).

Since the earth (dunya) is considered the basest or lowest level of creation, vis-a-vis the heavenly realms, perhaps it also didn't make sense to instill Allah's vicegerency in an earthling. 

Maybe there are other reasons too which relate to the nature of the angels and their existence outside of the earthly realm which would give them access to knowledge or a perspective that human beings generally lack. 

There are some narrations indicating that the believer (mu'min) and/or those who have allegiance (wilayah) to Ahl al-Bayt (A) are created from a specific sort of clay, which is sometimes associated with the Euphrates. The faithless (kafir) and/or enemies of Ahl al-Bayt (A) are created from another sort of clay. And most people are of a sort of mix between the two which is why we have diverse temperaments. 

Anyway, if these narrations are correctly transmitted, they seem to be more metaphorical about our natures and not literally relating to what kind of components we are physically constructed from. In fact, given that we human beings primarily gain our physical material from eating, and food is imported and shipped worldwide today, we are often built from the "clay" of many different regions! 

So with that in mind, it is reasonable to say that someone with a strong affinity for Ahl al-Bayt (A) might have some creational link to Karbala metaphorically or metaphysically.

That being said, I am not aware of any text that indicates that we are buried in the same place whose clay we are created from, or which really assigns any significance to the region where we are physically buried. 

In fact that Qur'an tells us that we don't know what land we will be buried in; life is full of surprises and we never know where we will go, nor when we will go. 

Similarly the Qur'an does not assign any particular ethical significance to where we live and just says that Allah's earth is vast and if we are unable to live freely in one area, we should move.