Obedient Angel
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Join date : 2011-04-30
Posts : 2448
 | Subject: Reflections on Qur'an 18:86: Thul Qarnain in the Qur'an and the Midnight Sun in Norway  Thu Jun 30, 2011 3:57 am | |
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"Ayah [18:86] in the Qur'an is one of the ayahs that shows how mistranslations can lead to misconceptions about the Qur'an. The ayah as translated by Picktall reads as follows:
[18:86]
"Till, when he reached the setting-place of the sun, he found it setting in a muddy spring, and found a people thereabout. We said: O Dhu’l- Qarneyn! Either punish or show them kindness."
Following is a report written by a Catholic friend who pinpointed what he thought to be "an error in the Qur'an" through our communication.
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"On my list of what I thought to be clear "errors in the Qur'an", which would demonstrate decisively that it is not the verbatim Word of God, perfect in every respect was the story of Dhul Qarnain, a name which means literally the two-horned one and which traditionally in Islam, and by Western secular scholars, is taken to refer to Alexander the Great.
The traditional Muslim story is that the Quraysh, Muhammad's Meccan enemies, sent a delegation to the Rabbis of Medina to ask their opinion of the Prophethood that Muhammad claimed; after all the Jews had the first Heavenly Book and had a tradition of Prophets. The Rabbis proposed three questions to be put to Muhammad: if he could answer them, then his claim to be a Prophet would be confirmed. The questions were about subjects known to Christians and Jews, but allegedly unknown in the Hijaz. One question was, "Ask him about Dhul Qarnain."
The Qur'an in Al-Kahf [18:83] gives an account of Dhul Qarnain and his Westward travels that Muhammad is to offer the Meccans. Notoriously, it contains the following:
Pickthall: [18:86]
"Till, when he reached the setting-place of the sun, he found it setting in a muddy spring, and found a people thereabout. We said: O Dhu’l- Qarneyn! Either punish or show them kindness."
Islam critics have seized upon what seems patent absurdity and falsehood:" there is no place where the sun sets, and the reference to such is taken as a sign of Muhammad's - the supposed author's - ignorance of the sun's revolutions around the earth. This seems a decisive refutation. However, Dahlia clarified that commentators have been misled by the translations: the phrase "place of" or "setting place" has been inserted by translators. The Qur'an does not refer to "the place of the setting sun", only the setting of the sun. Pickthall, Hilali-Khan, Shakir, Sher Ali, and Sale make the interpolation, but Arberry, Palmer, Rodwell and Yusuf Ali do not. It is difficult to see why this interpolation was thought necesssary. But Dahlia drew my attention that she has noted through her study that many of the errors made by one translator was COPIED by many of the succeeding translators.
The next alleged absurdity to me was that the sun was seen to set in "a muddy spring" or pool.
However, Dahlia clarified that my problem will be easily resolved if I realized that in Arabic, this is clearly understood by everyone as [as if] or [as it were] "setting in a muddy spring". She clarified that according to the spirit of the Arabic language, this could be taken as referring to what seemed rather than what was quoting
Tafsir Al Jalalyn which explains:
"its setting in a spring is [described as seen] from the perspective of the eye, for otherwise it is far larger [in size] than this world;"
She supported her understanding with the translations of Zaki Hammad though he followed the old in the erroneous first part:
"And at last,
when he reached the [place
of the] setting of the sun, [as it were]
in [the midst of] a black turbid spring.
Hence, I said, ""Very good: your clarification is salutary, particularly if your 'as if' is justified. My argument collapses. Thank you."
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Amazingly, there is a phenomenon known as the "Midnight Sun" witnessed in Norway, which interestingly, at That time of Thul Qarnain might have repressented a very far point on earth, and hence could be one of the far limits he reached in his journey.
If you check the attached photo, you find that the scene of the sun setting at midnight [what looks like the sun setting [as if] in a muddy spring indeed] is quite evident. This is a toursit sighseeing in Norway.
http://www.visitnorway.com/Articles/Theme/What-to-do/Attractions/Nature/The-magical-midnight-sun/
Check this:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=a.10150166173663349.317477.502888348
Some people say that this may be the place referred to in the Qur'an in the story of thul Qarnain. Allah knows best!
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