Re: Gog and Magog
I firmly believe that the wall must be literal and so are the two nations mentioned in Surah Kahf. Why is it that none of us have discovered such a wall and people behind it doesn’t really bother me. From what I have learned, the wall will be flattened out and its inhabitants will appear close towards the end of time. I believe it is amongst the major signs of qiyaamah and only Allah (SWT) knows about it (ie. when this would happen). If Allah (SWT) has said that such people exist, then they exist; perhaps hidden from our eyes or whatever the case happens to be. Allah (SWT) is capable of everything.
PyariCgudia:
Yes but Maddie to do a literal translation, you’d have to look at the arabic word used for “setting” and ask what its literal meaning is. Maybe the literal meaning is not actually “setting”.
Like in English, the Literal meaning of “setting” is not necessarily physical. It would be literal and symbolic if you were using the word in a sense other than what its standardly used for.
So if its being used symbolically, that might actually be literal! (
Sadiyah, that’s what I mean by symbolic vs. literal. I think we’re talking about the same thing. If the Quran is saying “setting” it doesn’t necessarily mean the sun in its physical entirety is falling into a body of water. It could just mean that this is what the image seems like since if you’ve ever seen sun set on water, that’s what its referred to as, “the sun setting in the water”. Its symbolic, but its actually literal, because everyone knows what a sun “setting” in water really means. Its most likely an inherent sense of the word.
I agree with you.
Here’s the tafsir for the verse, which has suggested the same just in case anyone is interested:
(Until, when he reached the setting place of the sun,) means, he followed a route until he reached the furthest point that could be reached in the direction of the sun’s setting, which is the west of the earth. As for the idea of his reaching the place in the sky where the sun sets, this is something impossible, and the tales told by storytellers that he traveled so far to the west that the sun set behind him are not true at all. Most of these stories come from the myths of the People of the Book and the fabrications and lies of their heretics.
وَجَدَهَا تَغْرُبُ فِى عَيْنٍ حَمِئَةٍ]
(he found it setting in a spring of Hami’ah) meaning, he saw the sun as if it were setting in the ocean. This is something which everyone who goes to the coast can see: it looks as if the sun is setting into the sea but in fact it never leaves its path in which it is fixed. Hami’ah is, according to one of the two views, derived from the word Hama’ah, which means mud. This is like the Ayah:
إِنِّى خَـلِقٌ بَشَرًا مِّن صَلْصَـلٍ مِّنْ حَمَإٍ مَّسْنُونٍ]
("I am going to create a man (Adam) from dried clay of altered Hama’h (mud)) [15:28], which means smooth mud, as we have discussed above.
وَوَجَدَ عِندَهَا قَوْماً]
(And he found near it a people.) meaning a nation. They mentioned that they were a great nation from among the sons of Adam.
قُلْنَا يذَا الْقَرْنَيْنِ إِمَّآ أَن تُعَذِّبَ وَإِمَّآ أَن تَتَّخِذَ فِيهِمْ حُسْناً]
(We (Allah) said (by inspiration): "O Dhul-Qarnayn! Either you punish them or treat them with kindness’') means, Allah gave him power over them and gave him the choice: if he wanted to, he could kill the men and take the women and children captive, or if he wanted to, he could set them free, with or without a ransom.
Source: His traveling and reaching the Place where the Sun sets (the West)