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Cosmology of the Quran: Difference between revisions
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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 | '''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. Allah 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. The most comprehensive such survey 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 (asbab) 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>. | Relatively few modern academics have made dedicated attempts to piece together the cosmography of the Quran, in whole or in part. The most comprehensive such survey 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 (asbab) 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>. | ||
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{{Quote|{{Quran-range|71|15|16}}|See ye not how Allah has created the seven heavens one above another, And made the moon a light in their midst, and made the sun as a (Glorious) Lamp?}} | {{Quote|{{Quran-range|71|15|16}}|See ye not how Allah has created the seven heavens one above another, And made the moon a light in their midst, and made the sun as a (Glorious) Lamp?}} | ||
====Solid firmaments | ====Solid firmaments held without visible pillars==== | ||
Tabataba'i and Mirsadri notice that, as with other ancient cosmologies, the Qur'anic sky/heaven is a solid object.<ref>Ibid. p. 209</ref> Unlike with the heavenly pillars in the Bible, the Qur'anic heavens are raised | Tabataba'i and Mirsadri notice that, as with other ancient cosmologies, the Qur'anic sky/heaven is a solid object.<ref>Ibid. p. 209</ref> Unlike with the heavenly pillars in the Bible, the Qur'anic heavens are raised without visible pillars<ref>Ibid. pp. 216 and 220</ref> ({{Quran|13|2}} and {{Quran|31|10}}; Ibn Kathir in his tafsir notes two views on what is a somewhat ambiguous phrasing, as though the author was hedging his bets: "'there are pillars, but you cannot see them,' according to Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, Al-Hasan, Qatadah, and several other scholars. Iyas bin Mu`awiyah said, 'The heaven is like a dome over the earth, meaning, without pillars.'"<ref>[http://m.qtafsir.com/Surah-Ar-Rad/Clarifying-Allahs-Perfect-Abi--- (English) Tafsir of Ibn Kathir for verse 13:2]<BR>[https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=7&tSoraNo=13&tAyahNo=2&tDisplay=yes&Page=2&Size=1&LanguageId=1 (Arabic) Tafsir of Ibn Kathir for verse 13:2]</ref>). | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|13|2}}|It is Allah who erected the heavens without pillars that you [can] see; [...]}} | {{Quote|{{Quran|13|2}}|It is Allah who erected the heavens without pillars that you [can] see; [...]}} | ||
Julien Decharneux reads these verses as denying that any form of pillars hold up the firmament, noting that other verses refer to Allah holding the heavens ({{Quran|22|65}} and {{Quran|35|41}}). He obverves that this is in contrast to the Bibical view but in line with various Syriac Christian writings in the centuries leading up to Islam.<ref>Julien Decharneux (2023), ''Creation and Contemplation: The Cosmology of the Qur’ān and Its Late Antique Background'', Berlin: De Gruyter, pp. 144-148</ref> | |||
{{Quote|Aphrahat, ''Demonstrations 14:34'', quoted by Julien Decharneux<ref>Ibid. p. 146</ref>|Great are the works of God; deep and wondrous are his thoughts. He suspended the sky without pillars [d-lā ʿamūdē], and made firm the earth without supports.}} | |||
{{Quote|Jacob of Sarugh, ''Homilies 3:35'', quoted by Julien Decharneux<ref>Ibid. p. 146</ref>|[The firmament] became like an arch hanging and standing without foundation [d-lā šatīsē], borne not by columns [law ʿamūdē], but by the remzā.}} | |||
Tabataba'i and Mirsadri note that various verses describe the heavens as a structure or edifice with no fissures, though fragments of it may fall on the earth. | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|67|3}}|[And] who created seven heavens in layers. You do not see in the creation of the Most Merciful any inconsistency. So return [your] vision [to the sky]; do you see any breaks?}} | {{Quote|{{Quran|67|3}}|[And] who created seven heavens in layers. You do not see in the creation of the Most Merciful any inconsistency. So return [your] vision [to the sky]; do you see any breaks?}} | ||
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Each of the seven heavens is populated by multiple angels and a few other folks as well. These heavens are entered through doors in the solid domes, each with an angelic guard and each populated by a resident prophet. For example, immediately above the dome of the first heaven is where Muhammad met Adam, and discovered (in the absence of true geographic knowledge) the sources of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The second heaven is the home of the Prophet Idris. Aaron is in the fourth heaven, Abraham the sixth, and Moses the seventh. | Each of the seven heavens is populated by multiple angels and a few other folks as well. These heavens are entered through doors in the solid domes, each with an angelic guard and each populated by a resident prophet. For example, immediately above the dome of the first heaven is where Muhammad met Adam, and discovered (in the absence of true geographic knowledge) the sources of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The second heaven is the home of the Prophet Idris. Aaron is in the fourth heaven, Abraham the sixth, and Moses the seventh. | ||
===The scale (al-mīzān)=== | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|55|5}}|The sun and the moon [move] by precise calculation,<BR /> | |||
And the stars and trees prostrate.<BR /> | |||
And the heaven He raised and imposed the balance<BR /> | |||
That you not transgress within the balance.<BR /> | |||
And establish weight in justice and do not make deficient the balance.<BR /> | |||
And the earth He laid [out] for the creatures.}} | |||
A mysterious verse occurs in the 55th surah, al-Rahman. In an opening passage entirely about the signs to be seen in the creation of the heavens and earth, verse 7 says "And the heaven He raised and imposed the balance". The word translated "balance" in verse 7 is al-mīzān, used elsewhere to mean scales of justice. Academic scholars generally believe the next two verses digressing about justice in terms of literal scales were placed there by a confused editor when the Quran was compiled. As so often with 21st century academic scholarship of the Quran, the meaning has become clearer by comparing with contemporary Syriac literature. Julien Decharneux has identified a precedent in two 6th century CE writers, Narsai and Jacob of Sarugh, two of the [[Parallels Between the Qur'an and Late Antique Judeo-Christian Literature|Syriac Christian authors whose writings are often paralleled in the Quran]]: | |||
{{Quote|Narsai, ''Homilies on Creation 1:47–54'' translated by Julien Decharneux<ref>Julien Decharneux (2023), ''Creation and Contemplation: The Cosmology of the Qur’ān and Its Late Antique Background'', Berlin: De Gruyter, p. 208</ref>|On the second day, the command proceeds forth: “Let there be a firmament!” And it divided the waters, half for the height [i.e. the heavenly realm] and half for the earth. “Let the firmament become a solid instrument in the middle of waters. And let it support the waters above its surface lest it be burnt up.” O Command which stiffened the waters, watery substance, and made them a solid substance that it supports the waters. O Scale [matqālā] which divided the waters, the great cistern, and gathered them in two oceans for the heights and for the abysses.}} | |||
{{Quote|Jacob of Sarugh, ''Homilies 3:29'', quoted by Julien Decharneux<ref>Ibid. p. 209</ref>|He made the firmament, a dwelling-place, on Day Two. He commanded the wind which was hovering above the raging sea, and it stood between water and water to separate them. His command went into action and He separated them and weighed them [w-tqal ennūn], and set them in their places as He pleased.}} | |||
Thus it seems that here the Quran is referring to a firmament that fairly divided the waters above and below it. | |||
===The stars, the sun, and the moon=== | ===The stars, the sun, and the moon=== | ||