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The Quran and Mountains: Difference between revisions
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{{Quote|Tabatabaʾi, Mohammad A.; Mirsadri, Saida, [https://www.jstor.org/stable/24811784 "The Qurʾānic Cosmology, as an Identity in Itself"], Arabica 63 (3/4): 201-234, 2016|One important feature of the earth, in the eyes of the Qur'ân, is its tranquility against sudden motions, for God has put it stable (Kor 27, 61; 35, 41). This stability is due to the massive corpuses, namely mountains, which are put upon the earth (Kor 41,10; 88,19), like pegs (Kor 78,7), in order to fix the earth into its place. It is why the Qur'ân in ten places (Kor 13,3; 15,19; 16,15; 21,31; 27,61; 31,10; 41,10; 50, 7; 77, 27; 79, 32) describes them as rawäsi or räsiyät, both plural forms for râsiya, which stands for something which is fastened to the earth due to its heaviness. So, according to the Qur'än, mountains are the heavy masses upon the earth which like pegs are hammered to it, lest it would shake.}} | {{Quote|Tabatabaʾi, Mohammad A.; Mirsadri, Saida, [https://www.jstor.org/stable/24811784 "The Qurʾānic Cosmology, as an Identity in Itself"], Arabica 63 (3/4): 201-234, 2016|One important feature of the earth, in the eyes of the Qur'ân, is its tranquility against sudden motions, for God has put it stable (Kor 27, 61; 35, 41). This stability is due to the massive corpuses, namely mountains, which are put upon the earth (Kor 41,10; 88,19), like pegs (Kor 78,7), in order to fix the earth into its place. It is why the Qur'ân in ten places (Kor 13,3; 15,19; 16,15; 21,31; 27,61; 31,10; 41,10; 50, 7; 77, 27; 79, 32) describes them as rawäsi or räsiyät, both plural forms for râsiya, which stands for something which is fastened to the earth due to its heaviness. So, according to the Qur'än, mountains are the heavy masses upon the earth which like pegs are hammered to it, lest it would shake.}} | ||
Incidentally, the first two verses state that Allah created mountain passes for the benefit of humans. Critics | Incidentally, the first two verses state that Allah created mountain passes for the benefit of humans. Critics observe here that many mountain ranges are inconvenient for humans to traverse, with large detours necessary, and show no sign that they were designed with passes perfectly suited to human needs. | ||
===Refers to the earth as a whole=== | ===Refers to the earth as a whole=== | ||
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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"). | 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"). | ||
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 are questioned by critics considering 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). | |||
===The relationship between mountains and earthquakes=== | ===The relationship between mountains and earthquakes=== | ||