16:102: The Rooh ul Qudus has sent down the Message.
26:193: The Rooh ul Ameen came down with the Message
2:97 Jibreal sent the Message down on your heart
2:98 Jibreal and Mikal are mentioned as a pair
From the above mentioned points the following deduction can be made:
A Rooh sent the Message down (Rooh ul Qudus), and a Rooh came down with it (Ruh ul Ameen); Jibreal sent down the message, therefore Jibreal is Ruh ul Qudus. if Jibrael and Mikal are paired then Mikal should be the Rooh which came down with the message i.e Rooh ul Ameen.
Say the Ruh-ul- Qudus/Revered Spirit has revealed it from your Lord with the truth so that to strengthen those who believe and a guidance and good news for muslims/submitters.
Say, whoever is an enemy to Jibrael/Gabriel-for he brings down the (revelation) to your heart by Allah’s will, a confirmation of whats between the hands, and guidance and glad tidings for those who believe,-
From the above two Ayas we know that Ruh ul Qudus is Jibrael.
26:193 نَزَلَ بِهِ الرُّوحُ الْأَمِينُ
Sent down the Ruh-ul-Ameen/Honest Spirit with it.
The Rooh ul Ameen/ The Honest Sprit has been sent down with it (Al-Quran)
Whoever is an enemy to Allah and His angels and His messengers, and Jibrael/Gabriel and Mikal/Michael ,- then! Allah is an enemy to the rejecters.
Jibrael and Mikal are mentioned as pairs in the above Ayat. Considering this pairing of Jibrael and Mikal and that Jibrael is the Rooh ul Qudus, who sent down the message, then the Rooh-ul Ameen who came down with the message, should be Mikal.
Many people think of ‘jinns’ as paranormal creatures who are very different from human beings. Common belief about jinns is that they can become invisible and attain different shapes and forms and even can get inside human bodies to possess them. They are free from material form and can fly in air or space. Their diet is different from humans; they eat bones and sweets. Their life span is different from human life span encompassing hundreds of years, and a plethora of similar fantastic beliefs about jinns.
The root word ج ن ن of ‘jinn’ implies meanings of ‘shielded’ or ‘covered’. In this post we will see what Al-Quran tells us about jinns, and whether the concepts about jinns mentioned above are from Quran or are they from outside of Quran:
Say, “If there were settled, on earth, angels walking about in peace and tranquility, We should certainly have sent them down from the heavens an angel for a messenger.”
The above ayat states a principle that messengers are sent to be an example for their kind. Ayat explains why a human messenger is sent on earth, because humans dwell on earth. Had the earth been inhabited by angels, then definitely an angel would have been sent to live among them and convey the message of God.
And when We turned (O Prophet) towards you, a company from the jinns, so that they hear the Quran. So when they were in it’s presence, they said “Listen quietly!” When it was completed they returned to their people as warners. They said O! Our people, we have heard a book revealed after Moosa, confirming what is between his two hands. It guides towards the truth and the straight way. “O our people, respond to the one who invites (you) to Allah, and believe in him. He will forgive you your faults, and deliver you from a grievous penalty.
The above ayat states that a group of jinns, listened to Al-Quran and when they returned to their nation, they told them that they heard a book revealed after Moosa (a.s). It appears that this group of jinns used to believe in prophet Moosa (a.s).
Say, It has been revealed to me that a company of jinns listened (to the Qur’an). They said, ‘We have really heard a wonderful recital! ‘It gives guidance towards righteousness, and thus we believed therein. We shall not join any with our Lord. ‘And exalted is the majesty of our Lord. He has taken neither a wife nor a son.’ ‘There were some foolish ones among us, who used to utter extravagant lies against Allah’
The above ayahs mention another group of jinns, who listened to Quran and they realized that it is a wonderful recital and it guides towards righteousness. It asks them to be pure monotheist as God does not have wife or a son. The fools of them used to attribute false things upon God. It appears that this group of jinns used to believe in Jesus as son of God, earlier.
From these two sets of ayahs it appears that jinns believe in human messengers. Is it not logical to deduce that if jinns were a different creature other than humans, there would be jinn messengers sent to them instead, as the principle in ayat 17:95 states? However what we see is that jinns believed in human messengers and more-over when they heard Al-Quran they believed in it as the way of guidance. Now, we know that Al-Quran has all instructions for human beings e.g Salat, Zakat, Wadu, Haram/Halal food, and all do’s and don’ts and instructions for conducting life are for humans. For jinns to relate and believe in Quran, would strongly imply that they are not a structurally different creature than human beings.
He created insan/human from sounding clay like pottery, and He created jinns from mixture of fire.
The word in above ayat is ‘Jaan’ and refers to the gentic ancestry of Jinns which gives them their characteristic fiery color which means the race from which they descended from, was of fiery reddish color. As against the ‘Insan’ which was of earthly dark color to begin with. Ayat 15:27 tells us that the race of ‘Jaan’ was before the humans in time-line.
We created insan/human from sounding clay, from mud moulded into shape; and the jann, We had created before, from the fire of a scorching wind.
The above Ayas tells that Jann (the race from which Jinns took most of their genetic material) were created and therefore were existing before ins/humans. The study of human genome and genetic information of current humans and the skeletons found from older times is unfolding many of this information about human origins and their earlier extinct cousins. (one speculation is about another homo species ‘Neanderthal’ which were had a stocky built and lighter skin color and present day non-African homo-sapiens have some small percentage of their genetic materials in them. This human cousin came about and existed earlier than present day homo sapeiens.)
Many among the jinns and men we have made for hell. They have hearts with which they do not understand, eyes with which they do not see, and ears with which they donot hear. They are like cattle,- nay more misguided. for they are heedless (of warning).
The above ayat states that jinns like Ins (humans), have hearts, eyes and ears. So, physically they have organs and body parts like human beings. A strong indication that structurally humans and Jinns are not different.
From the mischief of the whisperer (of Evil), who withdraws. (The same) who whispers into the hearts of mankind,- among jinns and among people.
It is not only jinns who can do evil whisper in the hearts, but humans can do it too. So, in this regard both are same. Therefore, it is not a paranormal capability of jinns that they can go inside a human body. The jinns should be whispering in the hearts, in the same way as Ins/humans do.
And We created you all, then We gave you (all), your shapes; then We said to the angels to bow down to Adam, and they bowed down; except for Iblis; he was not to be of those who bowed down.
This ayat 7:11 informs that Allah has created us all and shaped us before he gave the order to angels to bow down to Adam. It appears that jinns and ins/humans were existing at the time when Allah breathed His spirit into Adam and after breathing His spirit asked angels to bow down to His spirit in Adam.
Of all the jinns and Ins, Allah chooses the one as his khalifa/vicegerent, who has the spirit/ruh of Allah in him. This khalifa/vicegerent with the spirit of Allah in him, does not cause blood shed and violence on earth. Those who do not understand true spirit of Allahs’ words, may understand instructions such as Qital/fighting to be physical fighting, and thereby assume that the khalifa will be doing wars and blood shed on earth. However, Allah dismisses these notions.
And when your Lord said to the angels. “I will create a vicegerent on earth.” They said. “Will You place therein one who will make violence therein and shed blood?- while we do celebrate Your praises and glorify Your Holyness?” He said. “I know what you know not.”
One day, He will gather them all together, (and say). “O you assembly of jinns! Much did you take of ins/humans.” Their friends amongst ins/humans will say. “Our Lord! we made advantage from each other and we reached our term – which You did appoint for us.” He will say. “The fire is your dwelling-place. you will dwell therein for ever, except as Allah wills.” for your Lord is full of wisdom and knowledge.
