RE: [Quranic reflection]: hell is a black hole-part IV: the noodle effect.
November 24, 2022 at 1:24 pm
There is peril is micro-exegesis.
Islamic scholars declare that the Qur’an explains itself.
The context in our case is the Last Judgement; and the fate of those who are condemned because of their disbelief, and their actions.
The Sūrah in question (‘Al-Haqqa’) states:
‘But anyone who is given his Record in his left hand will say, “If only I had never been given any Record and knew nothing of my Reckoning. How I wish death had been the end of me. My wealth has been no use to me, and my power has vanished.” ‘Take him, and shackle him (faghullūhu), lead him to burn in the blazing Fire, and bind him in a chain seventy cubits (dhirāʿan) long: he would not believe in Almighty Allāh, he never encouraged feeding the hungry, so today he has no real friend here, and the only food he has is the filth that only sinners eat.’ (ʾĀyāt 25-37).
A dhira is an arm’s-length. In classical Arabic, ‘seventy’ is used metonymically to denote ‘many.’ In these ʾāyāt, it implies a large number, known only to Allāh (subḥānahu ūta'āla).
The command to shackle, and to bind in a chain, is given to the angels who govern Hell.
Consider the following:
‘(Prophet), do you see how deluded those who dispute God’s messages are – those who reject the Scripture and the messages We have sent through Our messengers? They will find out when, with iron collars (l-aghlālu) and chains around their necks, they are dragged into scalding water, and then burned in the Fire, and asked, “Where now are those you called upon besides Allāh?”’ (Ghafir: 69-74).
And this:
‘So do not think (Prophet) that Allāh will break His promise to His messengers: He is mighty, and capable of retribution. One Day – when the earth is turned into another earth, the heavens into another heaven, and people all appear before God, the One, the Overpowering – you (Prophet) will see the guilty on that Day, bound together in fetters.’ (Ibrahim: 47-49).
The message is clear (and has nothing whatsoever to do with black holes): Those who are condemned to Hell will be shackled and led to their fate in a chain-gang.
Islamic scholars declare that the Qur’an explains itself.
The context in our case is the Last Judgement; and the fate of those who are condemned because of their disbelief, and their actions.
The Sūrah in question (‘Al-Haqqa’) states:
‘But anyone who is given his Record in his left hand will say, “If only I had never been given any Record and knew nothing of my Reckoning. How I wish death had been the end of me. My wealth has been no use to me, and my power has vanished.” ‘Take him, and shackle him (faghullūhu), lead him to burn in the blazing Fire, and bind him in a chain seventy cubits (dhirāʿan) long: he would not believe in Almighty Allāh, he never encouraged feeding the hungry, so today he has no real friend here, and the only food he has is the filth that only sinners eat.’ (ʾĀyāt 25-37).
A dhira is an arm’s-length. In classical Arabic, ‘seventy’ is used metonymically to denote ‘many.’ In these ʾāyāt, it implies a large number, known only to Allāh (subḥānahu ūta'āla).
The command to shackle, and to bind in a chain, is given to the angels who govern Hell.
Consider the following:
‘(Prophet), do you see how deluded those who dispute God’s messages are – those who reject the Scripture and the messages We have sent through Our messengers? They will find out when, with iron collars (l-aghlālu) and chains around their necks, they are dragged into scalding water, and then burned in the Fire, and asked, “Where now are those you called upon besides Allāh?”’ (Ghafir: 69-74).
And this:
‘So do not think (Prophet) that Allāh will break His promise to His messengers: He is mighty, and capable of retribution. One Day – when the earth is turned into another earth, the heavens into another heaven, and people all appear before God, the One, the Overpowering – you (Prophet) will see the guilty on that Day, bound together in fetters.’ (Ibrahim: 47-49).
The message is clear (and has nothing whatsoever to do with black holes): Those who are condemned to Hell will be shackled and led to their fate in a chain-gang.
'Sometimes, silence is the best answer for a fool.'(Alī ibn Abī Tālib)
