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Today I’m going to be looking at two chapters of the Qur’an, one long (#7) and one reasonably short (#72).<\/p>\n
Surah 7\u00a0– “The heights” (Al-Araf<\/a>) The fall of Satan is described, in an almost identical pattern to\u00a0Surah 38 (“The letter sad”)<\/strong>. The narrative continues, however, describing the Fall of Adam and Eve.\u00a0Allah told\u00a0them “do not approach this tree, lest you be among the wrongdoers”<\/span>. The\u00a0nature of the tree or the consequences of eating from it were\u00a0not really explained. Rather than saying that they will be like gods (as in the Genesis\u00a0narrative), Satan\u00a0promised that if they eat the fruit they will “become angels or become of the immortal”<\/span>. Once they have eaten, they recognize\u00a0their nakedness and sew together leaves as clothes. God arrives and chastises them. We don’t see “the blame game” which we see in Genesis, where Adam blames Eve (and ultimately God) and Eve blames the serpent.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Muhammad is told to turn\u00a0believers to\u00a0the direction of prayer.<\/p>\n Believers\u00a0are told to eat and drink, but not in excess.<\/p>\n We are reminded that those who deny the scriptures and laws revealed by Allah are destined for the flames. Those who invent lies about Allah, invoke other deities beside him or who lead others astray are identified for punishment. When speaking about unbelievers, the Qur’an borrows a turn of phrase from the New Testament:\u00a0“[they will not] enter Paradise until a camel enters into the eye of a needle [i.e. never]”<\/span>.<\/p>\n Interestingly, it says that those who enter Paradise will be purified of any resentment which they have as a result of how they were treated while on earth. It therefore appears there is some form of purgation after death in Islamic thought.<\/p>\n Having discussed those in Paradise and in Hell, we are then told about men whose good and bad deeds are equally balanced. These stand on the wall between Heaven and Hell.\u00a0The text seems to suggest that these people ultimately end up in Paradise.<\/p>\n We\u00a0return, yet again, to the pattern of the earlier prophets: Noah, Hud, Salih, Lot, Shu’ayb and Moses. This takes up considerable space, but is simply a repeat of what we’ve read before:<\/p>\n A couple of notes of interest regarding this section:<\/p>\n Verse 157 contains a significant claim, that Muhammad (“the unlettered prophet”<\/span>) is found prophecised\u00a0in the Torah and the Gospel. I will respond to some of the examples which are typically cited by Muslims in later blog posts.<\/p>\n Verse 162 seems to suggest that the message sent down by God (to the Jews) has been\u00a0changed. There follows a story whereby the fish would only come to them if they observed the Sabbath.<\/p>\n In verse 172, an amazing claim is made. Allah says that He “took from the children of Adam – from their loins – their descendants”<\/span> and asked them if He was Lord, which they affirmed. This is meant to disprove any\u00a0claim of ignorance of Allah given by disbelievers on Judgement Day (although I’m not sure why).<\/p>\n Questions<\/span><\/p>\n Q1. When Satan was whispering to Adam and Eve, what does it mean when it says that it was “apparent to them that which was concealed from them of their private parts”<\/span>? Is this talking about what their nakedness?<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Q2. What would it mean to “become angels”<\/span>?\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Q3. In Islamic theology, were Adam and Eve created mortal? Christian theology teaches that they were created with the\u00a0preternatural gift of immortality.<\/em><\/p>\n Q4. There’s no mention in the Qur’an so far of any other fallen angels. Is it just Iblis, disbelievers and some of the Jinn in Hell?<\/em><\/p>\n Q5. Do the “companions of the Elevations”<\/span> end up in Heaven? It seems to suggest that they do.<\/em><\/p>\n Q6. Ayah 124 speaks of crucifixion, but I can’t find any evidence of this in Egypt at the time of Moses.<\/em><\/p>\n Q7. Is there a significance that ayah 142 breaks the forty days Moses was on the mountain into thirty days plus ten?<\/em><\/p>\n Q8. Aya 147 implies that Moses taught a Final Judgment and afterlife. Where do you see this in the Pentateuch?<\/em><\/p>\n Q9. Where do you see Muhammad described in the Torah or the Gospel?<\/em><\/p>\n Q10. Does Verse 162 mean that scripture was changed? Is this speaking just about the Jews or to the Christians also?<\/em><\/p>\n Q11. What is the Islamic view of the Sabbath?<\/em><\/p>\n Q12. How does God question the descendants\u00a0of Adam while they’re still in his loins?<\/em><\/p>\n Q13. What does it mean when it says “Was not the covenant of the Scripture [i.e. the Torah] taken from them that they would not say about Allah except the truth, and they studied what was in it”<\/span>? It seems to suggest that the Torah was taken away, and in order that they would speak the truth?<\/em><\/p>\n Q14. Does verse 203 suggest that Muhammad performed no miracles?<\/em><\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Mankind is reminded to follow Allah and also\u00a0reminded of the cities which He destroyed to punish unbelieving people.\u00a0The scales of judgement which weigh good deeds are also recalled.<\/p>\n\n
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