The jins and ins/humans, benefit with each other and jinns have taken a majority of the ins/humans. The traditional concept of jinns may not fit here, as we don’t see that most of the humans are possessed by jinns and we don’t see jinns and Ins corroborating and benefitting with each other on a mass scale. In fact majority of the people in the world have never seen a jinn in the traditional concept. So, jinns which Quran mentions here, should in all matters of form and structure, be like humans. It could be they may themselves not know that they are jinns. What we also observe is that the advanced nations of the world have subjugated the underdeveloped world by either colonization or by economic domination. Also, because of this domination, the advanced nations influence the less advanced world by their ideas and philosophies which are mostly atheistic or agnostic. So, it appears that Jinns, are that portion of developed and advanced nations of the world whose true personalities are hidden and whose secular ideas and philosophies have dominated over a majority portion of the people of the world. The hidden part is also implied from Ayat 53:32 which uses the work Ajinna for a child who is hidden in his mother’s womb.
“O assembly of jinns and humans! Didn’t messengers came to you from yourselves, relating on to you my ayahs/signs, and warning you of the meeting of this day of yours?” They would say. “We bear witness against ourselves.” It was the life of this world that deceived them. So against themselves will they bear witness that they were indeed kafreen/rejectors.
The above ayat addresses jinns and ins/humans and states that messengers have come amongst both. We saw in the first few sets of ayahs in the above post that jinns read the same Quran and believed in the messengers such as Moses and Jesus. Quran does not mention any jinn messengers. While this ayat states that the messengers came among themselves and related ayahs of Quran to them. While we don’t find any ayahs containing instructions of conducting life for paranormal invisible beings in Quran. This ayat supplements the concept that jinns are not supernatural, unseen creatures different from human beings.
(Jinns said) ‘There were some foolish ones among us, who used to utter extravagant lies against Allah.’ ‘And we used to assume that no human/ins or jinn would say any un-true thing about Allah’. And Indeed there are men among humans/ins who took shelter with men among the jinns, and they increased them in waywardness. ‘And they (came to) think as ye thought, that Allah would not raise up any one (to judgment).
The party of the jinns who believed in Quran after listening and pondering over it, further said that, in our group there were jinns who foolishly said un-true things about God, while we had assumed that no one would be deceiving in matters about God. (This is the same case we observe in people today).
It also appears that Jinns are more developed than humans in technology as the ayat further states that men from the human/ins group take shelter from men in jinn’s group. So, these men from human/ins group then grow more in waywardness. It could be that these men from Ins would copy men from jinn, and would adopt the ideas of the more technological advanced nations of jinns with inclination towards atheistic thoughts and general aversion towards religious beliefs such as the concept of God and afterlife.
‘And we pried into the sky; thus we found it filled with strong forces and fires. ‘We indeed, sat there in stations, for hearing; thus any who listens now finds a flaming fire following him.’
It is evident from above ayahs, that jinns are developed and technologically advanced nations. They have explored the skies and found it to be having strong forces and containing extreme heat and energy. The technological advanced nations send rockets and satellites in space. Any who goes in space has to use rockets which are followed by hot burning flames of fire.
‘And we don’t know whether ill is intended to those on earth, or whether their Lord (really) intends to guide them to right conduct. ‘There are among us some that are righteous, and some to the contrary. We follow divergent paths. ‘But we think that we can by no means frustrate Allah throughout the earth, nor can we frustrate Him by flight. ‘And as for us, since we have listened to the guidance, we have accepted it. and any who believes in his Lord has no fear, either of a short (account) or of any injustice. ‘Amongst us are some that submit their wills (to Allah), and some that swerve from justice. Now those who submit their wills – they have sought out (the path) of right conduct. ‘But those who swerve,- they are (but) fuel for hell-fire’- (and Allah’s message is). “If they had (only) remained on the (right) way, We should certainly have given them water in abundance to drink“
So the group of jinns who accepted the message after listening it, continued their speech; that previously without divine knowledge they did not know actually what the worldly life is about? Among the developed nations people are allowed to follow different paths. However, with increasing advanced knowledge about the Universe, they realized that there is no way that this grand scheme of the Universe can be defeated and escaped from. And when they listened to the message of guidance from the Lord they believed in it that whoever believes in this message of the Lord and corrects his conduct will be led to the right path. Also please note in above Ayahs, water is mentioned as a bounty for jinns
It is He Who formed the earth for (His) creatures. Therein are fruits and date-palms, producing sheathed clusters. Also corn, with (its) leaves and stalk for fodder, and sweet-smelling plants. Then which of the favours of your Lord will you two (kinns and ins) deny?
In sura Rahman the Lord says that Allah made the earth, provided fruits, dates, sweet smelling flowers and crops in it. These are blessings for both jinn and ins. A lot of blessings are mentioned in this sura with a question that which of the blessings you two (jinns and ins) will deny? While we can relate these blessing to humans, we can not relate all these blessings to a non human, non physical mythical creature of Jinn. So, this sura also supports that jinns are no different than ins/human in physical structure.
And they have invented a relationship between Him and the jinns. but the jinns know (quite well) that they have indeed to appear (for judgment)!
While we don’t know of any one making relationship of God with jinns as supernatural non-human beings, however, some royalties were thought to be related to gods, such as Japanese royal family and early Egyptian royals.
O you assembly of jinns and ins/humans! If it be that you have the capacity to pass beyond the zones of the heavens and the earth, then pass! not without authority shall you be able to pass!
Escape velocity which is the speed required to escape earth’s gravitational pull, is applicable to both Jinns and Ins. Does not make jinns any different than Ins/humans in physical characteristics. Also, as earth gravitation pull is much less than black holes, therefore light and energy don’t have any problem in escaping from the earth atmosphere. It implies that jinns would be possessing mass to feel the gravitational pull on them.
And the rejectors will say. “Our Lord! show us those, among jinns and men, who misled us. We shall crush them beneath our feet, so that they become the vilest (before all).”
On the day of judgment the rejecters will be asking God to show them the jinns and ins who have caused them to be misled. We do see that from developed nations there comes a lot of philosophical and atheistic ideas denying existence of God.These ideas are causing a major portion of people therein to stay away from believing in God and hereafter. These ideas from developed nations are imported to all over the world. Otherwise we don’t see in common observation any mythical jinn creature misguiding people from path of Allah.
And the day He will gather them all together, and say to the angels, “Was it you that these men used to serve? They will say, “Glory to You! You are our protector not them. Nay, but they served the jinns, most of them believed in them.”
We don’t have accounts of any nation worshipping/serving the mythical jinn creatures. However, definition of jinns as technologically advanced, developed nations can fit here. As most of the people in modern world serve and believe in secular ideas and philosophies emanating from them.
Jinns and Shiateen with prophet Suleiman (a.s)
The description of reign of king Suleiman (a.s) appears to be the description of an advanced era. For better understanding, lets consider that era similar to modern times in order to relate to these ayahs better:
And to Suleiman (We made) the wind (obedient). Its early morning (stride) was a month’s (journey), and its evening (stride) was a month’s (journey); and We made stream of copper flow for him; and there were jinns that worked in front of him, by the leave of his Lord, and if any of them turned aside from our command, We made him taste the penalty of the blazing fire.
In Suleiman’s reign we can relate to air travel, which made journeys which in earlier times could take months to complete, now can be done in matter of hours. The flow of stream of copper means flow of electrons in copper wires i.e electricity was available to him. And jinns i.e the technological advanced nations were working for him with the leave of Allah. If any of these jinns would try to evade Allah’s orders, he would face punishment.
They worked for him as he desired, in architectural construction, entertainment industry, big boilers, and proportioned templates. “Keep on working, people of David, with thanks! but few of My servants are grateful!”
So these jinns, the developed and technological advanced people worked in constructions, industries, entertainment and innovations. Allah asks them to keep on working and be thankful to the resultant blessings. There is a warning also, that sooner or later when they will become un-thankful then these blessing would be taken away.
