future is to be found inthe first verses of Surah Rum, which refers to
the Byzantine Empire, the eastern part of the later Roman Empire. In
these verses, it is stated that the Byzantine Empire had met with a
great defeat, but that it would soon gain victory.
"Alif, Lam, Mim. The Romans have been defeated in the lowest land, but
after their defeat they will themselves be victorious in a few years'
time. The affair is God's from beginning to end."(The Quran, 30:1-4)
These verses were revealed around 620 AD, almost seven years after the
severe defeat of Christian Byzantium at the hands of the idolater
Persians. Yet it wasrelated in the verses that Byzantium would shortly
be victorious. In fact, Byzantium had then suffered such heavy losses
that it seemed impossible for it even to survive, let alone be
victorious again. Not only the Persians, but also Avars, Slavs
andLombards posed serious threats to the Byzantine Empire. The Avars
had reached as far as the walls of Constantinople. The Byzantine
Emperor Heraclius had ordered the gold and silver in churches to be
melted and turned into money in order to meet the expenses of the
army. When these proved insufficient, even bronze statues were melted
down to be turned into money. Many governors had revolted against
Emperor Heraclius, and the empire was on the point of collapse.
Mesopotamia, Cilicia, Syria, Palestine, Egypt and Armenia, which had
earlier belonged to Byzantium, were invaded by the idolater Persians.
In short, everyone was expecting the Byzantine Empire to be destroyed.
But right at that moment, the first verses of Surah Rum were revealed,
announcing that Byzantium would triumph in a few years' time. This
victory seemed so impossible that Arab polytheists had gone so far as
to make fun of these verses. They thought that the victory announced
in the Quran would never come true.
Around seven years after the revelation of the first verses of Surah
Rum, in December 627 AD, a decisive battle between Byzantium and the
Persian Empire was fought at Nineveh. And this time the Byzantine army
unexpectedly defeated the Persians. A few months later, the Persians
had to make an agreement with Byzantium, which obliged them to return
theterritories they had taken from it.
At the end, "the victory of the Romans," proclaimed by God in the
Quran, miraculously came true.
Another miracle revealed in theseverses is the announcement of a
geographical fact that could not have been known by anyone at that
time.
In the third verse of Surah Rum, we are informed that the Romanshad
been defeated in the lowest region of the Earth. This expression,
"Adna al Ard" in Arabic, is interpreted as "a nearbyplace" in many
translations. Yet this is not the literal meaning of the original
statement, but rather a figurative interpretation of it. The word
"Adna" in Arabic is derived from the word "deni", which means "low"
and "ard", which means "world". Therefore the expression "Adna al Ard"
means "the lowest place on the Earth".
Most interestingly, the crucial stages of the war fought between the
Byzantine Empire and the Persians, when the Byzantines were defeated
and lost Jerusalem, had really taken place at the lowest point on
earth. This specified region is the Dead Sea basin, which is situated
at the intersection point of the lands belonging to Syria, Palestine,
and Jordan. The "Dead Sea", lying 395 meters below sea level, really
is the lowest region on Earth.
This means that the Byzantines were defeated at the lowest part of the
world, just as stated in the verse.
The most interesting point lies in the fact that the altitude of the
Dead Sea could only be measuredwith modern measurement techniques.
Before that, it was impossible for anyone to know that it was the
lowest region on the surface of the Earth. Yet, this region was stated
to be the lowest point on the Earth in the Quran. Hence, this provides
further evidence that the Quran isdivine revelation.
Above is a satellite photograph ofthe Dead Sea basin. The altitude of
the Dead Sea could only be determined with modern measurement
techniques. These measurements led to the discovery that this is the
"lowest region on the Earth"
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