Historical Errors in the Quran: Difference between revisions

{{Quote|{{Quran|41|13}}|If they turn away, say ‘I warn you of a thunderbolt like the thunderbolt of ʿĀd and Thamūd’}}{{Quote|{{Quran-range|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 (e.g. the people of A'ad, Thamud, Midian, Lut [[Lut|(Lot)]], and 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 Qur'an 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 ''al-Rass'' are mentioned in destroyed people's lists in {{Quran|25|38}} (also mentioning many unnamed people's in-between them) and {{Quran|50|12}}. In traditional Islamic scholarship this is usually taken to refer to a 'well' though its location is disputed, with some saying Ṣāliḥ (who went to Thamūd) being their warner, whilst others say it was Shuʿayb who went to Madyan, and others Hanzala b. Safwān who is not mentioned in the Qur'an.<ref>See commentaries on [https://quranx.com/Tafsirs/50.12 Q50:12] and [https://quranx.com/tafsirs/25.38 Q25:38]</ref> Modern academic scholarship has identified the ''aṣḥāb al-Rass'' with another potential group on the Arabian peninsular further down on the West Coast by the Red sea known as the Arsians.<ref>Neuwirth, Angelika. The Qur'an: Text and Commentary, Volume 2.1: Early Middle Meccan Suras: The New Elect (p. 164). Yale University Press. Kindle Edition. See more discussions on al-Rass also on Ibid. pp.145-146, pp.159 & pp.171.</ref>

* Similarly the people of Layka ({{Quran|26|176}}, {{Quran|15|78}}, {{Quran|38|13}}, {{Quran|50|14}}) are said to have been destroyed, which traditional Islamic exegesis on traditionally associated with the prophet Shu'yab and/or a separate Midianite group,<ref>E.g. see traditional Islamic commentaries on [https://quranx.com/Tafsirs/26.176 Q26:176] and [https://quranx.com/tafsirs/15.78 Q15:78]</ref> though modern academic research has suggested it was referring to the Arabian port town of 'Leuke Kome'.<ref>Neuwirth, Angelika. ''The Qur'an: Text and Commentary, Volume 2.1: Early Middle Meccan Suras: The New Elect (p. 131).'' Yale University Press. Kindle Edition. See also Ibid. pp.145-146, 149, 152, 159, 164, 261, 335</ref>

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.