Then, when We decreed (Sulieman’s) death, nothing showed them his death except for a creature of earth, who was eating away at his stick/life span. Thus when he fell, it became clear to the jinns, that if they had knowledge of the unseen, they would not have tarried in the humiliating penalty.
The jinns, the technologically advanced people take pride in their knowledge. They feel proud to have mastered many areas of physical sciences. For things that cannot be seen they have developed scientific theories for explanation of these phenomena. Some of them drift towards atheism thinking that belief in God is a silly thing while our knowledge encompasses a lot. However, even with all the advanced knowledge available to them, they still lack basic facts of life and will never be able to comprehend and master life and death. They will always be captives to the rigors and vicissitudes of the worldly life. Can they tell what is that essence when it leaves the body, a fully functional body alive a moment ago, becomes dead while all the organs and ingredients are still intact in the body? The word ‘Minsat’ i.e the staff/stick, in this ayat denotes his lifespan. Prophet Suleiman’s life-span like everybody else, was being eaten away by creature of earth (natural progression towards death of any living being on earth), however the Jinns who are quite knowledgeable and capable otherwise, don’t have knowledge about essence of life and death? These mysteries of life will still remain despite advancement in knowledge.
Traditional concept associated with the ayat 34:14 is that king Suleiman died while leaning on his stick and did not fall until the stick was eaten away by a worm which must be substantial amount of time. When the stick gave way, only then he fell. Till that time nobody knew that he was dead. This concept is ridiculous as a dead man can not lean on a stick after his death, the body will definitely fall right away. Also, in addition to the jinns the king must have his family who cannot remain oblivion to him standing at one place for weeks without eating and drinking and coming to them. Also, a king has a lot of state duties which cannot allow the king to refrain from attending to the affairs of the state even for a short duration without raising concerns of the attendants and Government agencies.
And Suleiman inherited from David/Daud. He said. “O people! We have been taught the logic of flying, we have been given from all things (blessings). this is indeed a manifest grace (from Allah.)”
The technology of air travel and many of the blessings were bestowed on Suleiman (a.s)
And presented to Sulieman were armies of jinns and ins/people and fliers, and they were all kept in order
Suleiman’s reign was on both technological advanced nations of jinns, and on under-developed nations of ins /people and had an air force available to him.
One of the powerful jinn said. “I will bring it to you before you rise from your place. indeed I am powerful and trustworthy.
When Suleiman (a.s) asked his councilors who can bring him the throne of queen of Saba, a very resourceful member of the technological advanced nation of jinns said that he can bring it to him in a matter of hours. Probably he intended to bring it with the help of fast air travel.
Said one who had knowledge of the book. “I will bring it to you within the twinkling of an eye!” Then when (Suleiman) saw it placed firmly before him, he said. “This is by the Grace of my Lord!- to test me whether I am grateful or ungrateful! and if any is grateful, truly his gratitude is (a gain) for his own self; but if any is ungrateful, truly my Lord is free of all needs and is Gracious !”
There was another one in the council with knowledge of the book. With this knowledge this councilor was able to show to Suleiman what he was asking in a matter of seconds. In today’s world that is something which can be accomplished with the help of Internet and hologram.
He (Allah) said: O’ Iblees, what prevented you to prostrate for what I have created with my hands. Did you seek greatness or are you from the higher class? He(Iblees) said. “I am better than him. You have created me from fire, and created him from clay.”
The rejecters/Kafirs among the Jinns are termed as ‘Shiateen’. They are also racist as they discriminate in creations of Allah on self made criteria (e.g fire is better than water or red color is better than black color) minus-ing the ‘Spirit’ of Allah in their comparisons.
So in below ayat it is mentioned that Shiateen (of the Jinns) were in tethers in the reign of King Sulieman. The tethers may not mean actual physical tethers, they could be social and legal taboos not allowing those satans of jinns to show their racism and disdain for humanity per law of the land and if any satan Jinn would disobey and show public racism, he would have faced punishment.
(Submitting to Suleiman were) also the mischievous ones, (including) every kind of builder and diver,- As also others bound in fetters.
While the resourceful Jinn mentioned in 27:39 was trustworthy, Suleiman (a.s), in his reign and control had mischievous ones termed as satans also, who did construction work and diving (diving could be in water and in space). They were however strictly controlled by Suleiman (a.s) and were bound by social and legal taboos as not to show publicly their mischievous characters and racism.
“And likewise ,We have made for every Prophet the satans of mankind and the satans of jinn, an enemy. They inspire golden words on one another, for the purpose of delusion, and if your Lord had willed they would have not done it, so leave them and what they invent.”
The satan jinns and ins, have great fascination with golden words/zukhruf al Qaul/Aqwale Zareen. They spend much effort in collection, remembrance, authentication of the same and inspire each other with them.
Summary notes:
Most of the concepts prevalent about jinns are not found in Quran. They are out of Quran which people know from hearsay and other books. When people read the word ‘jinn’ in Quran they automatically assume the conceptual creature they already know from previous knowledge. However, Quran does not mention jinns to be invisible creatures, that they can change shapes and forms, that they can get inside human bodies, that they eat bones and sweets, that they dwell in isolated places etc. Quran do mention that jinns have hearts, ears and eyes, that they believe in human messengers, that when they hear Quran they can relate to it, that messengers were sent amongst them, that they do physical work, art work, construction work etc. They travel in air and space with a blazing fire trailing them probably with the help of some equipment which burns fuel. All the blessings mentioned in Sura Rahman are for both jinns and ins. That they are answerable and will be judged for their deeds as are humans. They can relate to Quran as guidance while Quran has all the instructions for humans such as salat, zakat, wadu, eating, behavior, living etc. They are created as humans to serve Allah (56:51) and to serve Allah, they as well as humans have to serve according to instructions given in Quran. We don’t find any instructions for paranormal creatures which are normally believed to be ‘jinns’ in Quran, therefore this becomes the most convincing point towards the understanding that jinns are in all form and matter like human beings and are not the mythical, invisible creatures people usually think they are. The Ayat which says that jinns are created from fire and humans from clay, is indicating that Jinns are created in fiery red color while Ins are in the earthly color.
Other paranormal creatures may exist in the world which people know as aliens, spirits, demons, devils etc. Few people relate their experiences with these paranormal creatures as well. However, they are not the ‘jinns’ which the Quran describes. The ‘jinns’ which Quran describes are those whose traits and description is given in Quran.
Notes:
Root word of jinn is ج ن ن. This root has meanings of veiled/concealed/covered/hidden/protected, invisible, become dark/posessed, darkness of night, bereft of reason, mad/insane/unsound in mind/intellect, confusedness. Become thick/full-grown/blossom, herbage, garden. Spiritual beings that conceal themselves from the senses (including angels), people who are peerless having no match or equal, a being who is highly potent, sometimes refers to kings because they are concealed from the common folk.
And when, We said to the angels. “Bow down to Adam” and they all bowed down except for Iblis, he refused and was arrogant. He was from the kafireen/rejecters.
Allah ordered the angels to bow down to Adam so they all bowed down except for Iblis. The order to bow down was to angels and they all did so except for one of them who was Iblis. After that he was termed as a rejecter.
And when! We said to the angels, “Bow down for Adam:” they bowed down except Iblis. He was/became from the jinns…..
So Iblis, after he disobeyed the order of the Lord he was termed as rejecter in 2:34 and a jinn in 18:50. He is termed a Jinn, because he hides his true personality of being an enemy to man and poses himself as his well wisher while suggesting evil to man. This would also suggest that as ‘Kafir’ is an adjective, the word ‘Jinn’ could also be an adjective.
The plural form Shiateen/satans refers to the tribe of Satan, i.e his like minded people. Satan took pride on a self made criteria i.e on appearance only of fire being superior to mud. On that self made criterial he thought himself superior to others. The tribe of satans similarly are those racists who take pride and think themselves of being a superior race.
