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''We might note how all of these traditions are meant to make humans yearn for paradise and fear hell. The Qur’an, from this regard, is a profoundly psychological work. Like a Christian preacher, like John Chrysostom or Saint Ephrem, the author of the Qur’an speaks of heaven and hell to persuade his audience to repent and believe. He does so in a way, however, that is distinct—emphasizing physical pain and physical pleasure in order, apparently, to make a greater impression on his audience. He puts a terrible tree into hell and young women in paradise.'' | ''We might note how all of these traditions are meant to make humans yearn for paradise and fear hell. The Qur’an, from this regard, is a profoundly psychological work. Like a Christian preacher, like John Chrysostom or Saint Ephrem, the author of the Qur’an speaks of heaven and hell to persuade his audience to repent and believe. He does so in a way, however, that is distinct—emphasizing physical pain and physical pleasure in order, apparently, to make a greater impression on his audience. He puts a terrible tree into hell and young women in paradise.'' | ||
</ref>{{Quote|Reynolds, Gabriel Said. Allah: God in the Qur'an (pp. 82-83). Yale University Press. Kindle Edition.|The way that the Qur’an describes hell in particularly vivid, gruesome terms brings us back to something we mentioned in Chapter 1, namely, that the Qur’an in many ways is a “homiletic” work, a work written like a homily or sermon. The Qur’an’s intention is not simply to declare that those who disobey God will be punished, but to describe that punishment in a way which brings the awfulness of hell to life. Similarly, homilists in the early centuries of Christianity expanded dramatically on the New Testament allusions to hell. In a sermon attributed to John Chrysostom (d. 407) we read a description of hell with the sort of detail that we find in the Qur’an: It is a sea of fire—not a sea of the kind or dimensions we know here, but much larger and fiercer, with waves made of fire, fire of a strange and fearsome kind. There is a great abyss there, in fact, of terrible flames, and one can see fire rushing about on all sides like some wild animal…. There will be no one who can resist, no one who can escape: Christ’s gentle, peaceful face will be nowhere to be seen.<sup>15</sup>}} | </ref>{{Quote|Reynolds, Gabriel Said. <i>Allah: God in the Qur'an (pp. 82-83).</i> Yale University Press. Kindle Edition.|The way that the Qur’an describes hell in particularly vivid, gruesome terms brings us back to something we mentioned in Chapter 1, namely, that the Qur’an in many ways is a “homiletic” work, a work written like a homily or sermon. The Qur’an’s intention is not simply to declare that those who disobey God will be punished, but to describe that punishment in a way which brings the awfulness of hell to life. Similarly, homilists in the early centuries of Christianity expanded dramatically on the New Testament allusions to hell. In a sermon attributed to John Chrysostom (d. 407) we read a description of hell with the sort of detail that we find in the Qur’an: It is a sea of fire—not a sea of the kind or dimensions we know here, but much larger and fiercer, with waves made of fire, fire of a strange and fearsome kind. There is a great abyss there, in fact, of terrible flames, and one can see fire rushing about on all sides like some wild animal…. There will be no one who can resist, no one who can escape: Christ’s gentle, peaceful face will be nowhere to be seen.<sup>15</sup>}} | ||
== The term sakīnah == | == The term sakīnah == | ||
The term sakīnah is a Rabbinic rather than a biblical one<ref>Bible Hub - [https://biblehub.com/topical/s/shekinah.htm Shekinah] | The term sakīnah is a Rabbinic rather than a biblical one<ref>Bible Hub - [https://biblehub.com/topical/s/shekinah.htm Shekinah] | ||
</ref> describing the physical manifestation of God on Earth. <ref>Durie, Mark. ''The Qur'an and Its Biblical Reflexes: Investigations into the Genesis of a Religion. pp.177-178.'' Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2018</ref> This Hebrew/Aramaic term appears as a Qur'anic noun six times, | </ref> describing the physical manifestation of God on Earth.<ref name=":1">Durie, Mark. ''The Qur'an and Its Biblical Reflexes: Investigations into the Genesis of a Religion. pp.177-178.'' Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2018</ref> This Hebrew/Aramaic term appears as a Qur'anic noun six times, however it undergoes a process of matching phonologically, but not semantic matching as the Arabic root used in the term has a different meaning s-k-n (“rest, repose, stillness”), (Dure cite) denoting a divinely granted calm or fortification, often in situations of fear or external threat.<ref name=":1" /> | ||
Most Qur’anic references to ''sakīnah'' describe God giving believers tranquility and reassurance in times of opposition.<ref name=":1" /> One exception is Q2:247–48, where the ark is called a “sakīnah from your Lord,” echoing Jewish or Christian ideas of God’s ''shekīnah'' presence linked to the Ark of the Covenant, however, the Qur’an itself does not associate ''sakīnah'' with divine presence.<ref name=":1" /> Instead, the term, which resembles the Hebrew word phonologically, was absorbed into Arabic and generally means “tranquility” or “reassurance”, so not semantically. In this sense, ''sakīnah'' in Q2:248 may be a linguistic fossil—borrowed from earlier traditions but reinterpreted with a new, purely Arabic meaning,<ref name=":1" /> i.e. | |||
Heared | Heared | ||