DRAFT
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فَأْتِيَاهُ فَقُولَا إِنَّا رَسُولَا رَبِّكَ فَأَرْسِلْ مَعَنَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ وَلَا تُعَذِّبْهُمْ ۖ قَدْ جِئْنَاكَ بِآيَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّكَ ۖ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَىٰ مَنِ اتَّبَعَ الْهُدَىٰ
إِنَّا قَدْ أُوحِيَ إِلَيْنَا أَنَّ الْعَذَابَ عَلَىٰ مَن كَذَّبَ وَتَوَلَّىٰ
قَالَ فَمَن رَّبُّكُمَا يَا مُوسَىٰ
قَالَ رَبُّنَا الَّذِي أَعْطَىٰ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ خَلْقَهُ ثُمَّ هَدَىٰ
قَالَ فَمَا بَالُ الْقُرُونِ الْأُولَىٰ
قَالَ عِلْمُهَا عِندَ رَبِّي فِي كِتَابٍ ۖ لَّا يَضِلُّ رَبِّي وَلَا يَنسَى
الَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمُ الْأَرْضَ مَهْدًا وَسَلَكَ لَكُمْ فِيهَا سُبُلًا وَأَنزَلَ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً فَأَخْرَجْنَا بِهِ أَزْوَاجًا مِّن نَّبَاتٍ شَتَّىٰ
كُلُوا وَارْعَوْا أَنْعَامَكُمْ ۗ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِّأُولِي النُّهَ
[Al-Quran, Surah Ta Ha, Ayaat 47-54]
The Quran mentions AlUla (الْأُولَىٰ), generally translated as the first, the former, the ancients. When Allah sent Moses to Pharaoh to demand the release of the Bani Israel (Q20:47), and threaten him of consequences in case of non-compliance (Q20:48), the Pharaoh asked a few questions. The second question, quoted in Surah Ta Ha ayat 51, is about the AlUla (الْأُولَىٰ):
قَالَ فَمَا بَالُ الْقُرُونِ الْأُولَىٰ
Before exploring this question, to briefly recap the events that followed:
Pharaoh did not allow the Bani Israel to go with Moses. He refused to believe, and declared that the great signs Moses and Aaron showed were magic. He set a date for a duel between them and the best magicians he could gather. The following is a brief list of events:
- sent to Mada`in hashireen (Q7:111-112, Q26:36-38) to gather magicians
- Duel with Magicians (Q7:113-122, Q20:65-70, Q26:43-47)
- Plagues (Q7:130-135)
- sent to Mada`in hashireen (Q26:54-56) to gather troops
- Exodus (Q2:50, Q26:52-65, Q44:23-24)
- Pharaoh and forces drowned in the Red Sea (Q2:50, Q7:136, Q26:66, Q28:40, Q44:24)
- A curse on Pharaoh and his forces (Q28:42)
- After Exodus, the Bani Israel came across a people devoted to their gods (Q7:138)
- Calf-worship by the Bani Israel (Q7:148-149, Q20:)
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In Surah al-Qasas, we learn that Moses was given The Book after the destruction of the Generations of AlUla:
Surah al-Qasas, ayat 43, in the screenshot above uses the word أَهْلَكْنَا which means perish, in the sense that their water disappears. ... We know from The Quran that Egypt used be fertile, as in
the Surah about Joseph, and the Pharaoh boasted about
subterranean waters during the time of Moses.
Recent findings have led to a new understanding of the route of the Exodus:
- The Bani Israel needed to perform the Hajj which was announced by Prophet Abraham. It is compulsory on a believer once in a lifetime.
