In sarbaaz vazife ke dige daare faghat eyne morghe sar boride par par mizane. Vali digar doostaan age vaghto hoselasho daaran mitoonam kami bishtar dar moreded in jaryaan bekhoonan va behtar ghezaavat konan.
The defeats and victories spoken of above relate to the last phases of the centuries-long struggle between the Byzantine and Persian Empires. During the early years of the seventh century the Persians conquered parts of Syria and Anatolia, "the lands close-by", i.e., near the heartland of the Byzantine umpire; in 613 they took Damascus and in 614, Jerusalem; Egypt fell to them in 615–16, and at the same time they laid siege to Constantinople itself. At the time of the revelation of this surah - about the seventh year before the hijrah, corresponding to 615 or 616 of the Christian era - the total destruction of the Byzantine Empire seemed imminent. The few Muslims around the Prophet were despondent on hearing the news of the utter discomfiture of the Byzantines, who were Christians and, as such, believed in the One God. The pagan Quraysh, on the other hand, sympathized with the Persians who, they thought, would vindicate their own opposition to the One-God idea. When Muhammad enunciated the above Quran-verses predicting a Byzantine victory "within a few years", this prophecy was received with derision by the Quraysh. Now the term bid (commonly rendered as "a few") denotes any number between three and ten; and, as it happened, in 622 – i.e., six or seven years after the Quranic prediction - the tide turned in favour of the Byzantines. In that year, Emperor Heraclius succeeded in defeating the Persians at Issus, south of the Taurus Mountains, and subsequently drove them out of Asia Minor. By 624, he carried the war into Persian territory and thus put the enemy on the defensive: and in the beginning of December, 626, the Persian armies were completely routed by the Byzantines.] And on that day will the believers [too, have cause to] rejoice (5) in God’s succour: [This is a prediction of the battle of Badr, which was to take place eight or nine years later, in the month of Ramadan, 2 H. (corresponding to January, 624, of the Christian era), when the Muslims decisively defeated a very much superior force of pagan Quraysh (see introductory note to surah 8). The expression "on that day" has in this context the meaning of "at the same time", for although the battle of Badr began and ended on one day, the victories of Heraclius over the Persians took some years to materialize. (Muhammad Asad, The Message of the Qur'an [Dar Al-Andalus Limited, 3 Library Ramp, Gibraltar; rpt. 1993], p. 617:
http://www.geocities.com/masad02/021; bold and capital emphasis ours)
3a. The struggle between Persia and the Roman Empire had existed a long time. The great struggle, in which Persia was victorious, began in 602 of the Christian era, when Chosroes II of Persia began war with Rome to avenge the death of Maurice, who was murdered by Phocas. "His armies plundered Syria and Asia Minor, and in 608 advanced to Chalcedon. In 613 and 614 Damascus and Jerusalem were taken by the General Shahabaraz, and the Holy Cross was carried away in triumph…" It was in the year 615 or 616 that this revelation came to the Prophet… (Maulana Muhammad Ali, Holy Qur’an: Arabic Text with English Translation, Commentary and comprehensive Introduction; source)
Period of Revelation
The period of the revelation of this Surah is determined absolutely by the historical event that has been mentioned at the outset. It says: "The Romans have been vanquished in the neighboring land." In those days the Byzantine occupied territories adjacent to Arabia were Jordan, Syria and Palestine, and in these territories the Romans were completely overpowered by the Iranians in 615 A. D. Therefore, it can be said with absolute certainty that this Surah was sent down in the same year, and this was the year in which the migration to Habash took place...
Heraclius could not stop this storm. The very first news that he received from the East after ascending the throne was that of the Iranian occupation of Antioch. After this Damascus fell in 613 A. D. Then in 614 A.D. the Iranians occupying Jerusalem played havoc with the Christian world. Ninety thousand Christians were massacred and the Holy Sepulcher was desecrated. The Original Cross on which, according to the Christian belief, Jesus had died was seized and carried to Mada'in. The chief priest Zacharia was taken prisoner and all the important churches of the city were destroyed. How puffed up was Khusrau Parvez at this victory can be judged from the letter that he wrote to Heraclius from Jerusalem. He wrote: "From Khusrau, the greatest of all gods, the master of the whole world: To Heraclius, his most wretched and most stupid servant: ‘You say that you have trust in your Lord. Why didn't then your Lord save Jerusalem from me?’"
