Обсуждение:Древние народы
Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān
- Remnant
The remains of a destroyed abode of sinful people. The total destruction of former generations (q.v.) is a historical lesson for contemporary sinners (see sin, major and minor), as stated, for example, in q 19:98: “And how many a generation (qarn) have we destroyed before them! Do you see any one of them or hear a sound of them?” (see geography; history and the qurʾān). Among these extinct sinners there were the peoples of ʿĀd (q.v.) and Thamūd (q.v.) about whom it is declared in q 69:8 that one cannot see any remnant (bāqiya) of them. The Qurʾān emphasizes that God has cut off the last of them (quṭiʿa dābiru l- qawmi; see q 6:45; 7:72), as was the case with the people of Lot (q.v.; q 15:66).
Although the sinners of old were totally wiped out, God left remnants of their abodes to serve as a lesson for posterity. The lesson is called “a sign” (āya; see signs), as is the case in q 27:52, which deals with the sinners of Thamūd: “So those are their houses fallen down because they were unjust (see justice and injustice). Most surely there is a sign in this for people who know.” The desolate abodes (masākin) of Thamūd as well as of ʿĀd, which remained after their inhabitants had been destroyed, are mentioned also in q 29:38 and q 46:25 (cf. q 14:45; 28:58). Muḥammad's unbelieving contemporaries actually used to go about among these dwellings (q 20:128). In further passages, the unbelievers are requested to travel in the land and see what was the end (ʿāqiba) of the sinners of old, who, however, are not specifically identified (q 3:137; 6:11; 12:109; 16:36; 27:69; 30:9; 35:44; 40:21, 82; 47:10; see lie; gratitude and ingratitude). ¶4/425/2¶
Remnants of the town of Lot (Sodom) also survived and God declares that he has left a clear sign of this town for people who understand (q 29:35; also q 32:26; 51:37; see knowledge and learning). The Qurʾān stresses that the remnants of Lot's town can be seen by Muḥammad's unbelieving contemporaries who pass by when they go about their business in the land (q 25:40; 37:137). They can see these remnants because they overlook the main road (q 15:76). This applies also to the remains of the city of al-Ayka (q 15:79; see people of the thicket). Remnants of Noah's (q.v.) ark (q.v.) could also be seen, as is implied in q 54:15. This passage asserts that God left it as a sign.
A different type of remnant is called baqiyya (from b-q-y, “to remain”), which stands for a divine religious or moral relic that has an everlasting value. Hence in q 11:116, the phrase ūlū baqiyya signifies people possessing such a relic or possessing qualities of religious and moral excellence (see ethics and the qurʾān). In q 11:86 the baqiyya explicitly belongs to God and emanates from him to his obedient servants (see obedience; servant). In q 2:248 it is evidently material, as it stands for the relics left by the Children of Israel (q.v.) within the ark of the covenant (q.v.; tābūt). Muslim exegetes (see exegesis of the qurʾān: classical and medieval) maintain that these relics included the Tablets, the rod (q.v.) of Moses (q.v.) and the turban of Aaron (q.v.).
- Primary
Suyūṭī, Durr
Ṭabarī, Tafsīr
- Secondary
R. Sellheim, Noch einmal. Baqīya im Koran, in J. Cobet et al. (eds.), Dialogos. Für Harald Patzer zum 65. Geburtstag von seinen Freunden und Schülern, Wiesbaden n.d., 301-5
- Cite this page
Rubin, Uri, “Remnant”, in: Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān, General Editor: Jane Dammen McAuliffe, Georgetown University, Washington DC. Consulted online on 07 January 2017 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1875-3922_q3_EQSIM_00354>