- The water parted was the Red Sea
- The Mt Sinai is in the Arabian Peninsula
Assuming that AlUla that the Pharaoh is asking about in The Quran is the Valley of AlUla in the Arabian Peninsula, ...
the local arabs believe that the Al-Hijr (الْحِجْرِ) mentioned in The Quran is the city of Hegra in the Valley of AlUla, where the Messenger Saleh preached. They famously used to carve buildings in rocks. The Thamud refused to heed to their Messenger Saleh, and were eventually destroyed for their crimes. May be the Thamud and the Companions of Al-Hijr (أَصْحَابُ الْحِجْرِ ) are the same, or may be they were two distinct civilisations. The Thamud (ثَمُودُ) are
mentioned in twenty-one surahs across The Quran, while the Companions of Al-Hijr (أَصْحَابُ الْحِجْرِ ) are mentioned only once, in Surah alHijr (
Q15:80).
The following maps are of the region of AlUla:
Google Maps red outline: AlUla County, KSA
At the time of the Exodus, the Valley of AlUla was populated, and was not completely a desert. Prior to the Exodus, the Pharaoh had twice gathered people from the Mada`in:
- In the first gathering, Pharaoh gathered all the most learned magicians, from the Mada`in, to duel with Moses and Aaron. When the magicians lost the duel, they immediately went in prostration; abandoned the magic they used to do, and refused to renounce their newly-embraced faith in the God of Moses, even under the threat of crucifixion.
- In the second gathering, Pharaoh sent for all the troops, from the Mada`in, to pursue the Bani Israel, who were now leaving Egypt. Allah parted the sea, so that the Bani Israel were able to cross safely. Then, Allah drowned the Pharaoh and the troops in the very same sea.
So, after the Exodus, at least the Magicians and the Troops from the Mada`in in the valleys of AlUla were no longer alive. If the translation of الْقُرُونَ as
generations is correct, then with all these men dead, perhaps those ancient human lines no longer continued... but what about the women and sons left behind? We do know, however, that all ancient human lines terminated, and presently, the only surviving human specie is the homo sapien sapien.
The Quran does not limit the usage of الْأُولَىٰ to other species of Homo, as it refers to Moses and Abraham also thus:
إِنَّ هَـٰذَا لَفِي الصُّحُفِ الْأُولَىٰ
صُحُفِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَمُوسَىٰ
This is what is written in the ancient heavenly Books
the Scriptures of Abraham and Moses
We do know from Surah Aal-e-Imran that Abraham was a descendant of the Adam mentioned in The Quran, possibly the first homo homo sapien, and our Most Recent Common Ancestor.
۞ إِنَّ اللَّهَ اصْطَفَىٰ آدَمَ وَنُوحًا وَآلَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَآلَ عِمْرَانَ عَلَى الْعَالَمِينَ
ذُرِّيَّةً بَعْضُهَا مِن بَعْضٍ ۗ وَاللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ
God chose (and gave distinction to) Adam, Noah, the family of Abraham, and Imran over all the people of the world
They were the offspring of one another. God is All-hearing and All-seeing
The Quran also tells us about Abraham and his sons:
تِلْكَ أُمَّةٌ قَدْ خَلَتْ ۖ لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَلَكُم مَّا كَسَبْتُمْ ۖ وَلَا تُسْأَلُونَ عَمَّا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ
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تِلْكَ أُمَّةٌ قَدْ خَلَتْ ۖ لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَلَكُم مَّا كَسَبْتُمْ ۖ وَلَا تُسْأَلُونَ عَمَّا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ
That nation (children of Abraham) is gone. They have reaped what they sowed, and the same applies to you. You are not responsible for their deeds
...
That nation is gone, they have reaped what they sowed and the same applies to you. You are not responsible for their deeds
Though in the above example, the word
أُمَّةٌ has been translated as
nation, the word also seems to lend itself to the concept of position in space-time, as in Q12:45, where the person remembers after
a time ( ادَّكَرَ بَعْدَ
أُمَّةٍ ). In
a previous post, I've learnt the word ummat in Q2:144 means a geographically middle ummat, that is middle-east being almost in the middle; and here I think we can also understand it to mean middle in the time dimension: that is, Abraham and Moses from the الْأُولَىٰ, Muhammad from the middle (أُمَّةً وَسَطًا) (2:143) , and we from the latter ones (الْآخِرِينَ) (Q26:84).
