Do you believe Noah lived for 950 years?
-
There's no shame in admitting that I simply DON'T KNOW. We don't yet have archeological evidence explaining what kind of calendar system Noah and his people used. But I can give you an example supporting the Quran's use of the two non-synonymous terms
Assume, for example, that Noah's people used a system based on 12-day weeks. Hence, each "sanah" is composed of 12 days. 1000 sanah would then be equal to around 83 of our years. Now, 83 - 50 = 33 years. So Noah lived among his people for 33 of our solar years.
So to answer the question Yes, I believe the verse is literal... However, I don't believe that Noah lived to a supernatural age.
Peace.
Thank you @Pazuzu
-
Salam Faithful Jinn,
I agree with Gnosis, Earlier i used to take the prophetic stories symbolically, but recently i watched Spirit Science on esoteric tube, It was mentioned that ancient people (around 10000 BC) lived very long lives & were about 10 feet tall on an average...these were the findings from ancient egytian writings..Archeologists now agree that pyramids were built around 10000 BC unlike around 2500 Bc assumed earlier. All this has to do with the shift Earth takes every 26000 years, that is why there is such a hue cry about 2012, the world ofcourse is not ending but we are entering a new phase of consciousness.
I deviated from the topic but i can assure that there is a lot we do not know about this world/universe, so trying to refute the quran based on our lil knowledge is not a good option. I read your post abt losing faith in islam, all i can tell you is that you do not need to follow any particular book or a specific 'God' , just be a good moral person & help the people around ...that is enough to become spiritually pure & is a true form of submission to 'The Creator'.
Please, i aint preaching, just wanted to talk to you & say i enjoy reading your posts, but to go through mental turmoil trying to know all the 'Truth' at once is not worth it. It will just dawn on you someday, till then enjoy the journey.
Peace!
Yeah there's so much to know in the universe I can't even hope to understand a mustard seed's worth of the information. For now I'm just focusing on living this life and being good thanks for your post.
As for the topic at hand, I'm stumped. I'm very confused as to why the Qur'an uses two different terms for the time spans it's very confusing.
-
The way it was explained to me when I was studying the Bible with Jehovah's Witnesses was this (keep in mind they believe in the original sin)
Adam and Eve were created perfect. When they sinned against God, they lost that perfection, which included living forever on earth. As each generation came along, their lifespans became shorter and shorter, which is why if you read the genealogy in Genesis, you see each generation living for a shorter period of time than the one before. The Bible does concur that Moses lived 950 years in Genesis 929.
Granted, I don't believe in the original sin anymore...
Peace.
-
1247 said you will plant seven snyn years (solar) as usual so what you harvest so leave it in its ears only little from what you eat
1248 furthermore comes from after that seven severe eat/consume what you advanced to them only little from what you stored
1249 furthermore comes from after that Aam season in it will be given succor/relief (i.e. flood returns) the mankind and in it they will presshttp//www.philae.nu/akhet/Seasons.html
The Egyptian year was divided into three seasons (Inundation/Autmn, Growing/Winter and Harvest/Summer) Each season was divided into four months of each thirty days making a total of 120 days in each season. Each month was further divided into three decans to become three weeks of ten days each. At the end of the year, five extra days were thrown in to compensate for the year being 365 days - called the Epagomenal Days or the "Days Upon the Year". This ocurred in antiquity late June, due to the progression of the stars nowadays late July, when the inundation of the Nile began. As the inundation never ocurred on a fixed date, the rising of the Dog Star (Sirius), which had a fixed date was used as a sign that the inundation was near.
2914 and surely We sent Noah to his tribe so he stayed in them thousand snh (time/cycle) only (for) fifty Aama season so seized them the flood and they unjust
-
Salam, Bro.
The terms "sana" and "3am" are not synonymous in the Quran. When Allah says He revealed his book in the eloquent and clear tongue (3arabi), He means precisely that. And in the language of the Quran, there is no such thing as synonyms. The mountain "jabal" is not the same as the "tur" . Likewise, the "bahr" (large body of water) is not the same as the "yamm" , which is a cascading stream falling from a mountainside. The "ruuh" (spirit) is not synonymous with "nafs" (soul). The Eloquent tongue is composed of three-letter roots that have distinct meanings, directly in relation to the phenomena they describe. If you change the root, you change the meaning. There is no compromise in the matter. Allah does not play games. It is the so-called "Muslims" who claimed the language of the Quran is equal to the classical Arabic of poetry, and started substituting and interplacing words here and there in there exigesis, claiming that they are synonymous. They have made a mockery out of Allah's Scripture.