Why jinns mentioned particularly with Suleiman (a.s)?
The mentions of jinns is particularly detailed with the reign of Suleiman (a.s) in Quran. It appears the reign of Suleiman (a.s) is a technologically advanced era, where the advancement in technology happened e.g electricity, air travel, industries, space age, entertainment industry, constructions, innovations etc. Before the era of Suleiman the world may not have seen a clear rise in the number of advanced nations, so we find most mention of jinns in Quran associated with the era of Suleiman (a.s).
A characteristic of advanced nations is to be politically correct even if they have to hide their true feelings about the issue. In some languages a phrase is used e.g he works like a Jinn, meaning, he works tirelessly and able to accomplish a lot more work than normally expected of a person.
As per Quran, Suleiman (a.s) has been granted a kingdom, the grandeur of which cannot be surpassed in present or future. No ruins of any ancient city gives indications of high-rise buildings which we see in present day mega cities, therefore no ancient city that we know today can be a candidate of the kingdom of Suleiman (a.s). A city representing king Suleiman’s kingdom, will have such grandeur which will be unsurpassable in all times to come (38:35).
He (Suleiman) said, “O my Lord! Forgive me, and grant me a kingdom (likes of ) which is not attained by any one after me; for You are the grantor of bounties.
Another point to note is that no history book accounts for traditional mythical creatures of jinns working on a major scale in any era of time. If in such a grand kingdom, jinns worked on a large scale and were part of the state army as well, there has to be interaction of this kingdom with the rest of the world and then there should be accounts of them in other people history. The lack of such accounts reinforces the concept that jinns are not mythical supernatural creatures.
The Era of Suliman A.S could be a representative of the Modern world era. Quran mentions era of Prophet Noah comprising 950 years. Please see previous post ‘Age of prophet Noah’ for detail.
Touch of Satan:
A few people argue the power of Jinns possession is described in Quran with part of Ayat 2:275 which states الَّذِينَ يَأْكُلُونَ الرِّبَا لَا يَقُومُونَ إِلَّا كَمَا يَقُومُ الَّذِي يَتَخَبَّطُهُ الشَّيْطَانُ مِنَ الْمَسِّ ( Those who eat Ar-Riba/the increase do not take a stand except like he who stands to madness from the touch of Satan). They argue that since Satan is a Jinn, the touch of Satan is touch of Jinn which can affect make a person loose his senses i.e a Jinn is able to possess and bring him under control. However, the Quran clarifies that Satan’s power on man is just that he can suggest an evil thing to man and it is upto man to accept that evil suggestion or not. Satan has no power to possess a man forcibly. 14:22 وَمَا كَانَ لِيَ عَلَيْكُم مِّن سُلْطَانٍ إِلَّا أَن دَعَوْتُكُمْ فَاسْتَجَبْتُمْ لِ ( and I did not have any authority over you except to invite you, so you accepted my invitation )
Illahs/gods are the ones with whom there is no two-way communication. When you call them they can’t respond to you (46:5, 7:194, 13:14). While, Allah/God does communicate with people through His Book. You get to know about Allah, His orders, His likes and dislikes through His Book. When you don’t know Allah through His Book, Allah is like an Ilah/god to you i.e there is no two way communication with Him. Those people who don’t have communication with Allah, the biggest Illah/god in their minds is Allah/God. While they do say that Allah is their Lord but they don’t know what Allah is asking them to do. They don’t have knowledge of His Book and His message to them. They keep putting their list of desires before Him, however they don’t know what He is asking them to become or act like in order for their supplications to be accepted, so Allah becomes the biggest illah for them.
Because, the majority of people who don’t have knowledge of the Book and therefore don’t know Allah’s message, they fall prey to the syndrome of smaller ilah’s/gods. These smaller ilahs/gods are of various types; an introduction to them is given in previously published post https://topicsfromquran.wordpress.com/2017/08/07/ilahs-false-gods-mentioned-in-al-kitab/ . They can be in the form of emotions, physical idols, non physical idols, Jesus, Mary, Lofty personalities, stories of the past, etc. The first statement of all messengers as stated in the Book, is not to associate smaller illahs/gods with Allah/God. The practice of Ibrahim (a.s) is to break the smaller illah’s/gods so that people can turn towards the real Allah/God. That is termed as the best practice in the eyes of the Lord (60:4). The smaller Illah’s/gods/idols cannot be broken in people nafs/psyche without the leave of Allah as they are so deeply ingrained in people.
Therefore, when Ibrahim (a.s), said that the biggest one has broken the smaller idols, it is not a lie, its actually a true statement. Allah confirms in Quran that Ibrahim is truthful prophet (19:41) although story and history books may tell you that Ibrahim has told 3 lies in his life time. This can not be true in light of Quranic ayat. These stories cannot relate to the fact that when Ibrahim (a.s) broke the Idols of his nation and told them that the Greatest one has done it, he actually means that the smaller illah’s can only be shattered by the leave of Allah (the Biggest Ilah), as they are so deeply ingrained in one’s psyche. Related Quranic ayahs are given below:
And by Allah I will plan for your idols after you will turn your backs.
37:93 فَرَاغَ عَلَيْهِمْ ضَرْبًا بِالْيَمِينِ
So he conned his way on them moving/striking with the right
The illahs are so deeply ingrained in people’s psyche and people are so emotionally attached with them that they cannot be broken head on. You need to strike the illahs from the side. That is not making them realize that it is their illahs who are being targeted, otherwise they will become so emotional that you will not be able to reason with them.
They said! Are you the one who has done this with our gods, O` Ibrahim/Abraham? He said! Instead, the GREAT ONE of them has done it, ask them if they can speak.
Ibrahim (a.s), did not lie. The smaller gods are always shattered in people nafs/phsyche with the leave of Allah. Most people who believe in Allah don’t do so without associating Him with smaller gods (12:106). It is Allah only, who can destroy the ilahs/smaller gods with His mercy.
It is not you who fought them; but it was Allah who fought them. And you did not throw pebbles when you threw them but Allah did threw the pebbles in order that He might test the believers by a gracious trial. Verily Allah hears and knows (all things).
When you act in the way of Allah according to His wishes, actually Allah is getting these done through you.
Indeed there is for you The most beautiful practice in Ibrahim and those with him, when they said to their people: surely , We are clear of you and of whatever you serve besides Allah: We have rejected you, and there has begun, between us and you, enmity and hatred forever, unless you believe in Allah and Him alone……..
Ibrahim (a.s) is the Idol breaker per Quran, and this is a best practice/ Uswatun Hasanah for his followers to do, i.e break ideological idols in the hearts and minds of people and be free from what people serve beside Allah.
Al-Quran mentions that the believers do ponder over the universe around them which increases their faith in the Creator. The Creator is the original designer and maker of the universe. As believers discover more and more about the universe, their awe and appreciation for its splendor, its immaculate design and balance, its complexity and its immense power, increases and they can appreciate more the absolute wisdom, knowledge and power of the Creator. The parameters of the cosmos are so meticulously designed that even if one factor or physical property of the matter and energy had differed, the whole universe would have crashed. This extreme care to perfection leads the believers to believe that this is all by the design of the most intelligent being whom people of all religions consider the Creator.
Those who remember Allah, standing, sitting, and lying on their sides, and ponder in the creation of the skies and the earth, (they say). “Our Lord! not for falsehood have you created (all) this! Glory to You! give us salvation from the punishment of the fire.
It is He, who created the skies and the earth in six periods of time, then He firmly established on the throne. He knows what enters within the earth and what comes forth out of it, what comes down from sky and what mounts up to it, and He is with you where-ever you may be, and Allah sees well all that you do.
Assuredly the creation of the skies and the earth is a greater (matter) than the creation of people. Yet most people do not know it.
