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Dhul-Qarnayn and the Sun Setting in a Muddy Spring - Part Two: Difference between revisions

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Dhul-Qarnayn and the Sun Setting in a Muddy Spring - Part Two (view source)

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Lane’s Lexicon explains that this word, which usually means an eye, is also used to mean a spring or source of water (because from the eye springs forth tears).
Lane’s Lexicon explains that this word, which usually means an eye, is also used to mean a spring or source of water (because from the eye springs forth tears).


{{Quote|[http://www.studyQuran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume5/00000500.pdf Lane’s Lexicon: Volume 5/ 500]|The place [or aperture] whence the water of a قَنَاة [i.e. pipe or the like,] pours forth : (K, TA:) as being likened to the organ [of sight] because of the water that is in it. (TA.) And, (K, TA,) for the same reason, (TA,) ‡ The place whence issues the water of a well. (TA.) And, (S, Msb, K, &c.,) for the same reason, as is said by Er-Rághib, (TA,) ‡ The عَيْن (S, Msb,) or source, or spring, (K, TA,) of water, (S, Wsb, K, TA,) that wells forth from the earth, or ground, and runs : (TA: [and accord. To the Msb, it app. Signifies a running spring:] of the fem. gender:}}
{{Quote|[http://www.studyQuran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume5/00000500.pdf Lane’s Lexicon: Volume 5 page 2215]|The place [or aperture] whence the water of a قَنَاة [i.e. pipe or the like,] pours forth : (K, TA:) as being likened to the organ [of sight] because of the water that is in it. (TA.) And, (K, TA,) for the same reason, (TA,) ‡ The place whence issues the water of a well. (TA.) And, (S, Msb, K, &c.,) for the same reason, as is said by Er-Rághib, (TA,) ‡ The عَيْن (S, Msb,) or source, or spring, (K, TA,) of water, (S, Wsb, K, TA,) that wells forth from the earth, or ground, and runs : (TA: [and accord. To the Msb, it app. Signifies a running spring:] of the fem. gender:}}


While there is no apparent limit on the size of the spring, the lexicon does not give the slightest indication that AAayn is ever used to mean a sea or an ocean, which are generally not like a source of water from the ground. The verses in the Qur’an where AAaynun is used in the water rather than eye sense are as follows:
While there is no apparent limit on the size of the spring, the lexicon does not give the slightest indication that AAayn is ever used to mean a sea or an ocean, which are generally not like a source of water from the ground. The verses in the Qur’an where AAaynun is used in the water rather than eye sense are as follows:
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The authoritative Lane’s Lexicon (freely accessible online) gives the definition below for wajada:
The authoritative Lane’s Lexicon (freely accessible online) gives the definition below for wajada:


{{Quote|[http://www.studyQuran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000178.pdf Lane’s Lexicon: Volume 8/ 178]|He found it; lighted on it; attained it; obtained it by searching or seeking; discovered it; perceived it; saw it; experienced it, or became sensible of it;}}
{{Quote|[http://www.studyQuran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000178.pdf Lane’s Lexicon: Volume 8 page 2924]|He found it; lighted on it; attained it; obtained it by searching or seeking; discovered it; perceived it; saw it; experienced it, or became sensible of it;}}


Each of these meanings is then further explained. Regarding the last four, which could be relevant to Naik’s claim, the Lexicon says:
Each of these meanings is then further explained. Regarding the last four, which could be relevant to Naik’s claim, the Lexicon says:


{{Quote|[http://www.studyQuran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000178.pdf Lane’s Lexicon: Volume 8/ 178]|The finding, &c., by means of any one of the five senses: as when one says وَجَدْتُ زَيْدًا [I found, &c., Zeyd]: and وَجَدْتُ طَعْمَهُ, and رَائِحَتَهُ, and صَوْتَهُ, and خُشُونَتَهُ, [I found, or perceived, &c., its taste, and its odour, and its sound, and its roughness]. Also, The finding, &c., by means of the faculty of appetite, [or rather of sensation, which is the cause of appetite:] as when one says وَجَدْتُ الشِِّبَعَ [I found, experienced, or became sensible of, satiety].}}
{{Quote|[http://www.studyQuran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000178.pdf Lane’s Lexicon: Volume 8 page 2924]|The finding, &c., by means of any one of the five senses: as when one says وَجَدْتُ زَيْدًا [I found, &c., Zeyd]: and وَجَدْتُ طَعْمَهُ, and رَائِحَتَهُ, and صَوْتَهُ, and خُشُونَتَهُ, [I found, or perceived, &c., its taste, and its odour, and its sound, and its roughness]. Also, The finding, &c., by means of the faculty of appetite, [or rather of sensation, which is the cause of appetite:] as when one says وَجَدْتُ الشِِّبَعَ [I found, experienced, or became sensible of, satiety].}}


