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'''The Qur'anic universe''' comprises "the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them". Many verses expand on the various elements of this scheme, without going into great detail. Overall, a picture emerges of a flat earth (and perhaps seven of these), above which are seven heavenly firmaments of uncertain shape (commonly assumed to be domed; more recently some historians have argued that the Qur'anic heavens are flat) and held up without visible pillars. Lamps adorn the lowest of these heavens. The sun and moon circulate in them in a partly ambiguous manner. Allāh resides in heaven above the creation, sitting on a throne. Academic work has situated this picture within the context of earlier Mesopotamian and Biblical cosmological concepts, while noting its own distinctive identity. | '''The Qur'anic universe''' comprises "the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them". Many verses expand on the various elements of this scheme, without going into great detail. Overall, a picture emerges of a flat earth (and perhaps seven of these), above which are seven heavenly firmaments of uncertain shape (commonly assumed to be domed; more recently some historians have argued that the Qur'anic heavens are flat) and held up without visible pillars. Lamps adorn the lowest of these heavens. The sun and moon circulate in them in a partly ambiguous manner. Allāh resides in heaven above the creation, sitting on a throne. Academic work has situated this picture within the context of earlier Mesopotamian and Biblical cosmological concepts, while noting its own distinctive identity. | ||
Relatively few modern academics have made dedicated attempts to piece together the cosmography of the Quran, in whole or in part. One of the most comprehensive such surveys has been conducted by Mohammad Ali Tabatabaʾi and Saida Mirsadri of Tehran University in 2016 (which can be read for free using a jstor.org monthly free article allowance).<ref>{{citation |last1=Tabatabaʾi |first1=Mohammad A. |last2=Mirsadri |first2=Saida |date=2016 |title=The Qurʾānic Cosmology, as an Identity in Itself |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24811784 |journal=Arabica |volume=63 |issue=3/4 |pages=201-234}} also available on [https://www.academia.edu/23427168/The_Quranic_Cosmology_as_an_Identity_in_Itself academia.edu]</ref> They note that the new movement in the field commenced with Kevin van Bladel's work regarding individual elements of the picture in the context of the journeys of Dhu'l Qarnayn<ref name="vanBladelLegend">Van Bladel, Kevin, “The Alexander legend in the Qur‘an 18:83-102″, In The Qur’ān in Its Historical Context, Ed. Gabriel Said Reynolds, New York: Routledge, 2007</ref> and the heavenly cords ( | Relatively few modern academics have made dedicated attempts to piece together the cosmography of the Quran, in whole or in part. One of the most comprehensive such surveys has been conducted by Mohammad Ali Tabatabaʾi and Saida Mirsadri of Tehran University in 2016 (which can be read for free using a jstor.org monthly free article allowance).<ref>{{citation |last1=Tabatabaʾi |first1=Mohammad A. |last2=Mirsadri |first2=Saida |date=2016 |title=The Qurʾānic Cosmology, as an Identity in Itself |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24811784 |journal=Arabica |volume=63 |issue=3/4 |pages=201-234}} also available on [https://www.academia.edu/23427168/The_Quranic_Cosmology_as_an_Identity_in_Itself academia.edu]</ref> They note that the new movement in the field commenced with Kevin van Bladel's work regarding individual elements of the picture in the context of the journeys of Dhu'l Qarnayn<ref name="vanBladelLegend">Van Bladel, Kevin, “The Alexander legend in the Qur‘an 18:83-102″, In The Qur’ān in Its Historical Context, Ed. Gabriel Said Reynolds, New York: Routledge, 2007</ref> and the heavenly cords (asbāb) by which he traversed the world, and which, for example, Pharaoh attempted to reach by building a tower<ref name="vanBladelCords">{{citation|last1=van Bladel |first1=Kevin |date=2007 |title=Heavenly cords and prophetic authority in the Qur’an and its Late Antique context |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40379198 |journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies |volume=70 |issue=2 |pages=223-246 |doi= |access-date=25 April 2021}}</ref>. | ||
By taking the Quranic descriptions in their own right and in the context of the more ancient cosmologies of Babylon and the Bible, but without appeal to later works of tafsir or hadith, which show the influence of Hellenistic (Greek) ideas acquired by the Muslims after the advent of Islam, Tabataba'i and Mirsadri argue that in various ways the Quranic cosmology has its own distinctive characteristics as well as inherited concepts, just as it interacts with the ideologies of its environment, taking some things and rejecting others. Their observations in particular are regularly cited in this article. | By taking the Quranic descriptions in their own right and in the context of the more ancient cosmologies of Babylon and the Bible, but without appeal to later works of tafsir or hadith, which show the influence of Hellenistic (Greek) ideas acquired by the Muslims after the advent of Islam, Tabataba'i and Mirsadri argue that in various ways the Quranic cosmology has its own distinctive characteristics as well as inherited concepts, just as it interacts with the ideologies of its environment, taking some things and rejecting others. Their observations in particular are regularly cited in this article. | ||
