Prophecies in the Quran: Difference between revisions

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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 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, however, 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 "three to nine" is ''biḍ'ʿi'', which traditionally and in Arabic dictionaries indicates that specific number range (though there may be some doubt about this definition, discussed below). However, critics often point out that while the prophecy correctly predicts an eventual victory for the Romans, it does not fit the established chronology of the two most important events of the war, which were separated by 14 years (614 CE and 628 CE). As set out below, there is also reason to interpret this prophecy as part of a late antique escatalogical prophetic tradition, in which the final victory of the Romans (Byzantines) over the Persians was seen as an apocalyptic prelude to the end times.

In his article, '' 'The Romans Will Win!' Q 30:2‒7 in Light of 7th c. Political Eschatology'', academic scholar Tommaso Tesei has demonstrated that there were a number of similar contemporary Judeo-Christian prophecies about the Byzantine-Sasanid war with an ultimate victory for the Romans.<ref name="Tesei2018">Tommaso Tesei (2018) [https://www.academia.edu/36263369 'The Romans Will Win!' Q 30:2‒7 in Light of 7th c. Political Eschatology.], Der Islam 2018; 95 (1): 1–29</ref> These are framed in an escatological context, with the final victory commencing a prelude to the apocalypse. He writes, "the opening verses of sūrat al-Rūm bear a striking resemblance to prophecies circulating in the Middle East at the time when the Qurʾānic passage purportedly was formulated."

{{Quote|Pseudo-Ephreme quoted by Tommaso Tesei<ref name="Tesei2018" />|And the Assyrians will gain authority over the region of the Romans […] But just as the Nile, the river of Egypt recedes again from what it flooded; So too will Assyria recede back to their own country. For the Romans once again will be found in their ancestral land. Then evil will increase on the earth}}

Similar prophecies occur in several 7th century Jewish works, including ''Sefer Elijah'', which links it to a prophecy in the Biblical Book of Daniel. According to common Rabbinical interpretation, the fourth and last great imperial power in that Biblical prophecy was the Byzantine empire, destined to collapse and be followed by the coming of the messiah. For Christians, a more positive interpretation had the Roman empire as that fourth power, with the Byzantines being a Christian continuation thereof as the final world power to prepare for the coming kingdom of heaven. Imperial campaigns were cast in this context as eschatalogical events of cosmic grandeur. A famous example of such propaganda is the ''Syriac Alexander Legend'', which alludes to Heraclius' 628 CE reconquest of Jerusalem as an ex eventu prophecy, and then wrongly predicts that its reign will last til the end of time.<ref name="Tesei2018" /> Thus, Jewish escatalogical prophecies were of a Byzantine defeat, whereas Christian versions end with their victory.

Adam Silverstein concurs with Tesei's assessment that the Quranic passage should be viewed in a wider, eschatalogical prophetic context, though draws on and emphasises more strongly the Jewish sources which may support an alternative reading of the Quranic passage in which the Romans are prophecised to be finally defeated (see the section on variant readings below; Silvestein himself argues we must remain agnostic as to which reading is correct. In this alternative reading, the rejoicing of the believers in verse 4 would be due to the downfall of the Romans rather than their victory.<ref>Adam Silverstein (2020) [https://www.academia.edu/42956572 Q 30: 2-5 in Near Eastern Context], Der Islam 97</ref>

Silverstein further notes that the phrase biḍ'ʿi sinīn (three to nine years) in Q. 30:4 also occurs in {{Quran|12|42}}, where it refers to the imprisonment of Joseph, which in Genesis 4:1 lasted two years. Early Muslim exegetes, however, interpret the phrase in the Surah al-Rum prophecy to mean either three to five years or three to nine years. Critics would probably question whether the definition was changed over time to accomodate events in the Byzantine-Sasanian war, or even whether the verse could have changed through [[Naskh (Abrogation)|abrogation]] as events unfolded during Muhammad's lifetime. It is also commonly noted that, whatever the definition of biḍ'ʿi sinīn, it is somewhat vague, as though the author was unwilling to commit to a more specific predicted duration.

===The Byzantine victory of 622 CE in Anatolia does not fit this context===

Given this late antique context, in which any prophecy of this nature (assuming the standard reading is correct) would be understood to refer to some final triumph of the Byzantines as an important event in sacred history (and probably with apocalyptic connotations), it is unlikely that the Quranic prophecy in verses 3-4 was intended as anything less than the ultimate victory of the Byzantines over the Sasanids, which would in fact come 14 years after the Byzantines lost Jerusalem to them and not within the 3-9 years predicted in Surah al-Rum. Tesei explains that Q. 30:4, which states that "And that day the believers will rejoice", should be interpreted in terms of escatalogical expectations that an ultimate Roman victory over the Sasanids would herald the unfolding of the final stage of sacred history, in line with the similar 7th century prophecies about the war. This is also supported by the fact that the phrase "on that day" has escatalogical connotations when it is used elsewhere in the Quran.

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.

Interestingly, a sahih hadith in Sunan al-Tirmidhi, one of the main six Sunni hadith collections, states that this passage was not in fact intended as a prophecy but was uttered after an unspecified Roman victory at the time of the battle of Badr. However, this does not seem a very convincing background story in light of the late antique context discussed above.

{{Quote|{{Quran|39|67}}|hey have not appraised Allah with true appraisal, while the earth entirely will be [within] His grip on the Day of Resurrection, and the heavens will be folded in His right hand. Exalted is He and high above what they associate with Him.}}