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Cosmology of the Quran: Difference between revisions
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→The heavens and the Earth: Added a few of the Arabic terms, mostly to clarify that paradise 'jannah' is different to the heavens as the skies 'samaa2' which is a mistake I see made often online. And added the direct reference to Corpus Coranicum site for the commentary on 23:17.
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(→The locations of Heaven and Hell: Added brief traditional and academic view of the seven paths (ṭarāiqa) in Q23:17 in Quranic/Islamic cosmology. As well as a brief reference from the Tabataba'i and Mirsadri (2016) paper on water being stored in the Earth below the ground.) |
m (→The heavens and the Earth: Added a few of the Arabic terms, mostly to clarify that paradise 'jannah' is different to the heavens as the skies 'samaa2' which is a mistake I see made often online. And added the direct reference to Corpus Coranicum site for the commentary on 23:17.) |
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==Cosmology of the Quran== | ==Cosmology of the Quran== | ||
===The | ===The Heavens (al-samāwāt) and the Earth (al-arḍ)=== | ||
Any accounting of the cosmology of the Qur'an must begin with the fact that the Islamic universe is extremely simple. It consists entirely of three components: "the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them" (see for example {{Quran|50|38}}), the latter of which contains such things as clouds ({{Quran|2|164}}) and birds ({{Quran|24|41}}). More often, just the heavens and earth are shorthand for the entirety of creation. | Any accounting of the cosmology of the Qur'an must begin with the fact that the Islamic universe is extremely simple. It consists entirely of three components: "the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them" (see for example {{Quran|50|38}}), the latter of which contains such things as clouds ({{Quran|2|164}}) and birds ({{Quran|24|41}}). More often, just the heavens and earth are shorthand for the entirety of creation. | ||
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{{Quote|{{Quran|18|60}}|And [mention] when Moses said to his servant, "I will not cease [traveling] until I reach the junction of the two seas or continue for a long period."}} | {{Quote|{{Quran|18|60}}|And [mention] when Moses said to his servant, "I will not cease [traveling] until I reach the junction of the two seas or continue for a long period."}} | ||
===The seven | ===The seven Heavens and their denizens=== | ||
====The shape of the heavens==== | ====The shape of the heavens==== | ||
[[File:QuranicCosmographyTabatabaiMirsadri.jpg|right|thumb|175px|Illustration of Qur'anic cosmography based on the analysis of Tabataba'i and Mirsadri. Their own copyrighted illustration is available in their paper<ref>Tabataba'i and Mirsadri, ''The Qurʾānic Cosmology, as an Identity in Itself'' pp. 217</ref> The shape of the heavens in the Qur'an is uncertain.]] | [[File:QuranicCosmographyTabatabaiMirsadri.jpg|right|thumb|175px|Illustration of Qur'anic cosmography based on the analysis of Tabataba'i and Mirsadri. Their own copyrighted illustration is available in their paper<ref>Tabataba'i and Mirsadri, ''The Qurʾānic Cosmology, as an Identity in Itself'' pp. 217</ref> The shape of the heavens in the Qur'an is uncertain.]] | ||
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https://www.jstor.org/stable/40379198</ref> This suggests that these cords (asbāb) also stretch across the sky. This interpretation is supported in some early Islamic scholars such as al-Ṭabarī (d. 923 AD) in his Qur'anic commentary, and Ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥakam (d. 871 AD) in his Kitāb Futuḥ Misr, who have Dhul-Qarnayn being brought up them (took him up 'araja bihi) by an angel.<ref>Ibid. pp. 227-228</ref> | https://www.jstor.org/stable/40379198</ref> This suggests that these cords (asbāb) also stretch across the sky. This interpretation is supported in some early Islamic scholars such as al-Ṭabarī (d. 923 AD) in his Qur'anic commentary, and Ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥakam (d. 871 AD) in his Kitāb Futuḥ Misr, who have Dhul-Qarnayn being brought up them (took him up 'araja bihi) by an angel.<ref>Ibid. pp. 227-228</ref> | ||
==== The places of ascent ( | ==== The places of ascent (al-maʿāriji) ==== | ||
Also mentioned are the (l-maʿāriji ٱلْمَعَارِجِ) meaning '''A ladder, or series of steps or stairs, a thing resembling a ladder or stairway, or places of ascent''<nowiki/>'<ref>Lane's Lexicon Root: [https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/data/18_E/062_Erj.html عرج] | Also mentioned are the (l-maʿāriji ٱلْمَعَارِجِ) meaning '''A ladder, or series of steps or stairs, a thing resembling a ladder or stairway, or places of ascent''<nowiki/>'<ref>Lane's Lexicon Root: [https://lexicon.quranic-research.net/data/18_E/062_Erj.html عرج] | ||
