The Length
of God's
Days
Article:
One of the objections levied against the Qur'an by Mr.
Jochen Katz
is:
Does
Allah's
day
equal to
1,000 (Sura
22:47,
32:5) or
50,000
years (Sura
70:4)?
Observe
how
similar
32:5 and
70:4 are
worded
(in
English
- I
don't
know the
Arabic)
"ascend
unto him
in a day
the
measure
whereof
is
[fifty]
thousand
years
[of your
reckoning]."
Maybe it
originally
was
"fifty
thousand"
in both
and
"fifty"
dropped
out in
one
place? A
corrupted
manuscript?
Or does
God just
not know
how to
relate
the
length
[of] his
days to
human
years?
To fully
comprehend
the
objection,
let us first
have a look
at the
referred
verses of
the Qur'an.
Verse 22: 47
translates
as:
"and
surely a
day of
your
Lord is
like a
thousand
years of
your
reckoning"
Verse 32: 5
translates
as:
"He
decides
all
affairs
from the
heavens
to the
earth
then
these
[affairs]
go up to
Him in a
day, the
length
of which
is a
thousand
years of
your
reckoning."
Verse 70: 4
translates
as:
"The
angels
and the
ruh
ascend
upto Him
in a day
the
length
of which
is fifty
thousand
years"
I believe
that even if
one is
ignorant of
the Arabic
language and
is solely
dependent on
the English
translations
of the
Qur'an, one
cannot say
that the
stated
verses
contradict
each other
in any way.
In the
article that
follows, I
shall first
of all show
that there
is no
contradiction
in the
stated
verses from
the
perspective
of the
English
language.
Secondly, I
shall show
that as in
the English
language,
there is
absolutely
no
contradiction
in the
verses from
a purely
Arabic
perspective.
In Allah
alone I put
my trust.
From The
English
Perspective
The word
"day", in
the English
language is
not used
only for the
24-hour time
interval,
that extends
from one
sunrise to
the other.
It is used
in a number
of
connotations.
For example,
in 'one
day I'll
get my
revenge',
the phrase
'one day' is
used for
sometime in
the future,
not for the
24-hour
interval of
time. The
phrase:
'this
day and
age',
means
nowadays.
When
somebody
says:
'Would there
ever be a
day when
the weak and
the
oppressed
are heard?',
the phrase
'a day'
means a time
in the
future. When
Edmund
Spencer
said:
Ah!
when
will
this
long
weary
day
have
end,
And
lend me
leave to
come
unto my
love?
(Epithalamion)
by the word
'day', he
was not
referring to
the 24-hour
time
interval,
but to the
time of
agony that
he was going
through at
the time.
When Martin
Luther King,
Jr. said:
I
have a
dream
that
one day
on the
red
hills of
Georgia,
the sons
of
former
slaves
and sons
of
former
slave-owners
will be
able to
sit
together
at the
table of
brotherhood
. . .
that
one day
even the
state of
Mississippi,
a state
sweltering
with the
heat of
injustice,
sweltering
with the
heat of
oppression,
will be
transformed
into an
oasis of
freedom
and
justice
. . .
that my
four
little
children
will
one day
live in
a nation
where
they
will not
be
judged
by the
color of
their
skin but
by the
content
of their
character.
by the
phrase 'one
day', he
meant a
particular
time in
future, not
the 24-hour
time
interval.
It is quite
obvious from
the above
examples of
everyday
English
usage that
the word
'day' is
used in a
number of
meanings.
One of these
meanings is
'a
particular
period of
time'.
Keeping this
meaning of
the word
'day', have
a look, once
again at the
English
translation
of the
referred
verses of
Qur'an:
The first
verse (22:
47) says:
"and
surely a
day near
your
Lord is
like a
thousand
years of
your
reckoning"
This verse
simply means
that for
Allah, a
thousand
years of our
reckoning is
no more than
what a
24-hour day
is for us.
The second
verse (32:
5) states:
"He
decides
all
affairs
from the
heavens
to the
earth;
then
these
[affairs]
go
[back]
up to
Him in a
day, the
length
of which
is a
thousand
years of
your
reckoning."
This verse
informs us
that Allah's
plans for
the heavens
and the
earth are
implemented
and referred
back to Him,
in a day
(i.e. in a
period of
time) that
is like a
thousand
years of
human
reckoning.