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==Cosmology of the Quran== | ==Cosmology of the Quran== | ||
===The | ===The Heavens (al-samāwāt) and the Earth (al-arḍ)=== | ||
Any accounting of the cosmology of the Qur'an must begin with the fact that the Islamic universe is extremely simple. It consists entirely of three components: "the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them" (see for example {{Quran|50|38}}), the latter of which contains such things as clouds ({{Quran|2|164}}) and birds ({{Quran|24|41}}). More often, just the heavens and earth are shorthand for the entirety of creation. | Any accounting of the cosmology of the Qur'an must begin with the fact that the Islamic universe is extremely simple. It consists entirely of three components: "the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them" (see for example {{Quran|50|38}}), the latter of which contains such things as clouds ({{Quran|2|164}}) and birds ({{Quran|24|41}}). More often, just the heavens and earth are shorthand for the entirety of creation. | ||
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{{Quote|{{Quran|18|60}}|And [mention] when Moses said to his servant, "I will not cease [traveling] until I reach the junction of the two seas or continue for a long period."}} | {{Quote|{{Quran|18|60}}|And [mention] when Moses said to his servant, "I will not cease [traveling] until I reach the junction of the two seas or continue for a long period."}} | ||
===The seven | ===The seven Heavens and their denizens=== | ||
====The shape of the heavens==== | ====The shape of the heavens==== | ||
[[File:QuranicCosmographyTabatabaiMirsadri.jpg|right|thumb|175px|Illustration of Qur'anic cosmography based on the analysis of Tabataba'i and Mirsadri. Their own copyrighted illustration is available in their paper<ref>Tabataba'i and Mirsadri, ''The Qurʾānic Cosmology, as an Identity in Itself'' pp. 217</ref> The shape of the heavens in the Qur'an is uncertain.]] | [[File:QuranicCosmographyTabatabaiMirsadri.jpg|right|thumb|175px|Illustration of Qur'anic cosmography based on the analysis of Tabataba'i and Mirsadri. Their own copyrighted illustration is available in their paper<ref>Tabataba'i and Mirsadri, ''The Qurʾānic Cosmology, as an Identity in Itself'' pp. 217</ref> The shape of the heavens in the Qur'an is uncertain.]] | ||
While many classical Muslim scholars, and modern academics (due to their interpretation of other ancient cosmologies) tend to assume that the Qur'anic heavens are domed, Tabataba'i and Mirsadri observe that there is no indication in the Qur'an that they touch the earth's boundaries. The sun and moon are placed in the heavens ({{Quran|71|16}} and {{Quran|78|13}}), the lowest of which are adorned with lamps {{Quran|41|12}}. Janos discusses verses {{Quran|21|30}} and {{Quran|36|40}} in which the sun and moon (as well as night and day) move in a "falak" (an ambiguous term that may have meant a circuitous course/sphere/hemisphere - see [[Geocentrism and the Quran]]), but notes that this was not considered semantically identical with the | While many classical Muslim scholars, and modern academics (due to their interpretation of other ancient cosmologies) tend to assume that the Qur'anic heavens are domed, Tabataba'i and Mirsadri observe that there is no indication in the Qur'an that they touch the earth's boundaries. The sun and moon are placed in the heavens ({{Quran|71|16}} and {{Quran|78|13}}), the lowest of which are adorned with lamps {{Quran|41|12}}. Janos discusses verses {{Quran|21|30}} and {{Quran|36|40}} in which the sun and moon (as well as night and day) move in a "falak" (an ambiguous term that may have meant a circuitous course/sphere/hemisphere - see [[Geocentrism and the Quran]]), but notes that this was not considered semantically identical with the samāwāt, or heavens, and they were not necessarily conceived as having the same shape.<ref>Janos, ''Qurʾānic cosmography in its historical perspective'' pp. 223-229</ref> | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|2|29}}|It is He Who hath created for you all things that are on earth; Moreover His design comprehended the heavens, for He gave order and perfection to the seven firmaments; and of all things He hath perfect knowledge.}} | {{Quote|{{Quran|2|29}}|It is He Who hath created for you all things that are on earth; Moreover His design comprehended the heavens, for He gave order and perfection to the seven firmaments; and of all things He hath perfect knowledge.}} | ||