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& Tafsir Ibn Kathir on [https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Kathir/23.17 ''verse 23:17''] also notes this refers to the seven heavens | & Tafsir Ibn Kathir on [https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Kathir/23.17 ''verse 23:17''] also notes this refers to the seven heavens | ||
& Tafsir Maududi on [https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Maududi/23.17 ''verse 23:17''] notes the seven visible moving 'planets' by the naked eye. </ref> Modern academics on the [https://corpuscoranicum.de/en Corpus Coranicum] project note it most likely means heavens, but may also be the [[Cosmology of the Quran#The Sky-ways (asbāb) of the Heavens|asbāb / sky-ways]], mentioning: ''Ṭarāʾiq etymologically evokes the idea of (walkable) paths and thus possible ways of accessing the divine presence''. | & Tafsir Maududi on [https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Maududi/23.17 ''verse 23:17''] notes the seven visible moving 'planets' by the naked eye. </ref> Modern academics on the [https://corpuscoranicum.de/en Corpus Coranicum] project note it most likely means heavens, but may also be the [[Cosmology of the Quran#The Sky-ways (asbāb) of the Heavens|asbāb / sky-ways]], mentioning: ''Ṭarāʾiq etymologically evokes the idea of (walkable) paths and thus possible ways of accessing the divine presence''.<ref>Corpus Coranicum Commentary on ''[https://corpuscoranicum.de/en/verse-navigator/sura/23/verse/1/commentary#kommentar_vers_17 Surah 23 Verse 17]'' | ||
Chronological-literary commentary on the Koran, Part 2: the Late Middle Meccan Surahs, edited by the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences by Dirk Hartwig and Angelika Neuwirth. Beta version: as of November 5, 2024</ref> | |||
===The stars, the sun, and the moon=== | ===The stars, the sun, and the moon=== | ||
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THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY. 1927.</ref> believed by many scholars to date to the early 7th century by a West-Syrian writer, who lived in the Sasanian-controlled part of Northern Mesopotamia hundreds of miles north of the Hijaz, who took many ideas from earlier Judeo-Christian works.<ref>Minov, Sergey (2017). "[https://www.academia.edu/31601350 ''Date and Provenance of the Syriac Cave of Treasures: A Reappraisal'']". Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies. 20 (1): 129–229. [https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.31826/hug-2018-200105/html doi:10.31826/hug-2018-200105.]</ref> | THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY. 1927.</ref> believed by many scholars to date to the early 7th century by a West-Syrian writer, who lived in the Sasanian-controlled part of Northern Mesopotamia hundreds of miles north of the Hijaz, who took many ideas from earlier Judeo-Christian works.<ref>Minov, Sergey (2017). "[https://www.academia.edu/31601350 ''Date and Provenance of the Syriac Cave of Treasures: A Reappraisal'']". Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies. 20 (1): 129–229. [https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.31826/hug-2018-200105/html doi:10.31826/hug-2018-200105.]</ref> | ||
===The locations of Heaven and Hell=== | ===The locations of Heaven (jannah) and Hell (jahannam)=== | ||
Tabataba'i and Mirsadri observe that for the Qur'an, there is almost no reference to what is beneath the earth, except as no more than a geographic location. There is no explicit concept of an underworld, unlike Mesopotamian mythologies, as well as those of Egypt and Greece.<ref>Mohammad Ali Tabatabaʾi and Saida Mirsadri, ''The Qurʾānic Cosmology, as an Identity in Itself'' p. 212</ref> Tabataba'i and Mirsadri (2016) also note that while there is no explicit mention of an underworld, there is one mention to 'underneath the soil/ground, which "''the waters stored there are to supply the wells and fountains and the water needed for the vegetation (Kor 39,21)''," and note that other qur'anic references imply or state this is where the waters of the rain are stored ({{Quran|23|18}} {{Quran|13|17}} {{Quran|39|21}}).<ref>Ibid. pp. 212</ref> | Tabataba'i and Mirsadri observe that for the Qur'an, there is almost no reference to what is beneath the earth, except as no more than a geographic location. There is no explicit concept of an underworld, unlike Mesopotamian mythologies, as well as those of Egypt and Greece.<ref>Mohammad Ali Tabatabaʾi and Saida Mirsadri, ''The Qurʾānic Cosmology, as an Identity in Itself'' p. 212</ref> Tabataba'i and Mirsadri (2016) also note that while there is no explicit mention of an underworld, there is one mention to 'underneath the soil/ground, which "''the waters stored there are to supply the wells and fountains and the water needed for the vegetation (Kor 39,21)''," and note that other qur'anic references imply or state this is where the waters of the rain are stored ({{Quran|23|18}} {{Quran|13|17}} {{Quran|39|21}}).<ref>Ibid. pp. 212</ref> | ||