Warnings & Examples
Abstract
The
Quran is replete with clear warnings. A storm of stones from the sky is
mentioned as a form of Divine punishment. Meteoroids enter the Earth’s
atmosphere daily…
Full
Text
The
Quran is replete with clear warnings. Surah alMulk questions our complacency
and ignorant rejection of the clear warnings:
أَمْ أَمِنتُم مَّن فِي السَّمَاءِ أَن يُرْسِلَ عَلَيْكُمْ حَاصِبًا
فَسَتَعْلَمُونَ كَيْفَ نَذِيرِ
فَسَتَعْلَمُونَ كَيْفَ نَذِيرِ
Or
do you feel secure that He who [holds authority] in the heaven would not send
against you a storm of stones?
Then you would know how [severe] was My warning.
Then you would know how [severe] was My warning.
[Al-Quran 67:17, Translation: Sahih
International]
The
‘storm of stones’ is mentioned as an active
participle in four ayaat of The Quran:
Screenshot from corpus.quran.com
As a
precedence, The Quran presents the example of the people of Messenger Lot, who
have already been destroyed by a ‘storm of stones’:
إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ حَاصِبًا إِلَّا آلَ لُوطٍ نَّجَّيْنَاهُم بِسَحَرٍ
Indeed, We sent upon
them a storm of
stones, except the family of Lot - We saved them before dawn
[Al-Quran 54:34, Translation: Sahih
International]
About
the civilizations who have already been destroyed, it is stated:
فَكُلًّا أَخَذْنَا بِذَنبِهِ فَمِنْهُم مَّنْ أَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِ حَاصِبًا وَمِنْهُم مَّنْ أَخَذَتْهُ الصَّيْحَةُ وَمِنْهُم مَّنْ خَسَفْنَا بِهِ الْأَرْضَ وَمِنْهُم مَّنْ أَغْرَقْنَا
وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيَظْلِمَهُمْ وَلَٰكِن كَانُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ
So each We seized for
his sin; and among them were those upon whom We sent a storm of stones, and
among them were those who were seized by the blast [from the sky], and among
them were those whom We caused the earth to swallow, and among them were those
whom We drowned.
And Allah would not have
wronged them, but it was they who were wronging themselves.
[Al-Quran 29:40, Translation: Sahih
International]
Yet,
we continue to disregard the warnings, embracing technology and all it promises
without any regard to what is right or wrong according to the scriptures:
أَفَأَمِنتُمْ أَن يَخْسِفَ بِكُمْ جَانِبَ الْبَرِّ أَوْ يُرْسِلَ عَلَيْكُمْ حَاصِبًا
ثُمَّ لَا تَجِدُوا لَكُمْ وَكِيلًا
ثُمَّ لَا تَجِدُوا لَكُمْ وَكِيلًا
Then do you
feel secure that [instead] He will not cause a part of the land to swallow you or send against you a storm of stones?
Then you would not find for yourselves an advocate.
Then you would not find for yourselves an advocate.
[Al-Quran 17:68, Translation: Sahih
International]
Meteoroids,
stones from the sky, enter the Earth’s atmosphere on a daily basis: some burn
up in the atmosphere, others manage to strike the surface of the Earth. Fireballs
are routinely observed and recorded. It is a blessing that most meteorites land
in uninhabited regions and humans are not harmed. A recent study has found evidence of micrometeorites in urban areas. If larger meteorites were to be directed
towards human populations, they have the potential to wreak major havoc. Larger asteroids and comets can also cause
extinction events.
Interactive map available at https://cneos.jpl.nasa.gov/fireballs/
In
spite of the regularity with which these events occur, as well as their
potential to cause major catastrophes, yet somehow, people do not consider them
a threat, taking comfort in observations and probability statistics. The God
who ensures that the meteoroids fall such that humans are generally not harmed
can also redirect them to cause human fatalities. All it’ll take is changing
the target and the trajectory.
We
already know that all this activity is not without purpose:
وَلَقَدْ زَيَّنَّا السَّمَاءَ الدُّنْيَا بِمَصَابِيحَ وَجَعَلْنَاهَا رُجُومًا لِّلشَّيَاطِينِ
وَأَعْتَدْنَا لَهُمْ عَذَابَ السَّعِيرِ
وَأَعْتَدْنَا لَهُمْ عَذَابَ السَّعِيرِ
And certainly We have adorned this lower heaven with lamps and We have made these missiles for the Shaitans,
and We have prepared for them the chastisement of burning.
and We have prepared for them the chastisement of burning.
[Al-Quran 67:5, Translation: Shakir]
We have decked the lowest heavens with torches. With these torches We have stoned the devils
and We have prepared for them the torment of hell.
and We have prepared for them the torment of hell.
[Al-Quran 67:5, Translation: Muhammad Sarwar]
[Related
Posts: Guarding
the Sky || Burooj:
Guarded Strongholds || Kawakib:
Planets, Comets and other rocky bodies? || Teleology: A purpose-built Universe?]
References & Links
