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Historical Errors in the Quran: Difference between revisions
→Supernatural destruction of cities (the punishment stories): Added other punishment story verses and Moses's people punishment story.
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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.) |
(→Supernatural destruction of cities (the punishment stories): Added other punishment story verses and Moses's people punishment story.) |
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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. | 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. | ||
</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> | </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 name=":4">Ibid. pp. 49.</ref> Drawing on another recurring formula, the Qur'an frequently urges its audience to '<nowiki/>''travel through the earth and observe''<nowiki/>' how Allah brought destruction upon sinners of the past, i.e. visible ruins (Q3:137; Q6:11; Q12:109; Q16:36; Q27:69; Q29:20; Q30:9, 42; Q35:44; Q40:21, 82; Q47:10).<ref name=":4" /> | ||
{{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.}} | {{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.}} | ||
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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" /> | 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’}} | {{Quote|{{Quran|41|13}}|If they turn away, say ‘I warn you of a thunderbolt like the thunderbolt of ʿĀd and Thamūd’}}{{Quote|{{Quran|15|2-5}}|Leave them to eat and enjoy and to be diverted by longings. Soon they will know<br> And not We destroyed any town but (there was) for it a decree known.<br> No people can hasten or delay the term already fixed for them.}} | ||
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 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 | 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}}, {{Quran|2|50}}, {{Quran|26|66-68}}, {{Quran|7|136}}, {{Quran|89|10-13}}. Moses's people who worship the Samaria's calf are struck with a thunderbolt {{Quran|2|55}} and later (after being brought back to life in Q2:56 and continuing to transgress) a punishment from the sky ''rijz min al-samāʾi'' {{Quran|2|59}}.<ref>Marshall, David. ''God, Muhammad and the Unbelievers (p. 127).'' Taylor & Francis. Kindle Edition.</ref> 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}}, {{Quran|11|82}}. 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 Qur'an. | ||
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}}, {{Quran|35|43}}){{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?}} | ||
==== The Total Destruction of Pharaohs/Egypts Monuments ==== | ==== The Total Destruction of Pharaohs/Egypts Monuments ==== | ||