This section focuses on natural phenomena which illustrate spiritual truths. The exact spiritual truths being illustrated are not stated in detail in the text, as a sort of invitation for readers to personally consider the lessons behind each natural sign. In this respect, and in others, the passage somewhat resembles Psalm 104.
Verse 95 notes that Allah causes seeds to produce. It also echoes part of 3:27. The description of bringing forth the living from the dead - shown in nature when a dry, dead-looking seed produces a bountiful plant -- may be intended to signify that unbelieving parents may have believing offspring, and that one who is an unbeliever today might someday believe.
Verse 96 resembles Psalm 104:19 and 104:23. In this verse and the next verse, the celestial bodies previously mentioned in verses 76-78 are described as things created and overseen by Allah.
Verse 98, after affirming the Biblical statement that all of mankind is descended from Adam, contains a sort of riddle: Allah "has given you a place of residing and a place of storage." Some interpreters take this as a reference to either the loins of an individuals father, or the womb of his mother, and to graves.
Verse 99 says that Allah sends rain, which causes vegetation to grow, which yield various kinds of fruit. Again a parallel is found in Psalm 104, in 104:10-14. The text then states that the different kinds of fruit are signs; again it is left to the reader to investigate what the various fruits, at various stages, signify. Some Islamic commentators, it seems, have offered volumes of moral lessons gained from botanical studies. (One example: you shouldnt dislike a fruit just because it is bitter before it ripens; you should wait till the fruit is properly ripe, and then decide if it is tasty or not. Likewise do not disdain people prematurely.)
In verse 100, the description of natural revelation comes to a halt, and unbelievers are described: "Yet they join the jinn as partners in worship with Allah, though he has created them; and they attribute falsely without knowledge sons and daughters to Him." Here is a very instructive verse, revealing the historical foundations of Muhammads theology. Some Meccans worshipped jinn (genies) and called them the offspring of Allah. Perhaps this expression was related to the sort of expression seen in Genesis 6:2-4 and Job 1:6 (where "sons of God" is a way of referring to angels as spiritual beings who were given the ability to represent God when conveying Gods message to people), but that was not how Muhammad understood it: to him, calling the jinn "sons of Allah" implied that Allah had produced the jinn via copulation. Naturally Muhammad regarded that as a serious error, as shown in the next verses statement: "How can He have children when He has no wife?"
(The Ahmadiyya sect, btw, attempts to persuade people that many of the Qurans references to jinn are not a reference to invisible spirits, but to men of power and influence. This is one of the many reasons why most Muslims consider the Ahmadiyya sect to be heretical. See www.muslim.org/islam/int-is8.htm for a summary of the Ahmadiyya view of jinn.)
Having resolutely opposed the Meccans practice of calling the jinn "sons of Allah," and having opposed the use of the term "daughters of Allah" to the trio of goddesses Lat, Manat, and Uzzah, Muhammad promoted a theology which, on the positive side, precluded any concept of Allah in which He had a consort-goddess. The denial of the use of the term "sons of Allah" to describe the jinn was originally linked to that point, in the first part of Muhammads career. Then, when Muhammad encountered pseudo-Christians describing Jesus as the "Son of God," and as Gods only-begotten Son, he seems to have assumed that they were making the same mistake as the Meccans who had called the jinn sons of Allah.
The pseudo-Christians use of the term Son of God, which resembled the pagan Meccans term sons of Allah, was (mis)understood by Muhammad to imply that the Christians were saying the same thing about Jesus that the Meccans had said about the jinn. (And verbally the words may have been similar, but the semantical differences were immense.) His assumption was reinforced when Muhammad observed how the pseudo-Christians revered Mary, and he concluded that the Arabian pseudo-Christians taught that (a) the Trinity consisted of the Father, the Mother (Mary), and the Son (Jesus), and (b) the Christians believed that Jesus was produced by copulation, rather than being the eternally emanated Logos.
Did the Arabian pseudo-Christians really believe that, or was that merely Muhammads misinterpretation? I think that will have to remain an open question. But even with that loose end, the picture seems clear enough: Muhammad denied the Sonship of Jesus on the same grounds that he denied the sonship of the jinn. In Mecca he had gone on record opposing the title "sons of Allah" in regard to the jinn, and so later he rejected that title for Jesus, too, thinking that the term implied that Allah produced offspring via copulation.
Verses 104-105 wrap up the description of natural signs, stating that Muhammad has delivered the message about them, and it is up to listeners to notice the signs significance. (Btw, theres an unexpected shift between I and We here.) In v. 105, the text states that those who hear Muhammads words about the signs in nature might say that his words are a result of deep study. Such words might be intended as a compliment, or as a claim that Muhammads statements are merely the result of thoughtful contemplation (and, perhaps, the study of material from books with similar statements) instead of supernatural revelation.
