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- Report n°5 : "Water : symbolism and culture"
Report n°5 : "Water : symbolism and culture"
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Table of contents
- Water in the Qur'an: symbolism and foundations of a water culture
Water in the Qur'an: symbolism and fondations of a water culture
"Before designing His creation, God dwelt in a cloud in the midst of the air.
His Throne and placed it above the water".
Hadith (authentic saying of the Prophet)
The Qur'an is the Book par excellence, Al Kitab, the word of God handed down to the Prophet Muhammad by the archangel Gabriel. It contains 114 sura or chapters of differing lengths. Each sura is made up of verses (ayat, or signs from God).
In the Qur'an, water is the key element in Creation and is referred to so frequently -63 times- that some even speak of the Holy Book's "obsession" or "bewitchment" with water.
In Arab culture, there is nothing surprising in the immense interest in water revealed in the sacred writings. In his famous essay on "Water in Islamic thinking and Arab literature", Professor Muhammad bin Abdulaziz writes: "It will suffice to say that Arabs are so passionate about water and place so much hope in its coming that they have rightly come to be called "sons of the water of heaven". Among Arab Muslims, the best you can wish for someone from whom you are seeking a favour is "God give you water". Thinking of days when all is harmony and peace, when the soul finds serenity, they will describe such days as masqa Allah, "watered by God".
Even those who, in the early days of Islam, dismissed Muhammad as an impostor challenged him to perform miracles that related to water.
"We will never believe in you unless you cause a spring to gush forth from the earth for us, or have a garden full of date palms and grapevines and make rivers gush forth plentifully through the midst of them (51)" (Sura 17, The Children of Israel, ayat 92-95). This is clearly reminiscent of the Bible, when the Almighty says to Moses: "Go on before the people and take with thee the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand and go. Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink.And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel." (Exodus, 17:5 - 6). The Bible also makes frequent reference to water (Leviticus, Genesis I and II) in both its literal and metaphorical sense: water is "God's creation" and a "divine benefit" but its absence prevents the faithful from fulfilling their obligations and also brings in its wake drought and desolation.
(51) We have used for the translation of the Qur'an into english that of T.B. Irving (Al-Hâjj Ta'lim'Ali) Suhrawardi Research & Publication Center.