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Cosmology of the Quran: Difference between revisions
→The locations of Heaven and Hell: Added small commentary on heaven and hell linked by a wall and gate, and the contradiction between other images/descriptions of jannah in the Quran by Sinai.
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(→The gates of the heavens: Added a section on 'The Sky-ways (asbāb) of the Heavens', largely based off Kevin van Bladels 2007 paper, but also quotes some others scholars who support this interpretation. Also changed the Allah's to Allāh's.) |
(→The locations of Heaven and Hell: Added small commentary on heaven and hell linked by a wall and gate, and the contradiction between other images/descriptions of jannah in the Quran by Sinai.) |
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===== The gates of the heavens ===== | ===== The gates of the heavens ===== | ||
As Nicolai Sinai notes,<ref>Samāʾ | heaven, sky | As Nicolai Sinai notes,<ref>''Samāʾ | heaven, sky'' 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 Allāh 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. | ''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 Allāh 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. | ||
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{{Quote|{{cite quran|37|54|end=55|style=ref}}|(A voice) said: "Would ye like to look down?" | {{Quote|{{cite quran|37|54|end=55|style=ref}}|(A voice) said: "Would ye like to look down?" | ||
He looked down and saw him in the midst of the Fire.}} | He looked down and saw him in the midst of the Fire.}} | ||
{{Quran|7|46}} mentions a partition (ḥijāb) separating paradise and hell, and {{Quran|57|13}} describes a "wall with a gate" that separates believers from hypocrites, implying that paradise is enclosed and sinners are kept outside. The heights of this partition are occupied by men, likely angelic guards, who also call out to both the residents of paradise and hell.<ref>''jannah | garden'' Sinai, Nicolai. Key Terms of the Qur'an: A Critical Dictionary (p. 195). Princeton University Press. Kindle Edition. </ref> Along with them calling out to each other {{Quran|7|44}} and {{Quran|7|50}}. | |||
As Sinai 2023 notes, reconciling this walled, guarded image of paradise with other passages that depict it as an elevated garden on a mountaintop is challenging, however, variations in the imagery of paradise are also present in other traditions, such as Syriac Christian literature.<ref>Ibid. pp 195-196.</ref> | |||
And so, we have the Islamic Universe in completion. | And so, we have the Islamic Universe in completion. | ||