It is telling us that an attribute of a thing perceived by the senses (e.g. the taste of a thing) can be an object of the verb wajada. Thus, when wajada is used in this sense it means to perceive with the senses. The question we wish to resolve is whether or not wajada can mean to visually perceive something which conflicts with the reality.
It is telling us that an attribute of a thing perceived by the senses (e.g. the taste of a thing) can be an object of the verb wajada. Thus, when wajada is used in this sense it means to perceive with the senses. The question we wish to resolve is whether or not wajada can mean to visually perceive something which conflicts with the reality.
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Now we look a little further down the lexicon at the description of the usage of wajada which we actually have in 18:86 and 18:90. This is the two objective compliments, ditransitive usage of wajada mentioned in Lane’s Lexicon when wajada means to know something by direct experience:
Now we look a little further down the lexicon at the description of the usage of wajada which we actually have in 18:86 and 18:90. This is the two objective compliments, ditransitive usage of wajada mentioned in Lane’s Lexicon when wajada means to know something by direct experience:


{{Quote|[http://www.studyQuran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000178.pdf Lane’s Lexicon: Volume 8/ 178]|[He found, in the sense of] he knew [by experience]. (A, TA, &c.) [In this sense, it is a verb of the kind called أفْعَالُ القُلُوبِ ; having two objective complements; the first of which is called its noun, and the second its predicate.] Ex. وَجَدْتُ زَيْدًا ذَا الحِفَاظِ I [found, or] knew Zeyd to possess the quality of defending those things which should be sacred, or inviolable.}}
{{Quote|[http://www.studyQuran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000178.pdf Lane’s Lexicon: Volume 8 page 2924]|[He found, in the sense of] he knew [by experience]. (A, TA, &c.) [In this sense, it is a verb of the kind called أفْعَالُ القُلُوبِ ; having two objective complements; the first of which is called its noun, and the second its predicate.] Ex. وَجَدْتُ زَيْدًا ذَا الحِفَاظِ I [found, or] knew Zeyd to possess the quality of defending those things which should be sacred, or inviolable.}}


In verses 18:86 and 18:90 respectively, the noun is the sun (via the referent “it”) and the predicate is “setting in a muddy spring” / “rising on a people for whom We had provided no covering protection against the sun”. It is clear from the quote that this usage means that a person actually comes to know something as it really is. We shall see some other examples in the Qur’an of this usage in the next section.
In verses 18:86 and 18:90 respectively, the noun is the sun (via the referent “it”) and the predicate is “setting in a muddy spring” / “rising on a people for whom We had provided no covering protection against the sun”. It is clear from the quote that this usage means that a person actually comes to know something as it really is. We shall see some other examples in the Qur’an of this usage in the next section.
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{{Quote|{{Quran-wi|18|77}}|Fa'''i'''ntalaqa hatta itha ataya ahla qaryatin … fawajada feeha jidaran yureedu an yanqadda…<BR><BR>Then they proceeded: until, when they came to the inhabitants of a town … They found there a wall on the point of falling down…}}
{{Quote|{{Quran-wi|18|77}}|Fa'''i'''ntalaqa hatta itha ataya ahla qaryatin … fawajada feeha jidaran yureedu an yanqadda…<BR><BR>Then they proceeded: until, when they came to the inhabitants of a town … They found there a wall on the point of falling down…}}


This verse has a similar structure to those in the Dhu’l Qarnayn story, beginning with “hatta itha” (although instead of balagha, the next word in this instance is “ataya”, translated “they came”, and has the sense of coming directly and quickly according to Lane’s Lexicon<ref>Lane’s Lexicon - [http://www.studyQuran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume1/00000051.pdf Volume 1/ 51] - StudyQuran.org</ref>). As with the other examples, wajada clearly means an objective discovery rather than an illusionary perception or a matter of opinion. We can also notice that a similar grammatical structure follows wajada here as in the Dhu’l Qarnayn episode: someone finds a thing doing something. This is the two objective compliments, ditransitive usage of wajada with a noun and predicate mentioned in Lane’s Lexicon (see quote above) when wajada means to know something by direct experience.
This verse has a similar structure to those in the Dhu’l Qarnayn story, beginning with “hatta itha” (although instead of balagha, the next word in this instance is “ataya”, translated “they came”, and has the sense of coming directly and quickly according to Lane’s Lexicon<ref>Lane’s Lexicon - [http://www.studyQuran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume1/00000051.pdf Volume 1 page 14] - StudyQuran.org</ref>). As with the other examples, wajada clearly means an objective discovery rather than an illusionary perception or a matter of opinion. We can also notice that a similar grammatical structure follows wajada here as in the Dhu’l Qarnayn episode: someone finds a thing doing something. This is the two objective compliments, ditransitive usage of wajada with a noun and predicate mentioned in Lane’s Lexicon (see quote above) when wajada means to know something by direct experience.


