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The Quran and Mountains: Difference between revisions
→Casting mountains into the earth: Added Tabatai & Mirsadri (2016) academic reference on mountains, further explaining their purpose and l-rawāsiya meaning
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(→Earth anchored by mountains in early or pre-Islamic poetry: Have added another pre-Islamic parallel showing that mountains stopping the Earth from shaking is common folklore.) |
(→Casting mountains into the earth: Added Tabatai & Mirsadri (2016) academic reference on mountains, further explaining their purpose and l-rawāsiya meaning) |
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[[File:Tibetan-plateau.jpeg|alt=|thumb|425x425px|center|Delamination underneath part of the Tibetan Plateau. Notice also the wedge-shaped and not at all peg-like crust in the northward cross-section of the plateau.<ref>Fig. 5 in Jikun Feng, Huajian Yao, Ling Chen, Weitao Wang, [https://academic.oup.com/nsr/article/9/4/nwab174/6369358 Massive lithospheric delamination in southeastern Tibet facilitating continental extrusion], National Science Review, Volume 9, Issue 4, April 2022, nwab174, https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwab174</ref>]]. | [[File:Tibetan-plateau.jpeg|alt=|thumb|425x425px|center|Delamination underneath part of the Tibetan Plateau. Notice also the wedge-shaped and not at all peg-like crust in the northward cross-section of the plateau.<ref>Fig. 5 in Jikun Feng, Huajian Yao, Ling Chen, Weitao Wang, [https://academic.oup.com/nsr/article/9/4/nwab174/6369358 Massive lithospheric delamination in southeastern Tibet facilitating continental extrusion], National Science Review, Volume 9, Issue 4, April 2022, nwab174, https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwab174</ref>]]. | ||
It could be added that far more significant downwards protrusions into the molten | It could be added that far more significant downwards protrusions into the molten asthenosphere are the subducted slabs of lithosphere which descend into the molten mantle at plate boundaries, and are sometimes in a state of partial detachment. Another example of downward protruding material which is far more substantial than crustal roots are craton keels. [[w:Craton|Cratons]] are stable regions of the earth's crust that are no longer subject to mountain building processes. Craton keels are deep extensions of cratons into the mantle which extend any where from 60-300km below the surface. These keels extend far deeper than crustal (mountain) roots. The formation of these craton roots, or keels, is, however, unrelated to mountains or their formation.<ref name="Perchuk2021">Perchuk, A.L., Gerya, T.V., Zakharov, V.S. et al. [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2806-7 Building cratonic keels in Precambrian plate tectonics] Nature 586, 395–401 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2806-7</ref> | ||
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[[File:TectonicSlabs.png|alt=|thumb|425x425px|center|Three-dimensional cross section beneath the European Alps showing attached and detached parts of a lithosphere slab based on tomographic profiles by M. R. Handy et. al. (2021)<ref>Fig. 11 in Handy, M. R., Schmid, S. M., Paffrath, M., Friederich, W., and the AlpArray Working Group: [https://se.copernicus.org/articles/12/2633/2021/ Orogenic lithosphere and slabs in the greater Alpine area – interpretations based on teleseismic P-wave tomography], Solid Earth, 12, 2633–2669, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2633-2021, 2021</ref><BR />Subducted slabs are far more significant downward protrusions than the crustal thickening which occurs beneath some mountain ranges.]] | [[File:TectonicSlabs.png|alt=|thumb|425x425px|center|Three-dimensional cross section beneath the European Alps showing attached and detached parts of a lithosphere slab based on tomographic profiles by M. R. Handy et. al. (2021)<ref>Fig. 11 in Handy, M. R., Schmid, S. M., Paffrath, M., Friederich, W., and the AlpArray Working Group: [https://se.copernicus.org/articles/12/2633/2021/ Orogenic lithosphere and slabs in the greater Alpine area – interpretations based on teleseismic P-wave tomography], Solid Earth, 12, 2633–2669, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2633-2021, 2021</ref><BR />Subducted slabs are far more significant downward protrusions than the crustal thickening which occurs beneath some mountain ranges.]] | ||
