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Historical Errors in the Quran: Difference between revisions

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Historical Errors in the Quran (view source)

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→‎Supernatural destruction of cities: Have added section highlighting all towns are meant to have experienced this, not just those mentioned or around Arabia, expanding the lack of evidence for this. And linked to David Marshal and Durie who cover them in much more depth - also highlighting their point that this was initially stated as a threat to the Meccans that did not occur. Pharoahs drowning verse in the list of narratives.
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(Rejected the last text change (by CPO675) and restored revision 139106 by CPO675: this idea is disputed, so not appropriate for this article)
Tag: Manual revert
(→‎Supernatural destruction of cities: Have added section highlighting all towns are meant to have experienced this, not just those mentioned or around Arabia, expanding the lack of evidence for this. And linked to David Marshal and Durie who cover them in much more depth - also highlighting their point that this was initially stated as a threat to the Meccans that did not occur. Pharoahs drowning verse in the list of narratives.)
 
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{{Quote|1=[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%201&version=NIV Luke 1:61]|2=They said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who has that name."}}
{{Quote|1=[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%201&version=NIV Luke 1:61]|2=They said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who has that name."}}


===Supernatural destruction of cities===
===Supernatural destruction of cities (the punishment stories)===
The Quran state that outside the vicinity of Arabia there existed cities and tribes destroyed by Allah for rejecting his messengers and Islam. In each specific example presented in the Qur'an (the people of ''A'ad'', ''Thamud'', ''Midian'', [[Lut|''Lut'' (Lot)]], and the Pharoah's army), the destruction of the disbelievers is sudden and total. Archaeological research, by contrast, has revealed that historical cities and tribes were only gradually ruined by natural disasters, famine, wars, migration, or neglect, often taking years or decades to unfold. In this respect, the Quran appears to have adopted and adapted contemporary Arabian myths regarding the destruction of neighboring cities, some of which may not have existed.
The Quran states that around the vicinity of Arabia there existed cities and tribes destroyed by Allah for rejecting his messengers and Islam. All towns are said to experience this, an idea which is linked to that of each having its own Messenger.<ref>Durie, Mark. ''The Qur'an and Its Biblical Reflexes: Investigations Into the Genesis of a Religion. pp 49 - 50.'' 2018. Lexington books.


In the Qur'an, the people of ''Thamud'' are killed instantly by an earthquake {{Quran|7|78}} or thunderous blast {{Quran|11|67}}, {{Quran-range|41|13|17}}, {{Quran|51|44}}, {{Quran|69|5}}. The people of ''A'ad'' are killed by a fierce wind that blew for 7 days {{Quran-range|41|13|16}},{{Quran-range|46|24|35}},{{Quran|51|41}}, {{Quran-range|69|6|7}}. The people of Midian (''Midyan'') are killed overnight by an earthquake {{Quran|7|91}}, {{Quran|29|36}}. The towns of Lot (''Lut'') are destroyed by a storm of stones from the sky {{Quran|54|32}}, {{Quran|29|34}}. The actual locations of these towns or tribes is unknown. Midian in particular was a wide geographical desert region rather than a particular location or city, which makes archaeological investigation difficult. Similarly the people of ''Tubba''' are listed as a destroyed people for denying their messenger in {{Quran|44|37}} and {{Quran|50|14}}, with Tubba' most commonly identified as a Himyarite (a Southern Arabian Empire primarily covering modern day Yemen) king by traditional Islamic scholars<ref>See classical commentaries [https://quranx.com/tafsirs/44.37 on Q44:37]</ref> without the method of destruction being specified in the Qu'ran.
</ref> Durie (2018) notes; a ''repeated formulaic system is kam ahlaknā / qaṣamnā  (qablahum / min qab lihim / min qablikum) min qarnin / mina l‑qurūni / min qaryatin “how many generations/towns (before them/you) did we destroy/shatter!” (Q6:6; Q7:4; Q10:13; Q17:17; Q19:74, 98; Q20:128; Q21:11; Q36:31; Q50:36)'' is used (along with others) to further highlight this point.<ref>Ibid. pp. 49.</ref>
 
{{Quote|{{Quran|17|58}}|There is not a town but We will destroy it before the Day of Resurrection, or punish it with a severe punishment. That has been written in the Book.}}
 