In this verse and verses 18:86 and 18:90 respectively, the noun is the wall / sun (via the referent “it”) and the predicate is “on the point of falling down” / “setting in a muddy spring” / “rising on a people for whom We had provided no covering protection against the sun”.
In this verse and verses 18:86 and 18:90 respectively, the noun is the wall / sun (via the referent “it”) and the predicate is “on the point of falling down” / “setting in a muddy spring” / “rising on a people for whom We had provided no covering protection against the sun”.
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In fact, 18:90 says what the sun did after it emerged (perhaps because that’s when Dhu’l Qarnayn reached them, and/or because Muhammad’s purpose in that phrase was to describe the people, not the sun). If this was mirrored in 18:86 to describe the sun before it disappeared, that verse would have to say something like “he found it set on a spring of murky water” (using AAala instead of fee), which perhaps, if we again ignore the context, would be a figure of speech to convey a reality that the sun started to appear too low to shine on a muddy spring.
In fact, 18:90 says what the sun did after it emerged (perhaps because that’s when Dhu’l Qarnayn reached them, and/or because Muhammad’s purpose in that phrase was to describe the people, not the sun). If this was mirrored in 18:86 to describe the sun before it disappeared, that verse would have to say something like “he found it set on a spring of murky water” (using AAala instead of fee), which perhaps, if we again ignore the context, would be a figure of speech to convey a reality that the sun started to appear too low to shine on a muddy spring.


Instead the word “fee” is used, and we have not found any evidence that “it set in a spring of murky water” could be a figurative phrase meaning something else. It would also be a highly misleading figure of speech to say that the sun set in a muddy spring when something else is meant, especially considering that wajada was used, and there is no such evidence in Lane’s lexicon.<ref>Lane’s lexicon - [http://www.studyQuran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000024.pdf Volume 6/ 24] - StudyQuran.org</ref><ref>Lane’s lexicon - [http://www.studyQuran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000025.pdf Volume 6/ 25] - StudyQuran.org</ref> Neither can “fee” mean “behind”.<ref>Lane’s lexicon - [http://www.studyQuran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000250.pdf Volume 6/ 250] - StudyQuran.org</ref><ref>Lane’s lexicon - [http://www.studyQuran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000251.pdf Volume 6/ 251] - StudyQuran.org</ref> The word “waraa” is used in Arabic to mean behind. Furthermore, the contextual issues strongly imply a literal meaning.
Instead the word “fee” is used, and we have not found any evidence that “it set in a spring of murky water” could be a figurative phrase meaning something else. It would also be a highly misleading figure of speech to say that the sun set in a muddy spring when something else is meant, especially considering that wajada was used, and there is no such evidence in Lane’s lexicon.<ref>Lane’s lexicon - [http://www.studyQuran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000024.pdf Volume 6 page 2240] and [http://www.studyQuran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000025.pdf page 2241] - StudyQuran.org</ref> Neither can “fee” mean “behind”.<ref>Lane’s lexicon - [http://www.studyQuran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000250.pdf Volume 6 page 2466] and [http://www.studyQuran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000251.pdf page 2467] - StudyQuran.org</ref> The word “waraa” is used in Arabic to mean behind. Furthermore, the contextual issues strongly imply a literal meaning.