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He said: And muzn? They said: And muzn. He said: And anan? They said: And anan. AbuDawud said: I am not quite confident about the word anan. He asked: Do you know the distance between Heaven and Earth? They replied: We do not know. He then said: The distance between them is seventy-one, seventy-two, or seventy-three years. The heaven which is above it is at a similar distance (going on till he counted seven heavens). Above the seventh heaven there is a sea, the distance between whose surface and bottom is like that between one heaven and the next. Above that there are eight mountain goats the distance between whose hoofs and haunches is like the distance between one heaven and the next. Then Allah, the Blessed and the Exalted, is above that.}} | He said: And muzn? They said: And muzn. He said: And anan? They said: And anan. AbuDawud said: I am not quite confident about the word anan. He asked: Do you know the distance between Heaven and Earth? They replied: We do not know. He then said: The distance between them is seventy-one, seventy-two, or seventy-three years. The heaven which is above it is at a similar distance (going on till he counted seven heavens). Above the seventh heaven there is a sea, the distance between whose surface and bottom is like that between one heaven and the next. Above that there are eight mountain goats the distance between whose hoofs and haunches is like the distance between one heaven and the next. Then Allah, the Blessed and the Exalted, is above that.}} | ||
Ignoring the giant mountain goats which are never mentioned in the Qur'an itself, the outermost heaven lies beneath a sea that is as deep as the distances between adjacent heavens. That Allāh’s “throne” is | Ignoring the giant mountain goats which are never mentioned in the Qur'an itself, the outermost heaven lies beneath a sea that is as deep as the distances between adjacent heavens. That Allāh’s “throne” is upon such waters is mentioned in the Qur'an as well as the hadith. | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|11|7}}|He | {{Quote|{{Quran|11|7}}|It is He who created the heavens and the earth in six days—and His Throne was [then] upon the waters—that He may test you [to see] which of you is best in conduct. Yet if you say, ‘You will indeed be raised up after death,’ the faithless will surely say, ‘This is nothing but plain magic.’}} | ||
There are however no mentions of galaxies, quasars, galaxy clusters or empty space. Simply water, a throne, and Allāh himself. | There are however no mentions of galaxies, quasars, galaxy clusters or empty space. Simply water, a throne, and Allāh himself. | ||
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As Nicolai Sinai notes,<ref>''Samāʾ | heaven, sky'' Sinai, Nicolai. Key Terms of the Qur'an: A Critical Dictionary (p. 412). Princeton University Press. </ref> this is further supported by the sky (al-samā) having gates, a common cosmological idea in antiquity<ref>Anthony, Sean W., Dr.. ''Muhammad and the Empires of Faith: The Making of the Prophet of Islam.'' University of California Press. Kindle Edition. Location 1134 - 1145. | As Nicolai Sinai notes,<ref>''Samāʾ | heaven, sky'' Sinai, Nicolai. Key Terms of the Qur'an: A Critical Dictionary (p. 412). Princeton University Press. </ref> this is further supported by the sky (al-samā) having gates, a common cosmological idea in antiquity<ref>Anthony, Sean W., Dr.. ''Muhammad and the Empires of Faith: The Making of the Prophet of Islam.'' University of California Press. Kindle Edition. Location 1134 - 1145. | ||
''The cosmological notion of humankind being blocked from accessing Paradise by gates and, thus, the existence of a heavenly gatekeeper is quite an ancient one and by no means exclusive to Jewish, Christian, or Muslim sacred cosmology. Indeed, where “the keys to heaven” as opposed to “the keys of Paradise” motif appears first in the Islamic tradition is in the Qurʾan itself.'' </ref> (see: | ''The cosmological notion of humankind being blocked from accessing Paradise by gates and, thus, the existence of a heavenly gatekeeper is quite an ancient one and by no means exclusive to Jewish, Christian, or Muslim sacred cosmology. Indeed, where “the keys to heaven” as opposed to “the keys of Paradise” motif appears first in the Islamic tradition is in the Qurʾan itself.'' </ref> (see: {{Quran|7|40}}, {{Quran|15|14}}, {{Quran|78|19}}, {{Quran|5|11}} of which Allāh holds the keys {{Quran|42|12}}), of which the opening causes the water to fall and drown the people of Noah once he's safe in the boat ({{Quran|54|11-12}}; cf. Genesis 7:11 and 8:2<ref>[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%207%3A11-8%3A2&version=NABRE Genesis 7:11-8:2]. New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE). BibleGateway.com. </ref>), which would seem to presuppose the Biblical notion that the firmament separates the waters above. | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|54|11}}|Then We opened the gates of the sky with pouring waters}} | {{Quote|{{Quran|54|11}}|Then We opened the gates of the sky with pouring waters}} | ||