The scale of the universe is simply enormous beyond the grasp of the normal comprehension. The deeper we look into the universe the farther it extends. There are places in universe whose light has not reached as yet, while light has been travelling from there for more than 14 billions years and light travels at the speed of 300,000 Km per second.
He is who created the seven skies one above another. You will not see any imperfection in the creation of the most Gracious. So turn your vision again. Do you see any flaw?
The above ayat states that the seven skies that Allah has created are built one over the another.
And We send down water from the sky according to a measure, and We cause it to soak in the soil; and We certainly are able to take it away (evaporation etc.)
The two ayahs above mention that the lowest sky is adorned with planets/starts. The water is sent down from sky. We may deduce that the lowest sky is the atmospheric layer of the earth as the atmospheric layer accumulates water vapors to form clouds and make rain on land. The layers of air also make the stars and planets look like glimmering lamps from earth. And also it provides protection against ultra violet rays, radio activity and meteorites entering the earth.
And We have made the heavens, a protective roof, yet do they turn away from its signs.
As the skies are said to be built as layers one upon another, building upon this hierarchy of skies one upon another, one possibility of the seven skies could be in the below given order:
Atmospheric layer of Earth
Solar system
Our Galaxy Milky way
Cluster of Galaxies
Super Cluster
Filament
Universe
Another possibility is that the first sky is the whole universe and there are still 6 additional layers of skies above our cosmos which we are not yet able to see.
Allah is He, who created seven skies and of the earth also the like of it. His orders descends between them so that you may know that Allah has power over all things, and that Allah encompasses, all things in (His) Knowledge
There is a similarity mentioned between the earth and the skies. The similarity is in their structure i.e as skies are built i.e one above another, similarly earth is made of layers one above another. The details of the layers of the Earth are given at the bottom of the post in notes.
By the Sky which is returning/bouncy, and by the Earth of opening/cracking nature
The nature of sky is stated to be returning or bouncy type, which could be pointing either to its cyclical nature (rotation), or it may mean its bouncing nature referring to the space time fabric of universe. The Earth is said to be of opening/cracking nature, may be referring to the cracks which forms between the layers of earth which causes e.g eruptions of volcanoes.
And (He) made the moon, in which is light, and made the sun as a Lamp.
Sun is said to be a lamp, obviously because it burns fuel. The ayat states that He made the Moon in which is light. We see light in the moon which is basically reflected light of the sun. In addition, moon’s inner most core comprising of iron and sulphur, at a temperature of 1600-1700K, would have its own glow as well inside of moon (see in notes below)
What! are you the more severe to create or the skies (above)? Which We have created. He raised its canopy high, thus perfected it. It’s night, He endowed with darkness, and its light He brings out. And the earth, after that He extended. He draw out therefrom its water and its pastures. And the mountains He firmly fixed.
In these ayahs, sequence of creation is mentioned. It is informed that He raised the canopy of the heavens high i.e the heavens were expanded. He brought forth the light of it, that with the expansion from the initial very dense universe, the density decreased to allow the light to travel in the Universe. After that He spread out the earth. (Spreading out does not mean the Earth is flat, would mean He shaped the earth , i.e from very small size in the beginning when Earth and Skies were joined together, the Earth was spread to its present size, i.e to a size of much bigger sphere.). Then He brought forth its water and pastures and fixed mountains on Earth. It means the sequence of creations is that, Allah made first the sky and after that He shaped the Earth.
The Skies and Earth were all joined together in a mixture and then God separated them.
Do not the unbelievers see that the skies and the earth were joined together before We split them asunder We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe?
Earth was created and shaped out of this mixture, in two periods of time.
Say. Is it that you deny Him who created the earth in two periods of time? And do you join equals with Him? He is the Lord of (all) the Worlds.
Then mountains were fixed on earth, and all provisions were provided on earth. All done in four periods of time. The two periods of time mentioned in Aya 41:9 and four periods of time mentioned 41:10 are concurrent. One information is provided additionally, that these four periods of time are equal in length.
He sets on the (earth), mountains standing firm, above it, and bestowed blessings on it, and set measures/proportion therein for all things for their nourishment, in four periods/intervals of time, equal (time periods)for the (sake of) those who ask
Then He attended towards the sky, and it was smoke/gaseous. He said to it and to the earth. “Come you together, willingly or unwillingly.” Both said. “We do come (together), in willing obedience.”
So, after the sky was shaped, then earth was shaped and provisions on earth were created, and after that He created seven skies out of the sky in two periods of time.
So He completed them as seven skies in two periods/intervals of time, and He assigned/inspired to each sky its command. And We adorned the lower sky with lamps, and (provided it) with guard. Such is the Decree of (Him) the Exalted in Might, Full of Knowledge.
The lowest sky is adorned with stars. If the lowest sky is the atmospheric layer surrounding the earth, it makes the start look like glimmering lamps. Otherwise, from space the stars don’t look to glimmer.
It is He who has created for you all things that are on earth; Then, He attended to the skies, thus made seven skies thereof; and He has knowledge of all things.
The sky, we constructed it with power and it is We who expand it
In the 20th century, the scientific community discovered that the universe is expanding. All the galaxies are moving away from one another. This was against logic as scientists expected that galaxies should be moving closer to one another due to force of gravitation. Allah informs in this Ayat that it is He, who is expanding the Universe.
He it is Who created the skies and the earth in six time periods – and His throne was over the water – that He may test you, which of you is better in conduct. But if you were to say to them, “You shall indeed be raised up after death”, the unbelievers would be sure to say, “This is nothing but obvious sorcery!”
In the above ayat it is mentioned that Allah created the skies and earth in six periods of time and His throne was on water. There is some very latest research which says that in the beginning Earth was covered with Water. So this would be an indication to the young Earth and beginning of life which originated in water. The ‘Arsh’ i.e throne may have different meanings to people, it could be an example of control board, where major decisions are made and orders issued.
Surely in the nearness of Allah the number of the months are twelve months, in the book of Allah the day He created the skies and the earth…
Above is part of ayat of 9:36 in which Allah states that the number of months is 12 from the time period that the earth and skies were created. In order to have months on earth which are cyclical in nature, means that the Moon and Sun should have been established within the same time period as earth. Currently if we google age of earth, moon and sun, all are estimated to be approximately 4.6 billion years. Meaning the solar system and earth, moon and sun were created in approximately the same epoch of time not too far distant in time from each other.
O ye assembly of Jinns and men! If it be ye can pass beyond the zones of the skies and the earth, pass ye! not without authority shall ye be able to pass!
Escape velocity is the minimum speed needed for an object to escape from the gravitational influence of a massive body. The escape velocity from earth is about 40,270 km/h I.e the speed required to escape the earth gravitational pull.
Thus, I swear by the occurrence/falling of stars and indeed it is a mighty adjuration if you but knew,-
The falling of most stars at the end of their lives, happens with a nova or supernova, a mighty release of energy in which a star can briefly outshine entire galaxies and radiate more energy than our sun will in its entire lifetime. This indeed is no small event and worthy of drawings attention of mankind.
The day that We roll up the sky like a scroll rolled up for books. As We started the initial creation, so shall We repeat it. This is a promise upon us, truly shall We fulfill it.
This could be an indication that the universe would end up in ‘BIG CRUNCH’, as the universe expanded in the initial stages, eventually it could compress towards the end of time. (and may be this cycle keeps on repeating)
Descriptions in Quran of the Creation of Universe:
Some people wonder why Allah did not include detailed explanations in the Quran about how He created the universe. The Quran simply states that Allah created the heavens and the earth but does not elaborate on the processes involved. One possible explanation is that humans are familiar with and can only relate to four dimensions: three spatial dimensions and one time dimension.