Within a year after this victory the Iranian armies over-ran Jordan, Palestine and the whole of the Sinai Peninsula, and reached the frontiers of Egypt. In those very days another conflict of a far greater historical consequence was going on in Makkah. The believers in One God, under the leadership of the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah's peace be upon him), were fighting for their existence against the followers of shirk under the command of the chiefs of the Quraish, and the conflict had reached such a stage that in 615 A. D., a substantial number of the Muslims had to leave their homes and take refuge with the Christian kingdom of Habash, which was an ally of the Byzantine Empire. In those days the Sassanid victories against Byzantium were the talk of the town, and the pagans of Makkah were delighted and were taunting the Muslims to the effect: "Look the fire worshipers of Iran are winning victories and the Christian believers in Revelation and Prophethood are being routed everywhere. Likewise, we, the idol worshipers of Arabia, will exterminate you and your religion."
These were the conditions when this Surah of the Quran was sent down, and in it a prediction was made, saying: "The Romans have been vanquished in the neighboring land and within a few years after their defeat, they shall be victorious. And it will be the day when the believers will rejoice in the victory granted by Allah." It contained not one but two predictions: First, the Romans shall be Victorious; and second, the Muslims also shall win a victory at the same time. Apparently, there was not a remote chance of the fulfillment of the either prediction in the next few years… (Syed Abu-Ala’ Maududi’s Chapter Introductions to the Qur'an; source)
The above sources date this particular Surah sometime between 615-616 AD, around the time that the Persians had laid siege to Constantinople, providing additional support that this may in fact be the location which the Quran has in view since it is near Persia.
Finally,
… The defeat, ‘in a land close by’ must refer to Syria and Palestine. Jerusalem was lost in 614-615 A.D., shortly before this sura was revealed. (Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur’an, Translation and Commentary, n. 3505; bold emphasis ours)
… Bidh’un in the text means a short period - a period of from three to nine years. The period between the loss OF JERUSALEM (614-15) by the Romans and their victory at Issus (622) was seven years, and that to the penetration of Persia by Heraclius was nine years. (Ibid., n. 3507; bold and capital emphasis ours)
And:
14. Khusrau Parwiz called himself the son of the Emperor Maurice. During his refuge at Constantinople he had married a Byzantine wife. In Nizami’s romance she is known as Maryam. According to some historians she was a daughter of the Emperor Maurice, but Gibbon throws doubt on that relationship. In any case he used the resources of the Persian Empire to fight the usurper Phocas. He invaded the Byzantine Empire in 603. The war between the Persian and the Romans became a national war and continued after the fall of Phocas in 610. The Persians had sweeping victories, and conquered Aleppo, Antioch, and the chief Syrian cities, including Damascus, in 611. Jerusalem fell to their arms in 614-615, just 8 to 7 years before the sacred Hijrat. The city was burnt and pillaged, and the Christians were massacred, the churches were burnt, the burial-place of Christ was itself insulted, and many relics including the ‘true Cross’ on which the Christians believed that Christ had been crucified, were carried away to Persia. The priests of the Persian religion celebrated an exultant triumph over the priests of Christ. In this pillage and massacre the Persians were assisted by a crowd of Jews, who were discontented with the Christian domination, and the Pagan Arabs to whom any opportunity of plunder and destruction was in itself welcome. It is probably this striking event - the victory of the Persians over the Roman Empire - which is referred to Sura XXX (Rum) of the Qur’an... (Ibid., appendix X, pp 1072-1073; bold emphasis ours)
Pay careful attention that none of the above sources mention the Dead Sea as the place where the Romans suffered defeat. The closest we get is Jerusalem which, as we stated earlier, is not the same as the Dead Sea and happens to actually be above sea level. Therefore, Jerusalem IS NOT the lowest point on the earth.
General history agrees with these Muslim commentators that the Romans were defeated by the Persians on many fronts, including Syria, Constantinople, and Jerusalem, but none reports about a decisive battle having taken place at the Dead Sea. Thus, if that verse refers to defeat of the Romans by the Persians, it cannot speak about the Dead Sea.
In conclusion, the assertion that the Quran accurately states that the Dead Sea is the lowest part of the earth is nothing more than a blatant misinterpretation of the passage.
Bale Jaham