The sky is also the source of vivifying precipitation<ref>Samāʾ | heaven, sky entry. Sinai, Nicolai. ''Key Terms of the Qur'an: A Critical Dictionary'' (p. 412). Princeton University Press. </ref> (e.g., {{Quran|2|22}}, {{Quran|30|24}}, {{Quran|43|11}}, {{Quran|45|5}}, {{Quran|50|9}}, {{Quran|71|11}} and {{Quran|41|39}}), with it's life giving qualities to 'dead' soil shown as proof of Gods ability to resurrect the dead (e.g. Q 43:11 '“''and Who sent down out of heaven water in measure; and We revived thereby a land that was dead; even so you shall be brought forth''”), in line with the contemporary view of the qualities of the celestial waters, that are consistent with the fish miraculously regaining life in Q 18:61 and 63, that meaningfully takes place where the heavenly ocean joins the lower part of the world,<ref>''Tesei, Tommaso. Some Cosmological Notions from Late Antiquity in Q 18:60–65: The Quran in Light of Its Cultural Context.'' Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 135, no. 1, American Oriental Society, 2015, pp. 19–32, ''(pp. 28-29)'' <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.7817/jameroriesoci.135.1.19</nowiki>. <nowiki>https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7817/jameroriesoci.135.1.19</nowiki></ref> which Angelika Neuwirth notes is the exegetical view most in line with the Qur'anic evidence.<ref>Cosmology Entry. Space in cosmological context. Encyclopaedia Of The Qur’an. pp. 445-446. Angelika Neuwirth. 2001. | The sky is also the source of vivifying precipitation<ref>Samāʾ | heaven, sky entry. Sinai, Nicolai. ''Key Terms of the Qur'an: A Critical Dictionary'' (p. 412). Princeton University Press. </ref> (e.g., {{Quran|2|22}}, {{Quran|30|24}}, {{Quran|43|11}}, {{Quran|45|5}}, {{Quran|50|9}}, {{Quran|71|11}} and {{Quran|41|39}}), with it's life giving qualities to 'dead' soil shown as proof of Gods ability to resurrect the dead (e.g. Q 43:11 '“''and Who sent down out of heaven water in measure; and We revived thereby a land that was dead; even so you shall be brought forth''”), in line with the contemporary view of the qualities of the celestial waters, that are consistent with the fish miraculously regaining life in Q 18:61 and 63, that meaningfully takes place where the heavenly ocean joins the lower part of the world,<ref>''Tesei, Tommaso. Some Cosmological Notions from Late Antiquity in Q 18:60–65: The Quran in Light of Its Cultural Context.'' Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 135, no. 1, American Oriental Society, 2015, pp. 19–32, ''(pp. 28-29)'' <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.7817/jameroriesoci.135.1.19</nowiki>. <nowiki>https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7817/jameroriesoci.135.1.19</nowiki></ref> which Angelika Neuwirth notes is the exegetical view most in line with the Qur'anic evidence.<ref>Cosmology Entry. Space in cosmological context. Encyclopaedia Of The Qur’an. pp. 445-446. Angelika Neuwirth. 2001. | ||
Read online for free here: ''[https://archive.org/details/encyclopaedia-of-the-quran-6-volumes-jane-dammen-mc-auliffe/page/n481/mode/2up?q=Cosmology Encyclopaedia Of The Qur’an ( 6 Volumes). Page 15/325 / 482 of 3956 of PDF]''</ref> | Read online for free here: ''[https://archive.org/details/encyclopaedia-of-the-quran-6-volumes-jane-dammen-mc-auliffe/page/n481/mode/2up?q=Cosmology Encyclopaedia Of The Qur’an ( 6 Volumes). Page 15/325 / 482 of 3956 of PDF]''</ref> | ||
===== And deluge from below ===== | |||
As Wheeler and Noegel (2010) note,<ref>Scott Noegel and Brannon Wheeler (eds.), ''The A to Z of Prophets in Islam and Judaism'', Scarecrow Press, 2010, pp. 66-68 under a section titled "Cosmology and Cosmogony": | |||
"..The Bible and the Quran share some cosmological and cosmogonic views rooted in ancient Near Eastern conceptions of the world, such as the notion of a male creator God and his battle against the watery forces of Chaos, the division of the world into lower and upper realms in which the upper realm holds sway over the lower, and a teleological view of time with a definite beginning and end with which historical existence is contrasted. ''In terms of the structure of the world, Jewish and Muslim texts basically hold to the concept of a three-storied universe. The bottom level is often described as hell or the chthonic realm that is beneath the earth. In the biblical tradition, the Earth is conceived of as floating on a vast body of water. Exod 20:4, for example, delineates the heavens above, the earth below, and the water underneath the earth.'' | |||
''The Quran depicts hell as consisting of liquid or boiling water with the earth spread out on top of it (Q 22:19-22, 55:43-44, 56:42-44). Hell also is described as a pit in which are the fires beneath the earth (Q 101:9-11). The great deluge is described as gushing forth from the earth (Q 54:12) and underground fountains (Gen 6:l1), perhaps reflecting an older cosmic battle myth in which water is personified as the monster of chaos that a god or hero conquers in creating and ordering the world''. Much like the classical Greek conception, the earth or the middle realm of the cosmos is envisioned as a flat disc surrounded by the world ocean on all sides. The Quran describes the earth as flat and spread out (Q 71:19), wide and expansive (Q 29:56). There are points on the earth that serve as conduits or points of contact with the lower realms (pits, caves, water sources) and the upper realms (mountains, trees, high buildings)..." | |||