To illustrate this point, imagine a one-dimensional being created by God. If God informs this being about the existence of three-dimensional creatures who use devices to measure time, such as watches, the one-dimensional creature might ask for an explanation of how these devices are made. However, describing to a one-dimensional being how factories manufacture watches would be futile because they lack the capacity to comprehend a three-dimensional world. The limitations of their perception would render the explanation meaningless.
Similarly, if the universe encompasses more than the dimensions humans can perceive, much of its workings would remain incomprehensible to us. Even if someone were to attempt to describe these additional dimensions, the explanation would likely confuse the vast majority of people. Current scientific theories, such as string theory, suggest that the universe indeed has more dimensions than we can observe. For example, bosonic string theory requires 26 dimensions for mathematical consistency, while superstring theory posits 10 dimensions, and M-theory proposes 11 dimensions.
These theories imply that the universe is far more complex than our limited perception allows us to understand. Therefore, it is plausible that Allah chose not to include intricate details about the universe’s creation in the Quran, as such explanations might be beyond human comprehension and, ultimately, not beneficial for our spiritual guidance.
Structure of the Earth is divided into layers. These layers are both physically and chemically different. The Earth has an outer solid crust, a highly viscousmantle, a liquid outer core, and a solid inner core. (Following is the description of layers and sub layers of Earth):
The crust is the outermost layer of the Earth. It is made of solid rocks. It is mostly made of the lighter elements, silicon, oxygen, aluminium. Because of this, it is known as sial (silicon = Si; aluminium = Al) or felsic.
Lithosphere is the first of the four sub layers which together constitute the Mantle. Mantle is the layer of the Earth right below the crust. It is made mostly of oxygen, silicon and the heavier element magnesium. The uppermost part of the mantle is solid, and forms the base of the crust. It is made of the heavy rock peridotite. The continental and oceanic plates include both the crust proper and this uppermost solid layer of the mantle. Together this mass makes up the lithosphere. The lithosphere plates float on the semi-liquid aesthenosphere below.
Outer core. Earth core is solid iron and nickel, and is about 5000–6000oC. is a liquid layer below the mantle.
Inner core, is the very center of the Earth. It is very hot and, due to the high pressure, it is solid.[1]
Moon’s Inner core:
Moon’s internal structure
Core
In 2010, a reanalysis of the old Apollo seismic data on the deep moonquakes using modern processing methods confirmed that the Moon has an iron rich core with a radius of 330 ± 20 km. The same reanalysis established that the solid inner core made of pure iron has the radius of 240 ± 10 km. The core is surrounded by the partially (10 to 30%) melted layer of the lower mantle with a radius of 480 ± 20 km (thickness ~150 km). These results imply that 40% of the core by volume has solidified. The density of the liquid outer core is about 5 g/cm3 and it could contain as much 6% sulfur by weight. The temperature in the core is probably about 1600–1700 K.[5]
Al-Quran describes an incidence of Moosa A.S and Pharoah, where Moosa A.S and his followers were able to cross a large body of water with the help of a temporary passage, which was made for them with the will of God. However, when the Pharoah and his team tried to use the same passage, the temporary passage was filled with water and they were drowned. As per our observations of the Universe around us, everything follows God’s will. The physical laws created by God are Gods’ will and all His orders are carried out per His Will and per the physical laws created by Him. These laws are also His practice and He does not change His practice.
On account of their arrogance in the land and their plotting of Evil, but the plotting of Evil will harm only its authors. Now are they but looking for the way the earlier people were dealt with? But no change will you find in Allah’s practice. no turning off will you find in Allah’s practice.
When God intends to do any thing, he orders for it and His orders are carried out accordingly. We see that God’s orders are carried out by His practice which are laws of the nature and God does not change His practice.
Then We told Moses by inspiration. “Strike the sea with your rod.” So it divided, and each separate part became like the huge, firm mass of a mountain.
We took the BANI-ISRAEL/Children of Israel across the sea: Pharaoh and his group followed them in insolence and spite. When he (Pharaoh) sensed his drowning, he said ‘ I believe that there is no god except Him whom the Children of Israel believe in: I am of those who are muslims/ submitters’.
The parting of waters of the sea was with the orders of God. The below link explores the possibility of temporary parting of sea water per physical laws with the help of studies conducted with computer simulations.
The Biblical image of Moses raising his arm to part the waters of the Red Sea is one of the most enduring to emerge from the Old Testament. But what has long been thought to be either a fable or a miracle may in fact have happened – as researchers postulate theories as to how and where such an event might have taken place.
Parting the Red Sea: Examining the Possibilities
In 1992, a paper by Doron Nof and Nathan Paldor looked at possible scientific explanations for the parting of the Red Sea as set out in the book of Exodus. They considered two options – a tsunami generated by an earthquake or other event (such as landslide or volcanic eruption) and a mechanism called ‘wind setdown’ in which winds drive back the sea.
Although the Red Sea region is highly seismically active, Nof and Paldor rejected the tsunami as the most likely explanation in favor of the wind setdown, which fits better with the description of the event laid down in Exodus. Wind setdown is the opposite of a storm surge, and occurs when wind (sometimes in combination with tides) drives water abnormally far from the coast.
Nof and Paldor concluded that the Biblical description of an overnight easterly wind at a (not excessive) speed of 20ms-1 would have generated a sea level drop of over 2.5m at the northern end of the Red Sea. Combined with the possible existence of a submarine ridge, this would have allowed the Israelites a land bridge and time to cross.
The destruction of the pursuing Egyptians (a shortcoming of the tsunami model) is also explained by wind setdown. A sudden drop in the wind speed, or a change in the wind direction, would have allowed the waters to rush back rapidly. Nof and Paldorf’s calculations suggest that the dry area could be completely flooded in as little as four minutes, leaving no hope of escape for anyone still on the dried-out ridge.
Red Sea Crossing: Refining the Location With Computer Simulations
In 2010, further work was undertaken on the theoretical possibility of a scientific explanation for the Red Sea crossing. Using computer simulations, Drews and Han focused upon historical topography and considered Nof and Paldor’s proposals. Also following the theory of wind setdown, they considered alternative locations and found what they considered to be a better fit elsewhere.
Rather than the location at the north end of the Red Sea/Gulf of Suez favored by Nof and Paldor, they identified a site on the Mediterranean coast, at the Lake of Tanis. Here, computer modeling demonstrated that the former coastline would, under a wind set-down of 28ms-1, open up a 3-4 kilometer-long land bridge which would remain open for around four hours.
Red Sea Miracle: The Truth?
There are obvious difficulties in drawing a firm conclusion about the passage across the Red Sea. The Bible’s information can be interpreted in different ways and is vague about location. Also, the topography of the Red and Mediterranean Seas and their coasts has changed as sea levels fluctuate over periods of thousands of years.
Scientific research indicates, however, that such an event might have taken place as described purely through the natural mechanisms of wind set-down and a favorable topography. Whether such an event happened at the behest of the Lord, as the Bible maintains, or whether the Israelites were simply very lucky remains, of course, a matter for much greater, and less scientific, debate.
Did you see the one who disputed with Abraham in his Lord, because Allah had granted him Kingdom? Abraham said. “My Lord is He Who Gives life and death.” He said. “I give life and death”. Said Abraham. “But it is Allah who causes the sun to rise from the east, then you cause it to rise from the West.” Thus was he confounded who (in arrogance) rejected faith. Nor does Allah Give guidance to the people unjust.
It is God who created the Universe and firmly established the laws in it. Everything works under the laws established by Him in the Universe. Everybody knows that no entity besides Him, no matter however powerful, can not change any law of the Universe. Any body challenging the authority of God should think, can they change even an iota of His established principles?
Al-Kitab states in ayat 29:14 that prophet Nooh (a.s) remained with his people for 1000 years except 50. Human beings normally don’t live that long. Let’s review further to understand implications of the statement.