The word "sanah" means a periodic cycle that repeats itself. Simple as that. In fact "sanah" and "sunnah" are actually from the same root, are spelled the same (ة and are indistinguishable if you remove the dialectic marks or articulation. The two terms have related but not identical meanings. "Sunnah" is "the way" or "form of behavior" or "law" or "habit" that is followed regularly and never changes. Think of the Sunnah of Allah manifesting in the universe. Likewise, a "sanah" is a repeating and regular cycle which could be measured in different units. It could be a year, a day, a harvest season, a lunar cycle, a flood season, you name it...It depends on the object that is measured and the civilization that used it.
Concerning Noah, the Quran says he lived 1000 sanah minus 50 3am.. The appearance of both terms in the same verse clearly indicates that they are not synonyms. If they had the same meaning, it would have said "1000 sanah minus 50", or better yet, simply "950 sanahs".
Incidently, you might want to take note that the Quran was revealed in the same region as the Older Scriptures, including the Torah. If you read in the Torah that Noah lived 1000 years, and you see an expression that seems to indicate the same meaning in the Quran, you have to analyze it closely to make sure. Once you do, you will realize that the Quran is independant of previous scriptures, and uses its own terms and meanings that are not necessarily the same as those other scriptures. The Quran must be studied independantly.
Peace and regards...
Salaam Pazuzu,
bravo very well said, mashaAllah. I agree with you 100% on this.
May Allah increase us in knowledge and guide us to His true path pr
mmKhan -
Salaam,
Can you calculate for me
1000X - 50X =Can you calculate for me now this
1000X - 50Y =Salaam,
BenderWhy applause @mmkhan?
Is it a mistake in the Qur'an?
Or is the Qur'an trying to say something weird or unintelligible?
-
Pazuzu How in the world can you say that the Qu'ran has to be studied independant of other scriptures, especially if there is something that concurs or corresponds with what it says? Does the Qu'ran not make numerous references to prophets and situations that are contained in the books before it?
I can understand the Qu'ran was given to a different people, at a different time in a different language so that has to be taken into account, and I respect that. But to wave off what has been given in the Bible and Torah...?
No harm meant...just an observation.
With Peace,
Amina
-
Pazuzu How in the world can you say that the Qu'ran has to be studied independant of other scriptures, especially if there is something that concurs or corresponds with what it says? Does the Qu'ran not make numerous references to prophets and situations that are contained in the books before it?
I can understand the Qu'ran was given to a different people, at a different time in a different language so that has to be taken into account, and I respect that. But to wave off what has been given in the Bible and Torah...?
Salam...
Please allow me to elaborate on 2 important points first
First
I do NOT believe that the 5 books of the Old Testament attributed to Moses (P) have anything to do with the Torah mentioned in the Quran, as given to the Israelites. The entire corpus of the Old Testament is nothing but a log book describing the story of teh Isralites and their struggles with transition from a nomadic to a sedentary life, as well as a collection of ancient Arabian legends that were penned by Jewish priests sometime around 600 BC. This cannot be the Torah that is mentioned in the Quran. Furthermore, the Old Testament is a book that contains a vast number of mistranslations, false dialectic marks, slander and falsehoods against the prophets of Allah, and inaccurate renderings of the ancient Arab legends. (Most notably in the story of the Genesis).
On the other hand, the word "Bible" simply means "BOOK". The French call a library "Biblotheque", because it is a place to store BOOKS. )
Second
The greatest crime perpetrated by the classical "interpreters" and "translators" of the Quran is that they used the Old Testament scriptures that were penned around 600 BC to "fill out" what they thought were "blank spaces" or "incomplete stories" in the Quran. As a result, we have ended up reading the Quran through the lenses of Jewish priests who lived in the 7th Century BC.
So while I do agree that the Quran relates the stories concerning the same figures whom are mentioned in the OT, the Quranic account must be read independantly of the OT, lest we make the same mistake our predecessors made in their approach of the Quran.