وَكَذَٰلِكَ جَعَلْنَاكُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطًا لِّتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ وَيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ شَهِيدًا ۗ وَمَا جَعَلْنَا الْقِبْلَةَ الَّتِي كُنتَ عَلَيْهَا إِلَّا لِنَعْلَمَ مَن يَتَّبِعُ الرَّسُولَ مِمَّن يَنقَلِبُ عَلَىٰ عَقِبَيْهِ ۚ وَإِن كَانَتْ لَكَبِيرَةً إِلَّا عَلَى الَّذِينَ هَدَى اللَّهُ ۗ وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيُضِيعَ إِيمَانَكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِالنَّاسِ لَرَءُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ
Thus We have made you a middle nation, so that you may act as witnesses for mankind, and the Messenger may be a witness for you. We decreed your former prayer direction towards which you used to face only in order that We might make a clear distinction between the Messengers true followers and those who were to turn their backs on him. This was indeed a hard test for all but those whom God has guided. God will never let your faith go to waste. God is compassionate and merciful to mankind
So, who are the الْقُرُونِ الْأُولَىٰ? In Surah alAra`f, we read:
تِلْكَ الْقُرَىٰ نَقُصُّ عَلَيْكَ مِنْ أَنبَائِهَا ۚ وَلَقَدْ جَاءَتْهُمْ رُسُلُهُم بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ فَمَا كَانُوا لِيُؤْمِنُوا بِمَا كَذَّبُوا مِن قَبْلُ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ يَطْبَعُ اللَّهُ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِ الْكَافِرِينَ
وَمَا وَجَدْنَا لِأَكْثَرِهِم مِّنْ عَهْدٍ ۖ وَإِن وَجَدْنَا أَكْثَرَهُمْ لَفَاسِقِينَ
ثُمَّ بَعَثْنَا مِن بَعْدِهِم مُّوسَىٰ بِآيَاتِنَا إِلَىٰ فِرْعَوْنَ وَمَلَئِهِ فَظَلَمُوا بِهَا ۖ فَانظُرْ كَيْفَ كَانَ عَاقِبَةُ الْمُفْسِدِينَ
Such were the townships. We relate some tidings of them unto thee (Muhammad). Their messengers verily came unto them with clear proofs (of Allah's Sovereignty), but they could not believe because they had before denied. Thus doth Allah print upon the hearts of disbelievers (that they hear not)
We found no (loyalty to any) covenant in most of them. Nay, most of them We found wrong-doers
Then, after them, We sent Moses with our tokens unto Pharaoh and his chiefs, but they repelled them. Now, see the nature of the consequence for the corrupters
Thus, the الْقُرُونِ الْأُولَىٰ were destroyed before the Book was given to Moses. Therefore, it follows that the populated valleys of AlUla, and the Mada`in, were not those ancient civilisations of Samood and AlHijr. Furthermore, we also read in Surah alAra`f that:
وَأَوْرَثْنَا الْقَوْمَ الَّذِينَ كَانُوا يُسْتَضْعَفُونَ مَشَارِقَ الْأَرْضِ وَمَغَارِبَهَا الَّتِي بَارَكْنَا فِيهَا ۖ وَتَمَّتْ كَلِمَتُ رَبِّكَ الْحُسْنَىٰ عَلَىٰ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ بِمَا صَبَرُوا ۖ وَدَمَّرْنَا مَا كَانَ يَصْنَعُ فِرْعَوْنُ وَقَوْمُهُ وَمَا كَانُوا يَعْرِشُونَ
وَجَاوَزْنَا بِبَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ الْبَحْرَ فَأَتَوْا عَلَىٰ قَوْمٍ يَعْكُفُونَ عَلَىٰ أَصْنَامٍ لَّهُمْ ۚ قَالُوا يَا مُوسَى اجْعَل لَّنَا إِلَـٰهًا كَمَا لَهُمْ آلِهَةٌ ۚ قَالَ إِنَّكُمْ قَوْمٌ تَجْهَلُونَ
إِنَّ هَـٰؤُلَاءِ مُتَبَّرٌ مَّا هُمْ فِيهِ وَبَاطِلٌ مَّا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ
قَالَ أَغَيْرَ اللَّهِ أَبْغِيكُمْ إِلَـٰهًا وَهُوَ فَضَّلَكُمْ عَلَى الْعَالَمِينَ
And We caused the folk who were despised to inherit the eastern parts of the land and the western parts thereof which We had blessed*. And the fair word of thy Lord was fulfilled for the Children of Israel because of their endurance; and We annihilated (all) that Pharaoh and his folk had done and that they had contrived