In ayat 16:120 prophet Ibraheem (a.s) is mentioned as an أُمَّةً/’Ummat’. In ayat 37:83, Ibraheem (a.s) is said to be of the same group as of prophet Nooh (a.s). If the group is implied for an ‘Ummat’, then this would mean that prophet Nooh (a.s) also signifies an Ummat in addition to be an individual person. In ayat 11:8 the word “Ummat” is used to mean time period/era. This could imply that Ibraheem (a.s) and Nooh (a.s), apart from being individual human beings, also represent eras of time in which their influence and teachings prevailed in their communities. Ayat 25:37 informs about messengers in plural, sent to the people of Nooh. So there were messengers sent to the people of Nooh in an era which is termed as Nooh’s Era.
“We sent Nooh to his people, and he remained among them a thousand years except fifty, thus the Deluge overtook them while they were unjust.”
Al-Kitab uses different words for 1000 Years (Sana) and 50 years (Aam) in this ayat. While normally people use both these words to mean “years,” there is definitely some technical difference in these two words, not very clearly understood at this time.
“Peace and salutation to Nooh in all Worlds! Thus indeed do we reward those who do right. For he is one of our believing servants. After that we drowned the others. Verily in his (Nooh’s) group is Ibraheem.”
“If We delay the penalty for them for a definite time period (term), they are sure to say, ‘What keeps it back?’ Ah! On the day it (actually) reaches them, nothing will turn it away from them, and they will be completely encircled by that which they used to mock at!”
“And the people of Nooh, when they rejected the messengers, We drowned them, and We made them as a Sign for mankind; and We have prepared for (all) wrong-doers a grievous Penalty.”
As we know, the life span of a human is not a thousand years. It is not Allah’s practice to grant such long life spans to human beings and Allah does not change his Sunnat/practice (17:77). So a possible explanation could be that Nooh (a.s), in addition to being an individual person, also represents an era of time approximately equal to a millennium. To support this idea we see mention of nations associated with prophet Nooh (a.s) in below ayat, although actually only a few people were with him as stated in ayat 11:40.
“It was said ‘O Nooh! Come down (from the Ark) with peace from Us, and blessing on you and on some of the nations from those with you and (other) nations to whom We shall grant blessings, then a grievous penalty shall reach them from Us.’”
The above ayat mentions nations with prophet Nooh’s which should be indicating the nations in his era, while the actual believing people with him were very few as per below ayat.
Until when arrived Our command, and the fountains of the earth gushed forth! We said. “Embark therein, of all two pairs, and your people/family – except those against whom the word has already gone forth,- and the believers.” but only a few believed with him.
Notes:
The presence of an individual living for a millennium within a community with a normal human lifespan would undoubtedly create significant social disruption and fear. Such a scenario would only be sustainable if the entire community at that time possessed a similarly extended lifespan. If longer longevity in earlier human history was the case, we would expect to find genetic remnants of such longevity in modern human populations as well, which is not the case. The fossils and DNA of early humans understandably point towards shorter life spans than humans today.
Consider, for instance, the implications for Prophet Nooh, purported to have lived for 1,000 years. Approximately 40 generations would pass within this period. Even with a modest birth rate of 1.5, his direct descendants—children and grandchildren—would number in the hundreds of thousands. Which was not the case described by Quran. Only a few people were in his Ark from the community.
Furthermore, if the wider community did not share Prophet Noah’s extended life cycle, his wife, children, grandchildren, and friends would all have perished long before him. This would leave him as a solitary figure, potentially viewed with extreme apprehension by a community witnessing a supernatural individual live for centuries among them.
These profound social and demographic challenges, arising from such a disparity in lifespans, are notably absent from the Quranic narrative.
The traditionalist’s concept of abrogation (نسخ) of ayas of Al-Quran is that some of the ayahs in Al-Quran have been abrogated or superseded by other ayahs. The concept originated from their inability to explain some ayahs of Quran so they termed those ayahs as abrogated and considered ayat 2:106 as the justification of the concept of abrogation of ayahs.
The abrogated ayahs are not indicated in Quran nor in any hadith, the prophet (pbuh) mentioned any ayat to be abrogated or replaced with other ayat. It was later scholars who faced difficulty in explaining certain ayahs in relation to other ayahs, therefore they used the ayat 2:106 as pretext for declaring a number of ayahs as abrogated. Scholars have differed considerably in the number of abrogated ayahs. Some consider the number of abrogated ayahs to be over 500 and some consider it to be less than 10. However, no one dares to strike out from the book, the ayahs they deem abrogated.
The book (Al-Quran) has been sent for all people and for all ages. Is it not impossible for Allah to send a book whose instructions are valid for all times? It does not make sense that ayahs of Al-Quran were abrogated so frequently within a period of 23 years in history, because of changing conditions, and then after 23 years, it was set solid for the rest of eternity. Were all the changes in the world, happening during these 23 years and after that no changes were to occur to warrant further abrogation of ayahs. This concept of abrogation does not hold ground as we know that conditions of the world change all the time.
We will review the concept of abrogation in the light of ayahs of Quran to see if this concept is really about the cancellation of ayahs or it means something else:
We don’t abrogate/cancel or cause to be forgotten from an Ayat (false concepts connected with the Ayat), but We substitute something better or similar. Don’t you know that Allah Has power over all things?
Normally with ayahs there are preconceived notions attached to them. These notions are not from Allah but they are widely known and spread in the society. So Allah, cancels these notions (by other ayahs) and confirms the true Spirit/understanding of ayahs. Therefore, what is cancelled from the ayahs, are the things introduced by Satan and not the ayahs themselves.
And We have not sent before you a Messenger nor a Prophet except when he wishes, Satan encounters in his wishes. So Allah cancels what Satan encounters, then Allah confirms His ayahs/signs and Allah is knowing, wise.
When We substitute the place of one ayat with another ayat and Allah knows best what He reveals ,- they say, “You are but a forger”. but most of them do not understand.
When the messenger delivers understanding of a certain topic from Al-Quran to the people, he explains it with the help of ayahs from various suras of Al-Quran. The order of these ayahs related to a certain topic is not necessary in their original order in the book. For example if a topic of ‘talaq’ is explained by the messenger, he will explain with the help of ayahs from sura 66 (Al-Talaq), sura 2 (Baqara) and various other suras. The order of ayahs in this explanation will not be in the order in which they occur in Al-Quran. When this is done and the spirit of the words of Allah related to the said topic is conveyed to people, and if this understanding/spirit is different from people’s previous beliefs, they say that the messenger has invented it himself.
Thus, a human being should see from what he is created! (He is) created from flowing water, which emits from between the loins and the ribs.
Some people have objected to these Ayas, that the understanding does not conform to the current scientific knowledge. However, this objection is because they consider these Ayas as referring solely to male reproduction system.
Before we review these Ayats, please consider meanings of some words and phrases in above Ayas as given below:
‘Sulb’ (ص ل ب) is used in the meaning of ‘Loins’ when referring to one’s progeny. In Ayat 4:23, the word ‘Aslabikum’ is used in the sense of ‘Loins’, وَحَلَائِلُ أَبْنَائِكُمُ الَّذِينَ مِنْ أَصْلَابِكُمْ
As per Lane Arabic to English Dictionary (page 1712) , this word is used as ‘Loins’ when referring to one’s progeny.
‘Taraib’ mainly refers to the chest and rib bones area for both males and females but mostly for females. See Lane’s dictionary relevant page 301.
So the term ‘Bainas Sulbe wat-traib’ ( بَيْنِ الصُّلْبِ وَالتَّرَائِبِ), would mean between the loins and the chest/rib area. This is the area where female ‘Uterus’ and ‘ovaries’ are located in females.