The third
verse (70:
4) says:
"The
angels
and the
ruh
ascend
upto Him
in a day
the
length
of which
is fifty
thousand
years"
This verse
informs us
that it
takes the
angels and
the ruh
(i.e.
Gabriel) a
day (i.e. a
period of
time) which
is as long
as 50
thousand
years in our
reckoning,
to ascend
upto Him.
Look at the
three verses
closely and
you shall
see that
they relate
to different
phenomenon.
The first
one states
that a
thousand
years of our
reckoning is
like but a
day for
Allah; the
second one
states that
Allah's
plans are
implemented
and referred
back to Him
in periods
which are as
long as a
thousand
years for
us, in other
words it
says that
Allah makes
plans for
thousand-year
intervals;
while the
third one
states that
it takes the
angels and
the ruh
a period
equivalent
to what is
50 thousand
years for
us, to
ascend to
the Most
Exalted.
Obviously,
if the
Qur'an, at
one place,
had said
that a
thousand
years of our
reckoning is
like a day
to Allah,
while at
another had
stated that
in the eyes
of Allah,
one day is
like 50
thousand
years of our
reckoning;
or if it had
said at one
place that
it takes the
angels a
thousand
years to
ascend to
the Most
Exalted,
while at
another had
stated that
the angels
ascend to
Allah in 50
thousand
years of our
reckoning;
or if at one
instance it
had declared
that Allah's
plans are
implemented
and are
referred
back to Him
in one
thousand
years while
at another
had stated
that the
period
involved in
this
implementation
and
reference is
50 thousand
years, it,
most
certainly,
would have
been a case
of
contradictory
statements.
The case, as
everybody
can see, is
not so. The
Qur'an has
stated
different
time periods
for
different
phenomenon.
How can
anyone, in
such a case,
say that the
statements
in question
are
contradictory?
Mr. Katz is
of the
opinion that
because it
takes the
angels 50
thousand
years to
ascend to
Allah and
because "all
affairs are
returned" to
Allah
through the
angels,
therefore,
verse 32: 5
and 70: 4
are actually
referring to
the same
phenomenon.
He writes:
The last
two
verses
are
talking
about
the same
thing.
The word
which is
usually
translated
affair(s)
(amr in
32:5),
is a
Qur'anic
term
that has
to do
with the
Spirit
and
angels
in that
verse.
That
verse
talks
about
the
"amr"
that
"will
asend to
Him."
The
context
tells us
of
some(thing)
who
(that)
ascend
and of
course
descend.
Sura
17:85
says:
They ask
thee
concerning
the
Spirit
(of
inspiration),
say the
Spirit
(comes)
by
command
[Amr] of
my Lord.
Notice
the
connection
between
"Amr"
and
"Spirit"
in the
above
verse.
Then
Sura
97:4
says:
Therein
come
down the
angels
and the
Spirit
by God's
permission
[Amr].
Here
again
the
connection
between
the
"Amr"
and "the
Spirit
and the
angels."
Mr. Katz's
point (in my
own words)
is: because
the affairs
are returned
to Allah
through the
angels,
therefore,
verse 32: 5
and 70: 4
are actually
referring to
the same
phenomenon
and a
difference
in these two
verses thus
amounts to a
contradiction.
In my
opinion, the
answer is
quite
simple.
Verse 70: 4
states that
it takes the
angels and
the ruh,
a period of
50 thousand
years to
ascend to
the Most
Exalted. It
does not say
that the
Most
Exalted,
takes this
period to
reach the
angels and
the ruh,
if and
when he so
desires. If
He wants to
summon the
angels, or
make His
presence
felt to
them, it
could be
before the
winking of
an eye. What
is it, in
these verses
(or any
other ones)
that hinders
such an
assumption?
Whatever the
case may be,
it is quite
clear that
the two
verses
concern
different
phenomena.
One relates
to time it
takes the
angels and
the ruh
to reach the
Exalted 'chambers'
of Allah,
and the
other to the
time
interval of
God's
planning for
the world
and its
implementation.
It is
obviously
not
necessary
that to
receive
these plans
or to report
their
implementation,
the angels
and the ruh
have to
ascend to
the Exalted
'chambers'
of Allah.
From The
Arabic
Perspective
The Arabic
word,
translated
in English
as 'day' is
'yawm'.
The point
that needs
to be
established
from the
Arabic
perspective
is that the
word
'yawm'
in the
Arabic
language,
like the
word 'day'
in the
English
language, is
not
restricted
in its
meaning to
the 24-hour
interval of
time.
