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Title: "and His Throne had been upon water" (V.11:7) and "Six Days" Post by: Ruhi_Rose on October 06, 2018, 02:03:38 am BismEm
And it is He who created the heavens and the earth in six days - and His Throne had been upon water - that He might test you as to which of you is best in deed. But if you say, "Indeed, you are resurrected after death," those who disbelieve will surely say, "This is not but obvious magic." (11:7) Surah Hud. As-salam Alaykum folks. Can anyone please elaborate the underlined portion of Verse 11:7 with some additional commentary? Title: Re: "and His Throne had been upon water" (V.11:7) Post by: Heba E. Husseyn on October 06, 2018, 02:14:58 am Walaikum As-Salaam dear Sis ..... In my opinion that parenthetical expression briefly refers to the state of the universe (earth included) which existed before its creation, and Allah Almighty mentions it as "water." But it may not literally mean the same water we have on earth. It could be some other fluid or substance or gaseous matter. Only The Almighty knows precisely what. Thus when Allah says "His Throne had been upon water" it means that before the creation of the heavens and the earth, the Throne of Allah rested upon that substance which He states as "water." We cannot go any farther with this explanation as only Allah would know best what exactly that substance was. The Quranic content of Verse 11:7 that follows the underlined portion, basically indicates the purpose of the creation of humankind which is a very popular query in scholarly spheres. Very briefly, the purpose is to test humankind with a variety of challenges and also with successes as to how they handle these differing situations, proving the triumph or failure of their own souls in earthly life. Unfortunately, as The Almighty Himself mentions in this Verse and it's so true as we see at present, most of humanity has chosen to disbelieve and has rejected resurrection. Furthermore, it's also very essential to clarify that the translated expression "six days" is a bit inaccurate. The original term "ayyamin" in the Noble Quran precisely means epoch or era or span or stages ... a stretch of time marked by significant events with specific characteristics. Thus the original Arabic expression "sittati ayyamin" refers to 'six epochs' or six stages or six spans. Again, only Allah would know the exact length of time of each of those six epochs. It's impossible for anyone except HIM to confirm that. Most translators have translated the word "ayyamin" as 'days' but apparently that translation is symbolic. It may not mean the usual days of a week or month brought about by the rotation of the earth. It's not literal and therefore it can lead to a misunderstanding for readers with little or no knowledge of Arabic. Title: Re: "and His Throne had been upon water" (V.11:7) Post by: Ruhi_Rose on October 06, 2018, 02:43:34 am Aw! Many thanks for this bit dear Sis. Totally clear to me now. Alhumdulilah. Walaikum As-Salaam dear Sis ..... Furthermore, it's also very essential to clarify that the translated expression "six days" is a bit inaccurate. The original term "ayyamin" in the Noble Quran precisely means epoch or era or span or stages ... a stretch of time marked by significant events with specific characteristics. Thus the original Arabic expression "sittati ayyamin" refers to 'six epochs' or six stages or six spans. Again, only Allah would know the exact length of time of each of those six epochs. It's impossible for anyone except HIM to confirm that. Most translators have translated the word "ayyamin" as 'days' but apparently that translation is symbolic. It may not mean the usual days of a week or month brought about by the rotation of the earth. It's not literal and therefore it can lead to a misunderstanding for readers with little or no knowledge of Arabic. Another very, very useful elucidation that has helped my understanding of this expression greatly and sounds perfectly logical. You're right, the choice of the translation "six days" has caused misunderstandings among many. I recall, a couple of years ago a revert brother was getting rather restless as he concluded that "six days" means the standard 24-hours a day as in this planet. We could only tell him that most likely it's symbolic. We didn't know the exact definition of the original term "ayyamin" and "sittati ayyamin." That makes perfect sense. Alhumdulilah. And yes, the duration of each epoch or span is known to Allah only. Plenty of thanks Sister Heba. Allah bless. Title: Re: "and His Throne had been upon water" (V.11:7) Post by: Zainab_M on October 07, 2018, 01:14:27 am SubhanAllah. A very informative input Sister Heba. Very helpful for me too. JazekAllah khair. Allah bless. Title: Re: "and His Throne had been upon water" (V.11:7) Post by: Heba E. Husseyn on October 07, 2018, 01:15:30 am A big welcome sisters :) |