We know that both males and females eject reproductive fluids in the reproductive process. The reproductive fluid from male is emitted from ‘Sulb’ (loins) area of male and in female from ‘Bainas Sulbe wat-traib’ (between loins and ribs) area. It is when both these fluids come together that a human being is created. Only male or female reproductive fluids alone would not create a human, rather when both these fluids come together and a unique ‘droplet’ is created. This happens in the female ‘Taraib’ area. The reference in the said Ayas is therefore, more likely in the context of female uterus which is located between the loins and the ribs.
Notes:
With reference to the Male reproductive system, the trigger mechanism or point of origin of orgasm is in the sacral nerve root found along the spine, located between the loins and chest area vertically.
Quote from Wikipedia:
‘The semen is ejected through the urethra with rhythmic contractions.[4] These rhythmic contractions are part of the male orgasm. They are generated by the bulbospongiosus and pubococcygeus muscles under the control of a spinal reflex at the level of the spinal nerves S2-4 via the pudendal nerve.
Hoot (حوت) means big fish in Arabic. Normally the word is used for whales and dolphins. There is an incident mentioned in Al-Kitab about a Hoot/Whale swallowing prophet Yunus A.S. There is another incident mentioned in Al-Kitab about Prophet Moosa (A.S)and a youth who went on an expedition. The indication they had of their quest was to follow a Hoot/whale uptil the point of merging of two oceans.
And when, Moses said to his attendant, “I will not give up until I reach the junction of the two seas or even If I have to spend a long time in travel.”
When they had passed on (some distance), Moses said to his attendant. “Bring us our supper; truly we have suffered much fatigue at this (stage of) our journey.”
He replied. “Did you see (what happened) when we betook ourselves to the rock? I did indeed forget (about) the Whale. none but Satan made me forget to tell (you) about it. it took its course through the sea in a marvelous way!”
So they found one of Our servants, on whom We had bestowed Mercy from Ourselves and whom We had taught knowledge from Our own Presence.
The conventional story associated with above Ayas in Quran is that Moosa and his attendant were on land. They had a cooked fish with them as their meal. After walking for a long time Moosa was tired and asked the attendant to bring the fish for their meal. At that time the attendant told him that when they passed over the rock, the dead fish suddenly became alive and made its way into the water. Moosa told him that was the place they were seeking and they turned back to find that place.
In the above conventional story beside the problem of a cooked fish suddenly becoming alive and jumping in water, another point is that the word Hoot (حوت) is used for big fish like whale and dolphin which people don’t carry for lunches. The small fish which are eaten are called Samak( سمك) in Arabic. If we ponder over the Ayas only, the scenario which builds up is that Moosa and the youth must be travelling on a boat or ship. They are following a whale or dolphin. Whales do season migration on known routes. They are following the whale which is destined to go to a specific place as part of whale migration. The likely place which fulfills the conditions of the meeting place of two seas is the ‘Strait of Jibralter’. The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow body of water between Spain and Morocco that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean.
The points which indicate likely hood of Strait of Jibraltar to be the Moosa’s intended place are given below:
This place has to be the meeting place of two seas or oceans. Strait of Jibralter is the meeting place of Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea
For the term Majma al Beharain (مَجْمَعَ الْبَحْرَيْنِ )The Quran states that there are two large bodies of flowing water (Bahr-ain in Arabic) that meet but do not intermingle because of a “barrier” between them, a barrier that doesn’t prevent meeting but prevents intermingling (Al-Quran 55:19-20). THE ATLANTIC AND THE MEDITERRANEAN MEET BUT DO NOT INTERMIGLE OVER THE GIBRALTAR BECAUSE OF THE “BARRIER”. These two waters keep their distinct salinities separate over the junction.
This place is visited by a lot of whales and dolphins and many tourist companies now a days run whale watching tours in this place. See link, http://www.firmm.org/en/
The Quran uses the word “Yom” (يوم) with two meanings: “day” and “time period.” In Arabic, both meanings are commonly understood. Similarly, the word “Hoot” (حوت) refers to a big fish, while “Sabt” (سبت) means “rest.” Depending on the context, “Al-Sabt” can refer to either “Saturday” or simply “rest.” The verb “Yasbatoon” (يَسْبِتُونَ) translates to “they rest,” and the term “Yoma-Sabtehim” (يَوْمَ سَبْتِهِمْ) means “their rest period.”
Allah describes a town by the seashore whose inhabitants transgressed in their resting habits, implying they indulged excessively in laziness. Allah has designated night for rest and day for work. The mention of big fish in the following verse highlights their early morning activity at sea. Larger fish are typically visible in the early hours, but these people were still resting and failed to make use of this productive time. By the time they awoke and began their activities, the opportunity had already passed. Thus, in this context, “Al-Sabt” does not refer to Saturday but rather to their rest period.
Ask them about the town present by the sea, when! they transgressed in (the matter of) ‘the Rest’. Their big fish did come to them in a manifest manner, at the time of their rest, but at the time they were not resting, they (big fish) did not come. Thus did We test them, for they used to transgress.
Allah tested this community for their laziness and lack of discipline. It is not His practice to pass arbitrary orders, such as forbidding activities on a specific day of the week, like “O people of London, you are prohibited from going to the sports market on Thursdays.” Therefore, interpreting “Al-Sabt” in this context as a legal prohibition for a specific day seems illogical. Instead, “Al-Sabt” here refers to their excessive indulgence in rest.
When some group of them said. “Why do you preach to a nation whom Allah will destroy or inflict with a terrible punishment?”- they said .” To discharge our duty to your Lord, and perchance they may fear Him.” Thus when they forgot the warnings with what they had been reminded with, We rescued those who forbade evil; but We caught the wrong-doers with a grievous punishment because they were given to transgression. Thus when they transgressed in their prohibitions, We said to them. “You be despicable monkeys, ” And when your Lord did declare that He would send against them, till the Day of Judgment, those who would afflict them with grievous penalty. No doubt, your Lord is quick in retribution, and He is also forgiving, Most Merciful. We broke them up into sections on this earth. There are among them some that are the righteous, and some other than that. We have tried them with both good and evil, In order that they might turn (to us). After them succeeded a generation, who inherited the Book, but they take (for themselves) the offers of this world, saying (as an excuse). “We will be forgiven.” (Even so), if similar offers came their way, they would (again) seize them. Was not the covenant of the Book taken from them, that they would not ascribe to Allah anything but the truth? and they study what is in the Book. But best for the righteous is the home in the Hereafter. Will ye not understand? As to those who hold fast by the Book and establish regular prayer,- never shall We let go waste the reward of the Saliheen/people who correct themselves.
When this nation exceeded in their laziness and lethargic work habits, Allah punished them. Save the righteous people among them, He made the wrong doers of them to behave like monkeys. That is they imitate/mimic other people and are not able to take a leadership position in the world. Further Allah punished them by inflicting upon them such rulers who will always be exploiting them. Allah keeps on trying these people with good and evil so that they may turn to Allah. They were succeeded by a generation who inherited the Book of Allah. In the Book there is a covenant for them not to ascribe anything to Allah except Haq/truth, but for small gains of the world, they attribute all sort of untrue stories to Allah. Among them, those who hold fast to the Book and establish salat, Allah will not let waste their reward, though.
So We made it an example of their own time and for their posterity, and a sermon to those who acquire taqwa/fear of Allah.
Is it too difficult to recognize these people among us who behave like imitating monkeys,lazy and procrastinators, they are despised in the world, persecuted by their own rulers, not able to take leadership role in the world? There will be few among them who hold fast to Book of Allah and prayers, who will be saved by Allah from this punishment.
The Al-Sabt was made for those who disagreed in this matter; But Allah will judge between them on the Day of Judgment, in what they are differing.
Sabt is a period of rest. However, people who differed and invented several innovations in the name of Sabbath. So, these obligation in the name of Sabbath were made by them on themselves, by differing in the understanding of Al-Sabt. Allah will decide among them on the day of Judgment in the matters in which they differ.
Topics from The Book (Al-Kitab) 