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Cosmology of the Quran: Difference between revisions
→The scale (al-mīzān): Added a section on the gates of heaven in Qu'ranic cosmology with some recent comments from Nicolai Sinai, Sean Anthony (and Tesei and Neuwirth) and it's links to the biblical celestial ocean separated by a firmament.
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(→The scale (al-mīzān): Added a section on the gates of heaven in Qu'ranic cosmology with some recent comments from Nicolai Sinai, Sean Anthony (and Tesei and Neuwirth) and it's links to the biblical celestial ocean separated by a firmament.) |
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Janos notes that Sumerian incantations dated to the 1st millenium BCE mention both the seven heavens and seven earths (citing Wayne Horowitz, who translated them as "the heavens are seven, the earths are seven").<ref>Janos, ''Qurʾānic cosmography in its historical perspective'' p. 221</ref> Tabataba'i and Mirsadri similarly note from Horowitz that this tradition was popular in the near east in first millennia BCE and CE, though also that only the seven heavens, but not seven earths found their way into the Hebrew literature.<ref>Tabataba'i and Mirsadri, ''The Qurʾānic Cosmology, as an Identity in Itself'' p. 209</ref> | Janos notes that Sumerian incantations dated to the 1st millenium BCE mention both the seven heavens and seven earths (citing Wayne Horowitz, who translated them as "the heavens are seven, the earths are seven").<ref>Janos, ''Qurʾānic cosmography in its historical perspective'' p. 221</ref> Tabataba'i and Mirsadri similarly note from Horowitz that this tradition was popular in the near east in first millennia BCE and CE, though also that only the seven heavens, but not seven earths found their way into the Hebrew literature.<ref>Tabataba'i and Mirsadri, ''The Qurʾānic Cosmology, as an Identity in Itself'' p. 209</ref> | ||
While contrasting the Biblical view of fresh and salty waters with the two seas of certain Qur'anic verses (fresh and salty - see for example {{Quran|25|53}} and the quest of Moses to find their junction in {{Quran|18|60}}), they note another difference to the Biblical and Mesopotamian cosmologies, which is that the Qur'an does not mention an ocean encircling the flat disk of the earth.<ref>Ibid. pp. 213-214</ref> | While contrasting the Biblical view of fresh and salty waters with the two seas of certain Qur'anic verses (fresh and salty - see for example {{Quran|25|53}} and the quest of Moses to find their junction in {{Quran|18|60}}), they note another difference to the Biblical and Mesopotamian cosmologies, which is that the Qur'an does not explicitly mention an ocean encircling the flat disk of the earth.<ref>Ibid. pp. 213-214</ref> | ||
The two seas are very much on the surface of the earth. | The two seas are very much on the surface of the earth. | ||
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{{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; [...]}} | ||
While Tabataba'i and Mirsadri take these to be invisible pillars, Julien Decharneux in his book on Quranic Cosmology 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 | While Tabataba'i and Mirsadri take these to be invisible pillars, Julien Decharneux in his book on Quranic Cosmology 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 observes that this is in contrast to the Biblical 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.}}Remzā (mentioned below) commonly refers to a 'sign, gesture or symbol' in Syriac, associated with divine powers.<ref>Ibid. pp 210-211</ref>{{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.}} | {{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.}}Remzā (mentioned below) commonly refers to a 'sign, gesture or symbol' in Syriac, associated with divine powers.<ref>Ibid. pp 210-211</ref>{{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.}} | ||
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Thus it seems that here the Quran is referring to a firmament that fairly divided the waters above and below it. | Thus it seems that here the Quran is referring to a firmament that fairly divided the waters above and below it. | ||
===== The gates of the heavens ===== | |||
As Nicolai Sinai notes,<ref>Samāʾ | heaven, sky entry. Sinai, Nicolai. ''Key Terms of the Qur'an: A Critical Dictionary'' (p. 412). Princeton University Press. </ref> this is further supported by the sky (al-samā) having gates, a common cosmological idea in antiquity<ref>Anthony, Sean W., Dr.. ''Muhammad and the Empires of Faith: The Making of the Prophet of Islam.'' University of California Press. Kindle Edition. Location 1134 - 1145. | |||
''The cosmological notion of humankind being blocked from accessing Paradise by gates and, thus, the existence of a heavenly gatekeeper is quite an ancient one and by no means exclusive to Jewish, Christian, or Muslim sacred cosmology. Indeed, where “the keys to heaven” as opposed to “the keys of Paradise” motif appears first in the Islamic tradition is in the Qurʾan itself.'' </ref> (see: Quran {{Quran|7|40}}, {{Quran|15|14}}, {{Quran|78|19}}, {{Quran|5|11}} of which Allah holds the keys {{Quran|42|12}}), of which the opening causes the water to fall and drown the people of Noah once he's safe in the boat ({{Quran|54|11-12}}; cf. Genesis 7:11 and 8:2<ref>[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%207%3A11-8%3A2&version=NABRE Genesis 7:11-8:2]. New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE). BibleGateway.com. </ref>), which would seem to presuppose the Biblical notion that the firmament separates the waters above. | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|54|11}}|Then We opened the gates of the sky with pouring waters}} | |||
The sky is also the source of vivifying precipitation<ref>Samāʾ | heaven, sky entry. Sinai, Nicolai. ''Key Terms of the Qur'an: A Critical Dictionary'' (p. 412). Princeton University Press. </ref> (e.g., {{Quran|2|22}}, {{Quran|30|24}}, {{Quran|43|11}}, {{Quran|45|5}}, {{Quran|50|9}}, {{Quran|71|11}} and {{Quran|41|39}}), with it's life giving qualities to 'dead' soil shown as proof of Gods ability to resurrect the dead (e.g. Q 43:11 '“''and Who sent down out of heaven water in measure; and We revived thereby a land that was dead; even so you shall be brought forth''”), in line with the contemporary view of the qualities of the celestial waters, that are consistent with the fish miraculously regaining life in Q 18:61 and 63, that meaningfully takes place where the heavenly ocean joins the lower part of the world,<ref>''Tesei, Tommaso. 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, ''(pp. 28-29)'' <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.7817/jameroriesoci.135.1.19</nowiki>. <nowiki>https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7817/jameroriesoci.135.1.19</nowiki></ref> which Angelika Neuwirth notes is the exegetical view most in line with the Qur'anic evidence.<ref>Cosmology Entry. Space in cosmological context. Encyclopaedia Of The Qur’an. pp. 445-446. Angelika Neuwirth. 2001. | |||
Read online for free here: ''[https://archive.org/details/encyclopaedia-of-the-quran-6-volumes-jane-dammen-mc-auliffe/page/n481/mode/2up?q=Cosmology Encyclopaedia Of The Qur’an ( 6 Volumes). Page 15/325 / 482 of 3956 of PDF]''</ref> | |||
===The stars, the sun, and the moon=== | ===The stars, the sun, and the moon=== | ||