</ref> Muslim traditions embrace the concept of a three-tiered universe: the heavens above, earth in the middle, and hell below, often depicted as an underground, fiery, or watery realm. Alongside Islamic traditions which place it here, they note Qur'anic evidence in that it describes hell as being filled with boiling water beneath the Earth (e.g. see: {{Quran|56|42-44}}, {{Quran|55|43-44}}, and {{Quran|22|19-22}}). | |||
When flooding the Earth in the Qur'anic story of [[:en:Historical_Errors_in_the_Quran#Noah's_worldwide_flood|Noah and the Ark]], along with the (presumably normal) water falling from [[Cosmology of the Quran#The%20gates%20of%20the%20heavens|the gates above in the sky]] just mentioned, the great flood is also described as originating from beneath the earth, stating the waters boil in an 'oven' in contrast with those above. This water comes via springs bursting through the Earth, suggesting a connection between them to hell or at least the lower world. | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|54|12}}|And We caused to burst the earth (with) springs, so met the water(s) for a matter already predestined.}} | |||
The mentioned 'oven' boiling water from the Earth to flood it could be a metaphor for hell in the following verses, as Wheeler and Noegel (2010) note it is also described as a 'pit' in which there are fires (e.g. {{Quran|101|9-11}}).<ref>Ibid.</ref> | |||
The Arabic verb most commonly translated as "gushed forth" (fāra فَارَ) in the following two verses (''we have used the Arberry translation stating 'boiled''') means "boiled" in the context of water in a cooking pot,<ref>root fā wāw rā [https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/data/20_f/217_fwr.html (ف و ر) Lanes Lexicon:] | |||
fāra فَارَ Lane's Lexicon Dictionary [https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/pdf/Page_2456.pdf p2456] & [https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/pdf/Page_2457.pdf p2457]</ref> as well as in the other verse where the same root is used as a verb {{Quran|67|7}}. | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|11|40}}|Until, when Our command came, and the Oven boiled, We said, 'Embark in it two of every kind, and thy family -- except for him against whom the word has already been spoken and whosoever believes.' And there believed not with him except a few.}} | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|23|27}}|Then We said to him, 'Make thou the Ark under Our eyes and as We reveal, and then, when Our command comes and the Oven boils, insert in it two of every kind and thy, family -- except for him against whom the word already has been spoken; and address Me not concerning those who have done evil; they shall be drowned.}} | |||
Other evidence not mentioned by them includes the [[Dhul-Qarnayn and the Sun Setting in a Muddy Spring - Part One|warm muddy spring the sun sets in]] at night and possibly comes out of on the other side of the world. | |||
==== The Sky-ways (asbāb) of the Heavens ==== | ==== The Sky-ways (asbāb) of the Heavens ==== | ||
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https://www.jstor.org/stable/40379198</ref> This suggests that these cords (asbāb) also stretch across the sky. This interpretation is supported in some early Islamic scholars such as al-Ṭabarī (d. 923 AD) in his Qur'anic commentary, and Ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥakam (d. 871 AD) in his Kitāb Futuḥ Misr, who have Dhul-Qarnayn being brought up them (took him up 'araja bihi) by an angel.<ref>Ibid. pp. 227-228</ref> | https://www.jstor.org/stable/40379198</ref> This suggests that these cords (asbāb) also stretch across the sky. This interpretation is supported in some early Islamic scholars such as al-Ṭabarī (d. 923 AD) in his Qur'anic commentary, and Ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥakam (d. 871 AD) in his Kitāb Futuḥ Misr, who have Dhul-Qarnayn being brought up them (took him up 'araja bihi) by an angel.<ref>Ibid. pp. 227-228</ref> | ||
==== The places of ascent (al-maʿāriji) ==== | |||
Also mentioned are the (l-maʿāriji ٱلْمَعَارِجِ) meaning '''A ladder, or series of steps or stairs, a thing resembling a ladder or stairway, or places of ascent''<nowiki/>'<ref>Lane's Lexicon Root: [https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/data/18_E/062_Erj.html عرج] | |||
مِعْرَاجٌ l-maʿāriji - [https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/pdf/Page_1997.pdf Lane's Lexicon p1997] </ref> where angels can ascend, as taken by many traditional and modern commentators.<ref>See: e.g. [https://quranx.com/tafsirs/70.3 ''commentaries on verse 70:3''] | |||
</ref> | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|70|3}}|From Allah, Owner (of) the ways of ascent.}} | |||
