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Historical Errors in the Quran: Difference between revisions
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→Supernatural destruction of cities: Added a new sub category dealing with another specific example of Quranic claims of divine destruction of socities – now specifically in reference to Quran 7:137, and its anachronistic claims in regards to Ancient Egypt.
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(→Supernatural destruction of cities: Added a new sub category dealing with another specific example of Quranic claims of divine destruction of socities – now specifically in reference to Quran 7:137, and its anachronistic claims in regards to Ancient Egypt.) |
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Critics have also asked why it is that various other polytheistic cultures worldwide did not encounter similar fates as those outlined in the Quran, especially if there is 'no change in the way of Allah' ({{Quran|33|62}}){{Quote|{{Quran|22|45}}|And how many a township have We destroyed because it had been immersed in evildoing - and now they [all] lie deserted, with their roofs caved in! And how many a well lies abandoned, and how many a castle that [once] stood high!}}The suddenness of Allah's punishment is stressed repeatedly in Surah al-A'raf:{{Quote|{{Quran|7|4}}|How many a township have We destroyed! As a raid by night, or while they slept at noon, Our terror came unto them.}}{{Quote|{{Quran|7|34}}|And every nation hath its term, and when its term cometh, they cannot put it off an hour nor yet advance (it).}}{{Quote|{{Quran-range|7|97|98}}|Are the people of the townships then secure from the coming of Our wrath upon them as a night-raid while they sleep? Or are the people of the townships then secure from the coming of Our wrath upon them in the daytime while they play?}} | Critics have also asked why it is that various other polytheistic cultures worldwide did not encounter similar fates as those outlined in the Quran, especially if there is 'no change in the way of Allah' ({{Quran|33|62}}){{Quote|{{Quran|22|45}}|And how many a township have We destroyed because it had been immersed in evildoing - and now they [all] lie deserted, with their roofs caved in! And how many a well lies abandoned, and how many a castle that [once] stood high!}}The suddenness of Allah's punishment is stressed repeatedly in Surah al-A'raf:{{Quote|{{Quran|7|4}}|How many a township have We destroyed! As a raid by night, or while they slept at noon, Our terror came unto them.}}{{Quote|{{Quran|7|34}}|And every nation hath its term, and when its term cometh, they cannot put it off an hour nor yet advance (it).}}{{Quote|{{Quran-range|7|97|98}}|Are the people of the townships then secure from the coming of Our wrath upon them as a night-raid while they sleep? Or are the people of the townships then secure from the coming of Our wrath upon them in the daytime while they play?}} | ||
==== The Total Destruction of Pharaohs/Egypts Monuments ==== | |||
Following the similiar line of a total divine destruction, the Quran makes a particular claim in regards to the destruction of Pharaohs buildings: | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran-range|7|137}}|And We caused the people who had been oppressed to inherit the eastern regions of the land and the western ones, which We had blessed. And the good word of your Lord was fulfilled for the Children of Israel because of what they had patiently endured. '''And We destroyed [all] that Pharaoh and his people were producing and what they had been building.'''}} | |||
To fully understand the implications of this verse, one must know that the Quran actively associates the figure of Pharaoh – specifically in the Quranic narrative of the Exodus & Moses – with building buildings and monuments out of his own hubris and pridefulness. Dr. Devin J. Stewarts explains this Quranic phenomenon as follows: | |||
{{Quote|Stewart, D. J. (2023). "Signs for Those Who Can Decipher Them”, Ancient Ruins in the Qurʾān. In Rashwani, S. (ed.) "Behind the Story: Ethical Readings of Qurʾānic Narratives". Brill. p. 50.|Several monuments are attributed to Pharaoh. First, Pharaoh is twice termed dhūl-awtād, literally “possessor of the tent-pegs.” This epithet, often understood by commentators to refer to his alleged use of stakes as implements of torture, probably refers instead to the fact that he was the builder of the pyra- mids, obelisks, or other monumental buildings. [...] It is reasonable to assume that the Prophet Muḥammad’s contemporaries were aware, even at some distance, of Egypt’s most famous monuments. A second type of building is attributed to Pharaoh when he orders his vizier, Hāmān, to build a palace or tower (ṣarḥ) that he might ascend to look upon the lord of Moses (Q 28:38). One may compare this to the Tower of Babel in the Book of Genesis, a symbol of mankind’s—and in this case Pharaoh’s—arrogance. These both may be related to ruins of colossal Ancient Egyptian edifices that were standing in Egypt during the Prophet’s era.}} | |||
Based on this, it can be said that the author of the Quran is in verse 7:137 stating that the buildings built by Pharaoh were totally, or atleast in great number, destroyed by divine order (as is the description style of the other instances in regards to pre-islamic tribes and socities – like for example A'ad, Thamud & Midian). This as a claim, as in the case of afore discussion on the pre-islamic tribes, is problematic because we dont have any historical source to mention such a wide and total destruction of buidlings – yet to mention the ones directly ordered by the Pharaoh himself – from any period of Ancient Egyptian history. | |||
This easily leads one to conclude that the Quranic description here is totally at odds with the currently available historical record on the Ancient Egypt and its history. | |||
===Humans lived for hundreds of years=== | ===Humans lived for hundreds of years=== | ||