the lowest part on the face of the earth!
the qur’aan mentions the lowest part of the earth and states that it is near jerusalem, where a battle took place between the persians and the greeks. allah, may he be exalted and glorified, said in the qur’aan:
alif laam meem, the romans have been defeated, in the lowest part of the land (adnal-ardh), but after defeat they will soon be victorious. (qur’aan 30:1-3).
the term "adna" means both nearer and lowest. the
commentators of the qur’aan, may allah be pleased with all of them, were of the
opinion that "adnal-ardh" meant the nearest land to the arabian
peninsula. however, the second meaning is also there. in this way, the glorious
qur’aan gives one word several meanings, as described by the prophet muhammad
(sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) when he said:
i have been given the most comprehensive words. {al-bukhaari and muslim]
when we investigated the lowest part of the earth, we found that it was exactly the same spot that witnessed the battle in which the romans were defeated. when we informed professor palmer about this, he contested saying that there were many other areas which are lower than the one referred to in the qur’aanic verse. he gave examples and names of other areas in europe and in the united states. we assured him that our information was verified and correct. he had with him a topographical globe that showed elevations and depressions. he said that it would be easy with that globe to ascertain which was the lowest spot on earth. he turned the globe with his hands and focused his sign on the area near jerusalem. to his astonishment, there was a small arrow sticking out towards that area with words: "the lowest part on the face of the earth."
professor palmer was quick to concede that our information was correct. he proceeded to speak, as you now see him with the globe, saying that this was actually the lowest part of the earth.
professor palmer: it took place in the area of the dead sea which
is up here and interestingly enough the labeling on the globe says "the
world’s lowest point". so it certainly is supported by the interpretation
of that critical word.
professor palmer was even more astonished when he found that the qur’aan talks
about the past and describes how creation first began; how the earth and
heavens were created; how the water gushed forth from the depth of the earth;
how the mountains were anchored on land; how vegetation first began; how is
earth today, describing the mountains, describes its phenomena, describes the
changes on the surface of the earth as witnessed in the arabian peninsula. it
even describes the future of the land of arabs and the future of the whole
earth. at this, professor palmer acknowledged that the qur’aan is such a wondrous
book which describes the past, the present, and the future.
like many other scientists, professor palmer was hesitant at first. but soon
later he was forthcoming with his opinions. in cairo, he presented a research
paper dealing with the inimitable aspects of geological knowledge contained in
the qur’aan. he said that he did not know what was the state of the art in the
field of science during the days of the prophet muhammad. but from what we know
about the scanty knowledge and means at that time, we can undoubtedly conclude
that the qur’aan is a light of divine knowledge revealed to muhammad
(sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam). here are the concluding remarks of professor
palmer:
we need research into the history of early middle eastern oral traditions to know whether in fact such historical events have been reported. if there is no such record, it strengthens the belief that allah transmitted through muhammad bits of his knowledge that we have only discovered for ourselves in recent times. we look forward to a continuing dialogue on the topic of science in the qur’aan in the context of geology. thank you very much.
this is no less than a reminder to (all) the worlds. and you shall certainly
know the truth of it (all) after a while.(38:87-88).