Yours in Christ,
Waterrock
Verse 95 notes that Allah causes seeds to produce. It also echoes part of 3:27. The description of bringing forth the living from the dead - shown in nature when a dry, dead-looking seed produces a bountiful plant -- may be intended to signify that unbelieving parents may have believing offspring, and that one who is an unbeliever today might someday believe.
Verse 96 resembles Psalm 104:19 and 104:23. In this verse and the next verse, the celestial bodies previously mentioned in verses 76-78 are described as things created and overseen by Allah.
Verse 98, after affirming the Biblical statement that all of mankind is descended from Adam, contains a sort of riddle: Allah "has given you a place of residing and a place of storage." Some interpreters take this as a reference to either the loins of an individuals father, or the womb of his mother, and to graves.
Verse 99 says that Allah sends rain, which causes vegetation to grow, which yield various kinds of fruit. Again a parallel is found in Psalm 104, in 104:10-14. The text then states that the different kinds of fruit are signs; again it is left to the reader to investigate what the various fruits, at various stages, signify. Some Islamic commentators, it seems, have offered volumes of moral lessons gained from botanical studies. (One example: you shouldnt dislike a fruit just because it is bitter before it ripens; you should wait till the fruit is properly ripe, and then decide if it is tasty or not. Likewise do not disdain people prematurely.)
In verse 100, the description of natural revelation comes to a halt, and unbelievers are described: "Yet they join the jinn as partners in worship with Allah, though he has created them; and they attribute falsely without knowledge sons and daughters to Him." Here is a very instructive verse, revealing the historical foundations of Muhammads theology. Some Meccans worshipped jinn (genies) and called them the offspring of Allah. Perhaps this expression was related to the sort of expression seen in Genesis 6:2-4 and Job 1:6 (where "sons of God" is a way of referring to angels as spiritual beings who were given the ability to represent God when conveying Gods message to people), but that was not how Muhammad understood it: to him, calling the jinn "sons of Allah" implied that Allah had produced the jinn via copulation. Naturally Muhammad regarded that as a serious error, as shown in the next verses statement: "How can He have children when He has no wife?"
(The Ahmadiyya sect, btw, attempts to persuade people that many of the Qurans references to jinn are not a reference to invisible spirits, but to men of power and influence. This is one of the many reasons why most Muslims consider the Ahmadiyya sect to be heretical. See www.muslim.org/islam/int-is8.htm for a summary of the Ahmadiyya view of jinn.)
Having resolutely opposed the Meccans practice of calling the jinn "sons of Allah," and having opposed the use of the term "daughters of Allah" to the trio of goddesses Lat, Manat, and Uzzah, Muhammad promoted a theology which, on the positive side, precluded any concept of Allah in which He had a consort-goddess. The denial of the use of the term "sons of Allah" to describe the jinn was originally linked to that point, in the first part of Muhammads career. Then, when Muhammad encountered pseudo-Christians describing Jesus as the "Son of God," and as Gods only-begotten Son, he seems to have assumed that they were making the same mistake as the Meccans who had called the jinn sons of Allah.
The pseudo-Christians use of the term Son of God, which resembled the pagan Meccans term sons of Allah, was (mis)understood by Muhammad to imply that the Christians were saying the same thing about Jesus that the Meccans had said about the jinn. (And verbally the words may have been similar, but the semantical differences were immense.) His assumption was reinforced when Muhammad observed how the pseudo-Christians revered Mary, and he concluded that the Arabian pseudo-Christians taught that (a) the Trinity consisted of the Father, the Mother (Mary), and the Son (Jesus), and (b) the Christians believed that Jesus was produced by copulation, rather than being the eternally emanated Logos.
Did the Arabian pseudo-Christians really believe that, or was that merely Muhammads misinterpretation? I think that will have to remain an open question. But even with that loose end, the picture seems clear enough: Muhammad denied the Sonship of Jesus on the same grounds that he denied the sonship of the jinn. In Mecca he had gone on record opposing the title "sons of Allah" in regard to the jinn, and so later he rejected that title for Jesus, too, thinking that the term implied that Allah produced offspring via copulation.
Verses 104-105 wrap up the description of natural signs, stating that Muhammad has delivered the message about them, and it is up to listeners to notice the signs significance. (Btw, theres an unexpected shift between I and We here.) In v. 105, the text states that those who hear Muhammads words about the signs in nature might say that his words are a result of deep study. Such words might be intended as a compliment, or as a claim that Muhammads statements are merely the result of thoughtful contemplation (and, perhaps, the study of material from books with similar statements) instead of supernatural revelation.
Yours in Christ,
Waterrock
