Qaf
- philhoraia
- Nov 10, 2021
- 2 min read
S 50:1 Qaf. By the glorious Quran.
In Tanwîr al-Miqbâs min Tafsîr Ibn ‘Abbâs we read:
And from his narration on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas that he said in the interpretation of Allah's saying (Qaf.): '(Qaf.) He says: it is an azure mountain overlooking this world, and the colour of the sky takes from it; Allah swore by it, (By the glorious Qur'an) and He swore by the glorious, noble Qur'an,
In a book by Tisdall we read:
It is well known that the fabulous Mount Qaf plays an important part in Muhammadan legend. Surah L. is called Qaf and begins with this letter. Hence its name is supposed to refer to the name of the mountain in question. The commentator 'Abbasi accepts this explanation and quotes tradition handed down through Ibn 'Abbas in support of it. Ibn 'Abbas says, "Qaf is a green mountain surrounding the earth, and the greenness of the sky is from it: by it God swears58." So in the 'Araisu'l Majalis59 it more fully explained in these words, "God Most High created a great mountain of green emerald. The greenness of the sky is on account of it. It is called Mount Qaf, and it girds it all" (the whole earth), "and it is that by which God swears, for He said, ‘Qaf'60. By the Glorious Qur'an.’" In the Qisasu'l Anbiya it is narrated that one day 'Abdu'llah ibn Salam inquired of Muhammad which was the highest mountain-peak on the earth. Muhammad said, "Mount Qaf." In answer to the further inquiry of what this mountain is composed, Muhammad replied, "Of green emerald, and the greenness of the sky is on account of that." The inquirer, having expressed his belief that the "Prophet of God" in this matter spoke truly, then said, "What is the height of Mount Qaf?" Muhammad replied, "It is 500 years' journey in height." 'Abdu'llah asked, "How far is it around it?" "It is 2,000 years' journey." We need not enter into all the other circumstances told us in connexion with this wonderful range of mountains of which Muslim legends are so full.
In this Jewish work we read:
תָּנָא תֹּהוּ קַו יָרוֹק שֶׁמַּקִּיף אֶת כָּל הָעוֹלָם כּוּלּוֹ שֶׁמִּמֶּנּוּ יָצָא חֹשֶׁךְ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר יָשֶׁת חֹשֶׁךְ סִתְרוֹ סְבִיבוֹתָיו בֹּהוּ אֵלּוּ אֲבָנִים הַמְפוּלָּמוֹת הַמְשׁוּקָּעוֹת בַּתְּהוֹם שֶׁמֵּהֶן יוֹצְאִין מַיִם שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר וְנָטָה עָלֶיהָ קַו תֹהוּ וְאַבְנֵי בֹהוּ
It was taught in the Tosefta: Tohu is a green line that encompasses the entire world, and from which darkness emerges, as it is stated: “He made darkness His hiding place round about Him” (Psalms 18:12), indicating that a line of darkness surrounds the world. Vohu; these are damp stones submerged in the depths, from which water emerges, as it is stated: “And He shall stretch over it the line of tohu and stones of vohu” (Isaiah 34:11), which demonstrates that tohu is a line and that vohu is referring to stones
Qav is the word for ‘line’.
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