The people of al-Hijr also rejected Our messengers:
We gave them Our signs, but they turned their backs.
(15:80,81)
Of course, this sura starts with the usual:
In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy
Al-Hijr is said to be the area where the ancient people of Thamud lived, who rejected the word of God. It may mean ‘rocky tract’ or ‘stone-land.’ I wonder if that refers to the landscape or metaphorically to the hearts of the people who rejected the message (according to Muhammad). This sura like many others is concerned with warning people not to ignore the prophets (like Muhammad himself) and their messages from God, or they risk destruction. He again notes that some people question him, expecting some sort of divine sign, like angels. This time he has an interesting response: “Even if We opened a gateway into Heaven for them and they rose through it, higher and higher, they would still say, ‘Our eyes are hallucinating. We are bewitched.’” (15:14,15) That’s a fair point: if you saw some seemingly divine sign, would you believe it? Wouldn’t it be more likely to be a hallucination than a true miraculous sign? Consider how you would respond to someone else who said, “Lord Krishna visited me, and made me levitate!” You would think they are either joking or trying to deceive you or are delusional/hallucinating. Well, what if such an experience happened to you? Would you believe it was real? Or would you call your doctor or psychiatrist right away? That’s the problem with ‘signs’ that appear to only a single individual (like Gabriel appearing to Muhammad or Moroni appearing to Joseph Smith): how can anyone else be expected to believe? And even if it happens to you alone how can you be sure it really happened? At least if something is observed by multiple people at once or if it leaves some permanent evidence then one might take it seriously. But if it only occurs in one’s mind, who can say?
Muhammad’s cosmology seems similar to that of the Bible:
We have set constellations up in the sky and made it beautiful for all to see, and guarded it from every stoned satan: any eavesdropper will be pursued by a clearly visible flame. As for the earth, We have spread it out, set firm mountains on it, and made everything grow there in due balance. We have provided sustenance in it for you and for all those creatures for whom you do not provide. (15:16-20)
Islamic manuscript showing a shooting star.
This may seem obscure but later in Sura 72 he describes ‘stern guards’ and ‘shooting stars’ as protecting the heavenly realm from evil spirits (the jinn). This is not unlike the Bible: Heaven where God and His angels live up above the ‘firmament’ which holds up the sun and moon and stars, and the earth where we live is down below. (Above and below don’t really make sense in our three-dimensional universe. Does God live above Arabia, or above Australia, or above Iowa?) Perhaps he and his people saw shooting stars and thought it was the angels literally firing upon the evil spirits. And as in the Bible where the firmament holds back the rainwater, so Muhammad tells us, “We bring down water from the sky for you to drink.” (15:22) It is God and His agents who release the rainwater, not natural processes.
Now we get to the devil and his agents. See Bible post #63 for a discussion of what the Bible says about the devil.
“We created man out of dried clay formed from dark mud– the jinn We created before, from the fire of scorching wind.” (15:26, 27)
The jinn are spirits who can choose to obey God or not. They are not the same as angels who were said to be created from ‘light.’ So, people were made from clay, jinn from scorching wind, and angels from light. But then there’s a problem: God (Allah) told his angels to bow down before the man he had created. One named Iblis refused, saying, “I will not bow to a mortal You created from dried clay, formed from dark mud.” God responds, “Get out of here! You are an outcast, rejected until the Day of Judgement.” Iblis argues back to God, “Because You have put me in the wrong, I will lure mankind on earth and put them in the wrong, all except Your devoted servants.” And surprisingly God agrees, giving him power only over those who stray, not the faithful. While Iblis is this spirit’s name he is sometimes called ‘Shaitan’ meaning ‘tempter’, very similar to the Bible’s Satan whose role also was tempter and accuser of people.
Iblis refusing to bow down to Adam with the other angels
Neither the Bible nor the Qur’an explain why God/Allah allowed this tempter to live and harass us humans. Why wait until the Judgment Day to finally take out Iblis/Satan? After all the damage has been done? Muhammad says Iblis is only going to have power over ‘those who stray,’ but it sounds like Allah’s intention is to let these people be led farther astray, rather than trying to bring them back to the truth. In many other places Muhammad claims that Allah is merciful and forgiving. Then why allow Iblis to lead people farther from Allah? Don’t they need someone who can bring them back to Allah? As in the Bible, it is a strange concept to me to think that God/Allah wants to make it harder on people who are already astray rather than helping them find the way back to the truth. Is God merciful and forgiving or not? Does He want to see people saved or not? Iblis/Shaitan/Satan/The Devil seems contrary to such a concept. Living in this world is challenging enough; we need help, not another obstacle!
Muhammad reminds his hearers that the righteous will enjoy the Garden with its springs of water, but for the others, “My torment is the truly painful one.” Then, as he often does, he refers back to Biblical characters, Abraham and Lot. He reminds us of how the angels came to Abraham to tell him of a son in his old age, and to tell him of the impending destruction of the sinners, “But We shall save the household of Lot, all except his wife: We have decreed that she will be one of those who stay behind.” (15:59,60) This is an interesting twist to the Bible version: here it seems that God and His angels have already determined to destroy Lot’s wife; in the Bible it seems to be her own choice when she looks back and is turned into a pillar of salt. I wish Muhammad had told us why he thinks Lot’s wife deserved to be killed with the people of Sodom (he does not name the city in this sura). As in the Bible the townspeople come to Lot’s home intoxicated and wanting to make sport of his guests, the angels, and as in the Bible Lot offers his daughters instead. I wish the Bible or Muhammad had offered an explanation for this. But, “the blast overtook them at sunrise.”
Muhammad then mentions the ‘forest-dwellers’ who were also ‘wrongdoers.’ He says, “both are still there on the highway, plain for all to see.” (15:78, 79) Then also the people of al-Hijr ( or ‘rocky tract’, hence the name of this sura), who rejected God’s messengers and “the blast overwhelmed them early in the morning.” (15:80-83) I wonder if people who lived in these areas saw desolate rock-strewn areas or the remnants of crumbling ancient towns and formed stories of God destroying such places. As a prime example consider the halite (rock salt) towers found near the Dead Sea, formed through erosion. I can see people thinking that one of those pillars looks like a person turned to salt, and putting a story to it. Of course, the people or city destroyed are always those who did not listen to your particular God or His messengers.
“Lot’s Wife”, a pillar of halite (rock salt) near the Dead Sea in Israel
The sura finishes with encouragement for Muhammad to “proclaim openly what you have been commanded [to say], and ignore the idolaters.” (15:94) He should not lose heart. And finally, “Celebrate the glory of your Lord and be among those who bow down to Him: worship your Lord until what is certain comes to you.” (15:98, 99)
Are you convinced? Ready to listen and obey? If not, watch out! You might be the next pillar of salt!
(scroll down to enter comments and questions)
Thinking exercises:
1. What would be a convincing ‘sign’ that you would believe? If you experienced some miraculous event, how would you know if it was real or just a trick of your mind? How would you know what that ‘sign’ is supposed to mean?
2. Neither the Bible nor the Qur’an explain why Satan/the Devil/Iblis is allowed to harass people until the judgment day, rather than God eliminating him right away. What is your explanation for this? How is the concept of the Devil compatible with a God who is merciful and wants people to be saved?
3. Some people attribute disasters to punishment from God. For example, a Christian might claim that the Covid pandemic was punishment upon the world for tolerating certain sins. But a Muslim might claim it was punishment for people refusing to listen to the Qur’an. How would we know if a disaster was punishment from God or what it was supposed to mean?