Angelika Neuwirth notes on this cosmological function "''.. imposed by God, the “Lord of the ladders.” If one understands this predication, which occurs only once in the Qur’an, in agreement with the threatening context (verses 5–7), then one would have to think of maʿārij as the ladders knotted from fraying ropes in the Christian image tradition, across which those awakened from death go over the abyss into heaven, so that only the good are safe from falling into the abyss—a conception which is also reflected in the traditional Islamic ṣirāṭ image of a rope ladder stretched across an abyss, which occurs in later literature.''"<ref>Neuwirth, Angelika. ''The Qur'an and Late Antiquity: A Shared Heritage (Oxford Studies in Late Antiquity) (Kindle Edition: pp. 186).'' Oxford University Press.</ref> | |||
Sinai et al. (2024) note that the word ''maʿārij,'' which corresponds to Ethiopian ''maʿāreg'' (cf. Ethiopian ʿarga , yeʿrag , “to climb up”), which in the Ethiopian Bible translation refers to the ladder to heaven that Jacob sees in Genesis 28:10, is otherwise only used once elsewhere in {{Quran|43|33}} as a profane (non-religious/normal) staircase in a house, implying this is meant to be a tangible object.<ref>[https://corpuscoranicum.de/en Corpus Coranicum] | |||
[https://corpuscoranicum.de/en/verse-navigator/sura/70/verse/1/commentary ''Sura 70 — al-Maʿāriǧ — “The Ladder to Heaven”''] Translated and analyzed by Nicolai Sinai. | |||
Chronological-literary commentary on the Koran, edited by the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences by Nicolai Sinai with the collaboration of Nora K. Schmid, using preliminary work by Angelika Neuwirth. Beta version: as of October 17, 2024</ref> | |||
==== The seven paths/ways (ṭarāiqa) ==== | |||
We are told there are seven paths/ways/courses ṭarāiqa<ref>Lane's Lexicon root: [https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/data/16_T/034_Trq.html#TaraqN طرق] | |||
Lane's lexicon - ṭarāiqa [https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/pdf/Page_1848.pdf p 1848] & [https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/pdf/Page_1849.pdf p 1849] </ref> above (fawqa)<ref>Lanes Lexicon root: [https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/data/20_f/225_fwq.html فوق] | |||
Lanes Lexicon - fawqa [https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/pdf/Page_2460.pdf p 2460] </ref> us. | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|23|17}}|We have indeed fashioned above you seven paths (ṭarāiqa). Never were We unaware of the task of creation.}} | |||
Usually taken by exegetes to be a reference to the seven heavens, as they are paths for the angels, or the seven paths of the visible celestial objects moving that can be seen without a telescope known to the Arabs (the sun, moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn).<ref>E.g. Tafsir Al-Jalalayn on ''[https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Jalal/23.17 verse 23:17];'' ''And verily We created above you seven paths, that is, [seven] heavens (tarā’iq is the plural of tarīqa [so called] because they are the paths used by the angels) and of creation, that lies beneath these [paths], We are never unmindful, lest these should fall upon them and destroy them. Nay, but We hold them back, as [stated] in the verse: And He holds back the heaven lest it should fall upon the earth [Q. 22:65].'' | |||
& Tafsir Ibn Kathir on [https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Kathir/23.17 ''verse 23:17''] also notes this refers to the seven heavens | |||
& Tafsir Maududi on [https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Maududi/23.17 ''verse 23:17''] notes the seven visible moving 'planets' by the naked eye. </ref> Modern academics on the [https://corpuscoranicum.de/en Corpus Coranicum] project note it most likely means heavens, but may also be the [[Cosmology of the Quran#The Sky-ways (asbāb) of the Heavens|asbāb / sky-ways]], mentioning: ''Ṭarāʾiq etymologically evokes the idea of (walkable) paths and thus possible ways of accessing the divine presence''.<ref>Corpus Coranicum Commentary on ''[https://corpuscoranicum.de/en/verse-navigator/sura/23/verse/1/commentary#kommentar_vers_17 Surah 23 Verse 17]'' | |||
Chronological-literary commentary on the Koran, Part 2: the Late Middle Meccan Surahs, edited by the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences by Dirk Hartwig and Angelika Neuwirth. Beta version: as of November 5, 2024</ref> | |||
===The stars, the sun, and the moon=== | ===The stars, the sun, and the moon=== | ||
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===The throne (''<nowiki/>'arsh'') of Allāh=== | ===The throne (''<nowiki/>'arsh'') of Allāh=== | ||