But to wave off what has been given in the Bible and Torah...?
Which "Torah" do you mean? If you mean the Old Testament, then yes, I would most definately NOT use that to interpret the Quran. This is the same "Torah" which tells you that Lot (P) perpetrated incest with his own daughters, and that Abraham (P) was a cuckold. It is teh same "Torah" that tells you that God made an inanimate figurine from the clay of the Earth, and then breathed life into it, and Lo and Behold! The figurine became Adam!
No harm meant...just an observation.
None taken, and you're welcome.
Peace..
-
Peace all,
Very interesting points have been presented by many members. I just would like to add one aspect to the discussion The lenght or duration of a day have been changing since the creation of the earth, meaning its rotational speed varies depending on many parameters like the moon, big earthquakes, asteroids, comets...
This variation can have influence on the life span of species, their size (dinosaurs), behavior...
I am not saying that Noah litteraly lived for 950 years, but it can be possible if the earth is turning faster, thus days are shorter and we would feel less gravity or feel lighter... might help to live longer.
Is the earth's rotation slowing down?
Yes it is, due to a transfer of Earth's rotational momentum to the Moon's orbital momentum as tidal friction slows the Earth's rotation. That increase in the Moon's speed is causing it to slowly recede from Earth (about 4 cm per year), increasing its orbital period and the length of a month as well.
To picture what is happening, imagine yourself riding a bicycle on a track built around a Merry-go-Round. You are riding in the same direction that it is turning. If you have a lasso and rope one of the horses, you would gain speed and the Merry-Go-Round would lose some. In this analogy, you and your bike represent the Moon, the Merry-Go-Round is the rotating Earth, and your lasso is gravity. In orbital mechanics, a gain in speed results in a higher orbit.The slowing rotation of the Earth results in a longer day as well as a longer month. Once the length of a day equals the length of a month, the tidal friction mechanism will cease. (ie. Once your speed on the track matches the speed of the horses, you can't gain any more speed with your lasso trick.) That's been projected to happen once the day and month both equal about 47 (current) days, billions of years in the future. If the Earth and Moon still exist, the Moon's distance will have increased to about 135% of its current value.
-
Why applause @mmkhan?
Is it a mistake in the Qur'an?
Or is the Qur'an trying to say something weird or unintelligible?
Did you understand what he wrote? I am sure, you don't. Bender was clearing his point of view on that aayat.
When he said 1000X - 50Y = ?
He means 1000 Sana - 50 'Aam = ?
Where he does not know the values of X and Y or he does not know the meaning of sana and 'aam, then how can he explain it. Hope you get it now. It has nothing to do with AlQuraan. Please keep your mind clean to understand things clearly .
May Allah guide us to His true path pr
mmKhan -
The way it was explained to me when I was studying the Bible with Jehovah's Witnesses was this (keep in mind they believe in the original sin)
Adam and Eve were created perfect. When they sinned against God, they lost that perfection, which included living forever on earth. As each generation came along, their lifespans became shorter and shorter, which is why if you read the genealogy in Genesis, you see each generation living for a shorter period of time than the one before. The Bible does concur that Moses lived 950 years in Genesis 929.
Granted, I don't believe in the original sin anymore...
Peace.
salam scaredmuslimah,
i also don't believe in the original sin
so what if their life generation becoming shorter is due to the decrease in their understanding to the absolute truth..?
as generation drift away from the correct connection (salat) to Allah SWT by means of spiritual and physical understanding of the absolute truth
they severe their harmony with nature and themselves, so they have less guard (libaas) against pathology be it physical or spiritualthe more awareness of the absolute truth, the more chances that we implement(tend our choices/longing/love toward) them correctly
the better libaas against those pahtology, and the better life expactancywallahua3lam
-
salam scaredmuslimah,
i also don't believe in the original sin
so what if their life generation becoming shorter is due to the decrease in their understanding to the absolute truth..?
as generation drift away from the correct connection (salat) to Allah SWT by means of spiritual and physical understanding of the absolute truth
they severe their harmony with nature and themselves, so they have less guard (libaas) against pathology be it physical or spiritualthe more awareness of the absolute truth, the more chances that we implement(tend our choices/longing/love toward) them correctly
the better libaas against those pahtology, and the better life expactancywallahua3lam
Awesome insight!