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Cosmology of the Quran: Difference between revisions
→The locations of Heaven and Hell: Added a small point how the rivers of paradise are always described as running 'below/underneath' the gardens, which links in with antiquity imagery of paradise being connected to Earth via rivers as discussed in the paragraph.
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(→The locations of Heaven and Hell: Added a small point how the rivers of paradise are always described as running 'below/underneath' the gardens, which links in with antiquity imagery of paradise being connected to Earth via rivers as discussed in the paragraph.) |
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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 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> | ||
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 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> | ||
Though again not reflected in many English translations, the rivers are also always described as running below/underneath (taḥt / تحت) paradise and the people in paradise (e.g. Quran verses 3:15, 3:136, 3:195, 3:198, 4:13, 4:57, 4:112, 5:12, 5:18, 7:43, 25:10, 47:12, 98:8) rather than simply 'in' (fee /في) paradise, giving weight to this interpretation. | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|5|85}}|So Allah rewarded them for what they said with gardens [in Paradise] beneath which rivers flow, wherein they abide eternally. And that is the reward of doers of good.}} | {{Quote|{{Quran|5|85}}|So Allah rewarded them for what they said with gardens [in Paradise] beneath which rivers flow, wherein they abide eternally. And that is the reward of doers of good.}} | ||