Even if the phrase in 18:90 could be regarded as a figure of speech in the sense that the sun was not exactly overhead during the period when it is described as “rising on a people”, the context of the surrounding words strongly imply that they must at least have been unusually close to it during that part of the day, as discussed above. We can also obviously rule out one literal interpretation where AAala means that the sun was in physical contact with the people as it was rising. That was set up as a straw man by al-Qurtubi (see above) who pretended that it was the only alternative to a figure of speech interpretation.
Even if the phrase in 18:90 could be regarded as a figure of speech in the sense that the sun was not exactly overhead during the period when it is described as “rising on a people”, the context of the surrounding words strongly imply that they must at least have been unusually close to it during that part of the day, as discussed above. We can also obviously rule out one literal interpretation where AAala means that the sun was in physical contact with the people as it was rising. That was set up as a straw man by al-Qurtubi (see above) who pretended that it was the only alternative to a figure of speech interpretation.
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The second phrase is “qul saatloo AAalaykum minhu thikra'''n'''”, and in the word-for-word translation says, “Say, ‘I will recite to you about him a remembrance”. The word minhu literally means “of him” or “from him”.
The second phrase is “qul saatloo AAalaykum minhu thikra'''n'''”, and in the word-for-word translation says, “Say, ‘I will recite to you about him a remembrance”. The word minhu literally means “of him” or “from him”.


The second word here, talawa (saatloo), means “to recite”. It is used 63 times in the Qur’an,<ref>[http://www.studyquran.co.uk/PRLonline.htm Project Root List] - StudyQuran</ref> always (except for 91:2 and 2:102) in relation to the reciting of revelations from Allah, and whenever the subject doing the reciting is Muhammad, it means reciting the Qur’an. It has the sense of following, repeating, or reciting what has been done, written, or said.<ref>Lane’s lexicon - [http://www.studyQuran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume1/00000350.pdf Volume 1/ 350] - StudyQuran.org</ref> An example is in verse 10:16, which refers to the Qur’an (we have also quoted the next verse, which emphasises that things which Muhammad rehearses about Allah must be true).
The second word here, talawa (saatloo), means “to recite”. It is used 63 times in the Qur’an,<ref>[http://www.studyquran.co.uk/PRLonline.htm Project Root List] - StudyQuran</ref> always (except for 91:2 and 2:102) in relation to the reciting of revelations from Allah, and whenever the subject doing the reciting is Muhammad, it means reciting the Qur’an. It has the sense of following, repeating, or reciting what has been done, written, or said.<ref>Lane’s lexicon - [http://www.studyQuran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume1/00000350.pdf Volume 1 page 313] - StudyQuran.org</ref> An example is in verse 10:16, which refers to the Qur’an (we have also quoted the next verse, which emphasises that things which Muhammad rehearses about Allah must be true).


{{Quote|[[The Holy Qur'an: Yunus (Jonah)#10:16|Qur'an 10:16-17]]|Say: ‘If Allah had so willed, I should not have rehearsed it to you, nor would He have made it known to you. A whole life-time before this have I tarried amongst you: will ye not then understand? Who doth more wrong than such as forge a lie against Allah, or deny His Signs?’}}
{{Quote|[[The Holy Qur'an: Yunus (Jonah)#10:16|Qur'an 10:16-17]]|Say: ‘If Allah had so willed, I should not have rehearsed it to you, nor would He have made it known to you. A whole life-time before this have I tarried amongst you: will ye not then understand? Who doth more wrong than such as forge a lie against Allah, or deny His Signs?’}}
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{{Quote|{{Quran-wi|5|27}}|Waotlu AAalayhim nabaa ibnay adama bi'''a'''lhaqqi…<BR><BR>Recite to them the truth of the story of the two sons of Adam…}}
{{Quote|{{Quran-wi|5|27}}|Waotlu AAalayhim nabaa ibnay adama bi'''a'''lhaqqi…<BR><BR>Recite to them the truth of the story of the two sons of Adam…}}


We can already see that it is unlikely that 18:83 means that Allah is commanding Muhammad to recite from another man’s mistaken recollection. Now we look at the word thikra'''n'''. Lane’s Lexicon defines this word as “A reminding”, or “causing to remember” and “An admonition”.<ref>Lane’s lexicon - [http://www.studyQuran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume3/00000136.pdf Volume 3/ 136] - StudyQuran.org</ref>
We can already see that it is unlikely that 18:83 means that Allah is commanding Muhammad to recite from another man’s mistaken recollection. Now we look at the word thikra'''n'''. Lane’s Lexicon defines this word as “A reminding”, or “causing to remember” and “An admonition”.<ref>Lane’s lexicon - [http://www.studyQuran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume3/00000136.pdf Volume 3 page 970] - StudyQuran.org</ref>


Two highly relevant examples of its usage in the Qur’an occur in Sura al-Kahf. Immediately preceding the passage about Dhu’l Qarnayn we have one about Moses and a servant of Allah, whom Moses follows.
Two highly relevant examples of its usage in the Qur’an occur in Sura al-Kahf. Immediately preceding the passage about Dhu’l Qarnayn we have one about Moses and a servant of Allah, whom Moses follows.
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