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The Quran and Mountains: Difference between revisions
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→Preventing/lest (أَن) verses 'reducing'
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(→Mountains and stabilization of the Earth about its axis: Have added a section on the language in the Qur'an used for 'lest' implying the Earth would not shake at all, rather than 'reducing' it apologists interperate it as - which I think is an original point.) |
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No-one would ever claim mountains actually prevent earthquakes altogether, considering they do not and in fact given the correlation between them and mountain ranges ([[The Quran and Mountains#Mountains prevent the Earth from moving / convulsing / inclining|see above]]), nor any of the nice alternative processes are described as being stopped altogether. The apologists have essentially used a subtle substitution of 'lest' meaning to ''prevent or stop'', to ''lower/reduce'', yet the Qur'an does not say 'reduce/lower shaking' etc.,<ref>E.g. see alternative Arabic words for reducing that could have been used if that is what it meant here: [https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english-arabic/reduce Cambridge English to Arabic dictionary] and here: [https://www.arabicstudentsdictionary.com/word?word_id=b4b95ee3-4477-4df5-b43a-7dba8a4a5c7f&root_id=d734198e-e468-41a4-b6b7-3f7904ced653&action=wordLink Arabic Student's Dictionary]. This does not even include potential metaphors that could have been used to express lowering.</ref> nor does the Qur'an say mountains prevent the Earth shaking/swaying ''a lot'' - so we would expect to see no shaking/swaying from whichever alleged natural process this is referring to rather than simply a minor reduction - making the entire argument invalid. | No-one would ever claim mountains actually prevent earthquakes altogether, considering they do not and in fact given the correlation between them and mountain ranges ([[The Quran and Mountains#Mountains prevent the Earth from moving / convulsing / inclining|see above]]), nor any of the nice alternative processes are described as being stopped altogether. The apologists have essentially used a subtle substitution of 'lest' meaning to ''prevent or stop'', to ''lower/reduce'', yet the Qur'an does not say 'reduce/lower shaking' etc.,<ref>E.g. see alternative Arabic words for reducing that could have been used if that is what it meant here: [https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english-arabic/reduce Cambridge English to Arabic dictionary] and here: [https://www.arabicstudentsdictionary.com/word?word_id=b4b95ee3-4477-4df5-b43a-7dba8a4a5c7f&root_id=d734198e-e468-41a4-b6b7-3f7904ced653&action=wordLink Arabic Student's Dictionary]. This does not even include potential metaphors that could have been used to express lowering.</ref> nor does the Qur'an say mountains prevent the Earth shaking/swaying ''a lot'' - so we would expect to see no shaking/swaying from whichever alleged natural process this is referring to rather than simply a minor reduction - making the entire argument invalid. | ||
And once again, critics note that the language used perfectly matches a pre-modern worldview of mountains being tent pegs holding down a flat Earth that stops it from swaying, either in space or the cosmic ocean. | And once again, critics note that the language used here perfectly matches a pre-modern worldview of mountains being tent pegs holding down a flat Earth that outright stops it from swaying (given the lack of understanding of physics at the time of revelation), either in space or the cosmic ocean. | ||
==See Also== | ==See Also== | ||