398
edits
Cosmology of the Quran: Difference between revisions
→The locations of Heaven and Hell
| [unchecked revision] | [checked revision] |
(→The stars, planets, and meteors: I have added a section on the interpretation of Q15:16 referring to towers, which may well have been part of traditional Islamic cosmology - and provided academic references.) |
|||
| (2 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown) | |||
| Line 244: | Line 244: | ||
==== Towers ==== | ==== Towers ==== | ||
The term used in 15:16 is burūjan, which is commonly translated, and has been understood by most to mean 'constellations/zodiac signs' or 'great stars'. However the word can also mean 'towers', and some classical commentators have suggested this meaning (along with mansions or castles),<ref>E.g. ''Tanwîr al-Miqbâs min Tafsîr Ibn ‘Abbâs on [https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Abbas/15.16 verse 15:16.]'' (Though the tafsir/commentary is attributed to Ibn Abbas, the prophets cousin, it is widely accepted to be at least largely a forgery - however it does give us an educated medieval Muslim's view on this verse).</ref> and some modern Muslim translators have used this interpretation.<ref>''[https://quranx.com/15.16 See Quranx on verse 15:16.]'' Ahmad Khan has used 'towers' and Marmaduke Pickthall uses 'mansions'. </ref> | The term used in 15:16 is burūjan, which is commonly translated, and has been understood by most to mean 'constellations/zodiac signs' or 'great stars'. However the word can also mean 'towers', and some classical commentators have suggested this meaning (along with mansions or castles),<ref>E.g. ''Tanwîr al-Miqbâs min Tafsîr Ibn ‘Abbâs on [https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Abbas/15.16 verse 15:16.]'' (Though the tafsir/commentary is attributed to Ibn Abbas, the prophets cousin, it is widely accepted to be at least largely a forgery - however it does give us an educated medieval Muslim's view on this verse).</ref> and some modern Muslim translators have used this interpretation.<ref>''[https://quranx.com/15.16 See Quranx on verse 15:16.]'' Ahmad Khan has used 'towers' and Marmaduke Pickthall uses 'mansions'. </ref> | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|15|16-18}}|We have set in heaven constellations/great stars/towers | {{Quote|{{Quran|15|16-18}}|We have set in heaven <b>constellations/great stars/towers (burūjan),</b> and decked them out fair to the beholders, and We have guarded them from every outcast Satan, except someone who may eavesdrop, whereat there pursues him a manifest flame.}} | ||
Islamic scholars Gabriel Said Reynolds<ref>Gabriel Said Reynolds. 1st Edition. ''[https://www.routledge.com/The-Quran-and-its-Biblical-Subtext/Reynolds/p/book/9780415524247# The Qur'an and its Biblical Subtext.]'' Copyright 2010. Published March 1, 2012 by Routledge 2012. <nowiki>ISBN 9780415524247</nowiki>. Taylor and Francis Group. | Islamic scholars Gabriel Said Reynolds<ref>Gabriel Said Reynolds. 1st Edition. ''[https://www.routledge.com/The-Quran-and-its-Biblical-Subtext/Reynolds/p/book/9780415524247# The Qur'an and its Biblical Subtext.]'' Copyright 2010. Published March 1, 2012 by Routledge 2012. <nowiki>ISBN 9780415524247</nowiki>. Taylor and Francis Group. | ||
''A full in-depth analysis of the relevant verses and evidence stated for this meaning can be found on pp 114 - 131.''</ref> and Julien Decharneux<ref>''[https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110794083/html?lang=en Creation and Contemplation: The Cosmology of the Qur'ān and Its Late Antique Background (Studies in the History and Culture of the Middle East Book 47)]'' Decharneux, Julien. 2023. (p. 313). De Gruyter.</ref>support this interpretation of towers on the firmament, with the idea of the skies/heavens (samā) being a protected celestial fortress in both the Quran itself (e.g. {{Quran|41|12}}, {{Quran|21|32}}) and biblically related traditions. | ''A full in-depth analysis of the relevant verses and evidence stated for this meaning can be found on pp 114 - 131.''</ref> and Julien Decharneux<ref>''[https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110794083/html?lang=en Creation and Contemplation: The Cosmology of the Qur'ān and Its Late Antique Background (Studies in the History and Culture of the Middle East Book 47)]'' Decharneux, Julien. 2023. (p. 313). De Gruyter.</ref>support this interpretation of towers on the firmament, with the idea of the skies/heavens (samā) being a protected celestial fortress in both the Quran itself (e.g. {{Quran|41|12}}, {{Quran|21|32}}) and biblically related traditions. | ||
===The throne (''<nowiki/>'arsh'') of Allah=== | ===The throne (''<nowiki/>'arsh'') of Allah=== | ||
| Line 267: | Line 264: | ||
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.}} | ||
| Line 293: | Line 292: | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|9|49}}|Among them is (many) a man who says: "Grant me exemption and draw me not into trial." Have they not fallen into trial already? and indeed Hell surrounds the Unbelievers (on all sides).}} | {{Quote|{{Quran|9|49}}|Among them is (many) a man who says: "Grant me exemption and draw me not into trial." Have they not fallen into trial already? and indeed Hell surrounds the Unbelievers (on all sides).}} | ||
And that humans who do not believe or are not righteous are told they will be put in the 'lowest of low' (which many classical tafsirs have stated means hell,<ref>E.g. ''Tanwir al-Miqbas min Tafsir Ibn Abbas on'' [https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Abbas/95.5 ''verse 95:4-6'']. </ref> among other interpretations). | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|95|4-6}}|Indeed, We created humans in the best form. | |||
But We will reduce them to the lowest of the low, | |||
except those who believe and do good—they will have a never-ending reward.}} | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|41|29}}|And those who disbelieved will [then] say, "Our Lord, show us those who misled us of the jinn and men [so] we may put them under our feet that they will be among the lowest."}} | |||
The direction of hell on the day of judgement or from the perspective of those in paradise at least, when it is mentioned, is invariably “down.” | The direction of hell on the day of judgement or from the perspective of those in paradise at least, when it is mentioned, is invariably “down.” | ||