And We brought the Children of Israel across the sea, and they came unto a people who were given up to idols which they had. They said: O Moses! Make for us a god even as they have gods. He said: Lo! ye are a folk who know not
Lo! as for these, their way will be destroyed and all that they are doing is in vain
He said: Shall I seek for you a god other than Allah when He hath favoured you above (all) creatures
The Bani Israel were rescued from Egypt. They Sea was parted, so they could cross it. The Valleys of AlUla lie across the Red Sea, in the Arabian Peninsula. So, the ruins of AlUla became ruins after the Exodus, not before!
* We had blessed* Moreover, the ayat states that about the eastern and western parts that:
مَشَارِقَ الْأَرْضِ وَمَغَارِبَهَا الَّتِي بَارَكْنَا فِيهَا
The word بَارَكْ is generally translated as blessed, but a clearer translations may be 'made to flourish', which indicates that those lands were fertile, had water, and were populated.
Interestingly, there is a map on Wikimedia Commons showing an unusual route of the Exodus, of wandering through the western lands and then entering the eastern area, across the sea. The Description reads: The original Exodus map by Eidelberg, which shows the route, along 20 sites in north Africa, which are listed in chapter 33 (פרק לייג) of the biblical book Bamidbar (במדבר) "In the Desert".
Beidelberg, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
[Page: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Exodus_map_by_Eidelberg.png]
[File: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Exodus_map_by_Eidelberg.png]
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DNA studies of Egyptian mummies, available so far on the internet (Sep 3, 2021), or at least those I have seen, were all taken from post-Exodus era of Egyptian dynasties. The results suggest foreigners ruled there. We read in Surah adDukhan:
فَأَسْرِ بِعِبَادِي لَيْلًا إِنَّكُم مُّتَّبَعُونَ
وَاتْرُكِ الْبَحْرَ رَهْوًا ۖ إِنَّهُمْ جُندٌ مُّغْرَقُونَ
كَمْ تَرَكُوا مِن جَنَّاتٍ وَعُيُونٍ
وَزُرُوعٍ وَمَقَامٍ كَرِيمٍ
وَنَعْمَةٍ كَانُوا فِيهَا فَاكِهِينَ
كَذَٰلِكَ ۖ وَأَوْرَثْنَاهَا قَوْمًا آخَرِينَ
فَمَا بَكَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّمَاءُ وَالْأَرْضُ وَمَا كَانُوا مُنظَرِينَ
And [God said]: “Go thou forth with My servants by night, for you will surely be pursued
and leave the sea becalmed [between thee and Pharaoh’s men]: for, verily, they are a host destined to be drowned!”
[And so they perished: and] how many gardens did they leave behind, and water-runnels
and fields of grain, and noble dwellings
and [all that] life of ease in which they used to delight
Thus it was. And [then] We made another people heirs [to what they had left]
and neither sky nor earth shed tears over them, nor were they allowed a respite
[Al-Quran 44:23-297:101-103, Translation: Muhammad Asad]
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References & Links
Quran Dictionary root letters: awl
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Alice in (a Saudi) Wonderland
French Agency for AlUla Development
https://www.experiencealula.com/
The rebirth of AlUla
Al-'Ula from Wikipedia
Were ‘Mada’in Salih’ and Petra Built by the Thamud?
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Last updated on: September 7, 2021
