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The Quran and Mountains: Difference between revisions
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{{Quote|{{Al Tirmidhi||6|44|3369}}|Anas bin Malik narrated that: | {{Quote|{{Al Tirmidhi||6|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. [...]}} | 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. [...]}} | ||
Likewise, prominent Qur'anic commentator [[W:Ibn_Kathir|Ibn Kathir]] says in his tafsir: | |||
Likewise, prominent Qur'anic commentator [[W:Ibn_Kathir|Ibn Kathir]] says the following in his tafsir: | |||
{{Quote|[https://quranx.com/tafsirs/31.10 Tafsir Ibn Kathir 31:10]|(and has set on the earth firm mountains) means, the mountains which stabilize and lend weight to the earth, lest it should shake with its water.}} | {{Quote|[https://quranx.com/tafsirs/31.10 Tafsir Ibn Kathir 31:10]|(and has set on the earth firm mountains) means, the mountains which stabilize and lend weight to the earth, lest it should shake with its water.}} | ||
Note that "with its water" is actually "on the surface of the water" (على وجه الماء).<ref>[https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=7&tSoraNo=31&tAyahNo=10&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1 Tafsir Ibn Kathir for Q. 31:10] - altafsir.com</ref> | |||
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|[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.}} | {{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.}} | ||
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The usage of this word further supports the interpretation that these verses refer to mountains anchoring the earth as a whole from moving in such a manner. | The usage of this word further supports the interpretation that these verses refer to mountains anchoring the earth as a whole from moving in such a manner. | ||
Commenting on one such verse (Q 16:15), al-Tabari notes that this verb tamīda was also used for ships swaying to one side and leaning, with the noun al-maīd from the same root meaning seasickness.<ref>[https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=1&tSoraNo=16&tAyahNo=15&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1 Tafsir al-Tabari for 16:15] - altafsir.com</ref> Thus, the Quranic imagery may be connected with the idea that the Earth rests on water as suggested by Ibn Kathir's commentary in the previous section, and as seen in the Zayd b. 'Amr creation poem discussed above ("He spread it out and when He saw that it was settled upon the waters, He fixed the mountains upon it"). | |||
It is clear that the author of the Quran sought to describe some purposeful benefit for which he supposed mountains had been created. This desire is fulfilled by such a (mistaken) conception of mountains. Other interpretations which seek to interpret mountains as protecting humans from the effects of plate tectonics or earthquakes falter when one considers that an all-powerful creator of the heavens and earth would have been capable of actually ending all dangerous geological activity before humans arrived on the scene. Instead, some mountain ranges are in regions that are still geologically active, while other mountain ranges are in parts of the world which ceased being geologically active hundreds of millions of years before humans arrived (for example the highlands of Scotland). | It is clear that the author of the Quran sought to describe some purposeful benefit for which he supposed mountains had been created. This desire is fulfilled by such a (mistaken) conception of mountains. Other interpretations which seek to interpret mountains as protecting humans from the effects of plate tectonics or earthquakes falter when one considers that an all-powerful creator of the heavens and earth would have been capable of actually ending all dangerous geological activity before humans arrived on the scene. Instead, some mountain ranges are in regions that are still geologically active, while other mountain ranges are in parts of the world which ceased being geologically active hundreds of millions of years before humans arrived (for example the highlands of Scotland). | ||