Some
references
from the
Arabic
literature
are provided
below to
establish
this point:
One of the
pre-Islamic
poets says:
(mata
yusa'idona'l-wisa'lo
wa
dahrona
yawman:
yawmo
nawan wa
yawmo
Sadudi)1
The word
'yawm'
in the above
verses has
been used to
mean phases
and periods,
it can by no
means be
taken to
mean the
24-hour time
interval.
`amar ibn
Kulthum
says:
(beyawmi
karihatin
dharban
wa
ta`nan
aqarra
bihi
mawa'li'ki'l-`oyu'na.
wa inna
ghadan
wa
inna'l-yawma
rahnun
wa ba`da
ghadin
bema la
ta`lami'na)2
In this
verse, the
words
'ghadan',
'al-yawm'
and 'ba`d
ghadin'
meaning
tomorrow,
today and
the day
after
tomorrow
have not
been used in
their
literal
sense but to
imply the
present, the
near and the
far-off
future.
Abu'l-a`la'
al-Mu`arri'
has also
used the
word
'al-yawm'
in the same
meaning. He
says:
(thalathatu
ayyamin
hia
al-dahro
kullohu
wa ma
hunna
illa
al-amsi
wa'l-yawmi
wa'l-ghad)3
Ibn abi
wabakil
says to his
beloved:
(yatu'lu'l-yawm
la alqaki
fihi wa yawm
naltaqi fihi
qasiru)4
Once again,
the word
'yawm'
in this
verse simply
refers to
the time
when the
poet is
with, or
away from,
his beloved;
it does not
mean the
24-hour
interval of
time, that
we usually
term as a
'day'.
Husain
ibn Matir
al-asadi
says:
(lahu
yawmo
bu'sin
fihi
linna'si
abwasu
wa yawmo
na`i'min
fihi
linnas
an`amu)5
In this
verse again,
the word
'yawm' is
used for
different
phases in
the life of
the subject,
not for the
24-hour time
interval in
his life.
Shammar
says:
(yawmaho:
yawmo nadan
wa yawm
ti`ani)6
Ibn
Manzur,
in his book
Lisa'nu'l-Arab
has referred
to this
verse of
Shammar
and has
derived the
following
conclusion:
(wa
yawmaho:
yawmo
ni`am wa
yawmo
bo'usin,
fa'l-yawm
hahuna
bema`na
al'dahar
ay: howa
dahrohu
kazalik)7
In the light
of the above
references,
we can
easily infer
that the
word 'yawm'
is used not
only for the
24-hour
interval of
time but
also for a
phase in
one's life
and a period
of time etc.
As in these
poetic
verses, the
word 'yawm'
in verse 32:
5 and 70: 4
has been
used for a
period of
time. This
period of
time, is
different
for two
different
phenomena. I
do not see
any
reasonable
grounds to
say that
such
difference
amounts to a
contradiction.
I am sure if
Mr. Katz
will
consider my
arguments
with an open
mind, he
shall see
that his
argument of
numerical
discrepany,
at least in
this
particular
case, holds
no ground. I
request Mr.
Katz to look
at the
Qur'an with
the same
mental
attitude
with which
he looks at
the Bible. .
.
is that
asking for
too much?
© Copyright
1998. All
Rights
Reserved
with the
Author
1- How
is it
possible for
us to be
together for
our time
consist
[only] of
two days: A
day of being
away from
each other
and a day
when we are
stopped from
meeting.
2- [I
inform you
of] the
battle day
which was
the day of
the
unleashed
sword and
the spear,
which was a
source of
great
pleasure for
your
cousins;
today,
tomorrow and
the day
after entail
things that
are hidden
from you [I,
therefore,
inform you
only of
events of
the days
gone by].
3- Time
consists
only of
three days,
these are:
yesterday,
today and
tomorrow.
4- It is
a long day
in which I
do not meet
you; while a
day in which
we meet is a
short one.
5- He
has a day of
battle, in
which people
are faced
with the
toughest of
times and a
day of
generosity
when people
are blessed
with
bounties.
6- His
life
consists of
two days:
the day of
bounty and
the day of
battle.
7- He
has two
days: the
day when he
is bountiful
and the day
when he is
in the
battle
field; the
word 'day'
here means
time, i.e.
His life
consists of
two types of
times.