Each example is told in a common literary narrative structure known in academia as a 'punishment story/narrative'. These narratives follow a pattern: A prophet is sent to an unbelieving community by God with a message (to worship God alone and to live righteously). The community rejects the prophet and mocks or opposes him. Despite warnings, the people persist in disbelief. Eventually, God punishes the community, often through a natural disaster or sudden destruction, as a sign of divine justice.<ref name=":3">Marshall, D. (2018). ''Punishment Stories. In Encyclopaedia of the Qur'ān Online.'' Brill. <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.1163/1875-3922_q3_EQCOM_00162</nowiki></ref> These narratives are a recurring rhetorical and theological structure in the Qur'an, particularly in the Meccan suras, where the Qur'an recounts stories of previous prophets send to their communities to warn their contemporaries of the consequences of rejecting divine guidance, of which Muhammad is the latest in the line of these messengers.<ref name=":3" />
 
{{Quote|{{Quran|41|13}}|If they turn away, say ‘I warn you of a thunderbolt like the thunderbolt of ʿĀd and Thamūd’}}
 
In each specific example presented in the Qur'an (the people of ''A'ad'', ''Thamud'', ''Midian'', [[Lut|''Lut'' (Lot)]], and the Pharoah's army), the destruction of the disbelievers is sudden and total. Archaeological research, by contrast, has revealed that historical cities and tribes were only gradually ruined by natural disasters, famine, wars, migration, or neglect, often taking years or decades to unfold. In this respect, the Quran appears to have adopted and adapted contemporary Arabian myths regarding the destruction of neighboring cities, some of which may not have existed.
 
In the Qur'an, the people of ''Thamud'' are killed instantly by an earthquake {{Quran|7|78}} or thunderous blast {{Quran|11|67}}, {{Quran-range|41|13|17}}, {{Quran|51|44}}, {{Quran|69|5}}. The people of ''A'ad'' are killed by a fierce wind that blew for 7 days {{Quran-range|41|13|16}},{{Quran-range|46|24|35}},{{Quran|51|41}}, {{Quran-range|69|6|7}}. Pharoah's people are drowned in {{Quran|10|90}}. The people of Midian (''Midyan'') are killed overnight by an earthquake {{Quran|7|91}}, {{Quran|29|36}}. The towns of Lot (''Lut'') are destroyed by a storm of stones from the sky {{Quran|54|32}}, {{Quran|29|34}}. The actual locations of these towns or tribes is unknown. Midian in particular was a wide geographical desert region rather than a particular location or city, which makes archaeological investigation difficult. Similarly the people of ''Tubba''' are listed as a destroyed people for denying their messenger in {{Quran|44|37}} and {{Quran|50|14}}, with Tubba' most commonly identified as a Himyarite (a Southern Arabian Empire primarily covering modern day Yemen) king by traditional Islamic scholars<ref>See classical commentaries [https://quranx.com/tafsirs/44.37 on Q44:37]</ref> without the method of destruction being specified in the Qu'ran.


Critics have also asked why it is that various other polytheistic cultures worldwide did not encounter similar fates as those outlined in the Quran, especially if there is 'no change in the way of Allah' ({{Quran|33|62}}){{Quote|{{Quran|22|45}}|And how many a township have We destroyed because it had been immersed in evildoing - and now they [all] lie deserted, with their roofs caved in! And how many a well lies abandoned, and how many a castle that [once] stood high!}}The suddenness of Allah's punishment is stressed repeatedly in Surah al-A'raf:{{Quote|{{Quran|7|4}}|How many a township have We destroyed! As a raid by night, or while they slept at noon, Our terror came unto them.}}{{Quote|{{Quran|7|34}}|And every nation hath its term, and when its term cometh, they cannot put it off an hour nor yet advance (it).}}{{Quote|{{Quran-range|7|97|98}}|Are the people of the townships then secure from the coming of Our wrath upon them as a night-raid while they sleep? Or are the people of the townships then secure from the coming of Our wrath upon them in the daytime while they play?}}
Critics have also asked why it is that various other polytheistic cultures worldwide did not encounter similar fates as those outlined in the Quran, especially if there is 'no change in the way of Allah' ({{Quran|33|62}}){{Quote|{{Quran|22|45}}|And how many a township have We destroyed because it had been immersed in evildoing - and now they [all] lie deserted, with their roofs caved in! And how many a well lies abandoned, and how many a castle that [once] stood high!}}The suddenness of Allah's punishment is stressed repeatedly in Surah al-A'raf:{{Quote|{{Quran|7|4}}|How many a township have We destroyed! As a raid by night, or while they slept at noon, Our terror came unto them.}}{{Quote|{{Quran|7|34}}|And every nation hath its term, and when its term cometh, they cannot put it off an hour nor yet advance (it).}}{{Quote|{{Quran-range|7|97|98}}|Are the people of the townships then secure from the coming of Our wrath upon them as a night-raid while they sleep? Or are the people of the townships then secure from the coming of Our wrath upon them in the daytime while they play?}}
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