Tabataba'i and Mirsadri note that Allāh seems to reside in the Qur'anic heaven, while his footstool (kursi) extends over the heavens and earth and his throne (arshi) is carried by angels ({{Quran|39|75}} and {{Quran|40|7}}). This is very much similar to the Judeo-Christian view.<ref>Mohammad Ali Tabatabaʾi and Saida Mirsadri, ''The Qurʾānic Cosmology, as an Identity in Itself'' pp. 208-210</ref> | Tabataba'i and Mirsadri note that Allāh seems to reside in the Qur'anic heaven/sky, while his footstool (kursi) extends over the heavens and earth and his throne (arshi) is carried by angels ({{Quran|39|75}} and {{Quran|40|7}}). This is very much similar to the Judeo-Christian view.<ref>Mohammad Ali Tabatabaʾi and Saida Mirsadri, ''The Qurʾānic Cosmology, as an Identity in Itself'' pp. 208-210</ref> | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran-range|67|16 | {{Quote|{{Quran-range|67|16-17}}|Have ye taken security from <b>Him Who is in the heaven (al-samā)</b> that He will not cause the earth to swallow you when lo! it is convulsed? Or have ye taken security from Him Who is in the heaven that He will not let loose on you a hurricane? But ye shall know the manner of My warning.}} | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|2|255}}|[...] His Throne doth extend over the heavens and the earth [...]}} | {{Quote|{{Quran|2|255}}|[...] His Throne doth extend over the heavens and the earth [...]}} | ||
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{{Quote|{{Quran|40|7}}|Those who bear the Throne, and all who are round about it, hymn the praises of their Lord [...]}} | {{Quote|{{Quran|40|7}}|Those who bear the Throne, and all who are round about it, hymn the praises of their Lord [...]}} | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran-range|69|15|17}}|Then on that Day, the Resurrection will occur, And the heaven will split [open], for that Day it is infirm. And the angels are at its edges. And there will bear the Throne of your Lord above them, that Day, eight [of them].}} | {{Quote|{{Quran-range|69|15|17}}|Then on that Day, the Resurrection will occur, And the heaven will split [open], for that Day it is infirm. And the angels are at its edges. And there will bear the Throne of your Lord above them, that Day, eight [of them].}}As mentioned this throne sits on the cosmic waters in {{Quran|11|7}}, as similarly described in an apocryphal and pseudo epigraphical work known as <nowiki>'the Cave of treasures''</nowiki>,<ref>''..of all the kings of the children of Israel. And at length he forgot that he was a man, and he blasphemed and said, " '''I am God, and I sit upon the throne of God in the middle of the sea'''.' And Nebuchadnezzar the king killed him...''[https://ia802705.us.archive.org/34/items/budge-1927-cave-of-treasures/Budge_1927_Cave_of_Treasures.pdf#page=207 ''THE BOOK OF THE CAVE OF TREASURES pp.127''] | ||
TRANSLATED FROM THE SYRIAC TEXT OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM MS. ADD. 25875 BY SIR E. A. WALLIS BUDGE, KT. LONDON | |||
THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY. 1927.</ref> believed by many scholars to date to the early 7th century by a West-Syrian writer, who lived in the Sasanian-controlled part of Northern Mesopotamia hundreds of miles north of the Hijaz, who took many ideas from earlier Judeo-Christian works.<ref>Minov, Sergey (2017). "[https://www.academia.edu/31601350 ''Date and Provenance of the Syriac Cave of Treasures: A Reappraisal'']". Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies. 20 (1): 129–229. [https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.31826/hug-2018-200105/html doi:10.31826/hug-2018-200105.]</ref> | |||
==== Seats for the exhalated assembly ==== | |||
The Qur'an mentions sitting positions (maqāʿida)<ref>''Patricia Crone pp. 309.'' Azaiez, Mehdi, Reynolds, Gabriel Said, Tesei, Tommaso and Zafer, Hamza M. et al. ''[https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110445909/html The Qur'an Seminar Commentary / Le Qur'an Seminar: A Collaborative Study of 50 Qur'anic Passages] / Commentaire collaboratif de 50 passages coraniques'', Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 2017. <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110445909</nowiki> | |||
(A [https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110445909/pdf?licenseType=open-access free PDF download] can be found on the page)</ref>the jinn used to sit in before being struck by stars/meteors. Crone (2017) notes, this is based off many previous religious traditions, including Judeo-Christian literature, where a divine council (called the 'exhalated assembly' in {{Quran|37|8}}) would gather around God's throne ('arsh) for special meetings, an idea itself based off earlier Earthly monarchies where kings would hold councils of their special advisors.<ref>Ibid. pp.306 & pp.314</ref>{{Quote|{{Quran|72|9}}|We would sit (naqʿudu) there on seats (maqāʿida) to hear; but any listening (lilssamʿi) now finds a meteor in wait for him.