3,454
edits
Prophecies in the Quran: Difference between revisions
no edit summary
| [checked revision] | [checked revision] |
Lightyears (talk | contribs) (Updated due to academic criticisms of Tesei's paper and that section of the page) |
Lightyears (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
||
| Line 14: | Line 14: | ||
This famous Quranic passage does not mention the Persians (Sasanids), though it was understood in tafsir (commentary) tradition to be a reference to the long-running war between the Byzantines (Romans) and their Sasanian (Persian) imperial rivals. In 614 CE, the Sasanids captured Jerusalem from the Byzantine empire, a moment of great dispair for the Christian world and seems to be the defeat mentioned in Q. 30:2. In 622 CE the Byzantines had a significant victory over the Sasanids in Anatolia, modern Turkey. This marked the end of the first stage of the war and is commonly claimed to be the fulfilment of the prophecy. Fighting continued, with the Romans increasingly successful. The end of the war came in 628 CE when the Byzantine emperor Heraclius accepted the surrender of the Sasanids, regained Jerusalem and returned to that holy city the relic of the "true cross" which the Sasanids had taken as spoils of war during their conquest of Jerusalem 14 years earlier (see [[w:Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628|Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628]]). | This famous Quranic passage does not mention the Persians (Sasanids), though it was understood in tafsir (commentary) tradition to be a reference to the long-running war between the Byzantines (Romans) and their Sasanian (Persian) imperial rivals. In 614 CE, the Sasanids captured Jerusalem from the Byzantine empire, a moment of great dispair for the Christian world and seems to be the defeat mentioned in Q. 30:2. In 622 CE the Byzantines had a significant victory over the Sasanids in Anatolia, modern Turkey. This marked the end of the first stage of the war and is commonly claimed to be the fulfilment of the prophecy. Fighting continued, with the Romans increasingly successful. The end of the war came in 628 CE when the Byzantine emperor Heraclius accepted the surrender of the Sasanids, regained Jerusalem and returned to that holy city the relic of the "true cross" which the Sasanids had taken as spoils of war during their conquest of Jerusalem 14 years earlier (see [[w:Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628|Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628]]). | ||
The Arabic word translated "a few" years in verse 4 is ''biḍ'ʿi'', which traditionally and in Arabic dictionaries indicates a range of three to nine (though there is some doubt about this definition, discussed below). Three to nine years would fit the eight year gap between the capture of Jerusalem and the Byzantine victory under Heraclius in Anatolia, though critics sometimes point out that this was by no means the end of the war, which did not come until some years later (628 CE, fourteen years after Jerusalem was captured in 614 CE). Rather, Anatolia marked what turned out to be a turning point in Byzantine fortunes. Indeed, the prophecy most likely is an attempt to predict | The Arabic word translated "a few" years in verse 4 is ''biḍ'ʿi'', which traditionally and in Arabic dictionaries indicates a range of three to nine (though there is some doubt about this definition, discussed below). Three to nine years would fit the eight year gap between the capture of Jerusalem and the Byzantine victory under Heraclius in Anatolia, though critics sometimes point out that this was by no means the end of the war, which did not come until some years later (628 CE, fourteen years after Jerusalem was captured in 614 CE). Rather, Anatolia marked what turned out to be a turning point in Byzantine fortunes. Indeed, the prophecy most likely is an attempt to predict a conclusive victory that ends the war rather than an intermediate battle. As set out below, wars between these two sides were often the topic of prophecies in late antique eschatalogical tradition, in which the final victory of the Romans (Byzantines) over the Persians was seen as an apocalyptic prelude to the end times. | ||
===Apocalyptic prophecies of a final Byzantine victory in late antiquity=== | ===Apocalyptic prophecies of a final Byzantine victory in late antiquity=== | ||
| Line 57: | Line 57: | ||
See also this [https://x.com/GhaffarZishan/status/1783828487767503291 X.com post] - Zishan Ghaffar 26 April 2024</ref> | See also this [https://x.com/GhaffarZishan/status/1783828487767503291 X.com post] - Zishan Ghaffar 26 April 2024</ref> | ||
Nevertheless, the passage read as a whole is generally understood to be intended as a prophecy. While a proposed eschatalogical aspect is contested by academic scholars, it is very likely that the passage is at least meant to prophecise | Nevertheless, the passage read as a whole is generally understood to be intended as a prophecy. While a proposed eschatalogical aspect is contested by academic scholars, it is very likely that the passage is at least meant to prophecise a conclusive victory in the Byzantine-Sasanid conflict (not merely a turning of the tide) and the timing thereof. The contemporary expectations and prophecies mentioned above were always about the conclusion of the war. | ||
===Three to nine years?=== | ===Three to nine years?=== | ||
| Line 66: | Line 66: | ||
===Claim that the Byzantine victory of 622 CE fulfilled the prophecy=== | ===Claim that the Byzantine victory of 622 CE fulfilled the prophecy=== | ||
Given the late antique context set out above, in which any prophecy about the Byzantine-Sasanid wars would be understood to refer to a final triumph of the Byzantines, as an important event in sacred history (perhaps with apocalyptic connotations), it is unlikely that the Quranic prophecy in verses 3-4 was intended as anything less than the ultimate triumph of the Byzantines over the Sasanids. Critics would point out that this would not in fact come until 14 years after the Byzantines lost Jerusalem to the Sasanids and not within the 3-9 years predicted in Surah al-Rum. | Given the late antique context set out above, in which any prophecy about the Byzantine-Sasanid wars would be understood to refer to a final triumph of the Byzantines, as an important event in sacred history (perhaps with apocalyptic connotations), it is unlikely that the Quranic prophecy in verses 3-4 was intended as anything less than the ultimate triumph of the Byzantines over the Sasanids. Critics would point out that this would not in fact come until 14 years after the Byzantines lost Jerusalem to the Sasanids and not within the 3-9 years predicted in Surah al-Rum. | ||
The Byzantine victory in Anatolia in 622 CE is often presented as the fulfillment of the Quranic prophecy within the required timeframe. However, that Roman victory marked the end of the first stage of the war, after which point the Byzantines became increasingly successful, culminating in the Sasanid capitulation to Heraclius which did not come until 628 CE. | The Byzantine victory in Anatolia in 622 CE is often presented as the fulfillment of the Quranic prophecy within the required timeframe. However, that first major Roman victory marked the end of the first stage of the war, after which point the Byzantines became increasingly successful, culminating in the Sasanid capitulation to Heraclius which did not come until 628 CE. | ||
The verb ghalaba which occurs repeatedly in Q. 30:2-3 means "to overcome", "conquer", "become superior"<ref>Ghalaba - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000063.pdf Lane's Lexicon] page 2279</ref> and the context of the verse suggests that it forsees a victory that ends the war. | |||
===Dating the prophecy=== | ===Dating the prophecy=== | ||