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{{Quote|{{Quran|31|10}}|He created the heavens without pillars that you see and has cast into the earth firmly set mountains, lest it should shift with you, and dispersed therein from every creature. And We sent down rain from the sky and made grow therein [plants] of every noble kind}} | {{Quote|{{Quran|31|10}}|He created the heavens without pillars that you see and has cast into the earth firmly set mountains, lest it should shift with you, and dispersed therein from every creature. And We sent down rain from the sky and made grow therein [plants] of every noble kind}} | ||
As mentioned above, the word describing the mountains in these verses is l-rawāsiya (the steadfast, anchored, anchors, used to mean mountains).<ref name="LexiconRawaasiya" /> Incidentally, the first two verses state that Allah created mountain passes for the benefit of humans. Critics would observe here that many mountain ranges are inconvenient for humans to traverse, with large detours necessary, and show no sign that they were designed with passes perfectly suited to human needs. | As mentioned above, the word describing the mountains in these verses is l-rawāsiya (the steadfast, anchored, anchors, used to mean mountains).<ref name="LexiconRawaasiya" /> As Tabatai & Mirsadri (2016) note: | ||
{{Quote|Tabatabaʾi, Mohammad A.; Mirsadri, Saida, [https://www.jstor.org/stable/24811784 "The Qurʾānic Cosmology, as an Identity in Itself"], Arabica 63 (3/4): 201-234, 2016|One important feature of the earth, in the eyes of the Qur'ân, is its tranquility against sudden motions, for God has put it stable (Kor 27, 61; 35, 41). This stability is due to the massive corpuses, namely mountains, which are put upon the earth (Kor 41,10; 88,19), like pegs (Kor 78,7), in order to fix the earth into its place. It is why the Qur'ân in ten places (Kor 13,3; 15,19; 16,15; 21,31; 27,61; 31,10; 41,10; 50, 7; 77, 27; 79, 32) describes them as rawäsi or räsiyät, both plural forms for râsiya, which stands for something which is fastened to the earth due to its heaviness. So, according to the Qur'än, mountains are the heavy masses upon the earth which like pegs are hammered to it, lest it would shake.}} | |||
Incidentally, the first two verses state that Allah created mountain passes for the benefit of humans. Critics would observe here that many mountain ranges are inconvenient for humans to traverse, with large detours necessary, and show no sign that they were designed with passes perfectly suited to human needs. | |||
===Refers to the earth as a whole=== | ===Refers to the earth as a whole=== | ||
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{{Quote|{{Al Tirmidhi||5|44|3369}}|Anas bin Malik narrated that: | {{Quote|{{Al Tirmidhi||5|44|3369}}|Anas bin Malik narrated that: | ||
The Prophet said: “When Allah created the earth, it started shaking [tamīdu]. So He created the mountains, and said to them: ‘Upon it’ so it began to settle. [...]}}Prominent Qur'anic commentator [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_Kathir Ibn Kathir] also says in his tafsir: | The Prophet said: “When Allah created the earth, it started shaking [tamīdu]. So He created the mountains, and said to them: ‘Upon it’ so it began to settle. [...]}}Prominent Qur'anic commentator [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_Kathir Ibn Kathir] also says in his tafsir: | ||
{{Quote| | {{Quote|[https://quranx.com/tafsirs/16.15 Tafsir Ibn Kathir 16:15]|...then Allah mentions the earth and how He placed in it mountains standing firm, which make it stable and keep it from shaking in such a manner that the creatures dwelling on it would not be able to live. Hence Allah says, (And the mountains He has fixed firmly.) (79: 32)...}} | ||
Similarly, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tafsir_al-Jalalayn Tafsir Al-Jalalayn,]another prominent Sunni commentary says: | Similarly, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tafsir_al-Jalalayn Tafsir Al-Jalalayn,]another prominent Sunni commentary says: | ||
{{Quote| | {{Quote|[https://quranx.com/tafsirs/15.19 Tafsir Al-Jalalayn 15:19]|And the earth We have stretched it out, spread it flat, and cast therein firm mountains, lest it should sway beneath its inhabitants, and caused to grow therein every kind of balanced thing, [every kind of thing] known and determined.}} | ||
====The meaning of tamīda (move, convulse, incline to one side)==== | ====The meaning of tamīda (move, convulse, incline to one side)==== | ||