}}Note in most translations ''maqāʿida'' is translated simply as 'positions'; however it refers to ''sitting places'' specifically,<ref>[1] مَقْعَدٌ / maqāʿida - Lane's Lexicon Classical Arabic [https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/pdf/Page_2547.pdf Dictionary Book 1 p. 2547]</ref> (can be translated as seats such as by Arberry above) as one can see viewing how else the [https://corpus.quran.com/qurandictionary.jsp?q=qEd#(72:9:5) root is used in the Qur'an] and classical Arabic dictionaries<ref>[https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/data/21_q/136_qEd.html qāf ʿayn dāl (ق ع د)] - Quranic Research Lane's Lexicon</ref> rather than generic positions they happen to sit in, and the neutral term for hearing (lilssamʿi) is usually turned to the word 'eavesdropping'. Penchansky (2021)<ref>Penchansky, David. Solomon and the Ant: ''The Qur’an in Conversation with the Bible. Chapter 3 Surat-al-Jinn (The Jinn Sura) Q 72:1–19—War in Heaven (pp. 69-71).'' Cascade Books. Kindle Edition.</ref> notes the translators impose these meanings on the text due to later Islamic exegetes not being comfortable with the jinn accessing the divine presence, reflected in later tafsirs, so the idea that there were specific designated places made for the jinn became taboo, and the neutral term for listening/hearing (lilssamʿi) becomes translated as the negatively charged term 'eavesdropping'.<ref>Penchansky discusses this topic on the academic "The Qur'an and the Bible" history YouTube channel with Professor Gabriel Said Reynolds: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7ZlLC9CGjI Origins of the Jinn in the Qur'an W/ Dr. David Penchansky]</ref> | |||
===The locations of Heaven and Hell=== | ===The locations of Heaven (jannah) and Hell (jahannam)=== | ||
Tabataba'i and Mirsadri observe that for the Qur'an, there is almost no reference to what is beneath the earth, except as no more than a geographic location. There is no concept of an underworld, unlike Mesopotamian mythologies, as well as those of Egypt and Greece.<ref>Mohammad Ali Tabatabaʾi and Saida Mirsadri, ''The Qurʾānic Cosmology, as an Identity in Itself'' p. 212</ref> | Tabataba'i and Mirsadri observe that for the Qur'an, there is almost no reference to what is beneath the earth, except as no more than a geographic location. There is no explicit concept of an underworld, unlike Mesopotamian mythologies, as well as those of Egypt and Greece.<ref>Mohammad Ali Tabatabaʾi and Saida Mirsadri, ''The Qurʾānic Cosmology, as an Identity in Itself'' p. 212</ref> Tabataba'i and Mirsadri (2016) also note that while there is no explicit mention of an underworld, there is one mention to 'underneath the soil/ground, which "''the waters stored there are to supply the wells and fountains and the water needed for the vegetation (Kor 39,21)''," and note that other qur'anic references imply or state this is where the waters of the rain are stored ({{Quran|23|18}} {{Quran|13|17}} {{Quran|39|21}}).<ref>Ibid. pp. 212</ref> | ||
The Qur'an repeatedly described [[Jannah (Paradise)]] as comprising "Gardens from beneath which the rivers flow". Though not reflected in English translations, in every instance the definite article 'al' is used i.e. "the rivers". This is also noted by Tommaso Tesei, who has detailed how "sources confirm that during late antiquity it was widely held that paradise was a physical place situated on the other side of the ocean encircling the Earth. In accordance with this concept, it was generally assumed that the rivers flowing from paradise passed under this ocean to reach the inhabited part of the world." A notion of four rivers following a subterranean course from paradise into the inhabited world also occurs in contemporary near eastern and Syriac sources.<ref>Tesei, Tommaso. [https://www.academia.edu/12761000/_Some_Cosmological_Notions_from_Late_Antiquity_in_Q_18_60_65_The_Quran_in_Light_of_Its_Cultural_Context_._Journal_of_the_American_Oriental_Society_135.1_2015_19-32 ''Some Cosmological Notions from Late Antiquity in Q 18:60–65: The Quran in Light of Its Cultural Context.''] Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 135, no. 1, American Oriental Society, 2015, pp. 19–32, https://doi.org/10.7817/jameroriesoci.135.1.19.</ref> | The Qur'an repeatedly described [[Jannah (Paradise)]] as comprising "Gardens from beneath which the rivers flow". Though not reflected in English translations, in every instance the definite article 'al' is used i.e. "the rivers". This is also noted by Tommaso Tesei, who has detailed how "sources confirm that during late antiquity it was widely held that paradise was a physical place situated on the other side of the ocean encircling the Earth. In accordance with this concept, it was generally assumed that the rivers flowing from paradise passed under this ocean to reach the inhabited part of the world." A notion of four rivers following a subterranean course from paradise into the inhabited world also occurs in contemporary near eastern and Syriac sources.<ref>Tesei, Tommaso. [https://www.academia.edu/12761000/_Some_Cosmological_Notions_from_Late_Antiquity_in_Q_18_60_65_The_Quran_in_Light_of_Its_Cultural_Context_._Journal_of_the_American_Oriental_Society_135.1_2015_19-32 ''Some Cosmological Notions from Late Antiquity in Q 18:60–65: The Quran in Light of Its Cultural Context.''] Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 135, no. 1, American Oriental Society, 2015, pp. 19–32, https://doi.org/10.7817/jameroriesoci.135.1.19.</ref> | ||